Immortal Magic (Book 1)

Chapter Four

Allison's Point of View

The rest of the week at the Leaky Cauldron passed surprisingly quickly. Most evenings, Harry and Ron would end up in Hermione's and my room. 

The boys usually played Wizard's Chess or Exploding Snap while Hermione and I sat nearby reading through our Hogwarts textbooks and memorising sections far earlier than necessary.

Ron claimed we were both mental. Hermione took that as a compliment. Tonight, all of us were downstairs eating dinner together before our final night before returning to Hogwarts.

"Have all of you finished packing your school things?" Mum asked from further down the table. Harry, Hermione, and I all nodded immediately. Percy, unfortunately, decided to involve himself.

"Ron hasn't," he informed Mum smugly. "He's just thrown everything beside his bed and called it packing." Ron looked scandalised. "Traitor." Mum pursed her lips in disapproval.

"Well then," she said firmly, "all of you upstairs. Wash up and finish getting everything ready for tomorrow."

Hermione and I quickly finished eating before heading upstairs toward our room, Harry following shortly behind us.

Once inside, Hermione and I began checking over our trunks one final time to make sure we had everything packed properly. "I still think Ancient Runes will be fascinating," Hermione was saying while reorganising her books for the third time.

"You think every subject is fascinating." "Because they are." I laughed softly, about to tease her further, when sudden shouting echoed from down the hall. Harry looked up from where he sat on my bed while Hermione and I exchanged confused glances.

"What was that?" A second later, Percy's voice boomed through the corridor. "RONALD!" All three of us rushed from the room and hurried toward Percy and Ron's shared room.

"What's going on?" Hermione, Harry, and I asked at the same time. Percy looked moments away from a breakdown. "My Head Boy badge is missing!" he exclaimed dramatically. "I left it out to polish before dinner!"

Ron looked equally distressed. "Well, Scabbers' tonic is missing!" Ron tells us. "Forget your rat tonic!" Percy snapped. "Forget your stupid badge!"

"Okay, whoa," Harry interrupted quickly before the argument could escalate further. "Ron, I think I saw the tonic downstairs earlier. Allison and I can go get it." Ron visibly relaxed.

"Hermione," I said, turning toward her, "can you help Percy look for the badge?" She nodded immediately, though she looked like she regretted agreeing already.

Without thinking much about it, I grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him from the room before Percy could spiral further into panic.

Only once we were halfway down the hallway did I realise I was still holding his hand. And judging by Harry's increasingly red face, he had realised too.

I quickly looked away, pretending not to notice. As we approached the staircase, voices drifted up from below.

"...makes no sense not telling them." Dad. Harry and I immediately froze. "Harry and Allison have a right to know," Dad continued seriously. "I've told Fudge this, but he insists on treating them like children. They're thirteen."

Mum sighed heavily. "Arthur, the truth would terrify them." Harry glanced at me in confusion, and I returned the look.

"I'm not trying to frighten them," Dad argued. "I just want them to be careful. You know what Harry, Ron, and Allison are like. Always wandering off on their own. They've already ended up in the Forbidden Forest more than once."