A Winter at Hogwarts

Former Glory

"Never have I ever."

"How could this have happened?"

I slowly came to, opening my eyes, which took more effort than I thought. My hand was being held by someone, but I couldn't see who. With a moan I tried to sit up.

"Don't move. Just rest." Said Winter. She was the one holding my hand and she had let it go to gently push me back down into the pillow. There was a sharp pain in my head and I almost went back under, but I kept my eyes open as much as I could.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You hit your head on one of the hoops." Replied Zane. He was standing on the other side of the bed I was in. I opened my eyes a little more to realize I was in the hospital wing. "You just have a slight concussion. Good thing you slowed down some, or it would be worse."

"Who won?" I asked, remembering the game.

"No one." Said Zane. "I didn't catch the Snitch. I refused; called a forfeit. Gryffindor got the house cup by default."

"No one blames you, Vince." Said Karley.

"What was a dementor doing out there in the first place?" asked Winter.

"Heck if I know." Replied Zane. No one seemed to know why the dementor had come out to Hogwarts, and away from Azkaban.

I gained a little more consciousness and sat up very slowly.

"You good, dude?" Zane said.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to sit up." I replied.

Madam Pomfrey came to the bedside. I got a look at her for the first time up close, and noticed she had some wrinkles too. She was slightly younger than Professor MacGonagall.

"How long have I been out?" I asked her.

"Just a day, dear." Madam Pomfrey replied. "It's no wonder. First of all those N.E.W.T. exams, then Professor Lupin tried to teach you the patronus charm, then you couldn't sleep the night before because of the storm, and Winter told me you've been sad about your final days here at Hogwarts, it's no wonder the dementor came, and it's no wonder you were out for a day. However, no need to worry. You're done. You've got two weeks left at Hogwarts, your exams are over, your friends have agreed to spend as much time with you as possible, so make the most of it."

A sigh escaped me. I was done. There were only two weeks left. What was I going to do with everyone?

Everyone was almost ready to leave, except for me. Jamie and I made ammends, Karley and I went to Zonko's and played a prank on Professor Brewer, who took it quite well. Actually, they laughed pretty hard about it. We ended up going to Zonko's and we bought a candle that spat out confetti if it burned for long enough.

Professor Brewer was sitting at their desk and we sat it gently on the desk they were working at. We started chatting for a few minutes, they even made Karley and I a cup of tea. When there was a loud pop, we all jumped. Confetti went everywhere.

"Whoo!" Hollered Professor Brewer, then we all burst into a fit of laughter. "You got me, you two." They hugged both of us, we finished our tea, and on our way back to the Hufflepuff common room, we ran into Zane.

"Hey dude, I...I found something on Professor Lupin's desk." Zane said.

"What were you doing in there?" Karley asked.

"I was just going to ask him about why that dementor attacked Vince at the Quidditch pitch." Zane replied.

"Tell Winter I'll meet her in the common room if you see her." I said to Karley and she left with a peck on Zane's cheek.

When she was out of sight, I brought my voice down to a whisper. "What did you find?"

Zane lead me all the way to the courtyard and the clock tower. He held up a piece of parchment that looked as though it had been folded several times. The actual scale of the parchment was very large. "What's this?" I asked.

"Watch this." Zane pulled out his wand and pointed it at the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

Zane tapped the wand and where it was blank, there was now a large picture of Hogwarts and above it, there were big bolded letters.

Messrs

Moony, Wormtail,

Padfoot, & Prongs

are proud to present

THE MARAUDER'S MAP

I opened up the folded flaps and saw that it was a map of Hogwarts, and there were footprints between the words "courtyard" and "clock tower" and the names hanging by them was my name and Zane's.

"There are secret passages all over the place that lead out of the castle." Said Zane, "but I've searched every place, and...no openings."

"Where are you going with this?" I asked.

"Think about it. What if someone could use those secret passages if a student doesn't get a certain permission slip signed?" Zane said. "Remember History of Magic. How do you think Harry Potter broke all of the rules and got away with it?"

Understanding filled me and I smiled, taking the map, and looking at it. "I say we restore Hogwarts to its former glory."

Zane nodded and we went around the castle, looking for every secret passage that had been sealed off. I found the one by the one eyed witch statue. "Wingardium Leviosa!" I uttered, and the one eyed witch moved out of the way. With a wave of my wand I uttered another spell "Revellio!" and the secret passage revealed itself.

This was the one that lead to Honeydukes cellar, and it was the last one that needed to be revealed.

"I think our work here is done." I said.

With a nod, Zane gave me a hug. I hugged him back, because this was the only friend I feel I made without force. Zane asked to sit in the compartment on the Hogwarts express with Jazz and I. Jazz and I met through our mothers, and Winter, Karley and I met, simply because we were sorted into the same house, so it was almost forced. Not that I had a problem with Winter or Karley. Zane almost volunteered to be our friend, even though we didn't have much interaction, and I appreciated his hug.

Later on in the Great Hall that evening, I had three baked chicken legs with barbeque sauce, a heaping pile of mashed potatoes topped with corn and gravy, and a side of green beans. For dessert, Winter and I had the same thing. Cheesecake drizzled with chocolate syrup, and a piece of molten lava cake, which was my favorite at Hogwarts. Winter had to wipe my face twice, that evening.