A dangerous game

Chapter one

Snowflakes were falling beside me. They were so white that you almost couldn't see them at all. I was pulling my luggage behind me, while trying not to fall.

My feet didn't feel like they were mine, since I was already walking through the snowstorm for what felt like hours. My hair was wet from the snow and my body was shivering. If I walked through this storm any longer, I was definitely going to catch a fever.

My scarf was wrapped tightly around my face by my mother. I already missed them dearly even though I had not only been gone for a day. My friends were definitely going to be teasing me about them.

I tried to keep her last advice in mind. I should listen to my mother more often. The last thing she said to me before I attempted to apparate to Hogwarts was: "Ruby, try not to be so serious or hard on yourself. It's okay not to worry about school all the time."

I know my mother means well, but she can be a little overbearing. But that didn't stop my heart from already feeling like I left something precious behind. I had a picture of them on my nightstand. I can't believe that winter break has gone by so fast. I hardly had time to settle in before I had to get back to Hogwarts.

It was going to be a difficult year anyways. Teachers had already started drilling us about our NEWTS even though they were next year. I was getting a headache just thinking about all of the homework that I have to do.

I looked at the road in front of me. The road was first nothing more than just a little dirt road without any lights. I had my wand in front of me in case some maniac was going to jump on me.

The sky was growing darker with every minute that passed. There were trees lining the road that I was walking on. This was definitely the road to Hogwarts. I had a bad feeling about where this road was leading me, but I didn't have any other choice.

The snowflakes were getting even bigger and they were falling from the sky at a rapid speed. All the snowflakes formed a white cloud in front of me. The light coming from my wand couldn't even help me now. My feet were dragging through the snow, since I didn't have any energy left to actually lift them.

Then I heard a sound coming from behind me. I got a fright, so I let go of my suitcase. My suitcase fell in the snow, but I don't care about that now. I definitely didn't imagine that sound, but when I tried to look through the snow, I did not see anyone.

My heart started beating faster and my hands were growing clammy. Don't listen, it is all just in your imagination. Your head is just trying to deceive you. These thoughts calmed me down a little and I really had to get going.

I picked up the handle of my suitcase and shuffled further through the snow. It was eerily quiet for the next few steps. The trees were getting bigger and they were closing around me. I had this terrible thought, but I couldn't seem to shake it off.

Was I in the forbidden forest? It couldn't be, right? That would explain the strange noise and why I got lost while walking to Hogwarts. I should really work on my apparition skills before my NEWTS next year.

While I was looking at how bright the full moon was tonight, I heard a voice. The person had a very loud and clear voice, but they were speaking in a language that I couldn't understand. It was also a language that I have never heard before.

Normally, I would not be out looking for trouble, but how much worse can this get? I let go of the handle of my luggage and walked to where the voice was coming from. I was not shuffling anymore, but actively trying to be as quiet as the forest was before.

I looked behind me at the footprints that were in the snow and the luggage that I left behind. Was this really a good idea? But didn't my mother say that I should not be so serious all the time? This was the first time that I was going to do something that could be potentially dangerous.

I was making myself as small as possible so I could go through the many thick and big trees in the forest. I was trying to curl under one of the large branches, but then I saw that there was a big open field that someone was standing in.

He looked alone. He was dressed in a green blazer, black trousers, polished black shoes that you almost couldn't see through the snow and a green and silver scarf. Okay, so this was a Slytherin student.

But what was he doing in an open field in the middle of a snow storm? He didn't seem like he was lost. He was standing there, saying things in a language that I didn't understand. There was a circle of fire around him, but strangely the snow was not melting.

The glow of the fire was projecting on his face. He was very handsome but not in a traditional way with his black hair and his strong male features.

I decided to wait for what was going to happen. The boy was holding a book. I figured that he was reading instructions. Maybe this was some sort of ritual.

Then there was some creature coming out of the woods. I wanted to shout a warning, but the boy was already looking at the creature and he was smiling.

The snake slithered out of the woods to the boy who seemed unafraid. The snake was huge and he or she had black and green scales. The snake came closer and the boy closed the book and stopped speaking in the strange language.

The fire around him was still blazing, but that did not seem to scare the snake. The snake slithered through the ring of fire without any harm. With a ring of fire like that, it was obvious that the boy was very powerful.

The boy petted the big snake like he was some kind of little kitten that he had to protect. The boy opened his mouth and he said something that she almost missed because she noticed that he had a smooth and raspy voice at the same time.

"I have been waiting for you."