The Potter Twins and the Prisoner of Askaban {3}

9. Darling, You'll Be Okay

"Darling, you'll be okay" ~ Hold On Till May, Pierce The Veil

McGonagall leads me away from the Great Hall and towards Dumbledore's office, not answering any of my questions, simply telling me to, 'be patient and wait.'

We reach the grand Griffen statue, that is also the entrance into Dumbledore's office.

McGonagall murmurs the password (which is, of course, a Muggle lolly) and the Griffen slides to the side, revealing the staircase up to his office.

"Come on, then," McGonagall says, stepping onto the stairs, dragging me on with her.

"You're coming too?" I question as we climb the stone stairs. "I thought it would just be Professor Dumbledore and I."

She nods. "As your Head of House, Professor Dumbledore and I decided it would be best if I was present."

"Professor, can you please tell me what's going?" I ask quietly, stopping her by the arm.

The whole situation is making me extremely anxious; what do they want to speak about with me?

I can see sympathy floating in her eyes, and she looks at me like I'm a lost puppy.

"You'll find out in a moment, Miss Potter," she tells me, her voice quiet and kind. "All I can say now is that you need to brace yourself."

We walk into the office together, to find Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, looking the same as usual. Half-moon glasses, long, white beard and an overall aura of wiseness and knowledge.

"Haylee, hello," Dumbledore says brightly, as McGonagall sits down, "please, take a seat."

He motions towards the chair beside McGonagall, and I nervously obey; siting down and crossing my legs. Almost instantly, I notice myself fidgeting anxiously with my hands. This only makes me feel more worried.

"Did you have a nice holiday, Haylee?" He asks pleasantly, obviously trying to ease me into the upcoming conversation.

"Yeah," I reply quickly. "Well, the last part was good, at least. But you probably know all about that already."

"Yes, I heard all about the incident with your Aunt Marge," he says, sounding a little bit tense now. "It was very foolish of you an Harry to run away like that, especially with -"

He trails off, sharing a stern glance with McGonagall.

"Sirius Black?" I say quietly, folding my hands over my lap, looking between them constantly. "It's okay, Professors, Harry and I know."

He nodded tensely again, and takes a sharp breath in.

"You didn't bring me here to talk about Sirius Black, did you?" I say knowingly, slowly piecing everything together. "I'm here to talk about...Tom Riddle, aren't I?"

Both of the Professors nod their heads solemnly, looking apprehensive about the topic.

"We still don't know what happened to you in that Chamber, Haylee," Dumbledore tells me, leaning forward in his chair. "Myself and some of the other Professors are worried about you...we fear that whatever happened to you in the Chamber is affecting you in a negative way."

It feels like a tonne of bricks has just been dropped onto my shoulders; creating a dark, heavy feeling around my entire body. I begin to feel hot and slightly short of breath.

This horrible sensation seems to happen whenever this topic is brought up, or whenever I remember what happened. But I'll never get use to it.

It makes me feel sick to my stomach and my heart jumps to my mouth.