|5.21| Sorting out feelings

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THEY WERE TO RETURN TO Hogwarts on the Knight Bus the following day, escorted once again by Tonks and Lupin, both of whom were eating breakfast in the kitchen when Grace, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived there next morning. The adults seemed to have been midway through a whispered conversation when the door opened; all of them looked around hastily and fell silent.

After a hurried breakfast they pulled on jackets and scarves against the chilly gray January morning. Grace had an unpleasant constricted sensation in her chest; she did not want to say good-bye to Sirius. She had a bad feeling about this parting; she did not know when they would next see each other and felt that it was incumbent upon him to say something to Sirius to stop him doing anything stupid. Before she could think of what to say, however, Sirius had beckoned her and Harry to his side.

"I want you two to take this," he said quietly, thrusting a badly wrapped package roughly the size of a paperback book into Harry's hands.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"A way of letting me know if Snape's giving you a hard time, Harry. And if any problem arises, Grace, tell me. No, don't open it in here!" said Sirius, with a wary look at Molly, who was trying to persuade the twins to wear hand-knitted mittens. "I doubt Molly would approve — but I want you to use it if you need me, all right?"

"Okay," said Harry, stowing the package away in the inside pocket of his jacket. But Grace knew they would never use whatever it was. It would not be she, Grace, who lured Sirius from his place of safety.

"Let's go, then," said Sirius, clapping Harry on the shoulder and smiling grimly, and kissing Grace on the forehead. Before Grace could say anything else, they were heading upstairs, stopping before the heavily chained and bolted front door, surrounded by Weasleys.

"Good-bye, Harry, take care, Grace," said Molly, hugging him, before hugging Grace. 

"See you Harry, and keep an eye out for snakes for me!" said Arthur genially, shaking his hand.

The door of number twelve slammed shut behind them. They followed Lupin down the front steps. As she reached the pavement, Grace looked around. Number twelve was shrinking rapidly as those on either side of it stretched sideways, squeezing it out of sight; one blink later, it had gone.

"Come on, the quicker we get on the bus the better," said Tonks, and Grace thought there was nervousness in the glance she threw around the square. Lupin flung out his right arm.

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