Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

10: Seraphine's POV

  "Ow!" Seraphine cried. She looked up, angry at whatever had just hit her on the head, interrupting her "nice" breakfast.

Her glare was met with a beady yellow eye. Rags, her owl. Wait, no. He was the homeless old man's owl from Diagon Alley. But, of course, anything she stole was her's now, according to her mother.

Seraphine brushed the unpleasant thought away and tore open the letter Rags had dropped on her head. It was sealed and had pretty, cursive handwriting on the envelope. Official looking. This couldn't be good.

Swallowing a nervous bite of scrambled eggs, she delicately opened the envelope and skimmed through the letter.

Miss Seraphine Parkinson,

You have hereby been called to Headmistress Minerva McGonagall's office along with Madam Poppy Pomfrey to discuss a series of traumatic events that occurred a fortnight prior to this date. Your body was found running from the Forbidden Forest and severely wounded, the wounds caused by none other than a werewolf. It is extremely important that you attend this small meeting to discuss what exactly you were doing in the Forbidden Forest at that time and to assist us in tracking down the werewolf. We must keep the rest of the school safe from any future dangers. Please be present at this meeting and arrive promptly to the time below.
September 16, 3:00 P.M.
Yours truly,
Minerva McGonagall

Seraphine gulped and crumpled the letter into a ball. What would she say about what she was doing in the Forest? Should she lie?

Seraphine clenched her teeth in frustration, wishing her life was as easy and simple as her peers'. They didn't have a mother who forced them to commit crimes because of plain selfishness. They didn't have a mother who was filthy rich in wizard money, yet didn't spare a Knut for Seraphine unless she had no other option. They didn't have a mum who still supported the most evil, ruthless, and powerful wizard of all time, even after he died. They didn't have a mother who...ugh.

Why did her mother have to make her life so complicated? Now she didn't know what to say to McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. She couldn't talk to anyone about it; she had no friends or anyone trustworthy in her life.

Telling the truth was out of the question; Seraphine couldn't just strut into McGonagall's office and say, "Hey, my mum just forced me to go into the Forbidden Forest and look for something to put the school in danger. So...yeah."

There was only one other option; Seraphine had to lie. She checked the time on the clock in the Great Hall (it was hard to, as it had twelve hands and all of them were moving). But, from what she could tell, it was 8:30. Her "appointment" was at 3:00. She had about six and a half hours to come up with a good excuse for being in the Forbidden Forest.

I can think of something. It's not a big deal, she assured herself. But she would have to think hard, as she was a terrible liar. If all else failed, she would have to go to the library and see if there was anything magical to make her a better liar or something.

I'll think of something during class, she thought, rushing not to be late. Professor Adkins, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher wouldn't be pleased if she was tardy. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her long, oversized robe and her books tumbled out of her hands as she fell back, thumping against the floor behind her.

Seraphine let out a cry of surprise and glared behind her, angry at whoever had stepped on her robe. She was met with the most piercing green eyes she'd ever seen.

"Here, I'll help you up," the owner of the eyes said, holding a hand out to her.

She took it gratefully and he helped her stand. "He" was a boy who looked about her age. Then she remembered he was Albus Potter, Harry Potter's son, the one who was in Slytherin.