Chapter Twenty Four
"Okay, Sirius, James you've got one chance. Take us to school."
Take us to school? Ava repeated in her head as she winced at just how lame what she said really was. She winced as she heard James and Sirius's cackles. The two boys laughter spread contagiously, first to Cassy who laughed so hard she almost cried, then to Lilly, Ava's her parents then finally to Ava, herself. Their few minutes of hysterical laughter eased the tense atmosphere that surrounded them.
With eyes full of tears and aching ribs everybody apparated together and in a blink of an eye they were all standing along the cobbled main street of Hogsmeade. In the very early hours of the morning there isn't an awful lot see; even the three broomsticks was shut, but Ava could feel that crackle of magic in the air and she was sure Cassidy would be able to feel it too. With hushed whispers and careful tip toeing through shadows James and Sirius lead their party up toward the Shrieking Shack.
The shrieking shack stood by itself, moaning and creaking in dark morning shadows. The shadows cast over it by the setting moon really made the house live up to its new name 'The most haunted building in Britain.'
"James, what are we doing here?" Hissed Ava as her little sister gripped tight on her hand and stared, transfixed at the ghostly building.
"There's a tunnel that goes from the shack straight to the school grounds." he answered.
"You're not afraid of a few ghosts Avs?" Teased Sirius.
"Black we live in a school full of ghosts for most of the year, no I'm not afraid. I just thought you couldn't get into the Shrieking Shack"
"If you try hard enough you can get into anything" Ava would swear that Sirius' reply came with both his perfected wink and smirk. With that remark Ava stood up straight and marched straight past the oldest black brother and into the grounds surrounding the shack. Soon after the others followed. Sirius took the lead and circled round the back of the house and came to a stop at the large boarded up window on the side of the house. He pulled off the loose board and muttered a charm, as the others gathered around him, behind the boards that covered up the window a large panel of glass was missing. There wasn't any large sharp edges of glass, that you could cut yourself on. The window was just completely bare of glass. James climbed in through the window first and began pulling the others in his party through after him. Carefully and gently he eased each of Ava's family in through the window, once they were all through Ava jumped through. Sirius climbed through last and magically sealed the window back up after him.
Although it was night Ava could still make out the dank dirty wallpaper that hung in strips falling off the wall. The few pieces of furniture in the house lay scattered and broken. The thick layers of dust and dirt coating everything in the shack made it difficult to breath and Ava's mother was already beginning to struggle in the stiff aired room. James led them all to a trapdoor in the floor, he heaved it up to reveal a dank tunnel.
"Trust me, you follow this through and we'll be at Hogwarts in no time" James said sincerely.
Manoeuvring through the tunnel was not an easy task with three severely malnourished and beat up muggles. It was awkward, cramped and dark even with all the magical light Ava and the other could make.
Both Ava and Lily were speechless to find out that the tunnel ended at a small hole at the base of the Whomping Willow.
"But How many people know about this? Its brilliant!" cried Lily with a look of sheer delight on her face, that look quickly faded as James and Sirius shared a dark look between them before the latter mumbled something that to Ava sounded like too many.
Once everyone was out of the tunnel, and dusted whatever dirt they could off, they all solemnly marched up toward the great oak doors of Hogwarts castle.