The snake rose up from the ground. I couldn't believe how big the snake looked in comparison with the boy. The boy was back to speaking in that strange language.
Then the snake started speaking back in that language. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. They were speaking in snake language.
I promised myself that when I finally got back to Hogwarts, the first thing I was going to do was go to the library to find more information about this snake language.
My eyes were getting blurry because of the snow, but I was too afraid to move. I just winked a lot and hoped that the snowflakes would melt. My clothes were getting wet because I was already lying there for a few minutes. Should I move now? No, I decided to wait till they both went away.
The boy and the snake were having a conversation in the language. It was hard to focus on the exchange when my body started trembling. I needed to do something quick. Luckily, all of a sudden the snake turned around and slithered away.
The fire was still blazing in a circle around the boy. The boy seemed eerily familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. I must have seen him in Hogwart. The boy grabbed his wand and yelled: 'incendio finite.'
And then it was pitch black. I tried to see something, but I couldn't use my wand because then the boy would see me and that was the last thing that I wanted. The sound of footsteps were getting softer and softer with each passing second till there was nothing more than the deafening silence.
I stayed there for a few more minutes, till I was absolutely certain that the boy would not come back. I jumped up from the ground and grabbed my wand. I whispered a spell and light was pouring out of my wand.
I walked back and thank god, my suitcase was still standing there. I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and started to walk further into the forest. I kept thinking about the weird things that I saw. Was this hypothermia?
I grabbed my wand and did a quick warming spell. I felt a little better, but I just wanted to be in the common room by the fire. My steps were heavy and the snow didn't seem to stop falling from the sky.
I heard someone shouting from a distance. I saw a large figure walking through the forest with a lantern in his big hand. I stood there silent, not wanting to cause attention to myself.
"Ruby, where are you?" the big figure shouted. His voice sounded familiar and I started walking towards the figure. Finally, someone came looking for me! The lantern was held next to his face.
Standing there in the forest, was one of my dearest friends. I runned towards him, but my suitcase was not helping me. It kept getting stuck in the snow which was making it hard. I stopped running and just started walking instead. When I got to Hagrid, I gave him a big hug. He hugged me back.
Hagrid was one of my best friends. He was Hogwarts groundskeeper now. He had allegedly opened the chamber of secrets last year, but I didn't believe that for one second. Neither had Dumbeldore so it seems, because he soon got offered a job at Hogwarts.
"Where have you been all this time? You should have been at Hogwarts yesterday" Hagrid said. He held his lantern up in the air and started walking. I followed Hagrid since he knew these grounds better than I did.
"I'm so sorry, I just got lost. I was walking on a path that I thought was leading me to Hogwarts, but then all of a sudden, I was in these woods" I told him. Hagrid nodded along, but he still looked a little confused.
"You gave everyone a heart attack, by not coming on time. We thought that you might have been kidnapped by a dark wizard or that you had gotten injured on your way here" Hagrid explained. I felt a pool of guilt in my gut even though I definitely did not do this on purpose.
"You're lucky you didn't get hurt" Hagrid said with a scoff. The trees were getting smaller and there was more light coming through the trees so you could actually see the light. I put my wand back in my cloak, since I didn't need it anymore.
"Why would I get hurt here? Every land around Hogwarts is safe" I said confused. "But not the forbidden forest" Hagrid said with an exasperated tone. He threw his hands in the air and the lantern was wobbling dangerously.
I couldn't believe it. Had I been walking through the forbidden forest at night? It was indeed a wonder that I didn't get hurt along the way. But that means that another student at Hogwarts was in the forbidden forest at night time no less doing some sort of strange ritual.
I felt intrigued about the whole ordeal. I wanted to grab a piece of parchment and a quill and I wanted to write down every single detail about what I had seen so I would not forget any important information.
"I am just glad that you're here safe" Hagrid said while wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close. We were out of the forest now and I saw my home, Hogwarts. It was as massive as I remembered and we started walking towards the entrance.
We walked through the doors and the warmth that came from within was like a warm blanket that was being thrown over me. I unbuttoned my cloak and unwrapped my scarf from my neck. My cheeks were getting red from the heat.
Hagrid grabbed the handle of my suitcase and we started walking towards my common room. I said hello to a few of my classmates that walked past us.
We turned around the corner and I bumped into someone. I fell to the ground and there was a dull pain spreading through my lower back and my shoulder.
"Ruby, are you hurt?" Hagrid asked me while grabbing my hands to lift me from the ground. I rubbed my shoulder and there were tears forming in my eyes. Someone hastily said something that sounded like "sorry", but then someone bumped against my painful shoulder to get away.
I looked back and some boy was walking away like nothing happened. "Can you believe that guy?" I asked Hagrid while the boy was walking up the stairs. Hagrid was shaking his head and I started massaging my shoulder again. The pain was getting duller with each passing second.
"He is the biggest arsehole in this whole school. I can't believe that he is so popular and well liked by the teachers" Hagrid said with a scoff. I agreed with Hagrid immediately about the fact that he was an arsehole. Who would bump into someone and then not help them from the ground or ask if they were hurt?
I still did not know who the boy was though. "What is his name?" I asked Hagrid.
"Tom Riddle."
YOU ARE READING
A dangerous game
FanfictionRuby's holiday is over and it is time for her to go back to Hogwarts, her home. But then she sees the strangest thing in the forest and she can't seem to forget it. Then there is also this boy that makes her lose all her thoughts and she can't think...