I feel bad for lying to Violet but I had to say something. I walk down the magical staircases and head towards the entrance hall, passing the Great Hall. The smell of delicious food wafts by but I ignore it and continue moving. When I turn the corner McGonagall is standing next to Snape in the entrance hall, conversing. I inhale and walk towards them. They cease their talk. McGonagall looks at Snape. He digs in his robes and pulls out a capped goblet. Snape hands it to me and I take it. I guzzle it and hand the container back to Snape.
“Thanks,” he says coldly. He walks away, leaving McGonagall and me in the hall.
“Well then. Let’s get going.” She lights her wand and we head out through the large doors. She follows a stone path and I briskly walk, taking two steps for every one step that she does. She leads me past Hagrid’s newer hut and towards the edge of the forest. She stops at Hagrid’s doorstep. McGonagall knocks on the large door. She’s about to knock again but the door swings open.
“ ‘Ello McGonagall!” Hagrid booms. She shushes him.
“You're not supposed to spread it to the world that we’re here,” McGonagall says, a bit annoyed.
He ignores this comment. “I rem’mber you. You’re Alexia.” I nod. “Better be off then.” He grabs a lantern from inside and out trots a large dog. “An’ this here is Boom.” The dog walks over to me and sniffs. I pet it on the head and it wags its tail, nearly knocking me over.
“I’ll see you in class on Monday,” McGonagall says as she turns to leave. I wave goodbye and turn to Hagrid.
“Follow me now. Not’ing to be afraid of ‘ere,'' Hagrid says, walking towards the forest. I follow behind him, watching the forest. “How’s your father?”
I continue walking behind him, reaching the edge of the forest. “Umm, fine. I don’t know what he does when we’re not home. I’m usually with him when Teddy’s in school,” I explain, watching the rough ground. I jump over a root sticking out of the dirt. Hagrid lumbers on, simply stepping over objects in the path. Boom runs along, stopping to sniff at certain trees. We emerge into a small clearing.
“An’ here we are,” Hagrid says, looking around the forest. There is a small cabin that blends in with the forest perfectly. If you are not looking at it closely you could mistake it for the rest of the forest.
I walk up the front door and turn back to Hagrid. “Err, Professor? Thanks.”
“ ‘Nytime, Alexia. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, ‘round eleven,” Hagrid says, his black eyes piercing mine. He turns around, lantern in hand, Boom following behind him. I open the door and walk inside. After taking off my robes, I look out the window. Standing in my school sweater and uniform I watch the sunset. It looks serene, casting its shadow over the lake. I turn around, not wanting to watch the Forbidden Forest at night. Looking around the small cabin I figure out what I can sit on. There is a bed and a wooden chair that looks like it might collapse at any second. I sit on the bed, the springs groaning.
I feel it happening. The shift in thinking, the strange thoughts leaking through, like an unscrewed cap on a tipped over water bottle. I lay down on the bed, curling up. Ignoring the strange thoughts, I fall asleep.