Chapter 284

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-Nights' House – The Night-

[POV – Ethan]

When night came I received a letter in my room from Nick delivered by Fawkes, saying that I should go home as they would tell my parents and me what the jury's verdict was and what they decided about the Sirius situation.

After reading the letter I quietly left my room and the common room, where I made my way to the Room of Requirement, entering the Vanishing Cabinet and appearing in my room at my house.

After that I went to the living room that became our meeting and planning room, where I found my parents and the others sitting talking, probably waiting for me.

And when I looked at my parents I could tell from their emotions that they had already guessed the result of the trial and that it was good for us. And that wasn't a surprise, as Sirius hadn't been arrested and he had a happy look on his face.

I obviously already knew that Sirius had been cleared of all the crimes he was accused of and that Pettigrew had been convicted, but I still pretended not to know that.

After I arrived and after a little conversation, Andromeda told us the result of the trial, not that it was necessary, but even so, we were all happy with the news, especially my parents, Ted and Dora.

Of course, I was happy for Sirius, but I couldn't celebrate with the others, at least not in this situation.

Everyone was celebrating and congratulating Sirius, and I was no different, but I could feel that there was a strange and heavy feeling around Sirius, Nick, Penny, and Andromeda.

And I realized they hadn't told us about Pettigrew's escape and so I put two and two together, realizing that was probably why I could feel these feelings coming from them.

And realizing this the feelings of guilt I had suppressed after my conversation with Astoria returned, but I was quick to keep those emotions and thoughts at the back of my mind.

I knew my family and the Flamels would probably notice my conflicting emotions and suspect something, but as someone who understands emotions very well I'm also great at hiding them.

Suppressing my negative feelings and putting a smile on my face, I continued to join in the celebration, and the only relief I got was that the positive emotions everyone was emanating managed to overcome my own emotions.

'Sigh... At least now Harry will be able to meet his godfather without him having to hide it from the others' I thought, deciding that it would be better to see the positive side of the situation instead of letting my thoughts consume me.

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-Next Day – Hogsmeade-

Today was another weekend in Hogsmeade, and I was walking through the village full of students and vendors advertising their wares while enjoying the winter cold, looking at the complete white landscape of snow around me.

But I wasn't alone, and joining me were Terry, Anthony, and Megan, who joined the group after being separated from her friends who wanted to go shopping, something she loathes and dreads, which I can sympathize with.

"You know, I was reading some fourth year Transfiguration books, and it said that a wizard could start studying and start the Animagus transformation process at age 15" Terry said, and Anthony looked at him confused.

"But Professor McGonagall told us that becoming an Animagus is a complex and dangerous thing, and that we shouldn't try to do it until we graduate from Hogwarts" the badger in raven clothes said.

"Yes, but that might just be her professional opinion. Other Transfiguration masters might think we don't have to wait that long," Terry said with a shrug.

"Huh, why so much interest in Animagus now Terry?" I asked.

"Well... It's just that I was researching my family tree a bit and I found out that one of my ancestors was an Animagus, and I've always been interested in that subject, so I thought 'If he can become an Animagus, I can too '" Terry answered me.

"Oh, and what animal was your ancestor?" Megan asked excitedly, and she was confused to see Terry remain silent as looked away.

Not having her answer and seeing Terry act like this Megan turned to me, "Hmm, did I say something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"No, you didn't say anything wrong" I huffed, "Terry is probably too embarrassed to talk about his ancestor's Animagus because it wasn't such a nice animal"

"Hey, that's not true!" Terry exclaimed, looking at me with a frown.

"Oh? Really? Then tell us what animal it was," I challenged, crossing my arms and looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh well, it was... It was..." Terry started to say, looking around for help.

I then saw his eyes widen slightly in realization before he turned to us with a smile.

"It was a grizzly bear!" he says it with pride.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"You just made that up, didn't you?" Anthony said.

"Pfff, why do you think that?" Terry asked waving his hand dismissively.

And instead of an answer he saw Megan point to a corner of the village, and following the direction she was pointing he saw one of the shops in Hogsmeade that sold furniture, where there was a sign with a grizzly bear hanging in front of it.

"Oh..." Terry said, and turning to us he saw us staring at him, "Err... Coincidence?" he shrugged with an embarrassed look.

"Huh, I don't know why you're embarrassed to tell us what animal your ancestor's Animagus form was" Megan said, "Being an Animagus is so cool I'd accept becoming any creature" she finished, her eyes twinkling excitedly as she imagined herself turning into an animal.

"Even if it was something like a cockroach?" Anthony asked.

"Becoming a cockroach would be really cool" Megan replied, "They're hard to kill, some fly, and I could use my shape to scare the other Hufflepuff girls, hehe" and with that the Hufflepuff girl started laughing evilly, and seeing this the boys and I took a few steps back, away from the girl who looked frighteningly crazy.

"Now I understand why some Hufflepuff boys say she's scary" Terry muttered to Anthony, who just nodded in agreement.

"Did you say something?" Megan asked, turning to them with a sweet smile that sent a chill through the two cowardly boys.

And completely scared, the two quickly shook their heads in denial.

"Cough... cowards" I coughed, looking away and pretending not to see the way the boys were staring at me.

I was going to keep teasing the boys, but out of the corner of my eye I saw that hiding behind some barrels next to a shop was a large black dog, looking at me trying to get my attention.

"Err... You can go on without me, I remembered I have to visit a store to buy some souvenirs for my little sister" I said to Megan and the boys, and without giving them a chance to say anything or ask questions I leaves, with Anthony and Terry sharing an awkward look before shrugging.

As soon as I separated from the three I went to the back of one of the Hogsmeade shops, and a short time later the same dog appeared, and then this dog turned into Sirius.

Sirius was wearing a smart black overcoat with a gray v-neck shirt underneath. He was also wearing black leather pants and dragonhide boots, and the whole ensemble gave him a rocker look with his long shaggy hair.

But leaving his choice of clothes aside, what I noticed was his apprehensive look.

"What's up Sirius?" I asked, "Shouldn't you be getting ready to meet Harry?"

And hearing my question Sirius sighed, "Yes, but I'm a little nervous about the meeting," he said.

"Oh, I didn't even notice," I said sarcastically and Sirius chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not very good at hiding what I'm feeling," he said. Sirius then sighed again as he scratched the back of his neck, "Look, I know this might sound weird, but I have a request for you."

"What request?" I asked with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Well... could you be there for my meeting with Harry?" he asked nervously.

...

...

...

...

After hearing this request I stared at Sirius, with a look that said 'Really?', but after a while I realized he wasn't kidding.

I was going to deny his request since he was supposed to create some balls and go talk to his godson alone, but seeing the look in his eyes and feeling his fear and nervousness I couldn't say no.

"Sigh, okay" I said, and saw Sirius sigh in relief, "But you'll be responsible for answering his questions when he questions why I'm there" I continued, pointing at him, who nodded quickly.

'Sigh... Why do I feel like I'm going to have a big headache because of this?' I wondered.

End.

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(End AN: Insomnia is bad, but having hypersomnia is worse.)