PHANTOM FIGURES | harry potter

12. pixies and slugs

     The next morning at breakfast, under the charmed sky, and surrounded by delicious food, Aspen sat next to Hermione at Gryffindor table, waiting for Harry and Ron to show up. Hermione had a thick book propped up against a milk jug; she seemed tense.

     Aspen ate her regular meal and watched as Harry and Ron came speed-walking inside. When they sat down, they greeted the two girls. Hermione gave them a very stiff 'Hello', she still seemed to be upset with the car incident. Neville, who was nearby was a bit more cheerful.

     "So, what happened?" Aspen asked them as soon as she could.

     Ron started explaining how the barrier closed, Aspen thought it was impossible, and how they went in the car and drove it to Hogwarts. The way they almost got run over, which resulted in Harry dangling from the vehicle. And that they each have detention.

     "So irresponsible." Hermione tutted. "Honestly, you should have just sent a letter to Professor McGonagall."

     Ron rolled his eyes. He started stuffing his face with food.

     Harry spoke, "He forgot to mention that we crashed into a tree when we arrived. Called the Whomping Willow. It kept punching the car with its branches. Once we got out of that mess, the car drove away on its own and went into the forest."

     Aspen blinked at Ron. "What are you going to tell your parents?"

     "Dunno if I'm even going to say anything," the boy shrugged, speaking with his mouth full of food. Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust. "They sent letters home. I think that should be enough. Mum is probably furious."

     "Most likely." Aspen nodded.

     "The Dursleys won't care." Harry commented.

     Aspen suddenly remembered something. "Why did you not write back to any of us, Harry?" she asked the boy.

     "Erm," Harry ruffled his hair, Aspen noticed he did that quite a lot. "A house elf was hiding them from me. His name is Dobby."

     "Dobby the house elf." Aspen mumbled. "Why?"

     "He said that he thought if he kept my letters, I would think my friends weren't writing to me, which I did, and that I wouldn't go back to Hogwarts. He was very adamant that I wouldn't come back here."

     Ron scoffed, "Sounds like a rude house elf."

     Harry shrugged. "He thought he was doing the right thing."

     They watched as owls came flying in the hall, screeching sounds echoing.

     "Gran is probably sending something I forgot!" Neville exclaimed.

     Aspen went to take another bite of her toast, but almost choked when something large and grey fell into Hermione's jug, spraying them all with milk and feathers.

     "Errol!" said Ron, pulling the Weasley family owl by its legs. Errol slumped, unconscious, onto the table with a red envelope in its beak.

     Aspen knew what that was. A Howler. An older Ravenclaw told her a story of how they got one during lunch, and how humiliating it was. She was suddenly relieved Margaret barely knew how to operate magical items.

     "Oh, no-" Ron gasped.

     "It's all right, he's still alive," Hermione prodded Errol with the tip of her finger.

     "It's not that, it's that,"

     He was pointing at the envelope, Harry and Hermione looked clueless about it. Aspen, Ron, and Neville all looked at it like it was going to explode at any second, which it could.