Halloween At Hogwarts!

Chapter 27 - Halloween At Last!

The four students sat awhile longer, not really wanting to join their peers who were enjoying the music and each other's company. The party was now in full swing; the students were becoming confident and boisterous. Halloween all forgotten perhaps, Harry couldn't tell.

Either way it was probably better that way, let them enjoy themselves he thought. The teachers and adults in the hall on the other hand were watching the room and eyeing everything very closely. Walking slowly covering as much space of the hall as they could. They were Harry noticed not taking any chances. He felt reassured to know the adults were not letting their guard down. It was too risky, besides they would need the adult's help should things go differently to how they had anticipated things to go. They couldn't do this alone.

Satisfied that things seemed, as they should, Harry tried his best to bring his attention back to the table, not able to focus clearly on the conversation at hand. Hermione had been explaining something from the book Saba had lent her to Ron, who seemed irritated at being subjected to the matter. He still hadn't accepted the usefulness of the book, since it had been something Saba had given.

Saba herself seemed to not care for the conversation and stared in deep thought, not taking much of an interest. Every now and then she'd catch parts of the conversation and come to Hermione's defense when Ron questioned her.

"Strong winds are coming." Saba remarked, after awhile in a dreamy far away voice as she looked to the ceiling, bringing Harry's thoughts back to Halloween. Harry too looked to the ceiling at the black skies above. He couldn't tell how she could possibly tell what the weather was doing, from looking at the black mass above.

There didn't seem to be much to see, but as Harry squinted and focused harder, he could almost see thick clouds moving and forming shapes in the sky. Then without warning, as though Harry had insulted the weather, he heard a strong gust of wind whistling through the air, and then it began to rattle the windowpanes in the hall. How he heard through the loud, happy chattering he didn't know. It must have been strong enough for the sound to penetrate through the noise in the hall.

Harry gave a shiver; something told him things would not go easy tonight. His stomach twisted into a knot at the thought of having to go through with the plan in strong winds. It would make things harder for sure.

Harry noticed a hush had fallen over the table. Saba looked troubled as she continued to stare at the ceiling for a little longer. When she brought her eyes back down at face level, Harry could see she was pale and drawn. If Harry was reading her eyes correctly, he detected a little apprehension.

"Is that a bad thing? What does that mean for us?" Hermione asked with trepidation. Harry could feel the fear creeping back into Hermione's mind.

"It doesn't mean anything. Just that the stakes have gotten higher." Saba replied dreamily. She was starting to sound like Luna now, which was worrying. They couldn't afford for Saba to loose her mind now. She was the strongest link in the group.

"Should we be worried?" Hermione asked.

"No!" Saba replied coming back to her senses, "I admit, it will be harder, but not impossible. We can do this. It just means we'll have to work harder. Be more focused and use more strength. Nothing has changed. We still go on with the plan. Keep focused."

"And if it rains?" Hermione probed.

"Nothing changes, we still go on. We have to keep going, we have to try." Saba responded with determination. Saba fished into her pockets and brought out the watch he'd seen her with earlier in the tent. Once she had looked at the time, Saba quickly returned it to her pocket and made to get up. "I need to go and speak to the adults. Make sure they're prepared. I need to see McGonagall, Reed and Shakabolt." Ron narrowed his eyes at the mention of Reed.