home (reader at hogwarts)

fifty one

"you what?" severus raises his brow, staring disapprovingly down at you. "you were never to speak of that-"

"i know but i thought maybe since harry got one, letting them know about mine wouldn't be such a bad idea-" you stammer, "besides, i had no idea they'd respond the way they did."

"y/n..." severus grumbles, his head in his hands as you stand in front of the dark mahogany desk of his private office.

"i'm sorry, dad." you shift anxiously on your feet.

"it's fine." he sighs. "i just dread bringing this up to minerva. it's bound to get to her, so she'd better find put from me than from a flying rumour."

you nod, feeling your face turn warm.

"i'm-"

"i know, love." severus says, "don't worry."

he advises you to head down to dinner for the day, as the rest of the students fill the great hall for the halloween feast. harry had started rigorous flying lessons the past week or so and that had riled up the slytherin first years on another level.

they'd gone to your father, apparently, demanding that slytherin had a right to put their own new player on the team and that it should be you- seeing as though you had the best broom and a somewhat good flying skillset from your practice in the garden of severus' living quarters.

this morning, throughout the lessons, several of your slytherin classmates came up to you asking if you'd really gotten a broomstick into hogwarts with your dad's special permission. really, it was minerva's but you couldn't tell them that.

you brushed off the questions, pretending you needed to focus on professor binns' droning about the history of magic and professor flitwick waffling on about the importance of 'swish and flick'- to save you from having to make the decision to either lie or tell the truth.

"snape!" you hear someone call after you. you turn around and smile widely at theodore nott.

"your hair needs a snip." you reach up to grab a brown curl practically defying the laws of physics in its thick brown and glossy form, bouncing and almost floating on top of his head.

he laughs and shrugs your hand off. the pair of you head into the great hall together.

"the ladies like it like this- gemma said so."

you glance at gryffindor table and notice hermione isn't there. as per the books you read of course- her and ron have had a quarrel and she's in the toilets crying.

you also know what else is going to get there- eventually. you have got to make sure you get there, too.

"hello all." theo says as the pair of you take seats with the rest of the gang.

"try this." gregory passes both of you a tiny halloween toffee from the basket of sweet appetisers.

" 'kay." theo wearily agrees.

you admire the packaging before opening it and popping it into your mouth. gosh, it's delicious.

you let out a hum and smile.

"it's good, ain't it?" he says. him and vincent glare at draco.

"what? don't tell me you don't like this, draco." you say, throwing the rubbish back into the basket.

"i despise toffee. anything that sticks to my teeth." he shudders. "it gives me hives just thinking about it."

"you weirdo!" theo laughs. "well, you're missing out malfoy, these are awesome."

you nod.

the halloween feast isn't to begin before the head master, your good friend albus dumbledore has said a few words. as he spoke your eyes wandered the terrifically decorated hall.

its long walls were laced in orange and black classic banners- upon them which were several of the eery characters from true stories you remember professor binns touching on yesterday afternoon- stories that had become wizarding world halloween classics. thousands of live bats flutter across the room and some swooped down across the table is black clouds making the dripping candles in the pumpkins stutter.

then, albus was done and the feast appeared on the golden plates before you all. you grin, leaning forward to grab a potato before the doors to the great hall crash open- causing even you to jump slightly in surprise, theo's arm behind you the only reason you didn't fall off your seat.

"troll! -in the dungeon!" professor quirrel roared. "troll in the dungeon!"

his eyes suddenly go all loopy and he wobbles on his feet. "thought you ought to know-"

the undercover death eater come crashing to the ground and the great hall immediately bursts into screams of terror.

a troll- a terrifying troll.

albus raises his wand and sends out several loud cracks and sparkles to acquire everyone's attention and quiet the room. some people, as you look around, are quite literally crying in fear.

"prefects, lead your houses to your dormitories immediately!" he rumbles and gemma's face lights up with a creepy shiny sort of ambition.

she'd surely make the most of a perilous situation- this was her time to shine. she is a slytherin after all.

"come along." she snaps. "follow me."

everyone forms a crowd and your eyes divert, as you look for harry and ron. serena grabs hold of your sleeve and you shrug her off.

"where are you going?" she yells at you.

you don't reply and she's swept away down to the other entry to slytherin house- besides the dungeon.

you catch ron in the corridor to the girls toilet.

"there you are," you breath. "what are you two doing here? you'll get in trouble-"

"its hermione-" harry says. "she doesn't know."

"about the troll." ron slowly looks past a wall and the three of you watch as a huge shadow stalked past you.

a low grunting and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet, get closer. ron points with a shaky finger: at the end of a passage to the left, something huge is moving towards you. you shrink into the shadows and watch as it emerges into a patch of moonlight beaming in through a nearby window. it's a horrible sight.

twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. it has short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horned feet. the repulsive smell coming from it is as potent as can be and it is holding a huge wooden club, which drags along the floor because its arms are so long. The troll stops next to a doorway and peers inside. It waggles its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouches slowly into the room.

"the key’s in the lock," harry mutters. "we could lock it in."

"good idea," both you and ron say simultaneously. you edge towards the open door, mouths sealed tight and slam the door shut and turn the key.

"that was fine- wasn't it?" ron pants, the lot of you stumbling back.

you close your eyes and wait for it.

hermione, from inside the room you just locked a troll in, lets out a horrifying scream.

"help me!"