The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow » Harry Potter

1.26 | Trick or Treat

EARLY UPDATE BECAUSE WE HIT 7K READS, WOOT WOOT!!

This chapter is dedicated to olmiro1105 and nono_2705

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A mahogany door appeared down the dimly lit corridor. Margaret approached it, knocked soundly and waited; feeling nervous but a bit excited.

The lock on the door turned and it opened with a creaking sound that bounced off the empty corridor. On the other side appeared the Head of Gryffindor House, Professor Minerva McGonagall, in the most informal wear Margaret had ever seen her in - a light coloured dressing gown with a grey sweater, her hair falling over her shoulders - her form lit by the light of her wand.

"Miss Xenakis, what are you doing here?" Professor McGonagall asks; her voice as stern as it was in classes with no indication of sleep in it, but if Margaret paid close attention, there was a hint of concern. McGonagall glanced over her head towards where the Fat Lady portrait was. "Is everyone all right?"

"Everyone is fine, Professor," Margaret says reassuringly, now realising how out of breath she sounded. Perhaps she was more nervous than she believed. "It's me... something weird happened."

"Was it so 'weird' that it could not have waited until the morning?" asks McGonagall, her lips pressing into a thin line. Margaret could tell that her presence was rather unnerving for the old professor, likely due to all her knowledge.

"It could've waited, but I didn't think it should," Margaret replies determinedly.

"Well then, Miss Xenakis, what happened?" McGonagall questions; opening the door a little wider so that she could look at her properly.

"Er," Margaret was now realising how odd this was going to sound, "I think I Apparated - well, I prefer the term teleported - but I think that happened and I appeared back inside the castle."

That was not as good of an explanation as she had hoped it to be, and McGonagall merely raised an eyebrow. The hint of concern was gone, apparently she had dealt with imaginary claims of young students for far too long.

"Are you certain it wasn't a dream?" asks the Professor, a bit exasperated.

"I am sure, Professor," Margaret says confidently. "We were outside in Hagrid's hut-"

"'We'?

Colour rose up Margaret cheeks and she mentally apologised to the trio. "Er, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I..." she says quietly.

"And what, may I ask, were you four doing outside the castle at this ungodly hour?" Professor McGonagall reprimands, causing Margaret to gulp dryly. No adult had ever intimidated her in this way.

"That's not the point, Professor," Margaret drags on boldly, "We went there after dinner and lost track of time, that's all. But the point is, Ron and Hermione started arguing and I had this horrible headache since I told off old toad-face-"

"Do not refer to Professor Umbridge as 'old toad-face', Miss Xenakis," interrupts McGonagall critically.

"I could've meant Pansy Parkinson, Professor," Margaret says before she could stop herself. There was not a single hint of amusement on McGonagall's face, so Margaret clears her throat awkwardly before continuing, "Well, you see, I had this headache so bad I thought I was going to faint and Ron and Hermione weren't helping - not that I blame them! So I closed my eyes and pictured my dorm room like I had left it this morning and how much I wanted to be there and... I felt this strange pull... and then all sounds disappeared. When I opened my eyes, I was sitting at the desk in my room."