"Harry's been expelled!"
Susan, who had been watching the Library doors intently for the arrival of her best friend, spun around to stare at Draco.
"Excuse me?" she hissed. "I must have misunderstood you- where is Harry?"
Draco shook his head frantically, his usually perfect blonde hair was falling in his eyes.
"Blaise and I talked to Professor Snape earlier, he said Harry's been expelled."
"But I told Professor McGonagall it wasn't him!" Hermione wailed. "I was with him before we found Justin!"
Ron scoffed, "You think they care Mione? Harry's a Slytherin and a Parslemouth, they just threw him under the Hippogriff."
"That's not fair!" Neville protested quietly. "Harry didn't do it- don't they care about catching the real Heir?"
"Clearly not," Blaise drawled. He glanced around and leaned in to the rest of their group, "But Snape did say we should write to our relatives and tell them. Not you Ron, your family kisses Dumbledore's arse."
Ron grimaced but didn't argue.
"Susan definitely needs to write to her Aunt. Tell her how Harry was expelled with no proof," Draco whispered.
"I'm going to go sign up to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday," Neville said softly. "Maybe Harry'll come back during the holiday and he'll want one of us here."
Luna hummed softly, "We'll all stay."
Susan was surprised that nobody disagreed with Luna's quiet declaration. Neville offered to sign them all up.
She agreed with their plans calmly but Susan was furious. She could feel her fear and anger bubbling up.
"Where did Snape say Harry is?" she asked the boys.
Blaise grimaced, "He didn't say. Back with his relatives I suppose."
The kids all exchanged worried glances at that. They weren't stupid. They'd all been at this exact table when Harry found out who put him at his relatives and he'd been furious. They knew he'd needed safe places to stay during the holidays. How nobody from his family ever wrote him. They saw his scars. His flinches. And the way he thought all Muggleborns needed protected from the Muggle world.
They weren't stupid.
Susan pushed her books away from herself, "I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore."
"I'll come with you," Ron offered.
Luna put a small hand on his arm, "Susan doesn't want you to. She wants to yell at the Headmaster by herself."
Susan gave Luna a grateful nod and stalked quickly out of the library towards the Headmasters office. She was going to find that stupid old man and convince him that Harry was innocent.
And, if she could remember the spell between here and there, she was going to catch his ugly beard on fire too.
"Password?" the stone gargoyle asked her after she knocked on the office door.
"I don't know the password, but this is an emergency," she said politely. She'd learned young that being polite at first could often get you more than if you started out angry.
Harry didn't know that lesson, but he could burn the castle down in an angry fit with just a flick of his pinky finger. And if he wanted to do just that once Susan got him back? She'd help him.
"No password, no entry," the gargoyle said.
Susan grit her back teeth and glared at the statue. "Fine," she said, "then I'll just knock until he answers."
Susan stood outside the Headmasters office long enough that the sun had set. She knocked, screamed, kicked, and then knocked some more. If Dumbledore was up there, he wasn't accepting visitors.
"STUPID OLD MAN!" she yelled, losing her plan of initial courtesy in her frustration of being ignored. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GRYFFINDOR- YOU COWARD!"
"I thought Dumbledore was a Ravenclaw?" Blaise said casually, him and her other friends strolling down the corridor towards her.
"An idiot like that? No way," Ron snorted. "Gryffindor for sure."
"Careful Ron," Neville said lightly. "I'd hate to tell Fred and George that you think Gryffindors are idiots."
"Any luck?" Hermione asked Susan, ignoring the now bickering boys.
"No," Susan sighed. "He wouldn't answer. Let's go find Snape."
The other kids hustled behind Susan as she jogged down to Snape's office. She knocked briskly before she threw the door open.
Snape wasn't there.
"UGH!" She shrieked. "Where the hell is everyone?!"
"Susan, maybe you should sit?" Hermione suggested gently. "We'll find him, I swear."
Susan didn't want to sit. She wanted to scream at the Headmaster. She wanted to find out where Harry was. And she wanted Harry to be back at Hogwarts where he belonged.
She took a deep breath and sat in one of the desk chairs, "You're right Hermione. Thank you."
"Er, are we just waiting here for Snape then?" Neville asked quietly.
"Seems like it," Theo said, sitting easily in the seat beside Susan.
The eight of them sat quietly in Snape's office, waiting. Most of them looked worried, or thoughtful, but Susan doubted whether anyone was as angry as she was.
She can't take care of Harry if he isn't here. And he should be here. Dumbledore shouldn't have been able to expel him based on the evidence that he can talk to snakes. And Snape better be making sure that Harry isn't with his 'relatives'. Harry trusted Snape. Liked him, even. He considered him a friend. So Snape better not leave Harry with a couple of abusive Muggles.
After quite some time, when Hermione had nervously mentioned curfew had passed, Snape finally showed up. He looked tired, and upset, but that wasn't Susan's problem.
Susan leapt to her feet immediately, "Harry isn't with his Muggle relatives, is he?"
Snape didn't even look at her when he answered. "He is not."
That wasn't a good enough answer.
"Have you found him then?"
She knew from the way he still was hardly looking at her what the answer would be.
"I have not," he said quietly.
And that definitely wasn't a good enough answer.
"THEN YOU HAVE TO TRY HARDER!" she yelled, her fury boiling over now that she finally had a target.
"Do you think I have done anything aside from my best?" Snape asked harshly.
Susan was about to tell him what she thought about 'his best' when Hermione surprisingly did it for her.
"Your best isn't good enough, Professor. Harry was innocent, and now you can't find him?"
Susan had never heard Hermione talk so rudely to an adult.
"What kind of school is this?" Ron cut in. "Kick a kid out for no bloody reason then you lose him?"
Snape looked as if he had enough of their complaints, "Get out," he hissed coldly.
But Susan didn't care. This was her best friends life on the line. Harry wasn't safe out there alone.
She ignored the dangerous look in Snape's eyes and got up close until she could stare right up at his face.
"If Harry is hurt then I will hold you responsible," she said as threateningly as she could. She ignored the ache that reminded her that she picked up her threatening tone from Harry himself.
"He trusted you," she spat, hoping to dig the figurative knife in a little deeper. Nothing got results as quickly as guilt sometimes could.
She turned to leave, she had letters to write.
***
The next several days Susan mailed off multiple letters. She felt badly using Sevvie without Harry's permission, but this was for his benefit.
She wrote to her Aunt. She wrote to the Daily Prophet. To the Board of Governors for the school. And she even wrote to the Minister of Magic.
Her friends helped her compose letters and they all talked about how to prove Harry was innocent.
Hermione and Theo were convinced that they should try and find the real Heir but since most of the students had gone home for the holiday that was a moot point.
Susan had been happy to read the Daily Prophets article about Harry's disappearance. It meant that people would know what was going on. Blaise explained how his mother owned the majority of shares in the business and was on good terms with all of the reporters.
"Now Dumbledore can't keep this quiet," he'd explained in the Slytherin common room that night. "People will have questions. They'll want to know what proof he had and hopefully with enough pressure he'll have to bring Harry back."
Susan desperately hoped so. Of course, to bring Harry back to Hogwarts first Snape would have to find Harry.
"I hope someone else gets attacked soon," Susan said angrily. They had just left Snape's office with no updates again on Christmas Eve. Which meant that Harry was going to spend Christmas alone. And that was not okay.
Though, Professor Snape had asked Susan for a photo of Harry, which made her think he was going to be searching the Muggle world since every Wixen ever knew what Harry Potter looked like.
It had almost killed her to hand over her photo of her and Harry at the fair last summer. It was her favorite photo, which is why she had it on her. Harry had a huge smile, his hair was messy and all over the place, his eyes were sparkling and crinkled in laughter.
'Say cheese!' she'd told him at the top of the Ferris wheel. 'Why?' Harry laughed. 'What's cheese got to do with taking a
picture?' They'd smushed their faces together to take the photo and
Harry hadn't even flinched when she did it.
If it meant Snape could find him easier though it was worth it, she told herself firmly.
"Susan!" Hermione gasped. "That's a horrible thing to say!"
"No it's not," she snarled at the other girl. "If someone else gets attacked they'll have to bring Harry back to us and, personally, I hope it's Macmillan."
He'd been an idiot the night Justin had been attacked. Susan didn't know when she had been fighting with him in the Hufflepuff common room that Harry was being expelled. If she'd known then, she probably would have done a lot worse than just slapping the stupid prat.
"Harry will come back soon," Luna said softly with the airy confidence that she spoke with sometimes.
"Snape will find him," Neville assured her with a gentle pat on her back.
"But he's going to be alone tomorrow," she said in a trembling voice. "And it's... it's Christmas... you know? And he's going to be alone."
Harry might be ridiculously mature but he was still a kid, just like the rest of them. In some ways Harry was more childlike than the rest of them, she thought. The way he never seemed to understand anything about families, or love, or affection. And now he was just a kid who was alone on Christmas.
They all stayed in the Slytherin common room until late that night, worrying about their gang leader, ally, and friend.
And when Susan returned to her own bed she thought of her best friend celebrating Christmas by simply trying to survive, in what she was sure was an impossible situation, and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning Susan felt miserable. She'd checked with Snape first thing and he said that he had no new leads but was hopeful that he could find Harry today.
"It's cold outside, Professor," she had yelled. "It's cold and he's all alone and the only family he has is us and we're not with him. Are you a bloody wizard or not? Why can't you find him?!"
"Potter is likely feeling threatened by anyone from our world and his magic is interpreting it as a call to hide him from even the most complex of tracking spells," Snape said calmly.
"I. Don't. Care." Susan said harshly. "I don't care if Harry's moved to another continent. You are supposed to be his friend and you have to find him! He could be hurt or sick and YOU AREN'T LOOKING HARD ENOUGH!"
In the back of her mind Susan knew she was being unfair. Snape was gone most hours of the day and she was sure that he was spending that time looking for Harry. But effort didn't matter right now because she needed results. It was no good to 'try really hard' if her best friend was still out there alone somewhere, scared and cold.
Snape let her scream for a few more minutes before he just walked out of his own office, calling back a promise to tell her immediately if he found anything.
"I'm not going to the feast," she told her friends as she stormed in to the Slytherin common room. The two older Slytherins seated on the sofa glanced up but were well used to their groups presence and had long quit complaining that they all knew the password.
"I don't want to go either," Draco said. "I'm sick of seeing Dumbledore's face. I wish my father could get rid of him. Then we could get a new headmaster who would bring Harry back."
"Not if it's McGonagall," Theo interjected. "She's not exactly Harry's biggest fan either, is she?"
"She's been better," Hermione said hesitantly. "But she also took Harry straight to Dumbledore that day. I was right beside him, but Harry was the only one that she suspected."
"I'm sure a Muggleborn is going to be the prime suspect of being the Heir of Slytherin," Blaise drawled with a roll of his golden eyes.
"No more unlikely than the Boy-Who-Lived," Neville said quietly, effectively ending the argument.
They all sat there quietly for a moment before Hermione checked the time.
"If we're going to the feast we should get going," she said.
"I'm not. I'm not going to go down there and eat and pretend everything is merry and wonderful when it isn't," Susan said, crossing her arms defiantly.
"'All students who are in attendance and able bodied must attend all official feasts in the Great Hall to create an atmosphere of camaraderie and family,'" Theo quoted. "It's a rule. We have to or we'll be in trouble."
"I don't care about being in trouble!" Susan yelled. "I'm sick of sitting down there and having to see Dumbledore looking so... so... so stupid!"
Hermione looked slightly offended, probably just at her not caring about being in trouble since Hermione herself had been giving the Headmaster a number of nasty looks lately.
"We can eat up here from now on, if you'd like," Theo offered. "But we do have to go up to the Hall for dinner tonight."
Susan huffed, irritated by her friends' current lack of anger. But then she thought about the rule again... and she suddenly had a brilliant idea.
"Okay," she said with a mean grin. "We'll go to the feast. But I say we don't create an atmosphere of family."
The other kids perked up and listened intently as she explained her plan.
"Excuse me!" she called, standing up in the Great Hall in the middle of the dinner course.
Snape looked up at her and she glared at him. She could tell from the exhausted slump of his shoulders that he still hadn't found any leads on Harry's whereabouts and she wasn't interested in tired failures.
He needed to get results or find someone who would.
"Until the remainder of Slytherin House is here to eat meals with us, we will be abstaining from dining in the Great Hall," Draco said loudly, his sneering tone echoing off the stone walls.
Susan watched through red hazed eyes as Dumbledore stood up and smiled at Draco.
I hate him.
"My dear boy," Dumbledore said with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Your classmates will rejoin you in little over a week. I am sure they will be touched by your demonstration. However, they are enjoying the holiday with their families."
Except for Harry, whose only real family is already at Hogwarts.
"That is not who we mean and I think you know that, Headmaster," Blaise said.
Dumbledore sat down and shook his head at them. Susan thought he probably meant to look disappointed but she saw the flash of anger in his eyes.
Good, she thought savagely. We're angry too.
"I am afraid that you cannot abstain from meals," he said firmly. "I insist you continue to eat in the hall for your meals."
Susan smirked. They'd expected this.
She was filled with pride as Hermione cleared her throat and met the Headmasters gaze head on. "You're wrong, sir," she said loudly. "There is no rule that says we must eat in the Great Hall or show up for any meal at all, besides official feasts."
"And we showed up today," Neville added.
Susan couldn't stand the Headmasters damn twinkling eyes anymore.
"Harry will be back for the next one," she said as confidently as she could.
If Harry wasn't at the next one then she wouldn't be either. She wouldn't stay at a school ran by this idiot without her best friend.
She almost lost her composure when Draco drew himself up to his full height and put on a haughty face, "I wonder if you will be, Headmaster?" he drawled.
Then, exactly as they'd said they would, they all walked out together as a single group. Susan waited until they were in the dungeons before giving Draco a hug.
"That was brilliant," she gushed. "'I wonder if you will be,'" she mimicked in a posh tone. "Your father would lose his mind if he'd heard that."
Draco gave her a pleased smile and puffed his chest out, "My family never liked Dumbledore. Father just finally has an official reason to help eviscerate him in the news."
Susan turned to Hermione and gave her a quick hug as well. "You did brilliant Hermione. Harry won't even believe it when we tell him that you quoted the rulebook to the Headmaster."
Hermione looked around nervously, eyeing the two older Slytherins who followed them out earlier, before giving Susan a grim look.
"Fuck Dumbledore," she said harshly.
Susan couldn't wait to tell Harry about this day.
***
"Hey, Peeves! Come here please!"
Peeves, the mischievous Hogwarts poltergeist, flew down from the painting he was irritating to get in Susan's face.
"It's a wee little badger," he cackled. "What's an itsy thing like you wanting with old Peevsie?"
Susan gave the spirit a sweet smile, "Wanna be on the winning side of a war against Dumbledore?"
Peeves gave a genuine laugh and they shared a kindred look.
"Peevsie would be honored ickle badger. Follow me, Peeves has lots of plans!"
Susan smiled. She thought this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Susan and Peeves spent the next several days trying to ensure that Dumbledore was nearly as frustrated as she was. She knew she'd never be able to make Dumbledore as miserable as she was, or as angry as Harry likely was, but she wasn't going to make this a calm holiday break for him either. Especially not when the Daily Prophet had daily headlines that reminded her of 'Hogwarts Missing Hero'.
Susan helped Peeves to flood the bathrooms closest to the Headmasters office that he assured her Dumbledore frequently visited. Peeves taught her a neat charm that would cause his office doorknob to scream shrilly every time it was touched. They left dungbombs in the corridor outside his office. Susan left hateful notes on his door. And the Slytherin boys even joined them when they spent a few hours slowly guiding charmed snakes under Dumbledore's office door. She almost cried when she remembered that "Serpensortia" was the spell that outed Harry as a Parslemouth to the whole school. She thought perhaps there was some justice in using it to fill Dumbledore's office with snakes.
***
The night before the rest of the school returned to Hogwarts, Susan and the rest of Harry's friends were gathered in the Slytherin boys' dormitory making new plans.
"We have to catch the actual Heir," Blaise said.
"They might be laying low now that Harry was expelled though," Theo pointed out logically.
Neville scrunched up his nose, "But then how do we catch them if there aren't any more attacks?"
They all fell silent, trying to think of ideas.
"We go talk to Myrtle," said Luna in her soft and dreamy voice.
"Why on Earth would we need to go talk to a ghost?" Hermione asked her sharply.
"Don't talk to Luna like that," Susan said coldly. "Any idea is a good idea, unless you have a better one?"
Hermione scowled but shook her head. Draco turned to Luna and kindly asked her, "You mean Moaning Myrtle, right? What does she have to do with catching the Heir of Slytherin?"
Luna smiled up at him from where she was laying flat on Ron's bed.
"She died the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, fifty years ago. I just think she might have some clues for us."
The rest of the kids stared at Luna, utterly shocked.
"How- how do you know that?" Ron asked.
Luna propped herself up on her elbows and gave them all a surprised look in return.
"I asked her," she said simply.
"Of course you did," Blaise muttered giving Luna a wry grin. "You're mad Luna."
Susan would have scolded him but Luna smiled over at him, apparently pleased by his comment.
"So tomorrow we should all go talk to Myrtle then," Hermione said. "And maybe she'll know something that can help us find the real Heir."
They all agreed on a time to meet after classes tomorrow and were about to head to their own beds when the dorm door opened.
Snape stood in the doorway and sighed heavily at them all.
"Miss Bones, Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood, and Mister Longbottom- I am beginning to believe that you do indeed require a resort. I was not aware we allowed students of other houses in our rooms," he said drily. He looked at the Slytherin boys and raised his brows at them. "Nor was I aware that we allowed female students in the boys dormitory."
Theo rolled his eyes, "Not against the rules."
"I will be petitioning for a rewrite of the rules over the summer," Snape said with an eye roll of his own.
"That's okay sir, we'd still be grandfathered in for most things according to rule 326 subsection eleven," Hermione told him with her 'I know more than you' smile.
Hermione could be a bossy twit sometimes, but she also knew the rules better than anyone and here lately she hasn't been afraid to tell any teacher that asked exactly what rules they weren't breaking. Susan could see why Harry liked her so much.
"Did you find Harry yet?" Susan asked Snape. "Because if not then I swear to Merlin-"
"Save your threats," Severus interrupted her in a drawling voice. "I have found Potter and he is safe."
He's safe. He's safe. He's safe.
The rest of her friends began cheering wildly and Susan leapt to her feet with a bright smile.
"Let's go!" she said, trying to edge around Snape out of the dorm. "I want to see him."
Snape stuck his arm out, blocking her from leaving.
"Potter is ill, he is exhausted, and he is currently sleeping off a Dreamless Sleep. You have classes in the morning and your Aunt would arrest me if I absconded from the school with you."
Of course he's ill. I bet he's been frozen for weeks, she thought with both fury and sadness. This never should have happened.
Susan looked up at Snape and was preparing to tell him exactly how little she cared about propriety when her best friend was sick when he cut her off again.
"Write to Potter and your Aunt. I will deliver Potter's letter in the morning if you bring it to me before six o'clock. If they both agree- I am willing to take you to him Friday after your final class."
Snape glanced around the room behind Susan and sighed, "I cannot easily sneak all of you out without being caught and having to answer many questions. Miss Bones is the most irritating so she will go first. You may all write to Potter and I will ensure he receives the letters."
She didn't care if he thought she was annoying if it meant she could go see Harry and check on him for herself in just five days. Her Auntie would approve it, she knew she would.
She hoped Harry would as well.
"Thank you sir," Neville said to Snape politely. "We know you've been working hard to find Harry and even if we haven't been so great about it, we do appreciate you."
Susan felt a tiny stab of remorse for how awful she's been to Snape. He had spent weeks trying to find Harry, which was more than any other adult was doing. And he found him and had him somewhere safe now.
"Thank you," she murmured.
"If there is nothing else- I am retiring for the night. Any letters left under my office door before six o'clock will be delivered tomorrow. Goodnight."
When the door closed behind Snape Susan turned to her friends.
"What are we waiting for?" she cried. "Let's get writing!!"
Dear Harry, I miss you, I miss you, I miss you!!
Snape said that you were sick and I hope you're feeling better.
He better be giving you potions and you better be taking them! Everything is horrible without you here. We've all missed you
terribly. But we have a new lead on the real Heir so I hope we can find a way to make them reinstate you. Did I say I miss you? Because I miss you.
You'll never believe all the stuff that's happened since you've
been gone. Hermione cursed! And Draco totally threatened Dumbledore in front of everyone on Christmas at dinner one night. Snape said that if my aunt is okay with it that I can come see
you after classes on Friday. Is that okay? I can bring treacle tart! Don't worry about us, we're all fine. And don't worry about Sevvie, Blaise and I have been taking good care of him. I did send him on a couple trips with letters to my aunt but I think he liked the chance to fly. I can't wait to see you Friday. Hogwarts isn't the same without
you. Love, your best friend,
-Susan.
When classes started back up Susan was only slightly distracted from her private war against Dumbledore by a new bigger annoyance: the other students.
Not too distracted though, Peeves had began screaming obscenities in the halls based on the posters she was leaving every day on the Headmasters office door.
Hearing the poltergeist repeatedly scream, YOU'RE AN OLD FOOL DUMBLY-DOOR!" was an excellent way to start her day.
But now, everywhere she went, the returning students were talking about Harry. Whispering behind their hands. Giggling about him being gone. And outright cheering at their supposed newfound safety.
As if Harry had ever been the threat.
"If you say one more word I swear to Merlin I am going to kill you," she hissed at Ernie Macmillan during their History of Magic class.
Hermione also gave the Hufflepuff boy a disdainful look. "I'll help her," she warned, holding her wand tightly.
Ernie had been talking loudly with Hannah Abbot about how 'with Potter gone muggleborns are safe again'. As if he ever gave a damn about muggleborns. Not like Harry. Harry who cut Draco for calling Hermione the 'M-word' and who made him apologize in front of the entire school for it.
These kids were so stupid. Harry was powerful and strong and could literally talk to the monster that was attacking students. And Dumbledore kicked him out. Because he was also stupid and didn't see why the school needed Harry more now than ever.
By Wednesday night Susan was ready to drop out herself. Harry wrote back a couple short notes that just said he was fine, she can come over on Friday, and that he was trying to find a new school to go to. She knew it was stupid, but she didn't want to go to Hogwarts without him.
'I'll transfer too,' she wrote.
'Don't be mad,' Harry wrote back. 'What about your friends?'
She wondered if Harry knew he still had friends here as well or if he thought they'd all just forgotten about him.
'We'll talk about it tomorrow,' she sent along with Snape Thursday morning before breakfast.
She walked in to the Slytherin common room and saw her friends were all huddled tightly together around the table they'd nicked to eat at, arguing in hushed voices.
"I'm going to kill them," Ron swore.
"I'll help," Neville told him, still sporting a split lip from the fight he got in yesterday.
"Who are we killing?" Susan asked, sliding in to her customary seat and glancing sadly at the empty one they left in the corner for Harry.
The other kids gave her a wary look and shuffled uneasily. Except for Luna, who just hummed.
"Probably Harry's relatives first but definitely Dumbledore next," she said brightly.
"Okay," Susan agreed simply. "Why are we killing them?"
Draco glanced at Blaise, who grimaced in return and shook his head. Susan was beginning to get an uneasy feeling in her stomach.
"Why are we killing them?" she repeated slowly, staring down her friends.
"Here," Ron said, thrusting the newspaper towards her. "You'll hear about it anyway."
DAILY PROPHET BREAKING NEWS: Exclusive Interview with the Boy-Who-Lived!
Susan read the article and could feel her muscles coiling tightly with anger.
'The Headmaster took my wand, then had the Groundskeeper drop me off at my Aunt and Uncle's house.... They hate magic... They hate me. They threw me out immediately. I didn't have anywhere to go for a long time... I just finally feel safe... I want to be a normal kid.'
Susan's hands shook as she finished the article.
"Uh, Susan? You're shaking the table..." Theo said hesitantly.
Susan looked down and saw that she was shaking the table. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and threw the paper down.
"I have to go," she declared, jumping to her feet.
"Where are you going?" Hermione called as she stalked through the packed common room.
"I'm going to go talk with Headmaster," she called back.
Before the portrait door slammed behind her she heard an older Slytherin girl mutter, "She's going to bloody murder him."
She might.
It would be worth it.
***
"GET OUT HERE!" Susan yelled, flinging another stink pellet at the Headmasters office door.
"Cowardly lion!" Peeves laughed, flinging his own pellets at the door.
"MEDDLING- STUPID- COWARD!"
"Susan Bones!"
Susan looked up from her pile of pellets, panting from shouting at the silent door.
"Professor Sprout," she said politely. "How are you?"
Professor Sprout looked down at the pellets, looked at the pellet covered office door, stared at Peeves, then back to Susan.
"What on earth are you doing?" she finally asked.
"Trying to get an audience with the Headmaster."
"By screaming at his office door?" Sprout asked incredulously. "Did you think that would work?"
Susan shrugged, "Knocking didnt. Throwing things didn't. Screaming was a last option."
"The cowardly lion is scared to face the mean little badger," Peeves laughed. "The badger is aaaaaangry."
Professor Sprout gave her a sympathetic look. "I understand why you would be upset, but this isn't the way to fix it."
"How then?" Susan demanded. "How do I fix it?!"
Sprout walked over beside her and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "You wait," she said kindly. "You go to your classes, you hold on to hope, and you wait."
Susan shook off her hand. "I'm sick of waiting," she said. "It's all so unfair Professor."
"I know dear, but this will be resolved. We just have to be patient."
Susan nodded, not agreeing but not stupid enough to argue with her Head of House either.
"Why don't you clean this up and head to your next class since it seems you've missed first hour?" Professor Sprout suggested with a thin smile.
"Yes ma'am," Susan agreed obediently. She was storing the piles of unused pellets back in their bag, she'd use them again later, when Sprout turned back to her.
"Detention tomorrow dear," she said pleasantly.
"What?" Susan gaped at her. Tomorrow was her day to go see Harry. "Can't we do it tonight? Or Saturday maybe?"
"Afraid not," Sprout said kindly. "I've got a lot of work to do and tomorrow after dinner is the best time for me. You should keep this in mind next time you choose to act in a way unfitting for our house."
She shook her head at Susan and continued down the corridor.
Susan glared at Dumbledore's door. If he had opened his door when she first knocked then she wouldn't have been in this predicament.
"I hate you," she hissed.
"Yeah," Peeves chimed in. "We hate you!"
"If he comes out- throw the rest of these right in his face," she instructed him. "I suppose I'm headed to class."
She'd just write to Harry and explain what happened. She could go Saturday and they'd talk about all of this.
No big deal.
***
Susan was serving her detention with Professor Sprout the next evening. The Professor had her in charge of ripping out old Tarantula Vines, which suited her just fine. They were reluctant to be torn out and fought her. It was nice to finally find something she could destroy without consequences.
"Great job dear," Professor Sprout praised her. "Just keep ripping!"
All in all, not a bad detention.
Snape assured her that she was welcome to go to where Harry was, he didn't say any details but she was sure it was his own house, tomorrow and spend the whole day if she wanted.
Which she absolutely did.
She was working up a sweat fighting a particularly reluctant vine when Neville came bursting in the greenhouse.
"Susan! Professor! Come quick!" he yelled before turning around and running back out.
Susan glanced at Professor Sprout, who looked just as bewildered as she was, and they both took off after him.
"What's going on?" she asked Neville once she'd caught up to him halfway across the lawn.
"They just found another student!" he said. "It's the same as the others!"
"YES!!" Susan cheered, leaping in the air.
"Miss Bones! How could you?" Professor Sprout admonished her, panting slightly as she ran to keep up with them.
"This is proof!" Susan cried. "They'll have to bring Harry back now!"
Sprout gave her a disappointed look, "It won't be worth Mister Potter's reinstatement if a child has died, Miss Bones."
Susan hummed, increasing her stride.
Personally she thought it would be.
"They aren't dead," Neville said, keeping stride with her despite his shorter legs. "Just petrified."
"Excellent," Susan said quietly, exchanging a grin with the Gryffindor boy. "There's no way to pin it on Harry this time."
They ran through the Entrance Hall and Neville guided her to the second floor where a crowd of students were congregated.
"Susan!" Hermione cried, reaching out for her. "Did you hear?"
"It was a sixth year," Ron told her, his arm wrapped around his pale faced and trembling sister. "Some Ravenclaw bird, they just took her to the Hospital Wing."
"Her name is Cheyanne," Luna said softly.
Ron grimaced at Luna, "Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly.
"I don't care," Susan waved her hand. "Where's Dumbledore?"
She stood up on her tiptoes to see over the heads of the other students and when that failed she elbowed her way to the front.
Dumbledore was standing beside Professor McGonagall, a stricken look on his face.
Good, she thought angrily. This is your fault.
As if Dumbledore read her thoughts, he suddenly looked up and made eye contact with her.
"Miss Bones," he said softly, probably trying to lull her in to trusting him, as if that would ever happen. "Where have you been this evening?"
"Why?" Susan demanded loudly, ensuring the students could all hear. "Planning on pinning this one on me since Harry isn't here?"
McGonagall gasped at her tone, but Dumbledore gave her a small smile.
Fake smile, she thought. His eyes were no longer the warm twinkling blue they usually were. They were icy cold and as light as the sky.
"Of course not," he said with a wave of his hand. "I was merely curious if you had been in contact with Mister Potter recently."
"You mean the innocent student you expelled?" she yelled. "Nope. How are you planning on blaming him this time?"
The students behind her were increasing the volume of their whispers.
'Potter wasn't even here! she heard one kid say.
"Miss Bones was with me," Professor Sprout said, coming to stand beside her.
"Aah, excellent," Dumbledore said genially, still staring intently at Susan.
"Albus perhaps we should take this to your office," McGonagall suggested with a pointed look at the crowd of whispering students.
"Excellent idea Professor," Dumbledore agreed, finally breaking his cold gaze.
"Make sure you beg Harry for forgiveness!" she yelled at Dumbledore's retreating back.
She thought perhaps the other professors were just as upset about the situation since none of them even took points for her disrespect.
Susan looked around her and was pleased to see her friends were surrounding her back.
"Let's go," she said, turning to run off down the stairs.
"Go find Percy, Gin," Ron whispered to his now crying sister. "He'll get you some hot chocolate or something, okay?"
"Where we going?" Neville asked.
"Snape of course," Susan said. "He has to get to Dumbledore's office quickly before they have time to pin it on Harry or one of us."
"He isn't here," Draco wailed, once they entered Snape's office and saw it was empty.
"Do you think he's already in Dumbledore's office?" Hermione asked.
Luna shook her blonde head, "I'm sure he's with Harry."
"We'll wait here," Blaise said.
Susan was bouncing eagerly on the balls of her feet.
Harry can come back now. He can come back. They have to bring him back.
She was still thinking happily of reuniting with her best friend when Snape came through his floo.
"Professor!" Draco said excitedly. "You have to go to Dumbledore's office immediately!"
Susan was so happy to see Snape, knowing he'd go fight for Harry, that she threw her arms around the man in a tight hug.
"There's been another attack!"