Summer school //Drarry//

CHAPTER 3

Trigger warning

   Shivering and sopping wet, the friends did their best to keep the kitchen floor from becoming a swimming pool. "Where do you keep your towels, little bear?" Charlotte wandered into the hall.
   Harry blushed furiously. The nickname had developed between the two for a long while but Harry still found himself embarrassed every time she called him that. 
   "This ought to be the place." She mumbled to herself. He quickly left Tim, who was wringing his shirt in  the sink, to find the Maths teacher getting the keys from that shelf where he couldn't reach. He ran to stop her but she had already seen what was in the broom cupboard.
   His blood ran cold as she slowly looked to him in horror. However, he didn't expect the words from her mouth.
   "Why-why are they locked up he-here?"
   He had no time to ponder as an alarming cry came form the kitchen. Instinctively, he grabbed his wand and dashed.
   Dobby was standing on the high shelves above Tim. The tennis ball eyes widened as his hands slipped on the pot of boiling hot water he was holding. Harry couldn't move. 

Weak.

    Ultimately, it was beneficial as Charlotte grabbed the wand and yelled, "Wingardium Leviosa!". The water and pot then floated mid-air, narrowly missing Tim's head and they danced above their heads.

   Numbly, Harry gathered the boiling water in the pot and Charlotte whispered, "Finite incantem."

   The pot discarded on the table, the two magic users stared at each other. Harry spoke first, Voice raspy from under use. It was foreign on his tongue and still held the child-like voice he had before he was mute. "Y-you'r-re a w-witch?" Harry was crestfallen. For once he had thought he could enjoy friends who didn't know his fame or name before he met them.
   "Squib."
   "But--"
   "I attended my first year Hogwarts before I was kicked out." The voice was quiet and monotonous. Far unlike the Charlotte he knew. "I hardly could tap into my magical core. Happens now and again. Mainly when I'm over emotional." She broke into a smile and struck out her hand. "Unicorn hair, Ravenclaw."
   Harry smiled back and took it. "Phoenix feather, Gryffindor."
   "Excuse me, but could someone tell me what the HELL is going on!?" Tim stood, forgotten, looking well shook. Dobby seemed to have disappeared and Harry felt the mood shift into their normal swing of things.  He no longer needed to speak.

   Considering the circumstances, Tim took it rather well. "SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THERE'S A WHOLE OTHER WORLD OUT THERE, FULL OF MAGIC?!" 
   Charlotte threw down her hands in exasperation. "Tell China, will you?" She then proceeded to pick up Harry from where he was cowering under the table, and sat him on her lap as if he was a small child. "And you're scaring him!" Charlotte whisper yelled as she rubbed soothing circles onto his back and he hugged her neck like a baby koala. 

Crybaby. Attention seeker.

   The adults chatted for a bit, mainly Tim asking questions. Harry check the time from over Charlotte's shoulder. The Dursleys would be here any minute! 

   "You need to go!" Harry signed ushering them out. "Sorry, I'm not allowed to have guests over. " They rushed their good byes and Harry started in the kitchen.
   Ten minutes later, the Dursleys arrived. Uncle Vernon seemed to be in a bad mood and Harry cooked the rest if the meal with the overhanging promise of lashes that were to come later. He ignored it, however, as he was sure the last round of lashes had healed. It was a couple of days ago. It would hurt less.

   Any hope for relief of pain was gone. He knew his punishment tonight. And he was scared.
   It wasn't a petty common fear, like the fear of spiders or the unknown.
   Not the fear of shame of possible death. No, no. It was the pure fear of living afterwards.
   His mind being haunted. His lips, evermore sealed.
   He was scared of himself.