Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm not coming home for the summer as I've been invited to reside with Harry's fugitive godfather. His address is top secret I'm afraid as he is on the run for the brutal murder of thirteen people (but we're pretty sure Ron's rat did it).

Maybe see you at Christmas but it's doubtful due to Harry's crazy life.

Lots of love,

Your little Hermonica

P.S. School was great, except for the bit when a boy got murdered by Harry's newly resurrected sworn enemy. Stay safe!

*****

Harry was in a right foul mood when he turned up to Sirius's house.

"I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT - WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED BOTH YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS?"

Absolute fantasist.

Ron and I stood and listened as he completely belittled everything we ever did to help him.

"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER-"

To be honest, yes we had. Ungrateful bastard.

I was about to point out that it had been about three years since I'd seen my parents as I was too busy tending to his needs, but Ron put a hand on my shoulder, silencing me with a shake of his head.

And then there was the whole Prefect thing.

"I'm fine." Harry said stoutly when Ron and I shone our shiny badges in his face.

Pack it up Ross Gellar.

*****

On the plus side, spending the summer holed up in a filthy house where a portrait and a house-elf verbally abused me on an hourly basis helped me with ideas to promote my SPEW campaign.

"I feel like a house-elf," Ron grumbled as he scrubbed out a mouldy cupboard on Molly's strict orders.

"Well, now you understand what dreadful lives they lead, perhaps you'll be a bit more active in SPEW!" I said, seizing at my chance. "You know, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to show people exactly how horrible it is to clean all the time - we could do a sponsored scrub of Gryffindor common room, all proceeds to SPEW, it would raise awareness as well as funds."

"I'll sponsor you to shut the fuck up about SPEW." Ron muttered nastily. 

I threw my feather duster in his face and abandoned helping Ron in the drawing room in favour of unclogging Sirius's chest hair from the drains.

*****

"Oh, look, it's the Weasel and the Mudblood. Wait until father hears that Dumbledore's got me doing Prefect duties alongside these morons."

Pansy sniggered cruelly as Ron and I entered the Prefect carriage, late after having to placate Harry who seemed utterly distraught at being abandoned.

The problem was, the Daily Prophet had been painting Harry out to be a liar and therefore no one wanted to be his friend anymore, so he literally only had us.

"He'll be fine," Ron had assured me as I fretfully chewed my lip. "I slipped Ginny a Knut to keep him company whilst we partake in our Prefect duties. I'm sure she'll take good care of him."

I listened with rapt attention as our Prefect duties were outlined, trying to ignore the snide remarks about my frizzy hair and 'dirty' blood from the white-blond haired Slytherin behind me.

"Don't worry, 'mione," Ron growled, pulling a protective arm around my shoulders as he glared back at Draco and Pansy. "I'll make sure to put Crabbe and Goyle in detention for being an insult to the human race."

"Ronald!" I hissed, pulling away from him and looking defiantly up into his eyes. "We must not abuse our positions! It's an honour to have been entrusted with such a privilege-"

"Five points from Gryffindor for interrupting the first Prefect meeting." Draco drawled, his eyes glinting maliciously into mine. "Speak again, Mudblood, and I'll make it an even twenty."

Ron lunged before I could explain that Prefects were not allowed to deduct points. Didn't they know anything?

*****

Ron was being extra attentive to me this year and secretly admitted that I was more favourable to him than Harry these days due to his big fat mood.

"But we need to cheer him up," I reasoned as we watched him chewing wasps one evening in the common room. (One lesson with our new Defence teacher, and he'd managed to score himself a week's worth of detentions.).

"How?" Ron asked, scooting closer to me on the sofa. I couldn't help but notice he smelt nice, of a sort of cinnamon spice. I wondered if he had begun to wear cologne.

My eyes met his, he was so close. I felt those returning butterflies.

"Let's make him feel important," I suggested, my mouth suddenly feeling dry as my eyes flicked to his lips.

So, between us, we came up with the idea of a secret club where Harry could show off the entire time.

It worked.

*****

Well, Dumbledore really excelled himself this year.

Not content with hiring a Death Eater, a werewolf, a fraudulent narcissist and a man who wore an evil wizard on the back of his head, this year Dumbledore went for a sadistic kiddie torturer.

I never thought I'd meet a teacher I loathed more than Snape, but Umbridge changed that.

She was beyond vile and, on top of that, nothing short of an evil bully.

"You need to tell someone," I said tearfully as I cleaned up poor Harry's hand for the fifth time that week.

"And let the bitch think she's won?" Harry said, his voice fierce and unwavering. "Never."

He looked into the fireplace, his glasses ominously reflecting the dancing orange flames.

I was starting to worry that the power was getting to his head.

*****

Harry's classes were surprisingly paying off.

Neville began gaining confidence in his abilities, people were starting to like Harry again, and I managed to cast my first fully corporeal patronus.

It was an otter. A shimmering white otter.

"What did you think about?" Ron asked me impatiently, frustrated that his patronus was still just a silver wisp at the end of his wand.

I looked at him and smiled, my heart still full of joy at the memory keeping my patronus alive. "The day you became my friend."

He blushed. And then out from his wand flew a little silver yapping Jack Russell.

*****