Chapter 5

We were still talking about the match on the way back to the Portkey. "That was a really good match," Pete said. By that point, all of the excitement and anger had died down, and Joe, Pete, and Andy were discussing the finer points of the game.

"I agree," Andy said. "Both teams had some really fast flyers. Did you see the Chaser from Montrose?"

"Puddlemere's Beaters were pretty good too," Joe said. "I'm just glad that I got to see a professional Quidditch game."

"Hopefully we'll be just as good this year, right Joe?" Pete said. Sometimes, he seemed a little bit too proud of his position as the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. He was actually a fairly good Beater. Joe, on the other hand, was not bad.

"I doubt it," Joe said. "We lost our best Seeker two years ago."

"Hayley was really good," Pete agreed.

"What about Ravenclaw?" Andy said. "We could win too."

Pete laughed. "Yeah, right," he said. "Gryffindor's totally going to beat you."

I decided not to join in. The Hufflepuff team was pretty good, but I didn't want to make everyone mad. While my friends were arguing about which Hogwarts team was best, I noticed something lying on the ground in front of us, so I picked it up. It was a small, flat rock, but I did notice some odd bumps. "Hey Pete, can you do a Wand-Lighting Charm for me?" I asked.

"Sure," Pete said. "Lumos." He waved his wand, and the tip of the wand lit up, illuminating the area around us while I went back to examining the rock.

"That's weird," I said, tracing my fingers over the odd symbols that were carved all over the rock. "Those look like Ancient Runes."

"I can read Ancient Runes. Let me see it," Pete said, and I handed the rock to him. "There are a couple of possible translations for this one."

"What are they?" Andy asked.

"One possible translation is 'A loaded God complex, cock it and pull it," Pete said.

"That makes no sense, but it could be a good song lyric," Joe said. "What other translations are there?"

"They said stay in your lane, boy, but we go where we want to," Pete said.

"I don't think that's it either," Joe said. "Any others?"

"There's one more," Pete said. "Rookwood will be avenged, and darkness shall rise again."

"That's just creepy," Joe said.

"I agree," Andy said. "Do you know who wrote it?"

"No idea," Pete said. "Patrick? You were the one who found it. Do you know?"

"No," I answered. I was a little bit creeped out too. Rookwood was a Death Eater who had died two years earlier. Why would anyone want to avenge him?

"I would say that it's a Death Eater, but all of them are in Azkaban," Andy said.

"Let's just move on," Pete said. "When are we going to Diagon Alley?"

"Let's do it sometime soon," I said. "I need to get my books for school."

"Me too," Joe said. "How about next week?"

"Sure," Andy said. "We can meet at Flourish and Blott's."

"That sounds great," I said as we approached the Portkey, which was, of course, another pile of Polaroids from a night that time forgot. "Well, I think this is the Portkey back to Montrose."

"These are sexy looking," Pete said as he picked one up.

"Pete!" I exclaimed as the photograph began to rise and spin for him like his favorite records used to. "That's going to Montrose!" He suddenly dropped the Portkey, and Joe and I both grabbed onto it as Andy and Pete waved to us.

"So long and goodnight, Trick!" Pete yelled, but we were already leaving. The Portkey continued to spin until Joe, the photograph, and our surroundings were all just a blur. Finally, my feet touched the ground again. We were back in the record store.

"See you later, Patrick," Joe said as the two of us went in our separate directions. It was dark outside, but I knew my way home.

When I arrived at my house, my parents were already asleep, so I tiptoed into my room and tried to shut my eyes and just sleep. I had a hard time going to sleep though. The Ancient Runes that I had found just wouldn't leave my mind, and I was terrified that the third translation was right. Who would write something that grisly on a rock outside of a Quidditch stadium? It made no sense to me.

Eventually, I did go to sleep, but I had the worst nightmares. I was kidnapped, then tortured, and then I had my left hand cut off. I later turned evil and killed Joe and Andy, and I was about to kill Pete too when I woke up. Needless to say, I was panicking the next morning.

I reminded myself that the dream wasn't real, and I would see all of them again soon. I just couldn't wait until the next week, when I would go to Diagon Alley with them. That day couldn't arrive soon enough.