In The Next Life - Theodore Nott Fanfic

Chapter 27

As I fluttered my eyes open, I quickly realized I wasn't in my room. Looking around, I noticed I was still in the Astronomy Tower, covered up with a jacket while cuddled into Mattheo. 

"Mattheo, wake up," I yawned, as I rose from the couch, tossing his jacket on him. I watched as he slowly opened his eyes, stretching out onto the couch while looking up at me. "We fell asleep," I added, as I began to put my shoes back on. 

"Oops," he smiled, as he dragged himself off the couch. I couldn't help but smile too; we had really good conversations last night, and I felt like I was finally learning who he was. I remember beginning to grow tired while we were talking, so I began to lean on him a bit, before I ended up fully nestled into his side, sound asleep. I was just glad it wasn't awkward this morning.

Once he finally put his shoes on, we quickly headed back to the common room where we found everyone was still asleep. As we snuck up the stairs, we quickly said our goodbyes, before making our way into our rooms. As I set my stuff down, I noticed a letter on my desk.

Once I opened it, I was surprised to see it was from Harry.

Florence,

Meet us a Hog's Head tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. It's urgent. And be careful. You can't be caught.

-Harry

As I glanced over at my alarm clock, I noticed it was ten mintues until eight. "Shit," I groaned, as I began to scurry around to find an outfit. I quickly put on a crochet sweater, as well as a thick, jean jacket to go over it, and some jeans. Throwing on my boots, I briskly did my morning routine, grabbed my bag, and headed out the door.

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Even though it was October, there was snow covering the grounds of Hogwarts. I tried my best to trudge through the thick snow, cursing myself every step for not wearing a thicker coat. As I turned the corner into Hogsmeade, I noticed how eery it looked; there was no one around, and a single lamppost was lit, offering a dim shine on a small portion of the village.

I briskly made my way towards Hog's Head and threw myself inside; I was freezing. As I walked into the dining area, I noticed a small gathering of students, all looking at Harry, Hermione, and Ron at the front of the room. "Florence," Harry breathed out, almost like he was shocked to see me. 

"Hi," I answered awkwardly, as everyone had now turned their attention towards me.

I noticed Fred waving over to me, so I quickly made my over, sitting in between him and George. "As I was saying, we need a proper teacher. One who's had real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts," Hermione started, as she looked over at Harry. A guy from Gryffindor spoke out and began to argue back and forth with Ron, asking why we needed him and whether or not Voldemort was actually back.

"If Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed," some guy blurted out, and my heart immediately fell. I watched as Harry and some of the other students turn their attention my way, but I just brushed off his comment. "I'm not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's why you're here, you might as well leave now," Harry put forth, and I mouthed a 'thank you' towards him.

"Look, facing this stuff in real life, it's not like school. In school, if you make a mistake, you can just try again tomorrow, but out there, when you're a second away from being murdered--" he continued, but I drowned him out. I began to feel weak and a cold sweat began to spread across my body. Suddenly, the room began to spin, and I felt like I was being suffocated.