Some good news, and some bad...

The next day was the day of Buckbeak’s scheduled execution for injuring Draco Malfoy during a classroom demonstration. Hagrid was distraught so the trio of Ron, Harry and Hermione decided to go and console their friend. Mika went to see Dumbledore after not being able to find Lupin anywhere in the castle. Had she known, he had spotted someone on the marauders map that interested him greatly, even to the extent of forgetting about Mika for a split second. Someone he had thought dead for the last 12 years.

Mika approached the tower where Dumbledore’s office was located. “Sherbet Lemon,” she announced and the statue guarding the stairway spun out of the way and she stepped onto the steps. They twisted upwards literally spiralling her upwards. At the top she found a large, arched wooden door. She took hold of the huge old bronze knocker and knocked. The door swung creakily open.

“Ah, Mika. Come in and sit down,” her old friend greeted her. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

She took a seat as he bustled about making tea for the both of them, with his wand of course. “Sugar?” he asked as several cubes floated from the sugar bowl and hovered in wait. “Three right?” he remembered. Three sugar cubes obediently plopped down carefully into the cup as Mika held it and the spoon stirred by itself.

Mika chuckled as she took a sip. It was still a bit hot so she sat the cup and saucer down on the desk. “I’ll never get used to all this magic stuff.”

Dumbledore eyed her over his half moon spectacles. “Even though you can do it yourself?” he asked slyly.

“So, Remus did come and speak to you after all?” she said in a worried voice.

“No, my dear. I saw you from my window with young Miss Granger. You nearly blew up the whomping willow.” He was smiling.

“Oh, you saw that did you? Well, I don’t know if I’m really cut out for all this magic stuff. Remus and Hermione seem to think I am. But perhaps we’ll deal with that some other time.” She picked up her teacup and sipped it. It had cooled off enough by now.

“Oh yes. Is there something that you wanted?” he prompted his friend.

“Well,” she hesitated, trying to suppress a grin and blushing very prettily. “I have something to tell you. I wanted us to tell you together, but I can’t seem to find Remus…”

“If it’s about you two ‘seeing’ each other, I already know…”

“No, Albus, it’s a bit more than that. He’s asked me to marry him,” she dropped her bombshell.

“And did you accept?” he asked, more than a hint of boyish glee in his face.

Mika grinned. “Of course I did!”

Dumbledore jumped to his feet and came around the desk to congratulate her properly. Mika stood and accepted the hug and good wishes of her dear friend. “I just wish Remus was here too. You don’t happen to know where he is do you?” she asked worriedly. She couldn’t help but feel that something was going on that she didn’t know about. On the other hand, there was hardly anything in the entire world that slipped by Albus Dumbledore’s watchful eye.

“I haven’t seen him for a couple of days,” he answered truthfully. That he knew what was indeed going on, he wasn’t about to say. He had other things to attend to first.

They sat and chatted for some time, about the future, and the possibility of a wedding there at Hogwart’s. Mika didn’t know anything about the wedding customs of wizards and made a mental note to ask Hermione about it.

“There will be time enough for such a joyous occasion in the future,” Dumbledore said, rising and kissing Mika on the cheeks once more. “But I fear now is the time for more serious and depressing things. I trust you know about Hagrid’s little incident in his first class with Mr. Malfoy.”

Mika acknowledged that she did indeed. Malfoy had provoked Buckbeak, a hippogriff that Hagrid had been introducing to the class, and as a result of Lucius Malfoy’s powerful influence (and more than a little whining and exaggerating on Draco’s side) the poor creature had been condemned to death.

“Well, this is the day that the sentence is to be carried out. I would very much like for you to come with me, so that we may console poor Hagrid together.”

Mika couldn’t very well refuse and so it was that they went down together to Hagrid’s hut that evening, meeting the Head of the Ministry of Magic himself, Mr. Cornelius Fudge, and a very sinister looking black hooded executioner complete with a ginormous axe.