No one in Gryffindor Tower went back to bed that night, not with Black still being searched about in the castle. Jake did go back up and retrieve his eye-patch, having it in place before he came back down the stairs. Professor McGonagall had arrived back at dawn to tell them all that Black had escaped again.
Everywhere they had gone the next day, they saw added security in the castle. Flitwick was teaching the front doors to recognize large portraits of Sirius Black; Filch was seen bustling up and down corridors, boarding up any and every tiny crack in the castle. Sir Cadogan had been sacked and his portrait was moved back where it belonged on the Seventh Floor. The Fat Lady was back and her portrait was expertly restored. She came back on the condition of getting extra security, which was in the form of trolls. Jake remembered the one Troll from First Year, and he hoped none of them had to come to the same fate as that one.
At breakfast that morning, Jake was sitting with Hermione when he heard Neville squeak from the other end of the table. He looked and saw that the round faced boy had gotten a Howler from his grandmother. He quickly ran with it out of the Great Hall and it went off in the Entrance Hall; his grandmother's voice was booming and telling him how much of a disgrace he was to the family name.
"That poor boy..." he said, turning back to his food. Hermione was picking at her food as she continued reading a book. He looked over and read a piece of it, "Oh... dammit..." he said.
"What?" Her attention was on him, her concern growing.
"That's why you've been seemingly swamped with work lately... Buckbeak's case... Hermione I-" he started but she cut him off.
"Don't worry about it. You've been busy as of late, so don't worry about it," she eased his mind and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I still could've helped... or something..." he set his fork down, looking at her.
Her hand was still on his shoulder as she spoke, "You worry none about it, alright? I've got it covered," she smiled at him.
"But I made a promise to Hagrid that I would help, and I haven't. The trial is soon, right? I'll help you until Hagrid leaves for London with Buckbeak," he promised her.
Hermione felt her face burn a bit, "I-If you're sure..."
"Of course. You're my best friend, I'll do whatever I can to help you," he pulled her into a side-hug, which got a laugh out of her.
As it was a Sunday, they had no classes, so he and Hermione were able to go to the Library and peruse the Magical Creatures section. They found plenty of things that Hagrid could use, but it was fully up to him how it was presented. To be honest, Jake didn't have much confidence in Hagrid's ability. He saw how the giant man was, and he doesn't do well under pressure.
It wasn't until later in the day when he and Hermione arrived back at the Common Room and saw people hovering around the Notice Board, "Hogsmeade Weekend... this coming weekend..." he trailed off, remembering what Dumbledore had told him, and he had yet to hear from him.
"I hope you get to go," Hermione said, her voice quiet to where only he could hear her.
"I do too... I don't want to rely on you for Honeydukes sweets all the time," he smirked at her and she shook her head, but also smiled.
Hermione then went and sat at one of the tables, finishing up some Arithmancy and Ancient Runes while Jake sat beside her and finished an essay for Muggle Studies. He only did it because he had to, the class was just... not what he expected or hoped for.
"Hogsmeade next weekend!" They both heard Ron yell.
Hermione was about to say something, but Jake stopped her, "Don't give them the satisfaction."
"But-"
"I know, Harry's being stupid about this whole thing. Ron's always stupid about things like this, but Harry I thought would have some sense... but there is something actually bothering me," Jake said, which caused Hermione to shift gears.
"What's bothering you?"
"Sirius Black... he was over Ron's bed... not Harry's... doesn't that seem odd to you?" He asked her.
"Maybe he got them confused?" She offered up, but even she questioned her own suggestion.
"No... even in the dark, it's not hard to tell them apart. If Sirius Black was really after Harry... why would he have been over Ron's bed?" He asked her.
"That does raise a good point... and a valid question, why?" They were both stumped completely, though, and just got back to their homework.
*******
When Friday morning arrived, the day before the Hogsmeade Weekend, Jake and Hermione were sat at the Gryffindor table, eating light breakfasts, when Professor McGonagall walked up to them, "Fernandes, the Headmaster needs to see you immediately," she said, none too quietly either.
Jake looked up at her, his head was pounding, he knew what it was about, "Okay," he stood up, abandoning his food, what little there was, and followed McGonagall out of the Great Hall. Hermione sat there, knowing what it was about as well.
"What do you think Dumbledore wants to see him for?" She heard Harry ask Ron.
She almost went off on them, but she bit her tongue and got back to eating her breakfast.
Jake quietly followed his Head of House to the Headmaster's Office. At the Gargoyle, she gave the password, "Pumpkin Pasty," and the Gargoyle hopped aside, "Good luck," she told him and walked back to the Great Hall.
That didn't make him feel better. In fact, he felt queasy. He was thinking of all the different ways Dumbledore was going to tell him that it just wasn't possible to allow him to go to Hogsmeade without a signed form. He walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, "Enter," he heard Dumbledore's voice.
He walked in and saw him standing next to Fawkes, "Y-You wanted to see me, Professor?" He was not able to stop or hide his slight stutter.
Dumbledore turned to him, smiling, "Yes. Cornelius finally got back to me with his answer. Let's sit at my desk, shall we?" He asked and they walked to his desk. Jake sat opposite him, looking at him. His insides were freaking out, he wasn't sure what he'd rather hear, Dumbledore telling him no, or just not answering him at all about it, "Doing well, I imagine?"
"Yes, sir... well enough, at least," Jake answered.
"You are tied for the top of almost every class, save Herbology and Defense. I think that constitutes more than 'well enough'," Dumbledore chuckled.
"Y-Yeah..."
"So I'm sure you are wondering what it is I talked with the Minister about?" Jake nodded, "I talked to him about your situation, how you don't have a parent or guardian and live on your own. He questioned why it wasn't possible to just find you a guardian, but... I had to explain something to him... I hope you can forgive me, because it was the only way I could get him to see my side of it. I had to tell him about your Ancestry..." Jake paled, "I am truly sorry... but this is not without good news. Once he found out about your situation..." Dumbledore pulled open a drawer and a sheet of paper out of it, "You'll be happy to read this."
The paper was placed in front of him:
I, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic of the British Magical Ministry, officially recognize Jake Fernandes as a descendant of the greatest Wizard to ever live, Merlin Ambrosius. I, Cornelius Fudge, also recognize that Jake Fernandes lives on his own and has no need for a Parental or Guardian figure and understand that he is fully capable of taking care of himself and his own interests.
This form and the Document attached to the back of it are in official recognition of his new status as an Adult Wizard, allowing him all the Rights and Privileges being an Adult Wizard entails.
The letter went for a little while longer, but the case was clear enough to Jake, "Y-You mean..."
"That's right. You are officially recognized as an Adult in the Wizarding Community. Harry might be the Boy-Who-Lived, but seeing as you are the last living descendant of the most Noble Bloodline, the Minister made no hesitation in writing out this form," Dumbledore smiled at the look of elation on his face, "The paper has been charmed so that only you, myself, and the Minister can read it, as well as anyone of your choosing. He has agreed to my promise that he is to not tell anyone at all about your Ancestry. That's honestly more trouble than we need right now, if he told the whole Ministry Building."
"Professor... I-I... I don't know what to say..."
"You don't have to say anything. Just enjoy your time at Hogsmeade. I'll let Minerva know about this so that you may go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, and every weekend afterwards. Being an Adult, you have no need for a Permission Slip, if you've been entrusted with the Emancipation Process. Be warned, though," Dumbledore became deadly serious, "If you do anything that demands revocation of this, it will without pause be done. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir, I completely understand," Jake said as calmly as he could. Internally he was overwhelmed. He had just been emancipated to Adult Status in the Wizarding World. He couldn't wait to tell Hermione about this.
"You may leave, and enjoy Hogsmeade tomorrow," Dumbledore said with a hint of encouragement.
Jake thanked him again and left. On his way back to the Great Hall, which according to his watch, had another ten minutes for Breakfast, he realized something. It was only because of his Ancestry that this was even allowed in the first place. He didn't like the fact that it was purely because of that, but with how great the Reward was, he found it hard to be concerned at that moment. He would try to not have Merlin's Bloodline be a key component in the future. On his way back to the Great Hall, he saw Harry and Ron walking with a Firebolt presumably back to the Common Room. He wondered if they apologized to Hermione, or at least if Harry apologized to Hermione.
He walked back into the Great Hall and back to Hermione, sitting down beside her, "Hey, what did he say?" She asked eagerly.
"Well..." he tried to look disappointed.
"What? Even after all of that you-" she stopped when he started to laugh. She hit him on the arm, "You prat! What did he say?" She asked again.
Jake calmed himself and turned to fully face her, looking around to make sure no one was listening, "He was able to convince the Minister to let me go to Hogsmeade, but that's not all..." he got closer and whispered to her, "The Minister Emancipated me to Adult Status."
"What!?" She practically yelled.
Jake covered her mouth with his hand, causing her cheeks to burn, "Not so loud!" He whisper yelled.
She mumbled against his hand, which prompted him to remove it from her mouth, "I'm sorry, but this is a big deal! Is everything else essentially the same?"
"Dumbledore didn't say otherwise, so I'm going to assume so," he said as Breakfast ended. They stood up and made their way to class. "I'll finally get to go to Hogsmeade, I'm excited!" He said, unable to hide his giddiness.
"I am too!" She said excitedly, her smile didn't go unnoticed by him. She was wanting this since she got the Hogsmeade Slip with her letter over the summer. Even though it wasn't a date, she could still pretend it was in her mind.
*******
The next morning, Hermione was awake extra early, excited to go to Hogsmeade for the first time in a long while. The last time she was this excited was back on Halloween morning when she thought Jake was going to get to go back then, but now he actually was and she felt incredibly happy and excited and-
'Breathe, Hermione... breathe... It's just two friends hanging out. No need to get overly excited or potentially make it awkward for him,' she thought to herself, 'Even though you are in love with him... and want to feel those lips on your-' she mentally slapped herself.
She shouldn't be making a big deal out of it anyway. She also didn't like the fact that Harry would be going, again, but Jake was right, there was no reason for her to waste her breath on them.
She got dressed and went down to the Common Room to await his arrival. That was her plan, but then she saw him sitting in one of the big poofy chairs, "You're already awake?"
He looked up at her, "Yeah, yeah I... I have been for a little while now. Maybe an hour?" He said, looking at his watch.
"But it's six o'clock, you've been up since five?" She asked him.
"Not like you haven't been up at five before," he said playfully.
"True... but still," she sat down across from him and pulled out a book to read until the Great Hall was opened to serve breakfast.
"But nothing," he teased, "you still have that little piece of paper from the first trip?"
"I do, I'll take you to all of the places Hogsmeade has to offer!" Her excitement returned in full force. She looked at him for a moment longer, "So... being Emancipated, Dumbledore didn't say anything else about it? Just that you're an adult now?"
"Basically. I have the letter, or maybe a copy of it, that the Minister signed, acknowledging me as a descendant of Merlin Ambrosius, and that I live on my own and can fend for myself, and I get all the Rights and Privileges that come with being an Adult Wizard," he said, both of them standing up to go to the Great Hall.
"That means you can do magic without the Ministry tracking you!" Hermione got more excited by the second.
"Well, at the Tower I was able to do that anyway, an anti-tracking Barrier around it. I practiced a lot of spells at O.W.L. level over the summer. Well the basic Fifth Year spells found in the first thirty pages of Grade 5," he explained, "technically Lumos Maxima is a Fifth year spell, and I used it in Second Year," he shrugged, "I just heard Professor Flitwick mention it once in class and I thought I'd try it out myself."
"Really?" She was in awe and had a hard time comprehending just how gifted of a Wizard he was, "If you ever think for whatever reason you aren't someone to be idolized by First Years, or even Adult Wizards, think again, because you are what all Wizards should strive to be. Dedication, Diligence, Kindness, Loyalty, Intelligence, Courage, Ambition; the Sorting Hat was right about you being a fit for every House."
He felt his cheeks burning under her massive praise.
"And you're probably the strongest Wizard in existence, you might even already be stronger than Dumbledore," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"You really think so?"
"I do think so. I can see you surpassing Merlin, honestly. I doubt Black would want to cross you, Jake, if he knew just how powerful you were," Hermione smiled as they entered the Great Hall, being the first ones there.
They sat beside each other and piled on some food. When Harry and Ron walked in, they obviously did not sit that close to them.
"Harry and Ron were curious about what Dumbledore wanted you for yesterday morning," she explained to him.
"Let them wonder. I'm not happy with either of them right now, and I'm not sure if I ever will be again," he said, glaring at both boys a moment before going back to his food.
Hermione looked at him, "Well, Harry's in the right for being angry with me... I did get his Broom taken from him, and it was confirmed to be hex and jinx free, but I was worried for his safety," she defended her action.
"I'm not faulting you for that. I still think we should've left him to his own decision, and if he died, he died," he shrugged.
"I don't agree with that, but he is being extremely careless about everything, isn't he?" She said.
"Too careless. Sirius Black won't hesitate to take advantage of that carelessness... assuming Harry is Black's target," he said quietly.
"Right... it still doesn't make any sense, why he would be over Ron's bed instead of Harry's..." Hermione said just as quiet.
"And no one would want Ron dead, no one on Voldemort's side at least. So why?" Again, they just couldn't come up with a rational reason for Sirius Black to be over Ron's bed.
Pretty soon it was time for Hogsmeade, and even thought the snow was gone, it was still around Forty Fahrenheit, which was approximately Four Celsius if he had his conversion right. They were bundled up in some warm clothing that wasn't restrictive in movement. On his way out of the Castle with Hermione, Filch stopped him.
"Hold on there, you don't have a form signed, you're not going to Hogsmeade," his grin was malicious.
Before Jake could say anything, Professor McGonagall arrived out of his vision. He had to turn a bit further to his left to see her, "Hold on there, Mr. Filch," she said, catching him off guard, "Fernandes here has received unrestricted permission to go to Hogsmeade from the Headmaster. He is allowed to go with Miss Granger."
Filch said nothing, but grumbled as Jake went past him, Hermione by his side. When they were on the trek towards Hogsmeade, Ron came up behind them, "How did you get permission to go to Hogsmeade?"
"Do you hear something, Hermione?" He asked her and she couldn't stop her giggling.
"Seriously, Harry tried to get his form signed but couldn't, how could you?" Ron persisted.
"Because I don't have a Psychopath after me," Jake said like it was obvious, which it kind of was.
Ron said nothing else as he sped walked right by them. Jake couldn't help laughing when Ron was out of earshot. "I wonder what Harry is going to say when we next see him," Hermione said, wondering if she would see him at Hogsmeade. He told Ron he'd be there, but anything could happen.
"Who cares?"
"Jake, don't be like that," Hermione said.
"I'm just responding to his idiotic decisions. I don't want to not be friends with him, but his current choices are making it hard to be friends with him right now," he explained, hoping she understood his point of view.
"That doesn't make it right, though..." Hermione trailed off. They soon arrived at Hogsmeade and Jake's excitement was showing. She smiled and boldly grabbed his hand, "First stop is the Post Office! I'm sure you'll love this!"
Jake was laughing and having a good old time. Hermione showed him to several places after the Post Office; she took him to Honeydukes where he was able to actually see what was available. He didn't buy a whole lot, but he did buy some Blood Pops, which Hermione said she wasn't surprised at.
After that she pointed out Dogweed and Deathcap, a Herbology shop; a Hairdressing Salon which didn't have an official name, she only pointed it out because his hair was getting to be a tad on the long side; Madam Puddifoot's Tea shop was pointed out next, but Hermione said she hadn't been in there because that's where students tended to go on dates; next was Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, which reminded Hermione she was needing a new Quill set.
After spending a few hours showing him around, she stood with him outside the Three Broomsticks, "Want a Butterbeer?"
"I want to see what's so great about it," he replied and they walked into the Inn. They had yet to actually see Ron, or Harry for that matter, but he probably had the Invisibility Cloak.
"It's especially wonderful in the Winter, because it'll warm you right up," Hermione said and told him to go sit down and that she'd get the Butterbeers for them. She walked up to the counter where Rosmerta was standing, "Good afternoon, Madam Rosmerta."
"Good afternoon, what can I get for you?" She asked.
"Two Butterbeers please?" Hermione asked.
Rosmerta glanced over at the table that Jake was sitting at, "Of course," she gave Hermione a subtle wink. When she came back with them, Hermione was about to pay, but Rosmerta stopped her, "For this one time, consider it on the House."
Hermione picked up on what she was getting at and she was sure her cheeks were pink, "Th-Thank you," she took the mugs back to Jake, face surely still pink.
He accepted the Butterbeer and sniffed it before taking a drink. He felt instantly warm on the inside, "That does warm you up. Also helps that it tastes great, too."
"I told you it was a wonderful thing," she smiled as she took a sip of hers.
A thought crossed Jake's mind, "I hate to put a damper on things... but how do you think the trial went?"
"I hope it went well..." Hermione said, having a bad feeling that it didn't.
"Yeah... there's still the appeal if it didn't... but the question is, will they care?"
"I don't know..." Hermione didn't like the situation at all.
They were talking quietly in the Three Broomsticks, sitting basically side-by-side at this point. Their hands brushed gently up against each other every now and then. Jake looked at Hermione from the profile perspective, 'She's so pretty... beautiful even... what am I saying?' He turned away from her, 'She's my best friend... is that friendship really worth ruining?' They were basically shoulder to shoulder. He was feeling quite exhilarated to be spending time with Hermione outside of Hogwarts. She turned to look at him and was smiling, her enlarged front teeth visible to him. He had an odd desire to wipe that smile off her face with a kiss, but he ignored that feeling, it would have no desirable outcome from what he could see. His relationship with Hermione was purely platonic, and he would just have to accept that.
Hermione had kept hoping something would happen during their date , but give that Jake didn't like her in the way she loved him, she knew it was not going to happen. She took another drink of butterbeer, warming her insides right up.
When they finished their date, according to Hermione's innermost list of desires, they exited the Three Broomsticks and she walked with him aimlessly, "Where to next? I remember the first time after you got back from Hogsmeade, you said something about a Shrieking Shack?" Jake asked her.
"Of course! It's supposedly the most haunted place in Britain that Muggles aren't aware of," Hermione said and led him to it. They stopped at the outskirts where most people didn't venture beyond. She saw Jake going forward, "What are you doing?"
"Going to see the Shack, what else?" He asked.
"But-" before she could say more, and before he could go any closer, an Owl arrived and dropped a letter off to Hermione, "It's from Hagrid!"
Jake hurried back over to her, "What does it say?" He asked as she tore into it and quickly read it.
She began to tear up, "Hagrid lost his case... Buckbeak he-" she got choked up and couldn't say more.
He read the letter, standing right next to her, "He's going to be executed?"