Chapter One Hundred Forty-Three
Breaking Walls
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
(Fix You - Coldplay)November 8th, 1998Mia was smiling as the crowd of them gathered in front of the Hogwarts Express
to send off their friends and family for one final year. Plenty of people had taken to staring,
but she encouraged everyone to ignore them. It was not as though Rita Skeeter was buzzing
about looking for ways to expose every detail of their private lives. The Daily Prophet had
taken to being completely silent in regards to the Golden Trio, Sirius, and the Malfoys. Mia
had made a point to have a meeting with Witch Weekly with Narcissa and Laurel in tow to
befriend the Editor-in-Chief. All publicity was tightly controlled now, which was exactly
how she had planned it.
As Ron approached her, carrying a trunk behind him, Mia smiled.
"Hey 'Mione," he said nervously.
"Don't look so sad, Ron."
It had been weeks earlier when he finally made his way back to Grimmauld Place,
hanging his head in shame as he begged Sirius to speak to her. Sirius had growled
protectively, which Mia said was hardly necessary as Ron had been properly afraid of her
himself when he thought she was his Muggle-born, swotty best friend. When finally left
alone, Ron fell into a long-winded apology for his behaviour, not just during their last
encounter, but over the years that preceded it.
"You were right. I did rely on you and Harry. I just... I didn't know how much." He looked
down and sighed loudly.
"What happened?"
"I failed my exams," he confessed with a defeated shrug. "All of them. Kingsley said because of
what I did in the war, he could pull a few more strings but... I failed. I'd be a terrible Auror if I let