Another Year at Hogwarts

I could feel my body resting against something soft but cold. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t move. I could breath. It felt as though someone was holding a plastic bag over my head. I tried to inhale—to fill me lungs with air—but my desperate attempts ended in failure. Tears began to swell in my closed eyes as I remained paralyzed on the ground. What was happening? Why couldn’t I breathe or even move? Was I dying? These were the thoughts that were running through my mind.

I could feel people around me. But no one was trying to do anything to help me. All I heard were people asking if I were dead. Someone else replied that I wasn’t breathing, and that I had to be dead.

The voices came and went, but I was no longer able to understand them. Soon, they faded into silence, while I remained on the ground struggling to breathe. Just before I felt I was going to pass out, I felt my fingers jerk. Suddenly, my eyes snapped opened and inhaled deeply while pushed myself off the ground. I pressed my hand against my chest as I breathed deeply. Soon, my breathing regulated, and I slowly lied back down onto the ground. I closed my eyes and allowed my body to relax. I was too tired to even look around—to see where I was. I simply remained on the ground and drifted off to sleep from exhaustion.

When I woke up again, I found myself in an unfamiliar room. It was a small room with yellow wallpaper and dark wooden flooring. As I peered outside, I could see the dark gray sky and the lining of tall, plain buildings.

Suddenly, a horrid thought came over me, and I threw off the dark sheets. I stumbled across the room to the door and threw it open. Before me was a staircase that led to the lower levels. I quickly grabbed onto the wooden railing and make my way downstairs. There, I wondered around until I came to the living room, where a dark figure sat in an armchair.

“You’re finally wake,” he said as he placed the book in his hand onto the table beside him.

“No,” I gasped while shaking my head. I slowly began to back out of the room while repeating the word no. “T—this can’t be happening. THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!” I cried before crumbling to the ground.

“You have to calm down,” Snape said as he slowly made his way over to me. He reached his hand out to me, but I slapped it away.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” I bellowed while scurrying away from him. I then pulled myself to my feet and turned back to glare at him. “This—this isn’t happening. Tell me I’m dreaming. Please tell me that this isn’t real!”

“First of,” Snape said calmly, “you have to calm down.”

“I will NOT calm down!” I refused. “Why the hell am I back here? I want to go home. I want to get out of here NOW!” I screamed.

“I can’t do that,” Snape said.

“And why the hell not? You’re the one who told me never to return here,” I yelled. “You’re a potions master. Make me a freaken potion that will send a Universal Portal here so that I can get back home!” I ordered.

“I won’t do that,” Snape said.

I clenched my jaw tightly together while breathing heavily. I glared at Snape, and he glared back to me—neither one of us saying a word to each other. I then turned my heels and started for his front door.

“Fine, if you won’t help me, I’ll go find someone who will.”

“You’re dead to the world,” Snape said calling out to me.

I turned back to him with a raised eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Snape didn’t say anything. He simply went back to the living room and then came back with a newspaper. He walked over to me and handed it to me.

“What is this?” I asked as I took the paper in hand.

“Read the first article,” Snape replied.

I looked down at the paper, and my eyes suddenly widened when I saw what was on the cover. Horror filled my eyes as I scanned the paper over, before letting it slip onto the ground.

“What the hell is this?” I gasped.

“An American newspaper,” Snape said. “They say that it was a house robbery gone wrong, but you know that that isn’t true. After all, why would house thieves break into a home and not steal anything? Why would they slaughter an entire family and carve ‘Muggle’ onto their victims?”

“This can’t be true,” I said. “I can’t be dead. My family cannot be dead! I was just with them—and we’re not even in America right now! My parents, sister and I are in England right now—visiting my aunt and uncle. This—“ I looked down at the article on the ground, “—this isn’t true.”

“There existed a Violet Bell in this world, too,” Snape interrupted. “She lived in Wisconsin with her adoptive parents and sister as well. But unlike you, she was just a Muggle, and was completely unaware of the wizardry world until yesterday.”

I remained silent as I worked up to ask Snape how my parents and sister had died. I was scared to ask though. Thankfully, Snape somehow knew this was on my mind and said, “You’re parents and sister were killed quickly. I made sure of that.”

“You were there?”

Snape nodded.

“May I ask,” I began. I stopped and took in a deep breath before continuing. “So…did you—my parents and my sister?”

“Yes,” Snape replied.

“And me?”

“No,” he said plainly. There was a long painful silence before Snape said, “It was Draco.”

My eyes widened as I stumbled back a little. I guess it wasn’t that unexpected. A part of me knew that Snape was going to say it was Draco. But then again, I had secretly hoped that he would have said it was Snape himself who had done it.

“Draco—he was there?” I stuttered.

“He was there—along with Bellatrix, Lucius and me. We were told to find out what Potter and his friends were up to from you. However, as I mentioned, this Violet Bell had no knowledge of who Harry Potter was. When she denied knowing anything, Lucius ordered Draco to kill you. To become a true Death Eater, he said. Of course, Draco hesitated—”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” I scoffed. “Draco killed me! Whether he wanted to or not, he still did it!”

“Would you have preferred Bellatrix or Lucius to have done it?” Snape asked. “At least with Draco, you know there was some kind of sympathy.”

“I’ve had enough of this. I’m getting out of this place,” I said as I turned around and once again headed for the door.

“None of your friends will believe you are real if you were to go to them,” Snape informed. “And if you happen to run into a Death Eater or anyone of the Dark Lord’s followers, they will kill you immediately.” I suddenly felt Snape standing right behind me as he whispered, “You have no one left in this world—only me. And I have no use for you if you were back in your world.”

“So you summoned me here?” I asked. I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”

“Because I am in need of your assistance,” Snape replied. “And also,” Snape said as I turned to look at him, “this is the only place I know you will be safe.”

“You mean with you?” I questioned while cocking an eyebrow. “You, who are now working as the Voldemort’s right hand man?”

“That’s right,” Snape replied with a small smirk.