You may not know it, but I have tried looking before, whether it be in the school's library or in a book that my Aunt Mable had given to me. But there was nothing, nothing at all. Every time I seemed to visit the library, the 'R' section would be utterly empty. Which was odd considering that the days after (when it was either closed or packed with students) all the books kept in that specific section were there, almost as if they'd been there for years.
But I decided that enough was enough — I'd waited almost three years to find out the truth, and I wasn't about to wait for a fourth...
You know what else I was planning on asking Dumbledore about? How the bloody hell my Aunt Mable died. Okay, maybe I wasn't going to say like that exactly, but you get the picture. It was almost as if she was at home, just cleaning or maybe even cooking herself something and then BOOM! She dropped dead on the spot. Of course, it happens, but I feel like there was something so coincidental, and so apparent that I missed back in my first year at Hogwarts.
But, as of right now, all I was going to do was enjoy the last week of summer...
* * *
"I'm warning you, Hermione! Keep that bloody beast of yours away from Scabbers, before it ends up eating him alive!"
"It's a cat Ronald, what do you expect?"
And that was how a morning in the Leaky Cauldron usually begun. Hermione and Ron did nothing but have a go at each other, all because their bloody pets didn't like one another. There'd even been a moment where Picatrix took it upon herself to start chasing the poor rat too.
But, apart from a couple of cats and a rat, The Leaky Cauldron was a rather peaceful place. I'd see Funny little witches from the country, possibly up for a day of shopping, or venerable looking wizards, that quietly argued over the latest article in 'Transfiguration Today.'
The Weasley's and I had spent almost a week here, as yet another school year was fast approaching — Hermione arrived shortly after. Sometimes I'd go into Diagon Alley with the twins; we'd usually sit eating under the vibrantly coloured umbrellas, discussing a various amount of topics. They'd both told me about a man called Sirius Black, who escaped from a place called Azkaban (which I'd read about in books). George told me he was locked up in there for murder, and Fred did nothing but agree.
There was also quite a vast amount of commotion in a nearby broomstick store. Which the three of us just had to see.
"That's the fastest broom in the world, dad! Just look at it..." A younger boy squeaked in amazement, gently tugging at his fathers coat. After the majority of the crowd had scattered, the three of us where then able to read a sign planted next to the broom itself.
( THE FIREBOLT )
THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART RACING BROOM SPORTS A STREAM-LINED, SUPERFINE HANDLE OF ASH, TREATED WITH A DIAMOND-HARD POLISH AND HAND-NUMBERED WITH ITS OWN REGISTRATION NUMBER. EACH INDIVIDUALLY SELECTED BIRCH TWIG IN THE BROOMTAIL HAS BEEN HONED TO AERODYNAMIC PERFECTION, GIVING THE FIREBOLT UNSURPASSABLE BALANCE AND PINPOINT PRECISION.
THE FIREBOLT HAS AN ACCELERATION OF 150 MILES AN HOUR IN TEN SECONDS AND INCORPORATES AN UNBREAKABLE BRAKING CHARM. PRICE ON REQUEST.
If we were all completely honest with ourselves, I don't think we wanted to know how much this broomstick costed.
But, as the days begun to pass, Diagon Alley became more crowded than before, as it was flooding with Hogwarts students. And it wasn't long until Hermione, Ron and I, met up with Lisa and Miles, and before we knew it, Harry had arrived too.
"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" Hermione asked in an almost harsh voice.
Wait, what?
"I didn't mean to." Harry attempted to justify, while Ron and my other two Ravenclaws burst out with laughter from behind. "I just uh — lost control I guess..."
"It's not funny!" Hermione suddenly snapped, turning around to face the three of them. "I'm surprised Harry wasn't expelled!"
"Never mind being expelled, that could've led to him being arrested!" I added sharply.
"Yes, Emmalina... you got that spot on." Harry agreed, shooting me a cheesy smile.
Our conversation was soon interrupted by a rather serious looking Mr Weasley, asking if he could have a short word with Harry. Of course, Harry agreed, before they soon wandered off aimlessly around The Leaky Cauldron. Shortly after this, Harry came back, and he looked utterly different from the last time we'd seen him.
"What's wrong? What did my dad say?" Ron asked, still a little energetic from his laughing fit around fifteen minutes ago.
"Later...I'll tell you all later."
* * *
It was now time for the six of us to begin yet another year at Hogwarts, and let me tell you, that the morning was utter chaos. Everyone was too busy dragging their trunks down the Leaky Cauldron's extremely narrow staircase and piling them up near the entrance.
"It's alright, Crookshanks." Hermione cooed at her angry looking cat. "I'll let you out on the train." Once these words had slipped past her lips, she received a deadly glare from Ron.
"I don't bloody think so!" Ron disagreed, picking up his remaining essentials from the table. "What about Scabbers, eh?"
As I begun to help Lisa place her trunk onto the pile, Mr Weasley stuck his head inside the doorway, which gave us both a bit of a shock.
"The Ministry Cars have arrived." He quickly announced. "Hurry up now everyone, chop chop — no time to waste here!"
Finally, the commotion had died down, and everyone was now buckled up and ready to leave for Kings Cross Station. If I was honest, the journey was rather uneventful. Most of the time I spent talking to Lisa and Miles, as I hadn't yet had the opportunity to have a full conversation with them. After twenty minutes, we'd reached the station, with an ample amount of time to spare, too. The Ministry drivers kindly found us trolleys, unloaded our trunks from the boot, and drove away after waving a quick goodbye to Mr Weasley.
Well, here I was, about to embark on another year, and I desperately hoped I'd be able to find answers to the questions I'd had for so long — so very, very long...
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