Eternal Despair (Harry Potter/OC)

𝟛: Diagon-Alley

The boys received letters from Hogwarts one sunny morning, about a week after Harry had arrived at the Burrow.

Enzo, Harry, and Ron headed down to breakfast to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already seated at the kitchen table.

Enzo had borrowed a some clothes from Ron and was dressed much more casual, in comparison to his earlier choice of clothes that made him stand out like a sore thumb.

The moment she saw Harry, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter. Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room.

She quickly dove under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like the setting sun. Pretending he hadn't noticed, Harry sat down and accepted the toast Mrs. Weasley offered him. "Letters from school," announced Mr. Weasley, handing Harry, Enzo, and Ron identical envelopes made of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink.

"Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry. That man doesn't miss a trick. You two've got them, too," he added, as Fred and George ambled in, still in their pajamas.

For a few minutes, silence fell over the room as everyone read their letters. Enzo's letter instructed him to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross Station on September first. It also included a list of the new books he'd need for the coming year.

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:
- The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
- Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
- Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
- Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
- Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
- Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
- Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
- Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

"I guess we're having a Lockhart galore this year," Enzo said, looking down at his list in disappointment.

Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Harry's. "You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan. Bet it's a witch."

At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.

"That lot won't come cheap," said George, glancing quickly at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive."

"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, though she looked worried, as Enzo noticed. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."

"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.

She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and promptly put her elbow in the butter dish.

Percy walked in, already dressed, with his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest. "Morning, all," he said briskly. "Lovely day."

He sat down in the only remaining chair but quickly leapt up in pain after something took a bite out of his bottom.

"Aw, Nyx, when'd you get back?" said Enzo, taking the black owl from an angered Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing.

"We've got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying Ron and I were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys."

He ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud:

"Dear Enzo, Ron, and Harry if you're there

I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal or idiotic like exploding the house to get him out, Enzo, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once. I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course.