Chasing Time (Seamus Finnigan)

thirteen

The next morning I sat alone with breakfast. Seamus and Dean weren' t up yet, and I felt like enjoying the calmth. Although it felt a bit weird to be sitting whole alone at a table in the Great Hall. There were only a few Slytherins and two Hufflepuff girls and me, but I liked the peace. 

I was just eating my toast and reading The Great Gatsby, and I enjoyed myself more than ever.

During breakfast, I noticed professor McGonagall stood up. I thought she had finished breakfast, so I went on reading.  

I almost coughed in my toast when I noticed she was standing right beside me. 'Oh, I'm sorry professor, I didn't see you.' I laid down my piece of toast.

'Don't worry miss Yaxley. Do you have a moment? I would like to talk to you about something - rather delicate. I thought I should tell you in person.'

She had a worried look in her eyes as she looked at me. 'Um... Sure.'

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath before she continued talking. 'Well, my office, in ten minutes?'

I nodded and she walked away, as I went on eating my toast, very quickly.

I had no idea why she wanted to talk to me. I knew Quidditch was canceled due to the Triwizard Tournament, so it couldn't be about Quidditch.

After I finished my toast, I closed my book and rushed out of the Great Hall. When I reached McGonagalls office, I knocked on the door. 'Come in,' her voice said and I opened the door slowly.

'Miss Yaxley. Sit down, if you please,' she said, as she closed the door behind me and sat down herself. 'No, I think I'm good.'

She nodded. 'Well, let's get straight to the point, shall we?' Her voice sounded almost compassionate, and I hated that.

What could possibly be so bad?

She took an envelope and laid it in front of me on her desk. 'This comes from the Ministry, miss Yaxley. They thought... it would maybe be a good idea to let you... know about your father's whereabouts at the moment.'

I frowned as I took the letter and opened it.

After reading the letter twice, I closed the envelope again and gave it back to her.

'I'm sorry, miss Yaxley. I'm sure your father has... written to you about this before?'

I nodded. 'He did. A bit.'

'It's no nice news, ofcourse. But... we need to make arrangments for the summer holidays, I'm afraid.'

I nodded again and put my hands in the pockets of my robes, keeping my gaze on the ground in front of me.

'Well, because you are a friend of mister Weasley, his mother had suggested you could stay for the summer holidays at the Burrow. If you're okay with that?'

'Yeah. Sure. Wonderfull.'

She nodded as she took my shoulder. 'If you ever need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to ask a friend or a professor. That's why we are here, miss Yaxley. Now off you go.'

She let go of me and I smiled at her before leaving the room and walking to the Great Hall, where Seamus and Dean were having breakfast. I sat down next to Seamus.

'Oh, hi Dora. Where have you been?' Dean asked and they both looked at me. 'Professor McGonagall's office. She wanted to tell me something,' I said, as I took another piece of toast and began spreading some jam on top of it.

'What about? Quidditch?' Seamus asked curiously. I shook my head. 'No, not Quidditch. It was about my dad. He's in Azkaban now,' I explained, looking down.