The Cupboard Series 3: Potter Haven

Chapter 22

In his haste, Colin nearly ran all the way from the Gryffindor Common Room down and across to the fourth floor classroom on the other side of the school.

He'd only been back in the castle for less than half an hour, barely enough time to take his trunk up to his dormitory and to make sure that the precious film canister was still in his pocket. His dorm-mates had tried to ask him about his holidays as they unpacked, but Colin hadn't been in the mood for conversation – he had much more important things to do.

This part of the castle was mostly abandoned so he knew that he wasn't likely to be interrupted by unexpected people bursting in on him. And that was precisely why Professor McGonagall had given the Hogwarts Photography Club the use of this particular classroom: unexpected light from a badly timed opened door in the middle of developing film was likely to ruin any photos.

As soon as he'd burst into the room, he spun around with his wand drawn and closed and sealed the door, just like Harry had shown him. The windows were already blacked out and the torches charmed to produce only a low-level red light that allowed the photographers to see what they were doing without impacting on their developing.

Standing in front of his usual bench, Colin began pulling trays and bottles of potions and chemicals towards him. Really, he'd wanted to do this at home but there simply hadn't been time between the end of the tour and when he'd had to board the Hogwarts Express to come back to school.

It was a time consuming job, particularly with a thirty-six shot roll of film, but it was work that he enjoyed so he didn't begrudge the time. At the appropriate stage, his hand hovered over the special potion that would animate the muggle photos into moving wizarding ones but with a shake of his hand, he resisted temptation. He planned on giving the photos to his parents and, being the muggles that they were, it was best that they didn't have too many wizarding photos around the house if they could help it.

Finally, over two-thirds of the way through the film, he came to the one that he was most interested in. As he waited for the photo to come into focus, a nervous little jig started up. And then he saw it and without a doubt it was exactly who he thought it was: Harry Potter.

With a decisive nod, he hung the photo up to dry and set about making a copy of it, only this time much larger.

-oOoOo-

"Um, Neville? Hermione?" Colin said as he stood nervously just to the side of the chairs in front of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room that the two third years were seated in.

"Hello, Colin. How was your holiday?" Hermione replied with a smile as she looked up and over at him.

"Okay, I guess," Colin replied moving around in front of them, "actually, that's kind of what I want to talk to you about. I've got something that I think you should see."

Hermione and Neville looked at each other before turning back to the nervous-looking boy in front of them.

"What's that, Colin?" Neville asked.

After a furtive glance around them, Colin thrust two down-turned photos into their hands.

Curious, Hermione took them, turned them over and gasped, a hand slapping over her mouth.

"Where'd you get these?" Neville asked in an intense near-whisper.

"I took it last week," Colin replied. "You see my parents took my little brother, Dennis, and I on a tour of Scotland and as we were leaving a pub after a lunch one day, I saw ... him. We were already on the bus and were leaving and I couldn't get his attention through the window or talk to him, so I took the photo to prove what I saw."