Time to take a chance

Diagon Alley

Hi!

Okay, so I know that it's been a long time since I last updated, but this year has been... complicated, as we all know very well. And there has been other issues apart from the COVID and then I had too many ideas about how to continue this, and I had to rewrite part of this chapter a million times, and well... You know, it's taken some time to get everything in order.

I hope the wait was worth it, but I like how the chapter has turned out. I hope you like it too!

Disclaimer: all the text in bold and the characters belong to J. K. Rowling. This is just a story written by a fan who doesn't get any kind of compensation for it except for a few reviews from time to time.

Time to take a chance

Diagon Alley

"Marvellous," Dumbledore grinned happily. "Then I think it's time to continue the reading."

"I can do the spell again," Flitwick offered, pulling out his wand and flicking it towards the book. It rose into the air again and opened, presumably on the first page of the following chapter.

"Everyone ready?" Albus asked. It was always on the most inconvenient times that someone suddenly had to go to the bathroom or had forgotten to do something important. "Then let's begin."

Diagon Alley

"Your first visit to Diagon Alley?" Hannah smiled. She looked at Harry when she didn't receive an answer, but she got a bit of a shock. "Oh, he's asleep again."

Indeed, Harry was slouched on the couch with his body slightly tilted towards Ron since the other boy was heavier and the cushions sunk under him. His hands, which had been stroking Nightling in his lap, were limp now.

"The spell again?" Lisa grimaced.

"I guess so. It makes sense, though, since the previous chapter ended when they were going to sleep," Hermione said. She leant forward to take a look at Harry around Ron. They were both checking on him like mother-hens, but they couldn't help it. She had the urge to stand up and sit on Harry's other side so that he was covered from all sides, but she knew that Harry would be more embarrassed than appreciative with the gesture.

"Harry-hatchling?" Nightling called, raising her head to look at him. She didn't understand why he had stopped petting her.

"Oh, no," Charlie said wide-eyed.

"Harry-hatchling?!" Nightling repeated more alarmed when he didn't react. "Wake up, Harry-hatchling! You said that you were reading the book to know how to defeat the bad people!"

"Shit. We're about to have a very angry and overprotective black mamba in our hands," George cursed.

"Didn't anyone warned her about what happened to Harry when we were reading?" Fred wondered, not taking his eyes off the increasingly agitated snake.

"Harry did. I think she didn't really understand it, much like we didn't see it coming either," Ron gulped. He was staying very still, not wanting to startle Nightling and cause her to bite him.

"What's wrong with Harry-hatchling?!" The black mamba demanded furiously. "Did the bad people do this?! Or was it that Moody?! I'm going to pump the culprit full of venom for hurting Harry-hatchling!"

"Maybe we should just continue reading and hope that Harry wakes up soon in the story?" Hannah suggested, a little pale.

"How do you know that won't piss her off even more? Harry told us that she understands us, so she may think that we don't want to help him," Ernie shook his head.