Moira | Harry Potter

Chapter Thirty Two

Story: Moira
Chapter Thirty Two: The Mysterious Parcel

Harry waited in vain in the Forbidden Forest that night. Bellatrix never showed up. This increased his anger that he wanted to torture her when she would finally decide to come.

He left to the ship, dejected, after waiting for hours in the midst of shuffling sounds of wildlife and eerie rustling of the leaves. The same routine continued for several days until the day before the third task when he received an owl from a Death Eater.

Harry was in the Great Hall that morning. Casually dining with Ginny and his friends had become a rare occurrence to him as he was always filled with depressing thoughts about the left out horcruxes. So when an owl stooped low and dropped an apparently invisible letter to him, his adrenaline started rushing through his blood in excitement.

"Blimey! What did that owl drop?" Draco asked, eyes widened in horror. Harry slowly slid the letter, which was invisible to everyone but him, towards his lap then pocketed it stealthily.

"'Adwich," Ron mumbled with food in his mouth. Hermione snorted.

"How many times have I told you–"

"'Ot 'o 'alk 'wi 'ood in mah math," Ron completed in gibberish for her.

"You seriously have to cultivate table manners, Ron!" Hermione reprimanded. Ron shook his head.

"I ain't dad!" he said, this time clearly. Ginny face palmed as Hermione made to retort.

"What, this joke is getting old mate!" Draco grinned. Ron grinned back.

"You both are turning old," Ginny replied, sarcasm evident in her voice. Harry grinned into his glass of pumpkin juice as Ron and Draco started complaining simultaneously.

"I'm not old, he is!"

"What, you are elder to me mate!"

"By three ruddy months!"

"Guys, can I wish for something please?" Neville interrupted their banter.

"What?" Ron and Draco asked in unison.

"Can you both shut up and let me have a peaceful breakfast? It goes for you too, Ginny," Neville answered with a glare at the three mischief causing students who threw him a dirty look. Ginny stuck her tongue out at him and Harry smiled beneath his mask of expressionless face: Ron was doing the same. He caught Hermione's eye for split second before he looked away. The siblings looked so very identical.

"Nev, sometimes peacefulness is just not meant to be," Luna's dreamy voice spoke as she slided into a seat between Hermione and Neville. "But fun and mischief is the solution!"

As soon as she said it, Draco and Ron burst into a dance, laughing and shaking in a synchronized manner. Hermione was red with embarrassment although a small smile was apparent on her face. Ginny joined the two boys, trying to get Harry to dance as well who sat as still as Snape, his face contorted with struggle to not laugh at his friends' antics. Neville looked dumbfounded for a minute before Luna started waving her hand around her head, as if shooing something away.

Before Ginny could drag Harry into the craziness which was attracting several eyes, he politely excused himself under the pretext of training for the next day's task and walked to the Room of Requirement.

After comfortably sitting on a sofa provided by the room, he carefully opened the letter with trembling hands and read it.

Young Master,
I apologize deeply for not obliging to your expectations. I will be on the grounds tonight for completing the final minute checking for tomorrow's ritual. I hope to meet you at the same spot.