A/N-

Hey! Sorry just wanted to explain that the wait for this update has been particularly long as I've been working away on Art coursework as well as other subjects. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter! :)

Chapter 38 (Ava)

“Professor Snape really needs to lay off with the Defence Against the Dark Arts homework. We’ve never had this much.”

“Ronald,” Hermione sighed, “That’s because every teacher we’ve had so far apart from Remus has been an absolute disaster. Snape’s been a proper teacher for years.”

Neville shook his head, leaning away from the table,

“I’m just about managing to keep on top of everything.”

I raised my eyebrows and put my fork down,

“Neville! How do you think I feel? Dumbledore somehow thinks that by the end of this year I’ll have completed almost four years’ worth of work! He must be crazy!”

It had been a week since I’d started to sit with everyone again, and I was feeling much more relaxed.

Harry smiled at me,

“Ava, I’m sure you’ll manage to get it done. You work so hard in every lesson.”

“That,” I sighed, pointedly looking at Neville, “would be down to the fact that Mr. Longbottom requires that I spend the majority of my free time with him in the library.”

“Blimey,” Ron muttered, “The pair of you are turning into Hermione.”

I turned to Neville and nudged his arm gently,

“I think he has a reason other than homework to spend so much time in the library.”

“What are you talking about?” Neville frowned, confused by my comment.

I laughed,

“Well, the only other person who seems to be a regular in the library is Hannah Abbot. I think I can see where that one’s going.”

I watched as Neville’s cheeks turned bright red, and everyone else at the table laughed. I grinned and started to say something to him, but stopped when I saw someone leaning against the entrance to the Great Hall, watching me silently.

I stood up,

“I have to go guys. Goodnight, see you all tomorrow.”

Everyone nodded and started their own conversations, allowing me to walk away quickly.

“I wondered how long it would take you to notice me.” Draco spoke without raising his head. I sighed and hit his arm softly,

“I was eating my dinner, if you hadn’t noticed. Anyway, what do you want to do? Go to the common room?”

“Actually,” Draco’s voice was quiet, “I wondered if we could go to the library? I’d like to get a book to help me with my Defence Against the Dark Arts essay, and I know it will be in there.”

We started to walk down the empty corridors, and I cleared my throat,

“You know… Draco, I’m glad that you’re letting me help you out. It’s a relief to know that you’re trying to find a way around your mission.”

Draco nodded slowly, but stayed silent. I bit my lip and changed the subject,

“How was dinner with Pansy?”

“Particularly infuriating.”

I frowned, surprised,

“But you like Pansy!”

Draco sounded hesitant,

“She was just going on and on about things I wasn’t interested in.”

I tried to catch Draco’s eye, but he glanced ahead instead. I wondered if he really was changing for the better.

The library was empty, and when we walked in, the librarian stood up immediately,

“You should really be getting to your common rooms at this time!”

I stepped forwards, smiling,

“Draco and I really need a book to help us with our Defence Against the Dark Arts you see, and I’d like to work on the essay this evening.”

She shook her head,

“Very well, Miss. Potter. I’m trusting that you will leave the library after fifteen minutes- and I’m also trusting that you will lock up. If you don’t do so, then I will be much less lenient about letting you into the library after hours again. Do you understand?”

I nodded, and the librarian dropped a set of keys into my hand,

“I shall be in my office if you need me.”

She turned and walked away, her heels tapping against the floor as she went.

I spun around to look at Draco,

“That was surprisingly easy. Come on then, we ought to hurry.”

The library was dark, as most of the lanterns had been turned off.

“Lumos.” I muttered quietly, watching as the tip of my wand lit up the space around me. I passed Draco the keys,

“Can I trust you to keep these in your pocket? I don’t have anywhere to put them.”

Something flashed in Draco’s eyes, but only for a second before he spoke,

“Ava, do you reckon we should split up? There’s two different books I’d like to have a look at, and I have a feeling they’re at very different ends of the library.”

I nodded,

“Alright, that will save time. What do you want me to look for?”

“I need a book about the history of how defence spells were discovered.”

I started to walk,

“Okay. I’ll meet you back here by the entrance in ten minutes.”

The library felt eerie when you were walking through it alone. I knew no one else apart from us was supposed to be in there, but I was still holding my wand tightly, ready in case someone attacked me.

As I looked through the books on the shelves, I wondered why Draco had specifically wanted to go to the library with me. He could have just gone on his own; then he would have had more time.

I pushed the thought aside as I ran my fingers over the dusty spines of the books, reading each and every title.

One of them caught my eye- Spells and their History- and I pulled it off of the shelf carefully, blowing the dust off from the top.

When I opened the book, I realised that it wasn’t the type of history that Draco wanted. It was about the history of the spells being used. Nevertheless, I flicked through the pages, trying to see if there was anything useful.

Two names on the page made me stop.

James and Lily Potter.

I stared at the page in surprise, before flicking back to the beginning of that chapter. I gasped quietly at the name.

Avada Kedavra.

I suddenly realised that the book would have a description of how the spell was used against my parents. It would even say how it had been used against Harry.

Not wanting to read anything about it, I slammed the book shut. The sound echoed through the library, taking me by surprise.

I slid the book back onto the shelf and looked in a different section for the book. I was starting to lose hope when I noticed a book called Spells and their Discoveries. I sighed with relief and reached out to take hold of the book.

Just as my I grabbed onto it, the noise of a door slamming sounded throughout the library, causing me to drop my wand. I gasped as the light went out, immersing me in darkness. I heard the sound of the wand clattering across the floor and I swore. My wand was rolling underneath one of the bookshelves, and I couldn’t see anything.

Footsteps echoed from the other side of the room, and I called out,

“Draco?”

I said it loud enough, but there was no reply. I shivered and bent down to retrieve my wand, feeling around on the floor.

As the footsteps started to get closer, my heart began to race. Who else was in the library? Where on earth was Draco?

Nearby, I could hear someone taking shaky, panicky breaths. I clamped my mouth shut and tried to stay silent, concealing myself from whoever it was that was there.

Suddenly I felt my wand underneath my hand, and I grabbed onto it. I thanked Snape for teaching us non-verbal spells as my wand lit up without me needing to speak. I held onto the book that I had noticed before I’d dropped my wand and slowly started to walk towards the entrance of the library, keeping my footsteps as quiet as possible.

The panicked breaths that I’d heard before were silent now, and I gulped, wondering where the person was now.

It had been ten minutes, and yet Draco was not standing by the entrance. I took a shaky breath and closed my eyes for a moment. I had a feeling that I needed to follow the sound of the slamming door. I needed to find Draco; we needed to get out of the library.

I gulped and composed myself, getting ready to walk towards the sound.

Each footstep made my heart beat a little bit faster, my breaths more panicked. I didn’t know what I was going to find, and the thought terrified me.

I heard the footsteps again, and I knew they were nearby. Despite my fear, I carried on.

The sound of someone muttering quietly to themselves made me want to stop and turn around- but I needed to find Draco.

I turned a corner, and the light from my wand illuminated a figure standing in front of me, his back to me. I stepped closer, and realised who it was.

“Draco?”

I should have sighed with relief, I knew I ought to- but something about the way he was standing made me freeze.

Draco turned around slowly and stared at me,

“Ava! What are you doing?”

“I…” I gulped, “I heard something- the noise of a door slamming and footsteps. I thought someone else was in the library-”

“It must have been me.” Draco sounded surprisingly calm. I frowned,

“What’s that on the table in front of you?”

He glanced at it,

“A book I found. I thought it might be of use to me, but it’s not.”

Draco reached a hand out to flip the book shut, but I stepped forwards, stopping him. I recognised the book, but I couldn’t remember from where.

I flicked through the pages, and noticed labels on all of the pages.

“Draco…” I whispered, “This book is from the Restricted Section. How did you get it?”

“Well…” he faltered, “I had the keys to the Restricted Section so I thought I may as well check there for the book I needed. This one’s no use though.”

I held the book up that I’d found,

“Well, I’ve got the book that you wanted. It’s hardly the kind of book that would be in the Restricted Section. Now come on, we need to leave.”

Draco stared at me, his eyes wide. He looked scared, and I realised after a moment that it was fear of me. Fear of what I had to say. I gulped,

“Just… go, Draco. I’ll be after you in a moment.”

He hesitated, but only for a moment before he turned away and stared to walk towards the exit of the library.

Once Draco had turned the corner and could no longer see me, I turned back to the book and flicked through it, pressing my wand to the pages.

A page caught my attention and I flicked back to it in confusion. I immediately recognised it. It was the illustration of the wardrobe that I’d seen in that book before. I glanced at the caption underneath, but I still didn’t understand what the strange wardrobe was.

“Ava?” Draco called out nervously.

I flicked the book shut and shook my head, trying to make sense of the object that I’d just looked at.

As I caught up with Draco and we exited the library, the caption of the illustration circled my head.

The Vanishing Cabinet.