If there was one good thing that came out of that day, it was that Hermione and Ron managed to make up. But that happiness was brought along other changes.

Namely Hermione herself.

Because of her excessive use of the time turner, she"s been losing a lot of sleep. Vincent"s supply has been emptied and would take a while before he"s able to make some more. Hermione has started to miss some lessons and even lost her temper in Divination, something that surprised Vincent when he heard, especially when she quit a cla.s.s.

Being on a short fuse also prompted her to do things she normally wouldn"t do...

...Namely slapping Malfoy.

"...seriously can"t believe she did that," Vincent exclaimed to Ron as they walked around Hogsmeade with Arnya trailing behind.

"She really needs to cut back on her studies," said Ron, looking at some newspaper with the front page being about Sirius Black. "It was satisfying though, shame you weren"t there, you"re still not telling us what you"ve been up to in that Madho—hut of yours?"

"If I tell you, and I"m found out, you"d probably be arrested," Ron froze and choose not to press.

Ron looked at the lack of people on the streets and up to the sky. "Security has gotten tighter, you can"t see it, but even in the day people can see the distant silhouettes of Dementors roaming the sky."

"...Is that so?" Vincent looked up with a frown.

"You should probably stick to someone who can see them, unless you have some way to deal with them?" Ron glanced at Vincent expectedly, hoping that Vincent can possibly have a countermeasure against Dementors.

"Well, since Arnya"s around me, that"s not really a problem," Vincent glanced at Arnya who was carrying a bag of b.u.t.terbeer for Hermione, he then added. "But, I have one idea that might work, a way to fight against them without magic."

At Ron"s excited look, Vincent shook his head. "It"s more of a gamble, but that"s not the problem right now."

"Yeah, why did you drag me out here?" Ron asked Vincent.

"I want you to help me find a certain item, one that can possible help Hagrid out."

Ron looked confused as they both stopped in front of the post office.

"Now, Ron," Vincent grabbed a few red envelopes. "Tell me, how does a Howler work?"

...

"A Howler?" Hermione asked Ron who shrugged. "How on earth is a Howler going to help Hagrid?"

"I"d tell you to ask Vince, but his in his Madhouse right about now," Ron groaned. "Who knows what he"s making."

"Well, if he doesn"t feel like telling us, then it"s most likely something dangerous," said Harry as he looked outside at the setting sun.

Ron glanced up from his book, "A Study of Hippogriff Brutality", and noticed that Harry seemed on edge.

"Thinking about the Quidditch cup?" Ron asked, making Harry jolt before making a sheepish expression.


"Yeah, it"s Wood"s final game and it means a lot to him. These past few weeks have been h.e.l.l filled with training because of that, not to mention I definitely don"t want to give it up to Malfoy," Harry then looked slightly guilty as he shook his head. "Sorry, I should be focused on Hagrid right now."

"It"s all good, you focus on your game," said Ron. "Hermione, and I are still here. Not to mention Vince seems like he has a plan."

"That"s another thing to worry about," the three of them stared at each other before laughing, letting out a lot of the acc.u.mulated stress.

Meanwhile, back at the hut, Vincent was standing over a four cauldrons each filled with a respective potion and distinct odor. A silver bubbly liquid in one, a cauldron with a clear and odorless potion, a golden like potion that seemed to shine with a sweet scent, and an emerald like potion that gave off green smoke.

"This one will take some more time," Vincent muttered to himself as he stirred the odorless potion. He gave a sigh. "It"s a shame that I can"t just mess around with them as usual. Maybe I"ll do it if there"s any remaining."

"Vincent, it"s around curfew now," Arnya noted.

"Guess we"ll head back then," Vincent looked around the hut to see an exhausted Nyx snoozing off.

He gave a smile as he picked up the little pixie. "You worked hard, take a long rest."

Placing Nyx in his pocket, he glanced at Arnya who wheeled herself out, waiting silently outside for him.

They didn"t talk throughout the whole walk back. While awkward for others, it felt normal for the two of them.

While it looked like Vincent was calm, he was stressed. "If I don"t get Peter, how can I help Sirius. No, what can I say to Sister An? And Hagrid, if my plan doesn"t work, it could even backfire, not to mention another burden I"m just throwing onto someone else. Peter, Sirius, Hagrid, Sister An, am I really doing everything I can to help?"

"No, no, calm down," Vincent shook his head of all negative thoughts. He took a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh. "Maybe I should find a stress relief potion or something?"

He didn"t notice Arnya"s gaze throughout that sigh.

The next week was h.e.l.l for all of the third years with exams coming up. Hermione had it the worse with her juggling all her subjects to the point where she was on the verge of tears a majority of the time.

Harry on the other hand had his own Quidditch game to prepare for. The final match in fact was coming up and he, along with his team, were going through absolute h.e.l.lish training to the point where Harry instantly blacked out the moment he hit the bed. There were times when the Slytherins had tried to trip him up, only to have it stomped on by Vincent.

The night before the match, the whole tower were all feeling the pressure of the last Quidditch match, the team especially was noisy with the main attraction in the room being Fred and George cracking jokes. Even Hermione couldn"t concentrate.

As everyone was in bed, snoring soundly, Vincent was just messaging Sirius, both relaying their current status about Peter.

Vincent just finished writing before he sat down, letting his tired face show. With every day that went by, his doubt just grew. He had just poured himself a gla.s.s of water from the silver jug beneath the window when a voice called him from behind.

"Vince?"

He turned around to see Harry without his gla.s.ses. Pouring another gla.s.s, he offered it to Harry who gratefully accepted it. "Trouble sleeping?"

"Yeah, you?" Harry sat down on another seat.

Vincent just nodded as Harry couldn"t see his tired expression properly without the gla.s.ses. "You"ll do fine, seriously."

"Yeah, everyone keeps saying that, can"t help feeling nervous," Harry said sheepishly.

"Fair enough," Vincent noticed Harry, as he looked out the window, frown. Following his gaze Vincent froze, seeing Crookshanks trotting to into the forest.

"Please don"t be there Sirius, please don"t be there Sirius, please don"t be there—Really?!" Vincent cursed in his head as Harry retrieved his gla.s.ses, seeing Crookshanks meet a large black s.h.a.ggy dog that appeared across the lawn.

"Th-that"s the dog I seen on that night," Harry muttered before turning to Vincent who had his eyes on his gla.s.s as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Vince, do you see it?!"

"See what?" Vincent coughed.

"Out there—" Harry pointed only for Sirius and Crookshanks to have vanished from view.

"Harry, your tired, get some rest," Vincent advised, faking a yawn of some sort. "I"m heading to bed as well."

Harry just furrowed his brows as he looked around the grounds, giving up moments later. He turned around and frowned, seeing Vincent"s face that looked exhausted and stressed beyond belief.

"V-Vince, you ok?" he asked with some worry.

Vincent got up and made his way to his bed. "Yeah, just fine. Go to bed Harry."

He entered his sheets, only falling asleep once he heard Harry"s snores.

...

"Captains, shake hands!" said Madam Hooch.

Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other"s hand very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break the other"s fingers.

"Mount your brooms!" said Madam Hooch. "Three... two... one..."

Vincent flipped over a steak before looking up at the players zipping around the air. "Dobby, make sure you do it like that. Then do the sandwich like how I taught you."

"Yes, sir!" Dobby saluted as he snapped his fingers, making several steaks flip over. He noticed Nyx and Blimp snacking nearby and greeted the two. "Oh, h.e.l.lo Mistress Nyx and little Blimp. Hope you enjoy your meal."

The whole stadium deafening with their cheers as Gryffindor waved their red and golden banners while Slytherin did the same with their emerald green banners. Vincent could see Professor Snape wearing a grim smile, obviously hoping for the demise of Gryffindor.

Honestly, Vincent couldn"t comment on the game. If it wasn"t for the commentary from Lee Jordan, he wouldn"t even know what was going on.

"Come on, Alicia! YES! SHE"SBEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

"Course, Wood"s a superb Keeper! Superb! Very difficult to pa.s.s — very difficult indeed — YES! I DON"TBELIEVE IT! HE"S SAVED IT!"

"Ha haaa! Too bad, boys! You"ll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it"sGryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle — Flint alongside her — poke himin the eye, Angelina! — it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke — oh no — Flint in possession,Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save —!"
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"YOU CHEATING Sc.u.m! YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B—"

"..." Vincent could only silently stare at the commentary box. "Yeah, still don"t get what"s going on."

Vincent was actually glad for the noise, it distracted him from all the recent events that had happened and the worries he acc.u.mulated.

"How"s the sandwich Arnya?" he asked.

Arnya took a bite out of her food and just nodded to Vincent.

"That"s good to know."

Suddenly, the crowd went quiet, as if everyone had stopped breathing. Vincent too focused on the field as he noticed Malfoy diving, with a look of triumph on his face, towards a small golden glimmer.

"Come"on Harry," Vincent muttered as even Dobby stopped cooking to watch his idol zip towards the snitch.

Harry was miles behind Malfoy, going full throttle to catch up, speeding as fast as a bullet. He was gaining on him, bit by bit. Everyone was tense, would Malfoy get it first, or will Harry manage to pull it off.

The two of them were neck and neck with Malfoy"s hand about to grasp the snitch, just milliseconds away from winning the game, only for Harry to take both hands off his broom, knocking Malfoy"s hands out of the way.

"Did he get it?" whispered a nervous Neville who was on the edge of his seat as Harry pulled out of the dive.

Harry rose above the quiet stadium before holding his hand in the air.

With that, the stadium exploded into cheers as Harry zoomed across the crowd, showing off the snitch, still beating it"s wings in his hands.

"Harry Potter won! Harry Potter won! Dobby must tell other house elves the wondrous news!" Dobby cheered.

"Yeah, he did indeed," Vincent smiled as Harry was swarmed by his teammates. He turned around to start packing up when he noticed, in the very corner of the stadium, a small flash of black fur. Something so small and almost impossible to spot, Vincent almost missed it.

...

During the next few weeks, students were forcing themselves to study, hoping to cram everything into their heads for the exams. Vincent was easily the least worried about it with Hermione being the most. One could say it was due to him having other things to think about, not to mention that he was pretty confident on his exams. Potions, Care of Magical Cla.s.ses, Muggle Studies, Ancient Studies, Herbology, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Although as he was a Muggle, he was told to do the Defence Against the Dark Arts by means of a written test.

"Well done Vincent!" Lupin told Vincent after his solo written test. "Looking at these answers, you wouldn"t be able to tell that it was written by a Muggle."

"Thank you sir," Vincent, while happy with his success, couldn"t help but feel a bit disappointed that he wouldn"t face the challenges that the other students were taking.

It was an obstacle course that consisted of multiple monsters that Lupin had taught them about during the year. Vincent really wanted to have a go at it, but was held back due to being a Muggle.

"Why don"t Muggles and Wizards co-exist?" the thought past his mind for a brief moment, only for it to be tossed to the back of his brain for later thinking.

As he waited for his friends, Vincent went over his notes, noting what he did right and how he could have improved. He noticed Arnya watching the test and questioned her. "Want to have a go?"

"Can I shoot them?" she asked pulling out her guns, scaring the living daylights out of all the nearby muggle-borns.

"...No."

The only thing that caught Vincent"s attention during the tests was Hermione"s outburst after her encounter with the Boggart. She burst out crying, making Professor Lupin and others startled.

"Hermione, what"s the matter?" he asked.

"P-P-Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped between her sobs. "Sh-she said I failed everything!"

Hermione took a while before she calmed down. Getting ahold of herself, the group all made their way back to the castle, only to b.u.mp into a familier man in his usual pinstriped cloak.

"h.e.l.lo there, Harry, ah, and Vince!" he said, catching sight of the group. "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?"

"Yes," the two boys greeted them as the rest stayed silent, having never talked with the Minister of Magic.

"Lovely day, pity...pity," Fudge muttered as he glanced over the scenery of the Black Lake.

"I"m here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad Hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."

"Does that mean the appeal"s already happened?" Ron interrupted, stepping forward.

"No, no, it"s scheduled for this afternoon," said Fudge, looking curiously at Ron.

Two wizards came through the castle doors behind him. One was soancient he appeared to be withering before their very eyes; the other was tall and strapping, witha thin back mustache. The group gathered that they were representatives of the Committee for theDisposal of Dangerous Creatures, because the very old wizard squinted toward Hagrid"s cabinand said in a feeble voice, "Dear, dear, I"m getting too old for this... Two o"clock, isn"t it,Fudge?"

As Hermoine nudged them towards the Great Hall the group noticed that Vincent was gone, as if he disappeared.

"Where on earth?" Harry muttered.

...

Hagrid sat there in his cabin, awaiting his his appeal.

"O" Buckbeak," Hagrid sniffed.

In his hand held the letter from the Ministry, so he already knew that his appeal was today.

"Hagrid!"

Hagrid frowned as he noticed a knock from the backdoor. Opening it, he glanced down to see Vincent looking slightly guilty.

"Vincent? What ar" you—?" Hagrid asked only for Vincent to interupt.

"Trust me Hagrid, I got a plan!"

Hagrid felt a chill as Vincent pulled out a yellowish potion, stepping back in cold sweat. "Oy, Vince, what—?!"

Hagrid didn"t stand a chance.

...

...AUTHORS NOTE...//

Been a bit...odd during the past week with the virus going around.

I don"t have a job for the time being so I might just spend some time on this and my other book. (My RWBY fanfic, if you"d like to check out)

This chapter was going on for a bit so I thought that I would split it for the time being and complete the other part in a bit.

Well, as always, thank you guys for reading, I hope that you all keep safe.

See you guys next time!
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