After the commotion, Mrs. Weasley pulled out all the stops inside the shabby but exceptionally clean Shrieking Shack, covering a long, magically conjured makeshift table with a dazzling array of fragrant food.
With Voldemort on the rise and the wizarding world descending into chaos everywhere, this was a rare chance to relax.
"Dumbledore will be here a little later. Let's start without him." Mrs. Weasley smiled at the members of the Order of the Phoenix seated in a circle.
Su Er sat facing the window. Though it was boarded up so tightly that no light could pass through, Hogwarts Castle lay in that direction.
At Mrs. Weasley's invitation to begin, Su Er shook his head slightly. Even knowing that Dumbledore had already put a contingency plan in place, he could not help sighing inwardly.
I'm afraid he won't be coming.
Meanwhile, in the Hogwarts Great Hall, dinner had been underway for some time.
Although Easter came with a holiday, as always, none of the young wizards had left the castle at this time. It was far livelier here than at the Shrieking Shack. Almost everyone was present, including the professors-and, naturally, Dumbledore.
Snape sat on Dumbledore's left. As he raised his wineglass, he glanced toward the Slytherin table. Withdrawing his gaze, he set the glass down with a measured knock against the table.
Dumbledore glanced at him, then looked away, sweeping his gaze over Gryffindor in a seemingly casual yet deliberate motion.
There, Ron was happily tearing into a chicken leg in each hand, alternating between them, but Harry, who should have been beside this child of the Weasley family, was nowhere to be seen.
In fact, Dumbledore had noticed Harry leaving shortly after the feast began.
Draco Malfoy's absence was something he had expected all along.
But Harry...