One glance at the girl walking towards them made Harry's heart speed up considerably, fluttering in his chest like a mad hummingbird. The corner of his mouth involuntarily wandered up and a small, barely noticeable smile appeared on his lips for a fraction of a second, his eyes glowed merrily. The boy instinctively slowed down his pace, and it was all so short that Ron, who was walking beside him, was unable to notice any of these things.

Ginny Weasley walked confidently, smiling from a distance at the two boys heading towards her, showing them something that looked like a small Christmas present, carefully wrapped in a thin brown ribbon. Ron, seeing his sister with a familiar expression on his face, managed to turn his head towards his friend with a loud, long groan, knowing exactly what would happen next. He knew his little sister too well.

"Mom said if you forget your breakfast one more time, she will bring it here personally and she will make sure it goes to you right in the middle of your classes with Professor Snape."

Taking the neatly wrapped package from his younger sister's hands, Ron rolled his eyes theatrically, wincing at the mere sound of her spoken words, his imagination gave him a picture of his math teacher's ironic smile. It would be the end of the world. Watching this, the girl laughed, louder this time, stopping in front of the boys and looking at them with a cheerful glance.

"There's also a cake for you inside, Harry. Mom said that under no circumstances you shouldn't give it to my greedy brother, because it will soon stop fitting into another pair of pants," she said with amusement, blinking at the same time at the boy. He replied with an equally broad smile, nodding his head earnestly. Ron took advantage of his sister's moment of inattention as he thrust his leg in front of him, intending to deliver a painful kick to her ankle; the girl was cleverer, and before he could take a proper swing, she moved away and approached Harry, thus avoiding a solid blow. Ron muttered softly under his breath and Harry, taking advantage of the fact that his friend was now focused on something else, looked at Ginny's face, deeply enjoying this turn of events. When her eyes found his own, they both smiled knowingly at each other.

"Shouldn't you be in your class right now?" Ron asked, clearly irritated. The girl took her eyes off Harry and looked at her brother, focusing her attention on him again.

"A simple thank you, Ron, would be enough, you know" she replied, the smile still did not disappear from her face, even when she stuck her tongue out at the red-haired boy for a split second. Turning her gaze to the school clock hanging above his head, she narrowed her eyes for a moment as she adjusted the backpack slung over her left shoulder. "I'm on my way to the cafeteria. Coach Wood warned us yesterday that he would be late for class, so I still have some time. And you?"

"We have a history with Professor Lupin right now," Harry, who had only been watching the sibling exchange so far, this time eagerly stood up to answer. Ginny glanced at him again, a slight smile settling on her lips again.

"If he won't kill us today, we'll be more than lucky," Ron groaned, expressing his despair. "He's giving back our essays, I'm afraid I did horrible."

"It can't be that bad. After all, you said Hermione helped you, and she has the best grades," Harry raised an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look. At his right side, Ginny chuckled softly. "Or have you been too busy making goo-goo eyes, again?" Catching the girl's mood, he bared his teeth, sticking out his hand to be able to give the redhead a high five. Ron grunted angrily as Ginny pushed her way unceremoniously between them.

"You can't beat your little sister, Ron," she said, turning on her heel, looking at her brother's slightly raised hand. "Who else would bring you food?" Ron closed his mouth, deciding not to answer. "I thought so," she shrugged, taking another step back. "See you guys later."

Harry silently stared at the cascade of her long, flaming red hair until the girl disappeared around the next corner; when a moment later Ron's elbow, which was stuck in his ribs, snapped him out of his thoughts, he turned his head towards him, looking at him in surprise.

"Are we going?" Ron asked impatiently. Harry reluctantly moved from his seat, walking with his friend in the opposite direction. If he could only stay with the girl a few moments longer, exchange a few more words with her, maybe that would make the upcoming lesson with Professor Lupin not so terrible. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Of course, I am," he replied, dutifully focusing his attention on him for a few seconds.

"I told you not to listen to the nonsense my crazy sister says. It's not true that I'm making goo-goo eyes," the redhead lowered his voice, leaning towards his friend. Harry smiled back at him.

"Are you sure?" he asked with amusement. "So, who's going through that 'almost kiss' of yours from last month all the time?"

"Not almost, our lips touched, I swear!" Ron blew his face, turning red, and Harry cringed into himself, fearing his fists on his back.

"She says otherwise."

"Maybe she didn't notice!"

"Then do something to make her notice," Harry stopped and raised his voice slightly, causing several of the students to look in their direction. Looking at them with contrite eyes, the boy stood closer to his friend. "Did you even invite her to the prom?" He asked.

"I'll do it. Soon," Ron replied sadly. "This weekend," he added, giving the dark-haired man standing in front of him a determined look. "And you? Have you invited Cho yet?"

Harry looked away suddenly, biting him into a sizable scratch on the floor near where they were standing. Ron shifted impatiently from foot to foot.

"No."

The red-haired boy frowned, looking stubbornly at his friend.

"Why?" he asked in surprise. "Hermione said Cho doesn't have a prom date yet. Don't wait, man, someone will overtake you."

Harry bit his lip, then took a deep breath and looked back at Ron.

"I'm not sure if I want to go to the ball with Cho, Ron."

Moving immediately, Harry directed his steps straight to the classroom. Professor Lupin, sitting at his desk, was just looking at a pile of papers lying in front of him. Looking briefly, the boy noticed that several students had already taken their places; Cho was sitting with her friend in one of the last pews. Seeing him entering the room, she turned her gaze in his direction and raised her hand, waving at him shyly. Harry nodded in response, hearing Ron's heavy footsteps behind him.

"Why not?" he asked him a question, catching up with him. "She likes you and she probably waits for you to invite her," he added, pointing with a gentle movement of his head in the direction of the brunette. Harry sighed in response, pausing at the bench he shared with Ron.

"But I'd like to go with someone else," he replied, speaking much more quietly than his interlocutor. "I was thinking about Ginny," he added just as the school bell announced the end of the break for everyone.

00:59... 00:58

Harry sat down heavily in his chair, setting the textbook that he had been holding in his hands for a long time in front of him. Looking back, he shot a short glance at Cho, who was just laughing out loud at something her friend had just said. Feeling the boy's gaze on her, she sent him a gentle, friendly smile.

00:49... 00:48

Ron frowned, intensely reflecting on what the brunette sitting next to him had just said.

"You mean my sister?" He asked just to be surer, drawing Harry's attention to himself. He looked at him, clearly confused.

"Ginny IS your sister, isn't she?"

00:39... 00:38

Ginny put her elbows on the tabletop and supported her chin with her hands as she watched the other students slowly leave the cafeteria. Some of them scattered, avoiding a man dressed in a black leather jacket standing motionless in the aisle. The girl stared at him for a few seconds, then shifted her gaze to those students who were still sitting at their tables, looking for someone to join them. Noticing Luna Lovegood, she waved cheerfully at her, grabbing the backpack from the ground.

00:29... 00:28

It's started. You'll be a father soon. We need you here, baby.

Remus Lupin looked at his phone screen, absentmindedly reading the text from his wife, Nymphadora. Trying to suppress his excitement, he looked at the students, still gathered in the hall. In a moment like this, he could forgive them even such tragically written essays.

00:19... 00:18

Hermione Granger looked up from the large, crumbling volume of the encyclopedia, which she closed with extreme caution, and her eyes turned to the crowd of students milling outside the library door. Rising from her seat, she began gathering her things in a hurry, knowing already that if she tried hard enough, she would have time for the welcome joke that Professor Lupin always tells at the beginning of her classes.

00:09... 00:08

Draco Malfoy has just come out of the school's restroom, knocking over several younger students in the process. Passing all the open rooms one by one, he thought irritably about the activities that awaited him. If he survives this hour of history class with Lupin, he will have the best weekend since a long time after he leaves school.

00:05... 00:04

The man looked slowly around the room, carefully counting the people gathered inside. There were exactly as many of them as should be enough to start what he had planned for today.

00:02... 00:01

"You want to go to the prom with my... sister, Potter?!"

Ron's question still resonated in Harry's mind, but he was more concerned with the tone in which he said it. Swallowing loudly, out of the corner of his eye he looked at Professor Lupin, who was still staring at his phone screen, his face pale as a wall. He suspected that whatever had just happened, it might be taking much longer than everyone expected to start class. It was not a good sign, as it meant that Harry would probably have to answer very uncomfortable questions asked by his friend.

00:00

A loud bang from the corridor made Remus look away from the bright screen, turning his head in that direction. A few students also looked towards the open door; all conversation slowly faded away.

On the second and third weird sound, Harry looked at Ron, who now opened his eyes widely, incomprehensively searching for an explanation to what was happening. On the fourth time, the noise was joined by screams that began to reach everyone's ears. The students in the corridor began to run in fear, their squeals drowned out by the successive series of repeated booms. It's as if someone were setting off fireworks at school. It's like...

Harry turned his head, and his eyes met Professor Lupine's terrified gaze. In a split second, everyone realized what was actually going on.

Someone just started shooting people at school.