Chapter 12

A laughing Atlas got to her feet, brushing down the twigs and dirt that had gotten on her in Lyra’s attack, said wolf wagging her tail and sitting patiently in front of her. Hermione had gone as white as a sheet, her entire body trembling, fists clenched. She stormed up to Atlas and pounded at her arm, insults spewing from her mouth all the while Atlas kept laughing.

“You total arse Atlas Black! I thought you were getting mauled!” Hermione cried as Atlas gasped for breath, Lyra cocking her head to the side as she looked between the two. One of them being someone she didn’t know. An army of cubs came bounding out of the treeline, startling both Atlas and Hermione out of the respective fits. “Puppies…”

“Lyra! You brought your pups along?” Atlas grinned, ruffling the top of the wolf’s head and approaching the mini versions of her, arms outstretched. “Hey, there little ones…”

As soon as Atlas sat down, Lyra pounced into her lap and practically made herself at home, leaving room for a few of her pups to join. At this Atlas huffed, patting Lyra’s belly as five out of the six pups piled onto their mother, the final one left to its lonesome.

“You left this one out,” Hermione said, sitting down beside Atlas and patting her lap, the little wolf went over to her and tentatively climbed into her arms. “I’m still mad at you.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it, I wanted to see your reaction,” Atlas smirked, leaning out of the way when Lyra went to lick at her face, she tried to get her hands free from a few of the cubs who were making chew toys out of her fingers. “You got the runt of the litter.”

“I did?” Hermione picked the little wolf up, noting it was a lot smaller than the rest of its siblings. “Poor thing.”

“She’s fine, Lyra’s raising her. Runts don’t stay runts forever anyway,” Atlas told and then she grinned excitedly, leaning closer to Hermione, “How was it? Were you scared? Did my acting look convincing?”

“Put it this way, I thought I was going to have to explain to Professor McGonagall why her god-daughter was never coming back,” Hermione sighed and then leant against Atlas, playing with the little wolf in her lap. “God, I almost had a heart attack.”

“Sorry.” Atlas smiled and then looked back at Lyra, cupping her face in her hands, “Did you hear that Lyra? The pretty girl was worried about my safety, do you think she has a crush on me?” She asked and Hermione went scarlet, punching Atlas’s arm. She really needed to get used to Atlas’s random playful comments.

“I’m right here, you know!?”

“Oh really? Didn’t see you,” Atlas replied with a grin, a twinkle of playfulness in her eye, she turned back to Lyra. “How have you been you brute?” Lyra made a sound at the back of her throat and then sneezed in Atlas’s face, earning a loud laugh from Hermione and a grimace from the girl herself, “…nice one, Ly…appreciated that.”

She got a lick to the face in turn, which got another little laugh from Hermione who reached out and scratched behind the wolf’s ear. “She’s very pretty.”

“She is…” Atlas agreed, staring down at Hermione fondly, she turned away after a short cough, “…she’s also the only one out of the pups I raised that still meets me.”

“You raised her?” Lyra nuzzled at Hermione’s palm.

“Yeah, her and her four brothers,” Atlas told, catching the figures of a few students making their ways back to the castle, “We should think about going soon, we wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks before we returned, right?”

“I forgot!” Hermione suddenly jerked, eyes slightly wide and cheeks flushed, turning to look down at her watch, “Oh no, we won’t have enough time…”

“Butterbeers to-go?” Atlas offered, steadily and carefully taking the pups from her lap and motioning for Lyra to get off as well. The wolf obliged and padded back to the tree line, her cubs chasing after her, tails wagging. Hermione stood up as well, her runt still in her arms and when she noticed she promptly hurried over to Lyra and set the little one down in front of her.

Lyra pressed her head against Hermione’s leg and licked at her palm, to which Atlas quirked a small smile and turned on her heel, walking away. Startled slightly, Hermione jogged to catch up with her, “Don’t go off without me.”

“I wasn’t,” Atlas shrugged and then held her hand out again, Hermione took it eagerly – though Atlas didn’t notice – and put their conjoined hands into one of her pockets, “Come on, I think I see Ron, with Dean and Seamus going into the Three Broomsticks.”

“Atlas?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you admit this trip to Hogsmeade was a little better than all of the ones before?” Atlas looked at Hermione and smiled, turning back to pull them into the Three Broomsticks. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Take it as you want to, Mione.”

“I’ll do just that, Atty.”

***

An arm hooked around Atlas’s shoulder just before she could enter the Great Hall, so she turned her head and fixed Cedric with a glare to which he laughed and threw his hands up. It was dusk now, Hermione and she had met Ron at the Three Broomsticks, had a few drinks and had gone back to the castle together, only for Atlas to break off from the group. Nothing bad happened, Atlas just had to go see Madam Pomfrey for the potions she had been drinking for the dull ache that remained in her arm.

“Cedric,” she acknowledged, sighing and walking into the hall, the boy still hung off of her shoulder. They stood in front of the doors a moment, ignoring the looks from certain tables sent their way.

“Didn’t see you in Hogsmeade, where were you?” He asked with a grin as he pinched her cheeks, she slapped his hands away and grimaced.

“I was with Hermione.”

“Granger? Bella did say you had a crush on her,” Cedric mused and Atlas scowled, punching him in the arm to which he winced at, rubbing the pained area soothingly. “Merlin’s beard, Las you have a hell of a punch.”

“That’s the point, you wanker,” she retorted, “Just because I enjoy being around a girl doesn’t mean I have a crush on her,” she continued, shaking her head.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m kidding anyway,” he smiled, ruffling her hair, “…but, you know I wouldn’t judge you right, Granger’s super smart–“

“Diggory,” Atlas warned, “You really do test me, Ced.”

“What can I say? Annoying you is like…the job description of being an older brother.”

“Minerva’s your godmother? Jee, I never knew,” Atlas said, feigning shock.

“Oh har har, Atlas you’re so–“

“Atlas!” The two turned and looked at Oliver, the source of the interruption. The Gryffindor Captain seemed to completely ignore Cedric’s existence as he grinned and held out a package, haphazardly wrapped with the Gryffindor emblem embezzled onto the front in red and golden wax. “Katie and Angelina told me you hadn’t got one yet which was strange because I thought I had personally asked Professor McGonagall to place the order with the tailor but, turns out, I hadn’t, I’d probably just done it in a dream–“

“He dreams about McGonagall?” Cedric whispered with a laugh and Atlas nudged his side, dutifully listening to everything her captain said as she slowly took the package from him.

“–but that’s all besides the point. Atlas, get ready to show your Quidditch Pride because your team jacket has arrived!” Oliver finished.

“Wow…he sure does like his Quidditch, huh?”

“Cedric…” Atlas warned again. He threw up his hands in surrender, kissing her temple quickly before winking and jogging over to his table. She cracked a smile at that and rolled her eyes, turning back to Oliver with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Oliver.”

“You should wear it around school, we’ve got that match against Slytherin just around the corner and we always wear our jackets to rile up the school. It shows who’s going to be playing next and the Gryffindor vs Slytherin matches are always the most exciting.”

“Alright Oliver, I’ll wear it when the team starts wearing them,” Atlas chuckled, tucking the package under her arm.

“That’s good then,” Oliver nodded and brushed past her when the Twins arrived, shouting and chastising them over something Atlas hadn’t had the pleasure of hearing. She just sighed, shook her head and walked over to the Gryffindor table, sitting at the tables end out of habit. It didn’t take long for the trio to move next to her, their plates of food in hand. 

“Oh…” Atlas realised what she had done and rubbed at the back of her neck, “Sorry…force of habit.”

“No problem,” Harry waved off with a half-smile, Atlas could tell he was still a little bummed about Hogsmeade. “You got your jacket?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know Hogwarts had team-themed clothes until that first practice,” Atlas shrugged, placing the package in her lap and turning to the rest of the group, “So, what did I miss?”

“Atlas, you hate Snape, right?” Ron asked, leaning over the table, a chicken thigh in his left hand and forked sausages in his right.

“Uh…no?” Atlas refuted, cocking an eyebrow, Ron’s jaw actually dropped and Harry scrunched up his face, Hermione just rolling her eyes and taking off Atlas’s scarf to give back to her. She hadn’t had a chance to. “Well…I don’t hate him, I just don’t particularly care for him. Hating him would imply I care enough to label the feeling.”

“What?” Ron muttered.

“She means she doesn’t care about him enough to acknowledge him,” Hermione sighed and Atlas tucked the scarf in her cloak, dishing herself a few slices of lamb.

“Oh…right,” Ron nodded, still looking a little confused, “Anyway, Snape made Lupin a drink, or a potion, or whatever, for some sickness he had, it was smoking too and Lupin just…drank it! Don’t you think that’s crazy!? That could have been poison!”

“Goodness, Ron, if he–” Hermione glanced around nervously before lowering her voice, Atlas finding the whole charade rather endearing, “– if he was really trying to…poison Lupin…he wouldn’t have done it in front of Harry.”

“He wouldn’t try to poison him anyway,” Atlas told, taking a bite out of her food – mentally reminding herself to give thanks to the elves – and swallowing before she spoke again. She knew exactly what that potion was and just what might happen if he hadn’t have taken it, “Snape may be vying for the DADA role but he wouldn’t murder someone for it, plus, Headmaster Dumbledore was probably the one to arrange the medicine.”

“Yeah…maybe,” Harry shrugged, going back to his food. The conversation luckily hadn’t dampened the mood any further and soon enough the quartet had started talking about meaningless things. Fred, George, Ginny and basically the rest of the house shuffling up to join them by the time puddings came out.

Atlas was surprised to see both Hermione and Ron having second helpings, a feat really considering the number of sweets they had eaten from Honeydukes. Though she couldn’t fault them, the food was absolutely amazing. A few times Atlas caught Harry shooting looks to the teachers’ table but didn’t say anything, often too busy nodding and responding to Hermione who had been eagerly talking to her the entire night.

Not that she minded, she quite liked talking to Hermione, much more than anyone else really and though she spoke about homework, books and their classes she did dip into the topic of Lyra and her pups a few times, asking how she had met them and where she had gotten Kalo, which Atlas enjoyed.

The night was brought to a close with a bit of entertainment from the ghosts, though Atlas didn’t really pay attention as Cedric had caught her eye and started making kissy faces. Oh, how badly had she wanted to hex him then and there.

Unfortunately, the window of opportunity closed and Atlas was soon getting dragged away by Hermione to their common rooms, the girl bright and alight with energy the whole time. “Since we couldn’t do it today, are we studying tomorrow?”

“Sure, if you want to,” Atlas shrugged, letting Hermione grab her hand to pull her up the stairs after her.

“Alright, as long as we actually study,” she said and then fixed Atlas with a stern look. “No questions this time.”

“You say that every time,” Atlas smiled, cocking her head to the side, “Admit you’re weak for me, Mi.”

“What…” Hermione turned away, flushing to the roots of her hair. “No,” she said eventually, her voice impressively even before she turned around and smirked, “I think that’s just wishful thinking…isn’t it?”

“Uh…” Atlas went wide-eyed.

“I’m kidding, Atlas,” Hermione grinned.

“Right…” Atlas nodded, ducking her head and following her down the rest of the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, however, she was stopped to a halt by not only Hermione but the whole of the Gryffindor house. “What’s going on?”

“Why isn’t anyone going in?” Ron asked curiously from in front of her, he turned to them and Atlas shrugged, Harry shaking his head in confusion and Hermione trying her bestest to peer over the crowds.

“Let me through, please,” came Percy’s voice – he was one of Ron’s brothers, one Atlas hadn’t spoken to personally before – he ended up pushing through the crowd, Atlas absentmindedly letting go of Hermione’s hand and following after him, leaving the trio behind, “What’s the holdup here? You can’t have all forgotten the password – excuse me, I’m Head Boy–!”

The words died out of his throat and Atlas stared wide-eyed at what remained of the Fat Lady’s portrait, her hand stretching out to glide her fingertips across the ruined canvas, parts of it strewn out across the floor. A chill flushed down the corridor. “Somebody get Dumbledore…” she uttered in a murmur, the only one hearing her being Percy.

“That’s right! Someone get Professor Dumbledore. Quick!” He echoed, swivelling around fiercely. Not a moment later Dumbledore was there, ushering through the students who parted like the Red Sea. He took one look at the painting, glancing to Atlas who was still in a trance as she traced her fingernails against the grooves in the wooden backing of the portrait before turning back to Professors McGonagall, Lupin and Snape, expression sombre.

“We need to find her,” he announced, placing a hand on Atlas’s shoulder, she flinched and withdrew her hand as if burned, only to stare down at it quizzically. “Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady.”

“You’ll be lucky!” A shrill cackling voice said, Atlas turned and grimaced up at Peeves the Poltergeist. She’d always hated the thing, ever since he scared her one-to-many times as a kid she’d come to hate his obnoxiously bright get-up and mischievous attitude.

“What do you mean, Peeves?” Dumbledore asked calmly.

Peeve’s annoying little grin faded slightly, he wouldn’t dare taunt Dumbledore of all wizards. “Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn’t want to be seen. She’s a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful,” he said happily. “Poor thing,” he added as an afterthought, in a way that suggested he was anything but genuine.

“Did she say who did it?” Dumbledore quizzed quietly.

“Oh yes, Professorhead!” Peeves grinned and then spotted Atlas, circling around her a few times before settling behind her and grabbing her shoulders, sending a chill down the girl’s spine. “He got very angry when she wouldn’t let him in, you see.”

“Peeves…” Atlas warned as he got closer to her ear, grin widening impossibly large.

“Nasty temper he’s got, that Sirius Black.”

A thick blanket of silence hung in the corridor, Peeves giggling in an unmoved looking Atlas’s ear, she seemed eerily calm. At the sight, Professor McGonagall quickly moved forward, pulling the girl into a hug and shooing Peeves away.

“That’s enough, Peeves,” she hissed, brushing down the back of the girl’s hair.

“Everyone to the Great Hall!” Dumbledore ordered. “Percy, Professor Snape, I trust you to see they get there. Professor Lupin, round up the ghosts,” he rushed and the chatter started anew, the Gryffindors all following after a hollering Percy and a less than impressed Snape. “Atlas, go with them.”

“If I may Headmaster–“

“Alright,” Atlas nodded, dislodging herself from McGonagall who frowned deeply, helplessly watching as the girl slunk after the rest of her house. The conversations came to a halt when Atlas got close enough, the girls face that of stone as she walked through the path made and ended up leaving them behind, being the first to get the Great Hall out of all of them.

Professor Snape cast her a look of disdain as he walked inside, Percy throwing out orders as they filed in. Atlas sighed and walked to one of the walls, leaning against it and sliding down so she sat and brung her knees to her chest. A soft and hesitant hand lay on her knee a few minutes later but she didn’t look up, not even when the figure sat beside her and rest their head at her shoulder. She knew who it was without even looking.

Soon, they were joined by the rest of the houses, all looking extremely confused as to what was going on, which, luckily, Dumbledore immediately cleared. “The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle,” He told them as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. “I’m afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately,” he added to Percy, who puffed up with pride. “Send word with one of the ghosts. Oh and you’ll be needing these…”

A casual wave of his wand sent the long tables stacking at the front of the hall, another wave covering the floor in hundreds of sleeping bags and pillows. Atlas didn’t glance up once, still staring at the floor as thoughts echoed around her mind, none of them really processing except the one that screamed ‘Sirius Black broke into Hogwarts’.

“Sleep well,” Professor Dumbledore said finally and closed the door as he left.

How was Atlas to sleep at all? With so many eyes watching her even now? Would any of the others even be able to sleep with Sirius Black’s daughter in the room? “Atty?” Hermione’s voice was soft, concerned and warm. “We need to get a sleeping bag…” she got no response so she sighed and stood, going to walk over and collect a pair of sleeping bags for them both. Only, Atlas lunged out and grabbed her wrist. “Atty…I need to–“

An imploring squeeze.

“–alright,” Hermione nodded, sitting back down. She had spotted Harry and Ron moving over to them with four sleeping bags already. “You want a hug?”

A nod.

“Come on then,” Hermione smiled, opening up her arms. Atlas sunk into her side, cheek against her shoulder and arms wrapped snuggly around her middle. All around them people were chatting, buzzing to talk about what had happened that night.

“Maybe he knows how to Apparate,” A voice said a few feet away, Atlas hadn’t recognised it, “Just appear out of thin air, you know.”

“Disguised himself, probably,” another said.

“He could’ve flown in,” That voice Atlas recognised as Dean Thomas.

Two more people joined them and Atlas opened an eye to see Harry smiling at her and holding out a sleeping bag, she took it, quickly shuffling into it and using her package as a pillow. “Honestly, am I the only person who’s ever bothered to read Hogwarts, A History?” Hermione asked as she settled next to Atlas again.

“Probably,” Atlas offered quietly.

“Why?” Ron asked.

“Because the castle’s protected by more than walls, you know,” Hermione sighed, closing her eyes. “There are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop people entering by stealth. You can’t just Apparate in here. And I’d like to see the disguise that could fool those Dementors. They’re guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They’d have seen him fly in too. And Filch knows all the secret passages, they’ll have them covered…”

“The lights are going out now!” Percy shouted. “I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!”

The candles all went out at once and Atlas shuffled so she was laying on the floor, her eyes adjusted to stare up at the star-speckled ceiling. It reminded her of the times she would sleep out in the Forbidden Forest with the Centaurs, listening to them and their predictions. Hermione shifted, a breath of hers tickling against Atlas’s neck, she could feel the girls eyes on her but didn’t say anything, waiting for her to instead.

“Are you ok…?” She asked in an almost inaudible whisper, Atlas was sure the only reason she heard it was because Hermione was right next to her ear.

“…I will be, just need to sleep it off I suspect…” Atlas replied, eyeing up the Taurus constellation where the origin of her name lay. She found the Atlas star amongst the Pleiades cluster and just stared at it, furrowing her brows.

“Alright…night Atty…”

“Goodnight Hermione.”