Dark Magic

The Knight Bus

Harry slammed his fist against his bed side table, panting harshly as he sat down on his bed. I watched as his glance drifted onto the photograph perched on the cabinet, of mum and dad before they died. The photo came to life, as they laughed and danced in each other's embrace. How unaware they were of the events that would unfold shortly after.

His breathing had calmed a little, before I decided to speak. "Harry." He flinched at my disturbance of the silence, "We have to go. We'll head for the leaky cauldron and stay there for the night and figure everything out in the morning." His face was dripping with sweat as his eyes found my own.

Finally, he nodded, releasing Hedwig from his cage and grabbing his trunk that he had packed before my arrival. I grabbed my own backpack, and we made our way down the stairs. Vernon, however, was waiting at the bottom, blocking our path.

"YOU BRING HER BACK! YOU BRING HER BACK NOW AND YOU PUT HER RIGHT!" The chubby man shrieked at the top of his lungs. Harry scoffed, shaking his head, "No! She deserved what she got!" 

The man shrieked, lunging at my brother, causing the both of us to draw our wands, pointing them towards his neck. He stepped back, his grunts silenced. "Keep away from us!" Harry spat venomously, as Vernon backed away in fear, clearing our path to the front door. 

"You're not allowed to use magic outside of school." Vernon tested us both, causing me now to chuckle snidely. "Oh, really? And what was that out there, then?" I spoke, nudging my head in the direction of the dining room, where the evening's events had unfolded less than fifteen minutes prior. He forced a sarcastic smirk, but I could tell he was not entirely confident in the words he spoke, "They won't let you both go back now! You have nowhere to go."

Vernon's eyes met Harry's, as my brother's look of confidence faltered. I'd need to try and get word to Snape before it was too late, and we were both headed to Azkaban. "I don't care; any where's better than here." Harry spoke in reassurance, grabbing my hand as we left before another word could be muttered from the Dursley family. Something told me I wouldn't be going back to Privet Drive any time soon...

The rainstorm had stopped, as our anxiety calmed and we made our way down the dimly lit street, Marge's screams sounding in the distance as she floated towards the sky like a birthday balloon. I tried not to smirk, knowing how much danger we could both, potentially, be in if we did not seek magical protection swiftly.

All I knew, was that we needed to get to London quickly; so we made our way towards the nearest bus stop and waited for one to arrive that could take us to the station. But, would they even be open this time of night? I wasn't sure.

We took a seat on the wet pavement, deciding I no longer cared whether my dress became ruined or not. My white shoes were now grey from the amount of puddles I had stepped into, and Harry removed his coat, wrapping it around me in the cold, damp playground. 

"Do you think it'll rain again?" I pouted, looking up at the black sky. Harry frowned, shaking his head, "I don't know, Em."

I took a deep and unsatisfied breath, averting my gaze back onto the playground behind us as the street lamp flickered on and off, the swings and roundabout beginning to move of their own accord. The wind picked up, causing me to pull Harry's jacket closer to my chest. The world around us turned eerie and frightening, compared to a usual, summer evening that was expected at the end of August.

Rustling emitted from the bushes on the opposite side of the road, drawing our attention from the playground. The leaves parted in a disturbance, as a large, black dog with glowing, yellow eyes appeared through the brush. We got up from the floor quickly, as I readied myself to run. Harry, however, took out his wand, aiming it at the beast.