Hidden || A Harry Potter Story [Book 1]

Chapter 14: Monster's Wrath

"They took Hagrid?!" Charlotte exclaimed the next morning during breakfast. Hagrid in Azkaban could not be good.

"Yes, and Dumbledore." Ron whispered after he and Harry shushed her. How could this be happening to Hogwarts? With no Dumbledore, more muggleborns are prone to being attacked.

The days crept by with caution, no student went anywhere without a teacher and no more laughter filled the halls. Summer was approaching, and Charlotte was starting to wonder why their uniforms were made out of wool. They were extremely hot to wear.

One Thursday evening after Tranfiguration, Ginny and Charlotte walked together to the Great Hall. Ginny looked very pale, her face looking as transparent as Nearly Headless Nick. "Ginny are you feeling alright? You look a little ill."

Ginny glanced her way and smiled slightly, "Yes, I'm just tired that's all."

Everyone sat at their tables and began to pile food onto their plates. Percy, who was on Ginny's left, looked suspiciously at his sister. "Ginny aren't you going to eat anything?"

Ginny's plate held a plump, buttered roll that was untouched. Her face reddened and she looked at her feet. "I'm not feeling too well."

"Well perhaps we should take you back up to the dormitories. Come on, let's go." And with that, Percy pulled Ginny up and the two walked out of the Hall.

"With the amount of times she's been feeling sick, you'd think she'd go to Madam Pomfrey." Charlotte said spitefully under her breath.

Fred, who sat beside her, elbowed her. "Hey, don't worry about it. Anyone who gets within a three inch radius of Percy gets a nauseous feeling."

The following Tuesday, Charlotte was met by two very excited Harry and Ron. "You met a talking spider?"

She believed that the two had gone mad, but then they went on to explain who it had belonged to. "Yeah, it tried to kill us too! I swear, if Hagrid ever gets out of Azkaban..." Ron went off.

"We've got to tell Hermione!" Harry shouted and ran off with Ron. Charlotte thought it was weird to talk to a person who couldn't hear you, but she wasn't going to say anything about it.

Her afternoon classes were dull and boring. Ginny told Professor Lockhart that she felt sick and she was motioned out at once. Now sitting alone at her table, Charlotte drew flowers on her parchment instead of taking notes from Lockhart's assignment. "Miss Potter?"

She looked up to find Professor Lockhart shining his white teeth at her. "Yes, sir?"

Children began to laugh and look towards Charlotte, apparently he had called her a few times. "I asked you if you will read aloud chapter twenty-seven of Magical Me."

"Oh yes, sorry." She quickly sat up straight and opened her book to the dog eared page. She began to read, "-I looked the Yeti straight in the eyes and raised my wand. I warned him, warned him many times, that if he came near the little village of wizards that I would give him something to be upset about. He refused still and lifted the large snowball into the air. Not a moment too soon I shot my wand towards him and shouted, 'Mucus ad Nauseam!' and the Yeti fell to the ground. With its nose running ever so-"

The announcments went off through out the room, "All students are to report to their dormitories immediately. All teachers to the staff room!"

All the Gryffindors and Slytherins looked at each other, Lockhart had dozed off and so everyone stood up and left him sleeping in his chair. Charlotte reached the common room and started to look for Ginny, hoping that she had came back to their dormitory after she got sick. However, all she could find were her brothers Fred, George, and Percy. "Is Ginny with you?" George asked.

"No, she wasn't feeling well in Defense Against the Dark Arts, so she left. I thought she would have came back up here." She answered. She knew what they were thinking, she thought it too. Ginny had been petrified. Charlotte tried not to think of it, and the silence of the packed common room was giving her bad feelings. Everyone must have gathered that someone new had been struck of the monster's wrath and when Professor McGonagall entered the common room with remorse on her face.

"Listen all of you, tomorrow you will return home on the Hogwarts Express at eleven sharp."

"Why? What happened?" A boy, Charlotte knew by Oliver Wood, questioned.

"There has been another attack and Hogwarts is no longer safe for students. This time a student has been taken to the Chamber itself. Ginny Weasley." McGonagall said quietly.

There was tense silence in the common room. No on daring to make a sound as they all looked at the three boys with flaming hair. Charlotte's body had gone cold and her hearing had turned into loud rings. Ginny. Charlotte should have known something was wrong, she should have said something to Dumbledore. She blamed herself and when Fred pulled her into a hug, tears erupted in her eyes. She broke into sobs and the other two Weasleys joined in. Harry and Ron returned to the common room and Ron immediately ran to his brothers. Charlotte went to her own and they embraced until they all settled down in a corner of the common room.

They sat in silence. There was nothing to say. Fred held onto Charlotte's hand, and Percy went to deliver an OWL to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Fred and George soon went to bed, leaving Charlotte, Ron, and Harry alone in the corner.

"Harry, what if we go to Lockhart and tell him everything we know." Ron spoke, his voice cracking from the lack of use.

Harry looked at him and nodded. "Let's use my dad's invisibility cloak. Come on, Charlotte." and with that the three left to search for Lockhart.

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A/N I am literal trash at chapter titles