𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗔𝗟

ACT TWO, CHAPTER THREE
out of azkaban.

THE HOLIDAYS — MUCH to Penelope's dismay — had ended a lot faster than she wanted them to.

Stolen kisses and secret hand-holding had been shared between her and Ron the past couple of days. The other members of Grimmauld Place were able to tell something was up — after all, Penelope had looked happier than they had ever seen her. Ultimately, they had been revealed as a couple when Nymphadora had went screaming around the house that she had caught Penelope kissing Ron's cheek goodnight in the dark. How Nymphadora had managed to see them, Penelope didn't know, but it had certainly caused a commotion in the house. So much that Penelope had to go calm down Mrs. Black's portrait again by talking about stupid blood purity shit.

Despite Sirius and Snape almost dueling each other — yes, Snape, he had come to talk about Harry about taking Occlumency lessons — the house slightly remained in a happy spirit the last night before leaving since Mr. Weasley had been fully healed from his snake bite. Penelope stood in the corner of the room holding Ron's hand as she took sips of her butterbeer, just soaking up the last couple of moments before having to deal with Draco and Pansy tomorrow.

The next morning, they woke up early to take the Knight Bus back to Hogwarts. All five of them were to be escorted by Nymphadora and Lupin. Penelope ate a hurried breakfast before putting on an outfit of jeans, a baggy striped jumper, and her Converse before pulling on her jacket and a Slytherin scarf to protect herself from the chilly air of January.

She hugged Sirius goodbye — Penelope was sad to leave him, he had been so happy to have company and now he was being locked inside by himself again. Penelope promised that she would write to Andromeda and Ted to tell them to come and visit him, but Sirius told her not to because mail was still being intercepted. She then said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley before Nymphadora pushed her out the door, today disguised as a tall, tweedy woman with iron-gray hair.

The door of number twelve slammed shut behind them. Penelope pulled her coat closer around her as she followed Lupin down the front steps. It was quite cold outside and she wanted nothing more to just sit by the fire in the Slytherin common room.

"Come on, the quicker we get on the bus the better," Nymphadora announced, glancing around the square nervously.

Before Penelope could even ask if everything was all right, Lupin flung out his right arm. With a BANG, a violent purple, triple-decker bus had appeared out of thin air in front of them. Penelope raised an eyebrow as it avoided the nearest lampost.

A thin man in a purple uniform leapt down onto the pavement. "Welcome to the—"

"Yes, yes, we know, thank you," Nymphadora replied swiftly. "On, on, get on—"

She then shoved Harry forwards towards the steps and past the conductor.

The conductor goggled at Harry as he passed. "'Ere — it's 'Arry—!"

"If you shout his name I will curse you into oblivion," Nymphadora told him menacingly, now pushing Ginny and Hermione forwards.

Ron leaned closer to Penelope. "Is she always like this?"

"You get used to it," Penelope responded. She then grabbed his hand and led him up the steps. "Come on. We better board before Dora starts yelling."

"I've always wanted to go on this thing," Ron admitted happily once they rejoined Harry's side.

Penelope glanced around. The bus was crammed with an assortment of mismatched chairs that were grouped haphazardly around the windows. Some appeared to have fallen over when the bus had stopped abruptly in Grimmauld Place. A few witches and wizards were still grumbling as they got to their feet. There was even a shopping bag that had slid the length of the bus, scattering the floor with a mixture of frog spawn, cockroaches, and custard creams.

"Looks like we'll have to split up," Nymphadora stated as she looked around for seats. "Fred, George, and Ginny, if you just take those seats at the back . . . Remus can stay with you . . ."

Meanwhile, Nymphadora, Penelope, Venus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione proceeded to the very top deck, where there were three chairs at the very front of the bus and three at the back. Penelope told Venus she could join Harry at the back while she sat with Nymphadora (Ron looked disappointed at that, but Penelope reminded him that she could see him at quite literally any other time.)

Penelope handed the conductor eleven Sickles and he gave her a ticket in return before following Harry, Venus, and Ron to the back. The bus set off again, swaying ominously as it did so. It rumbled around Grimmauld Square, weaving on and off the pavement. Suddenly, with another loud BANG, all of them were flung backward. Penelope miraculously managed to stay in her chair, but Nymphadora had fallen out of hers. She laughed quietly to herself as Nymphadora got up and playfully glared at her as she sat back down. Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl, then landed on Hermione's shoulders.

The Knight Bus then swayed alarmingly as it overtook a line of cars on the inside. Hermione then covered her eyes with her hands while Pigwidgeon swayed happily on her shoulder.

BANG.

This time, Penelope wasn't so lucky. She fell out of her chair as it slid backwards again. Grumbling in annoyance to herself, she got up and placed herself back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. They had suddenly jumped from the Birmingham motorway to a quiet country lane full of hairpin bends. Rows of hedges on either side of the road leapt out of their way as they mounted the verges. They then moved to a main street in the middle of a very busy town, then to a viaduct surrounded by tall hills, then to a windswept road between high-rise flats. Each time this happened there was another BANG.

After a very long time, the Knight Bus screeched to a halt outside of a small pub. The conductor ushered a woman out of the bus before getting back on board, and the bus moved on again while gathering speed until another BANG.

They were now rolling through the familiar town of Hogsmeade, now covered in snow. Penelope looked out the window and caught sight of Honeydukes. She definitely needed to get more sugar quills during the next Hogsmeade trip. At last they rolled to a halt outside the gates of Hogwarts.

Nymphadora and Lupin helped them off the bus with their luggage and everything before getting up to say goodbye.

"You'll be safe once you're in the grounds," Nymphadora revealed, casting a careful eye around the deserted road they were on. "Have a good term, okay?"

"Look after yourselves," Lupin said.

Penelope shook hands with Lupin before looking back to her cousin. "Dora . . ."

Nymphadora pulled her into a tight hug. "Hey, take care of yourself, Nel. Please don't forget to write. Also write to mum and dad, too, they've been worried about you, y'know." She pulled away and placed her hands on Penelope's cheeks. "If anything goes south and you need me, I'll be there in a heartbeat. I love you."

"I love you more," Penelope stated. "See you soon."

Together, the group of eight then struggled up the slippery drive towards the castle while dragging their trunks. Penelope let out a breath of relief once they reached the oak front doors, which was already open due to the incoming students. She could see Umbridge in her stupid pink robes, watching them carefully by the doors to the Great Hall. Penelope averted her gaze from the pink toad and turned back to the group.

"It was really nice spending the holidays with you all," Penelope stated quietly so that Umbridge couldn't hear. "Ron, Fred, George, Ginny — I'm glad your dad's better now."

George reached over and ruffled her hair, making her scowl and try and fix it. "Thanks, little Lestrange. Hopefully we don't catch you snogging ickle Ronniekins in any of the corridors now."

Ron's face blushed a brilliant shade of red. "Shut up, George."

"It's almost like you're asking me to hex you," Penelope added. "Don't think I won't."

Harry pointed to her. "She's getting a lot better at spells, too."

George raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, just saying."

Penelope sighed. "Well, I should get back to the Slytherin common room. I'll see you all in the next meeting, I suppose?"

"Before then?" Ron questioned hopefully.

"Eager, are we?" Ginny teased.

"I hate this family."

Penelope laughed slightly. "Yes, probably before that as well." She pressed up onto her toes and kissed Ron's cheek, her heart beating against her chest. "See you later." She then pointed her wand at her trunk. "Locomotor Trunk."

"Hey, Tonks used that when she came to get me from the Dursley's this summer," Harry voiced.

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "Who'd you think I learned it from?"

With that, she left the group behind and made her way towards the dungeons, keeping her trunk near her with her wand. Penelope descended down the steps and stopped in front of the seemingly blank stretch of stone wall. She told the password, and a door concealed in the stone swung open.

There were groups of people scattered around the common room like normal. Penelope tended to ignore them — except for Charlotte, who she smiled at when walking past her — and went up to her dormitory. She pointed her wand at the end of her bed and set her trunk down before looking around the room. Pansy was nowhere to be seen, but Millicent, Tracey, and Daphne were sitting on their beds.

"Oh, look who decided to show up," Tracey commented, but there was a smile on her face.

"Hey, Trace," Penelope responded, tucking her wand into the front pocket of her jeans. "Hi, Mills. Hi, Daph."

"Hi, Penny," Daphne greeted brightly. "You have a good holiday? Oh, thanks for the lip gloss, by the way. I basically wore it all Christmas day."

"No problem. And yeah, my holiday was . . ." Memories flashed through her mind — that tense night in the kitchen, visiting St. Mungo's, looking at that picture of Bellatrix in Kreacher's bedroom, and kissing Ron. "All right. Yours?"

"It was all right. But — get this — my mother and father were talking about setting me up with Draco." A disgusted look appeared on Daphne's face. "Me? With Draco? Absolutely not."

"Ah, arranged marriage season," Millicent responded. "Overheard mum and dad whispering about how they needed to find me a suitable match soon."

"Soon?" Tracey repeated incredulously. "Millie, you're fifteen."

Penelope shook her head. "Pureblood families are crazy."

"Apparently not as crazy as you," Pansy's voice suddenly announced, and Penelope turned to see her standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and her eyes blazing.

Penelope blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You kissed him," Pansy deadpanned.

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna have to be a little more specific, Parkinson. Are you talking about Theo? Because that was, like, two years ago. I told you to let it go, I'm never going to date him—"

"I'm talking about Weasley. Draco saw you kiss his cheek in the entrance hall."

The room went silent. Suddenly, Penelope was very aware of the way of how the metal of the crown necklace was cold against her skin. Well, the cat was out of the bag now. There was no point of trying to deny it. Plus, she didn't really want to deny it. She didn't care.

"Yeah, I did," Penelope responded. "Problem?"

"Problem?" Pansy repeated. "Yeah, I've got a fucking problem. He's a Weasley."

"So?"

"So? They're the biggest blood traitors on the planet—"

"I also live with blood traitors, apparently," Penelope reminded her. "Just in case you forgot, Aunt Andromeda married a Muggle-born. But I don't really believe that Aunt Andy is a blood traitor. I just think she married who she loved." Penelope crossed her arms as well. "I'm not saying I love Ron, but I sure as hell like him a lot. Where's the crime?"

Pansy scoffed. "You're unbelievable."

"No, you are for believing in that prejudiced bullshit."

"He's filth—"

"Do not talk about him like that," Penelope interrupted, her eyes blazing now too. "I'm sorry you're not agreeing with my choices, but it's my love life, not yours."

"You're really gonna go down this path?" Pansy questioned.

"Yeah, I am."

The two of them held an intense gaze for a moment. Finally, Pansy scoffed again before turning on her heel and leaving the dormitory. Millicent then hesitantly got up, sent a guilty look to Penelope, and followed her out. Penelope shook her head. So much for them.

"Are you really dating him?" Daphne inquired in a soft whisper.

Penelope nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, Daph. He . . . he actually makes me really happy. This is definitely some sappy shit, but his eyes are so blue and he's got this smile that can probably light up the whole castle . . ." She then placed her face in her hands. "I'm acting like such a school girl, it's disgusting."

Tracey smirked. "I fucking knew it. The way you two looked at each other — ugh."

"Shut up, Tracey."

・゜・。・゜。・。・゜★

IT HAD BEEN about two days, and Pansy was still avoiding Penelope like she was the plague.

Not that Penelope really cared. She knew that if Pansy was a good friend then she wouldn't care about who she liked . . . well, unless they were sketchy, but Ron wasn't. The only thing Pansy had against Ron was the fact that he was a blood traitor. Millicent had also been avoiding Penelope, but Penelope could see that from the longing gazes from across the room that she at least still wanted to be friends.

Nevertheless, Penelope left the common room by herself that morning. She had woken up a little later than the rest of her friends, who apparently allowed her to sleep for a little while longer. It was quite nice walking up to breakfast alone, though.

Little did she know how fast that serenity would be crushed.

She walked into the Great Hall. There was the usual chatter from the House tables about homework and Quidditch and other shit like that, but when she approached Tracey and Daphne, the two of them were dead silent. Tracey was holding a newspaper tightly in her hands. Penelope tried to smile at them as she sat down but none of them gave her one back.

"Are you all right?" Daphne immediately asked.

Penelope laughed slightly, a little confused. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You haven't read the Daily Prophet this morning?" Tracey urged, her eyes full of worry.

"Uh, no . . . I don't read the Prophet, they've only just been calling Harry a liar. And I literally just came in for breakfast, there's no way I could've gotten one in the dormitory."

Tracey hesitantly offered the newspaper to her. "Read it, Pen."

Penelope slowly took the newspaper. There were a couple of moving pictures, but she ignored that for now and went straight to the headline.

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT" FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

The Ministry of Magic announced late last night
     that there has been a mass breakout from
Azkaban.
Speaking to reporters in his private office,
     Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed
     that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the
     early hours of yesterday evening, and that he
     has already informed the Muggle Prime
     Minister of  the dangerous nature of these
     individuals.
"We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the
same position we were two and a half years ago 
when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," said
Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two
breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this
magnitude suggests outside help, and we must 
remember that Black, as the first person ever to
break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to
help others follow in his footsteps. We think it
likely that these individuals, who include Black's
cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around
Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all
we can to round up the criminals and beg the
magical community to remain alert and
     cautious. On no account should any of these
     individuals be approached."

Penelope's breath hitched in her throat as she read her mother's name. No, not right now, it couldn't be true . . . however, her eyes then trailed to the only picture of the witch on the page. Her hair was long and dark that looked unkempt and straggly, just like Penelope's hair would get if she didn't wash it for a couple of days. Her heavily lidded eyes glared up at Penelope, and there was an arrogant and disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. Despite Azkaban taking most of her beauty, Penelope still felt like she was looking into a mirror.

Bellatrix Lestrange, the caption beneath the picture read, convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.

She swore her heart fell into the pit of her stomach. With shaking hands, she set the Prophet down on the table. She attempted to swallow the giant lump in her throat, but it was no use. Penelope was freaking the fuck out. Sure, she saw it coming, and sure, that's why Andromeda and Ted were keeping an extra eye on her this summer, but somehow, she just didn't expect it to be so soon.

Bellatrix Lestrange was Voldemort's most loyal Death Eater. The things that she had done, they were all tied to Penelope, regardless if Penelope hadn't committed to anything. But now that she was back . . . there were just so many more things Bellatrix would do that would add to the weight on Penelope's shoulders. Every possibility of what Bellatrix could do was making Penelope's mind spin. More murders . . . more tortures . . . coming after Penelope herself . . .

"Heard your mother escaped, Lestrange," Pansy's voice suddenly said.

"S-Shut up," Penelope stammered, her voice quiet.

"Maybe that's a sign to stop dating Weasley?"

"Pansy," Tracey let out through gritted teeth. "Go sit the fuck down or I will knock you out. This isn't a joking matter."

Penelope's heart beat erratically against her chest. She's never been this freaked out, not even when she
found out what seeing Thestrals actually meant. This was the thing she had been dreading ever since Harry claimed Voldemort was back at the end of the third task. She just didn't want to believe it was true.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Daphne's voice reassured her, but it sounded underwater.

"I — I have to go," Penelope fought out. "It's — it's crowded in here — too many people — I can't breathe—"

"Okay, come on," Tracey encouraged, standing up from the table. "Let's get out of here."

Penelope pushed herself up. She walked down the aisle between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, ignoring the strange looks she was getting since everyone could obviously tell that something was off. Even all the way from the Gryffindor table.

"Let's sit over here," Daphne told her quietly, leading her over to one of the window seats in the entrance hall. "It's nice and quiet . . . look out the window, I think it may start to snow today . . ."

Penelope was still trembling — she was unable to keep her composure at all, so all her feelings now came rushing out at once. "I'm scared."

Daphne nodded. "I know, me too. But it's okay to be scared, Penelope."

"P," Ron's voice suddenly announced, and Penelope looked up to see him standing in front of her. "Hey, I read the Prophet . . . I wanted to come and find you—"

She didn't give him another chance to talk. In the span of a few seconds, she stood up and threw her arms around him. Because of their height difference, Penelope's head only reached to about his shoulder. She laid her head against his chest and tried to focus on being near him in effort to calm down. Ron tensed up for a moment — they'd never really hugged before — until he finally put his arms around her and pulled her in tight.

"I always feared it would happen," Penelope voiced, her tone scared. "It was only a matter of time, but it's real now . . . she'll come and try and find me—"

"I'm not going to let that happen," Ron stated firmly. "You're at Hogwarts, you're safe — and she'll have to get through me. I promise."

She appreciated him trying to reassure her. But deep down, Penelope knew that Bellatrix wouldn't stop at anything — and if her goal was to get Penelope, it would ultimately happen.

☆ 彡

poor penny just can't catch a break, can she?