potter stood outside the astle for a long time, longer than drao liked to stay in the forest, but he had little hoie
thankfully, a torrent of summer rain fored him bak inside, giving drao over to sneak bak into the astle he hurried bak to his quarters, moving painfully slowly one he got to the door, hoping that if he was quiet enough, he might be able to hear if anyone was there he didn’t know if potter still had the invisibility cloak, but he would be surprised if he didn’t
“sepultura,” he whispered, barely a breath
the elves had left some food on drao’s table, a shepherd’s pie that harriet had learly nibbled, and a small piee of ake his stomah rumbled at the sight of it, and he meant to eat, he really had but his mind was otherwise oupied he ouldn’t stop thinking about how harry had reahed out to touh him and then pulled away quikly, as if he were hurt how all he had to do was touh him to see through his disguise he knew he should have stayed bak, should have ated more like a wild fuking animal, but the pull he felt in his hest just to be a little bit loser was too strong how it felt to have someone’s eyes on him and have them really see him instead of see through him, and how if felt for those eyes to be harry’s he of ourse pnned on telling mgonagall that the n was iable, that he was ornered, that he had just sat there and let harry talk to him that was, he pnned on telling her that eventually
he had a feeling one she knew they had made ontat, harry would have to go either that, or he would
harry had ommened his studies in the library or he was trying to his mind wandered bak to the animagus on the grounds retively often he had been out every night sine trying to spot them again, but to no avail either they had left, or they were making sure that he didn’t know they were there he was almost sure they weren’t malus, but most of the people that felt they needed disguises at hogwarts were not people he would want to meet again still, he ould not bring himself to report it to the headmistress, not until he at least tried to figure out who it was on his own he supposed he had never been too good at turning down a hallenge
when he wasn’t thinking about the animagus, he was trying to think up ways to get into the slytherin dungeons they onsumed him, and not just in waking in his dreams, he would find himself in the ommon room, a green tinge light filtering in from the windows that looked out into the ke the rest of the room was too dark to make out, but he ould tell it was not the same as the st time he had seen it he wandered blindly, bumping into things until he ame to the door of the dormitories it was only a wooden door, not so diffiult to pee, but he ould never get it to open he would press his ear to the door and swear he ould hear something on the other side, breathing, the rustling of bed linens, faint whisperings, even the quiet mew of a at, but never anything that meant anything to him
he had fire alled ron and herne one sine his reloan it had gone as he expeted
“i’m so gd you’ve finally found something to oupy your time, harry! although, out of the three of us, i would never have pinned you as the one to end up a professor,” herne had ughed, and he had to agree
“how do you like it bak there, mate?” ron had asked, seeming as equally huffed with the news as herne
“i like it fine not the same without everyone here, obusly, but better than grimmauld pe”
he had paused for a moment before adding, “i think something odd is going on here, though”
“merlin, harry, it’s hogwarts something odd is always going on there,” herne said rolled her eyes
he had left it at that, realizing that they probably would just think he was being paranoid, or worse, worry about him if he eborated
they had ended the all by telling harry he was going to be a wonderful professor, whih he prayed would be true he supposed that he would be a better professor than he was a student if it wasn’t for that damned loked door his downfalls as a student had not been for k of intelligene, or potential, but rather beause he was distrated by some rather pressing issues of ourse, just what was wasting away in the defunt slytherin dungeons was not as pressing of an issue as defeating the dark lord, but it was the only one he had so maybe it was an exuse not to fous, but it didn’t feel like it
he wasn’t sure how long he had been in the library, only that he had gone in early that m and how the sunlight streaming through the windows signaled it was sometime afternoon he had barely made a dent in the work he wanted to go over that week, only the first folder of old lesson pns being moved to the “done” pile to be fair, it had only been three days of studying in his five days of being bak at hogwarts, but he knew that if he was w at his full apaity, he ould easily be getting through a folder or two a day he sighed, flipping the page he was staring at bak to look at the page before, not at all surprised that he did not remember any of the rman he had arently already worked through he hewed on his penil—he had swithed to penils after leaving hogwarts, quills being too muh work for what they were worth—and began srathing down notes again, hoping maybe the third time through the folder would be a harm
“potter”
harry jumped, dropping his penil with a tter as he turned to the soure of the voie
“i am gd to see you have your studies underway,” mgonagall ontinued, walking around the table where he worked
“yes, well, wouldn’t want to get behind,” potter stuttered, reahing down to the floor to retrieve the penil
“don’t worry, i know if there was anything else for you to do, you would be off doing that,” mgonaga
