Harry and Ron walked into the Entrance Hall, dragging their luggage and carrying their pets. They left everything with the rest of the students’ belongings, giving a quick goodbye to Hedwig as they hurried up the stairs.
“Oh, thank goodness they made it safely. I was worried about them,” Lily muttered, her hand resting lightly on her chest as if to calm her nerves.
“So, a house-elf shows up in my bedroom, we can’t get through the barrier to Platform 9¾, and we almost get killed by a tree… clearly, someone doesn’t want me here this year,” Harry muttered, his face drawn with confusion and frustration.
“A house-elf? Who sent it? And what do you mean, almost killed by the tree?” James nearly screeched, his voice rising with each word.
Harry nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “The elf showed up in my room. Nobody sent him, he just… appeared, telling me I shouldn’t come to school this year because it’s dangerous. When I didn’t agree, he got me in trouble with Vernon—that’s why I was locked in my room. And about the tree… the car crashed into the Whomping Willow while landing, so you can probably imagine the rest.”
James stared, speechless for a moment, as he tried to wrap his mind around Harry’s words.
As they reached the top of the stairs, they came face-to-face with Argus Filch, the caretaker, and his pet cat, Mrs. Norris. Filch’s usual malicious grin stretched across his face as he glared at the boys. “Well, take a good look, lads,” he sneered. “This night might well be the last you spend in this castle.”
“Oh no, trouble is here.”
“Ugh, I just want to punch his teeth out.”
Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances. Filch’s smile grew even more devilish. “Oh dear, we are in trouble,” he said with barely concealed glee.
Moments later, they stood in the cold, shadowy classroom of Severus Snape.
“Merlin, not him. Anyone but him.” Sirius muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing in irritation.
The Potions Master stood before them, holding up a copy of the Daily Prophet, its front page filled with an article about their flying car escapade at King's Cross Station.
“You were seen by no less than seven Muggles!” Snape snapped, throwing the newspaper aside in fury.
Gasps echoed throughout the hall, filling the space with a tense hush, as Walburga Black rose to her feet, spewing a string of colorful words that could've made even the portraits on the walls cringe.
His dark eyes bore into them with an intensity that made Harry feel as though he were being scolded by the giant Whomping Willow itself. “Do you have any idea how serious this is?! You have risked the exposure of our world! Not to mention the damage you inflicted on a Whomping Willow that’s been on these grounds since before you were born!”
“Seriously?”
“He cares more about that deadly useless tree?”
“I mean its snape. What can you Expect?”
Ron, trying to muster some defense, spoke up nervously. “Honestly, Professor Snape, I think it did more damage to us.”
“Silence!” Snape’s voice cut through the room like a whip as he rounded his desk and approached them, his robes billowing. “I assure you, that were you in Slytherin and your fate rested with me, the both of you would be on the train home tonight! As it is—”
YOU ARE READING
SOLSTICE
Fanfiction"My lord," Cyril hummed in reply. Theo always preferred this title. Theo asked, referring to the future they all would be witnessing, "Are you okay with what tomorrow brings? It's like privacy being snatched away, and secrets won't be secrets anymo...
