Chapter Forty-Five, A Break-In and a Sleepover in the Great Hall
A week had passed since Izzy had used her ability to transform herself into a toddler for a day, a day that had been very healing for both herself and her dad and papa, but now it was Samhain and another Hogsmeade weekend that Fred would be using to take her out on a date. Most of her friends had understood and supported her on why she had used her Metamorphmagus abilities the way she had; all except Hermione who kept bringing it up to argue with her on why she shouldn't have done it, and it seemed like it was another day to bring it up again. On a day that Izzy certainly didn't need this.
"You shouldn't have done it, Izzy. You know that. It's not right." Hermione argued again as she came out of the bathroom, watching as Izzy got ready for her date with Fred with help from Celeste and Kellah.
"Hermione, drop it!" Izzy insisted firmly but yet again she was ignored.
"No it's not right. Your childhood has already passed no matter how terrible it is, you shouldn't have used your abilities to regress into a toddler. It's not right and it's not healthy. You're thirteen, not a toddler so you need to act like it. What about all the other children here who have had similar childhoods and wish they'd had a better one? It's not fair to them! Don't be so selfish!" Hermione argued hotly, hands on her hips.
"HERMIONE!!!" Kellah, Celeste, Lavender and Pavarti shouted appalled.
"Selfish? How am I selfish?" Izzy rounded on Hermione, her hair whipping around her. "I know you don't understand how different families have certain abilities and others don't but that doesn't make me selfish for doing what I, my dad and papa needed. Have you not heard the saying "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all?" Izzy asked before she stormed out of the dormitory, her magic swirling around her tightly, like a layer of protection that's ready to attack any who dared upset her.
"You've really screwed up your friendship with Izzy now. And for your information: regressing is a way to push back all the bad memories and to be at an age where people can look after you and make decisions for you." Celeste commented before leaving the dormitory, she needed to get away from Hermione before she did something she wouldn't regret. Lavender and Pavarti leaving behind her with a head shake and scoffs directed Hermione leaving her alone with Kellah.
"Izzy won't do this no matter how much she wants to as she's too kind, even though she's not taking shit from no one this year, so I will." Kellah glared at the bushy-haired teen as she slapped her hard, leaving a red mark on her cheek. "I suggest you buck your ideas up if you don't want to end up friendless come Yule." She glared at her one last time before she left Hermione alone in the dorm with a hand on her cheek and wide stunned brown eyes.
* * *
As it was still rather early to be traveling to Hogsmeade Izzy had decided to fly around the Quidditch pitch to burn off her anger leaving Fred free to confront Hermione on the feelings he'd felt from Izzy before she stormed out of Gryffindor Tower; cornering the fourteen year old in the Entrance Hall as she had finally come down to breakfast. He noticed there was shoddily applied concealer on her left cheek leaving a red mark still rather clear to see.
"Hermione." Fred said coldly, a glare on his face and arms crossed over his chest with George mirroring his stance and expression besieged him. "Can we have a word?"
"It's not a request." George added sharply as Hermione opened her mouth to deny them.
Sighing she closed her mouth and nodded, following them into a secret passageway just to the left of the main marble staircase.
"How dare you treat my Izzy this way!" Fred rounded on Hermione the minute they had entered the passageway, his eyes were dark with barely constrained fury. "You're supposed to be her best friend as you proclaim so how about you bloody well act like it!"
"If you don't understand something, how about you research it, read up on it and ask your peers and professors." George suggested, his usual light and joking tone had been replaced with a dark and angry tone, his eyes were almost identical to his brothers.
"Next time you upset Izzy the way you have today, you will surely regret it Hermione that I can promise you." Fred promised angrily.
"You will find out that we are not just pranksters but are actually smart as we invent all of our own products, spells and potions from scratch and may have just found our new tester." George added, a devious smirk stretching across his lips. Hermione's brown eyes widened dramatically; despite not knowing anything about pranks, she knew how brilliant Fred and George's products were and did not want to be their new tester for them. Regardless of their threats and the slap she received from Kellah, she knew she had gone too far with what she said to Izzy. She knew that from the second after the words had left her mouth. Izzy had looked so heartbroken, so devastated that she knew she had gone too far.
There was just some things she didn't get or understand about the Wizarding world still or about how to act with others her own age. Before she had joined Hogwarts she had never spent any time with children her own age when she attended her Muggle primary school which had been an all girls school. She had only spent time around adults when she attended a convention with her parents and had to act older than she was or around the school librarian. It was this fact that made her lash out at Izzy as she knew she was behind Izzy and everyone else when it came to social skills; a fact she hated more than anything as she had been deemed the smartest of her age only to find out it was just book smarts and not in terms of genius was heartbreaking to the girl who'd always been told she was smarter than kids her age.
Hermione wondered if the reason she lashed out at her first friend more than anyone else was due to the fact that Izzy was also behind on social skills due to the Dursleys but whereas Izzy learnt everything she could and didn't hold back on her knowledge now that she had family who believed in her, Hermione didn't learn more about the Wizarding world or the world in general and just learnt about her lessons which was the reason she was being held back in social skills. And she had to admit reluctantly to herself as Fred and George left, that they were right and she had no one to blame but herself.
* * *
~ Hogsmeade ~
"You look very beautiful and cute today, Izzy." Fred told her, kissing her cheek as it flushed under his compliment, as he led Izzy to the outskirts of the village. Izzy was wearing a black roll-neck woolen top with a wine-red skater skirt, black tights and black combat boots, a red woolen jumper, a grey woolen coat, duvet and garnet teardrop earrings, a red handbag was string across her shoulders and a black berry was sat on top of two Dutch braids that had a small braid weaving through each one.
To finish off she had the charm bracelet that Fred had brought her on her right wrist, her Black, Potter and Peverell merged Heiress rings on her right middle finger and her betrothal ring on her left ring finger beneath red sheer lace floral gloves and cherry red lip gloss stained her lips. When Fred saw her after she'd calmed down from flying her cheeks flushed with exertion; he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was a vision. A goddess or an angel fallen to earth. He knew he was besotted with her but frankly he didn't care all that much.
He was beginning to have very strong feelings for her and he intended on giving her the best date possible and showing her just much she was adored, wanted, valued; all things that Dursleys had denied her he intended to change and shower her with as they grew as people and as they grew as a couple. She deserved that and so much more. Due to the Dementors at every entrance to the grounds they hadn't taken the carriages or walked into Hogsmeade like their friends but had taken the One-eyed Witch passageway into Honeydukes cellar to avoid those horrors beings which was the last things Fred wanted her to encounter after what they made her relive on the train.
The use of the passageway was made so much easier to exit then Fred had experienced before as they had used Izzy's Cloak that had been passed down her family to exit the cellar and had even managed to blend in effortlessly with the customers of the shop due to how packed it was no one had noticed them slipping off the Cloak or Izzy stowing it away in her handbag. As one part of her present for the date and betrothal gift Fred had given Izzy the Marauders Map as something to connect her to her father James who he now knew was Prongs which made Sirius Padfoot, Remus Moony and the traitor Pettigrew as Wormtail.
To say he, George and Lee had been shocked and awed when Izzy revealed to them what her father's, Dad's and Papa's nicknames were was an understatement.
"Pick whatever you like, Izzy, it's my treat." Fred told her, a fond smile on his face as he watched Izzy look around in wonder.
"Hmmm." Izzy hummed thoughtfully as she walked around the shop with her hand intertwined with Fred's, a sparkle lit up her emerald-silver eyes as a mischievous smile played on her lips making her look like an impish faerie. A beautiful impish faerie in Fred's eyes.
Fred wondered what she had seen until he noticed she was pulling him to a corner of the shop by the door where Ben Kelly, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom stood, Neville who was about to take a lick of the lolly in his hands only for Izzy to snatch it from her brother with a playful giggle tumbling past her lips.
"Hey!" Neville protested a playful glare in his face, as the other boys laughed. However, his lips kept twitching at hearing Izzy's giggles. "Izzy." Neville laughed good naturedly, accepting the lollipop back, hugging his sister. "Have fun." Neville whispered in her head before letting her return to Fred.
"Can I get some chocolate frogs please?" He heard Izzy ask Fred as they headed deeper into the shop.
"Let me guess, the dark chocolate kind." was Fred's answering laugh.
"Of course! Dark chocolate is the best!" Izzy laughed. Neville was extremely happy for his sister. Fred was good for her and he made her happy and laugh more than anyone ever could and that was enough for Neville. He knew the older wizard would treat her right as he was the decent sort. Plus, Fred knew there was an extremely long line of overactive witches and wizards who would end him if he didn't; including his siblings and his own twin.
* * *
~ Hogwarts: outside Gryffindor Tower ~
"We had our picnic on the hills that overlook Hogsmeade on one side and on the other side as far as the eye could see we had a view of the mountains and hills with the Black Lake weaving through it like a large snake and within the hills you could just make out other Wizarding hamlets and villages." Izzy explained with a breathtaking smile, her hand still within Fred's. She was telling Ron, Neville, Kellah, Celeste, Lee, George, Dean and Seamus what they had gotten up to on their date in Hogsmeade. "Then we explored Hogsmeade visiting all the shops it had to offer and visiting the Shrieking Shack."
"We're glad you had a great time Izzy." George beamed hugging Izzy around the shoulders but his happy smile bled into confusion when they were stuck on the moving staircase as there was a cue to enter Gryffindor Tower which had never happened before.
"What's going on?" Lee wondered, trying to peer over the tall people around him.
"Get back all of you! Now!" Percy's voice floated down towards them causing all of their frowns to deepen as there was a note of panic in his voice. "No one is to enter this common room until it has been fully searched! Oliver, can you go and get Professor Tonks, Angelina and Alicia, can you both go and get the Headmistress or Deputy Headmistress and Professor Lupin." Percy ordered.
"Elizabeth, she's gone!" Ginny exclaimed worriedly, running up to them causing all of them to frown worriedly and for the three fifth years to stand more in front of Izzy, Ron and the others with their wands out, George pulling Ginny behind him.
"Serves her right she was a terrible singer!" Seamus guffaws not getting the seriousness of the situation. "OW!!" He complained, rubbing the back of his head where Izzy and Kellah had just slapped him around the back of the head.
"It's not funny Seamus." Celeste reprimanded. "Can't you hear that Percy is terrified?" While the Irish wizard was being told off by Celeste, Izzy couldn't help but notice out of the corner of her eye, that the three Percy gave orders to, took off running up another staircase so they didn't have to push through the large queue.
"Where's Izzy!?" Percy shouted. "Does anyone know where Izzy is?!"
"She's here Percy. We have her!" George shouted over everyone's panicked chatter. At the very front of the queue Percy let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing minutely. As everyone moved up a different staircase Izzy and the others managed to get to the front and noticed what all the commotion was about as they came to a stop beside Hermione and Fay Dunbar; the former not able to make eye contact with anyone but she did have a guilty look on her face as she opened and closed her mouth for a moment before turning away completely. Elizabeth's or the Fat Lady's, as some unkempt called her in Izzy's opinion, portrait had been slashed.
Several deep gorges ran diagonally across the canvass that it had even embedded into the wooden door behind it with several pieces littering the flagstones.
"What the bloody hell has happened?" Ron wondered, stunned.
"I don't know Ron but I dread to think." Percy sighed. "Ravenclaws back to your common room please!" Percy ordered noticing the blue clad students coming down the staircase Oliver and the two girls went up a few minutes ago.
"Izzy!" Luna shouted, running over to hug her best friend tightly. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did you have a nice date?"
"I'm okay Moon, I'm not hurt." Izzy reassured, a pit of dread was forming in her stomach making her blood turn to ice. "I did have a nice date thank you. I want to know what you've been up to but I dread to think what's happened." She murmured, as Headmistress McGonagall, Professor Tonks, her papa and Mr Filch arrived with Mrs Norris in his arms. Oliver, Angelina and Alicia trailing behind them panting with exertion.
"Mr Filch, can you round up all of the ghosts and Hagrid and ask them to search every painting in the castle to find Elizabeth. Andromeda, can you lead all of Gryffindor house to the Great Hall and do a roll call." Headmistress McGonagall ordered, her eyes assessing the damage done.
"There's no need for ghosts or Hagrid, Professor, the Far Lady's there." Filch stood with his back to McGonagall pointing to a painting two floors above them: a painting of hippos, giraffes and zebras on the African savannah. Everyone spun on their heels to see where Mr Filch was pointing, and when they noticed several students gasped and took off up the stairs to get a closer look and find out what on earth had happened.
Izzy, Ron, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Fred, George, Kellah, Celeste and Lee followed behind Remus while Percy tried to help Professor Tonks order the rest of Gryffindor House and the few Ravenclaw students who had remained to the Great Hall. Izzy and the others had just arrived on the landing two floors above to hear the tail-end of Elizabeth's explanation.
"Eyes like the devil he's got and a soul as dark as the mark on his arm." Elizabeth whimpered half hiding behind a hippo looking petrified and bedraggled. "He's here! The one they all talk about! Somewhere in the castle! Peter Pettigrew!" She whimpered, eyes wide with fear as she dived back behind the hippo out of sight.
Like a snake poised to strike McGonagall spun on her heel and fired off multiple Patroni that looked identical to her cat form to the other members of staff telling them what has happened and to search the castle for Pettigrew and to take ALL students to the Great Hall where they can easily protect them all. Before she cast several defensive spells over the assembled students; if it's the last thing she did she would ensure the safety of her students.
"All of you to the Great Hall. Now!" Professor McGonagall ordered the students surrounding her firmly. She softened slightly when she noticed the terrified look in Izzy's eyes, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"We will get him Izzy. Don't worry no harm will come to you while I am Headmistress of this school. Now, I want you to go to the Great Hall with your friends and stay there, Remus, I want you and Sirius to seal every entrance into the Great Hall once all students are inside and accounted for. Preferably with a charm to prevent Animagus from entering on top would be a good idea. Even if it prevents Sirius and I from entering until it's taken down. I shall contact Madam Bones then join the search."
"Of course Minerva." Remus agreed, his face was grim and he had a grey tint to his complexion which Izzy noticed and immediately clasped hands with him causing Remus to smile slightly offering her hand a comforting squeeze.
"Come on." Remus called to everyone. "Percy, I want you and Mr Wood to make sure no student is left behind and join us in the Great Hall."
"Yes Professor." Percy agreed, starting to herd everyone towards the Great Hall while Minerva hurried away to her office to Floo call Madam Bones.
* * *
The second Minerva arrived in her office she ran over to the fireplace, crouched down and threw in some Floo Powder calling out Madam Bones's name.
"Minerva, what's wrong?" Madam Bones asked, alarmed seeing the worried and angry look in the Headmistress's eyes.
"There's been a breach at Hogwarts. The Dementors have failed to do their jobs as Peter Pettigrew has just tried to break into Gryffindor Tower destroying the canvas to the portrait guarding the entrance. I've sent every student of all houses to the Great Hall and sealed them in with a charm to prevent any Animagi from entering." Minerva explained hurriedly.
"You believe he has gained access to the grounds and slipped past the Dementors via his Animagi form? That would explain how he slipped past them at Azkaban." Madam Bones mused trying to stay professional.
"I do, yes." Minerva agreed. "I ask that you send some Aurors to help us search." She requested.
"Of course. I'll send the best right away."
Madam Bones quickly wrote out several memos and sent them off with a flick of her wand before she turned back to the fireplace in her office. "I'll speak to Cornelius about the Dementors. See if I can get them sent back to Azkaban, if he's using his Animagus form then they're useless.
But for all the luck we had in the summer I wouldn't hold my breath, Minerva. Once I've spoken to Cornelius I'll join my Aurors, and help you search the castle and the grounds."
"Thank you Amelia." Minerva uttered gratefully, pulling her head from the fire. Pettigrew, best hope it isn't she who finds him because he won't like what she'll do to him otherwise.
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Author's note: DO NOT ask me to update in any way shape or form. There are other ways of telling me what you thought of this. Anyone who does will get one warning before they are blocked.
Happy early birthday to my bestie and platonic soulmate LaurenTuckley
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