"Harry, are you all right, Harry!"
"Oh, your face!"
"What happened to all this blood, Harry?"
After a bout of dizzying vertigo, they were back in The Hog's Head Inn.
Torchlight illuminated three slightly pale faces. With every breath, the stale greasy smell and stench made their stomachs churn.
The faint, savage roars drifting from afar reminded them of Hogwarts's current state.
Harry staggered back two steps and fell into a soft embrace.
The jade disc hanging in the sky inadvertently reflected in his emerald-green eyes, making Harry realize that they could not have been gone for long.
The cold moonlight and the delicate fragrance at the tip of his nose quickly dispelled the dizziness clouding his mind. He took several deep breaths and straightened up.
"I'm fine, Ginny—"
Harry turned to look at Ginny. Having once again gone through an unspeakable adventure, the girl's gentle features stirred a fierce longing within him. He desperately wanted to throw caution aside and hug her.
But unfortunately, this was not the right moment.
Harry spoke softly, turning back as his gaze swept across one anxious face after another.
Sirius stood beside him, supporting his arm. Harry smiled at him, indicating that he was unharmed.
The others... Harry's gaze lingered on Snape's face. Looking at that cold expression, he mocked himself inwardly.
He was not Professor Breen, not Snape's prized pupil, so the concern he had caught in that brief glance must have been an illusion.
"You really fought Amosta?"
Sirius pressed anxiously.
The blood on Harry's robes, the fresh tender flesh speckling his cheeks, and Ron and Hermione's disheveled clothing all suggested that they had been in a fight.
"Oh, no—"
Harry explained,
"Actually, there were some other accidents. In the future, um..."
"Keep those matters in your hearts. Let them become