𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓶 𝓓𝓸𝔀𝓷 | 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝚆𝚃𝙼

004

                      ➳༻❀✿❀༺➳

Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry, Aranya and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.

"Ha!" Sirius laughs. "Take that!"

Many Gryffindors cheer, jeering against the Slytherins, who either glare at them or shrink in fear like most first years.

Beatrice frowns. It wasn't their fault, they were merely children.

Indeed, by the next morning Harry, Aranya and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one.

In the meantime, Harry filled Ron and Aranya in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron. "Or both," said Harry.

Dumbledore frowns.

Many teachers share worried looks. They really shouldn't interfere, it could be dangerous and they could get hurt.

But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.

Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.

　　Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry, Aranya and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.

Hermione sighs, staring at her past self.

"Not gonna lie," Aranya says. "But 11 year old you was a pain in the neck."

"Yeah, I see that now." Hermione grumbles, covering her face.

"No need." Sirius grins. "Lily was the same."

"Black!" Lily hissed, glaring at him.

"Padfoot!" James says to his best mate, shooting him a look.

　　As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.

　　Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:
　　
DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.
　　It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.
　　Professor McGonagall

"Yes! I love you Minnie!" James cheers happily.

Lily also smiles at her Professor.

Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."

Aranya blinks. "Woah." She mutters.