𝒱𝒾𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓉 - Declan Hayes (a Harry Potter Story)

iii.

The following night, Declan hadn't been able to get much sleep. He knew every store in Diagon Alley was closed at night so he wondered why someone had been out while every store was closed. He spent too much time thinking about it and didn't fall asleep until a couple hours past midnight.

Declan wasn't a stranger to sleeping in, but never to the extent of until noon. There was a first time for everything, however, as Declan awoke and checked his watch quickly realizing it was nearly half an hour to noon. He got up quickly and threw on some shorts and a t-shirt his mum had made. It was green to show support for Ireland's Quidditch Team.

As he made his way downstairs, Declan could hear a couple new voices, all four of which he recognized.

The first new face he saw was one with sandy blonde hair on his head and glasses on his face. It was Declan's best friend, Thomas.

Across the table from Thomas sat a girl who looked to be the same age as Declan. She had straight brown hair pulled up into a ponytail and ocean blue eyes. Declan knew this was Allison Graves, another one of his friends from Hogwarts.

Beside Allison was a tall man Declan had only met once. The man had brown hair and green eyes as well as a beard. Declan recognized him as Allison's father, Mr. Graves.

Next to Mr. Graves sat his wife, Mrs. Graves. She had straight brown hair that sat on her shoulders and blue eyes the same as her daughter.

"Declan!" said a voice.

Before Declan had a chance to respond, Allison had run up to him, Thomas slightly behind with Lori taking up the rear.

"How are you?" she asked him.

"I'm great. A little tired, though," Declan responded. Lori raised an eyebrow. She knew they hadn't been out very late last night. As a matter of fact, she knew he had gone to bed a little earlier than he normally did.

"You came here yesterday, didn't you?" Thomas asked. Declan nodded.

"I was getting a little bored of staying cooped up at home so I decided to come here a little early," Declan explained. "When did you two get here?"

"Thomas came to my place yesterday and spent the night since he can't use the Floo Network from his house. We got here about an hour ago. Lori and her family were all coming downstairs when we got here, so we just sat with them," Allison explained.

"What took you so long to get down here?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah, we asked your mum if someone should go wake you up but we decided not to since she said you sleep in during the summer holiday," Lori said.

"I-" Declan was about to explain as no adults were nearby, but right as he had begun to speak, Mr. and Mrs. Graves both walked up to Declan.

While shaking Mr. Graves' hand, Declan shot a look at his friends, silently telling them he'd tell them later.

After greeting Allison's parents, Declan had tried to get near his friends but wasn't successful. He'd have to wait to tell them about the light and the person outside.

Over the next few hours, Declan wasn't presented with any opportunities to tell his friends about the light. He wanted to do it away from their parents as he knew they'd just tell them all to leave it alone. Declan wasn't sure he wanted to do this, though. It was something that seemed relatively small. Why was someone out in Diagon Alley after all the stores were closed? It seemed like a simple question Declan wanted to know the answer to, even if he shouldn't spend his time investigating it. Even if he did investigate it, it wouldn't matter. Declan didn't expect this problem to go to Hogwarts. Even if it did, Declan would have other issues to worry about. He would have classes and hopefully Quidditch practice, assuming he made it on the team.