Out of sight

Flying home for christmas

"Al, wake up, it's breakfast!" exclaimed Rose.

"What you want?" groaned Albus sleepily.

"It's breakfast! We were supposed to be in the Great Hall at least ten minutes ago."

"Give me a break," said Albus, "I've been up half the night."

Rose heaved Albus off the ground and stood him up. His black hair was ruffled and out of place and his orange Puddlemere shirt was slightly crumpled. He rubbed his eyes thoroughly, taking out the bits of sleep in his eyes.

"Come on then," said Rose, "We need to go to breakfast."

Albus pulled at her T-shirt lazily.

"Rose, it's Christmas!"

"No it's not," replied Rose, "I'm pretty sure that it's the twenty fourth."

"No, it's the twenty fifth of December, I bet if we go to the Great Hall, then all our presents will be there."

"Don't get your hopes up," Rose mumbled under her breath. "But we'll go any way."

Albus and Rose clambered through the portrait hole of the Fat Lady and into the empty corridor. Going against what Albus had expected, there were no sounds coming from either left or right. Maybe this had something to do with the hiccup that occurred last night because he was pretty sure that it was Christmas that day and there should have been sounds of laughter and carols. When they drew nearer to the Great Hall, they heard laughing. Small children laughing high pitched false laughs. And then crying. In a flash, the laughs switched to cries. A deep voice hummed beneath it all. When Rose and Albus cautiously pushed open the heavy doors they found what they had not expected. The Great Hall was empty.

The once beautiful stain glass windows were heavily smashed, leaving pointed shards scattered across the polished floor. The banners which were once hung above the tables of each house had now been ripped down, tearing paint off the peeling plaster walls. Every table and every chair had been knocked over. The hall was a mess.

Albus' jaw hung down in shock. The beauty of the Great Hall had been entirely demolished.

"What's been going on in here?" breathed Albus nervously.

Rose was too shocked to respond. A chill ran down her spine causing her to shiver uncontrollably. The scene was too bad to bear. A single tear ran down her cheek.

"What's the matter?" asked Albus.

"We're alone."

"Of course we're not alone," comforted Albus, "Help will always come at Hogwarts to those who ask for it. That's what my dad said anyway."

"What's the good in that when there's no one to even ask for help?" said Rose."I think that it's something to with the Prophecy. I don't think that that letter was a fake. I think that it was real."

"Look, Rose, you're jumping to conclusions here. First of all, we're not alone. Second of all, I don't care about that Prophecy anymore, whether it's real or not, I'll just have to go where my fate takes me. There's really no stopping it. And lastly, don't worry; I'm pretty sure that it's all a big mistake."

Albus stared at the shattered glass on the floor. Golden rays of sun glinted through it and speckles of snow started to drop down from the unnaturally black sky. He held out his hands and felt the soft white snow drops land on his hands gently. He wished that he was at home, opening presents with James and Lily. But in a way, that was his own fault. If he had kept his nose out of things and not answered back to the teachers, especially Professor Drame, all of this would never have happened.