Harry walked throughout the halls of Hogwarts one more. He was extremely bored. Again. Severus had said that Harry needed to stay out of the Great Hall because of a "staff meeting", but Harry wasn't convinced. He'd listened to several staff meeting under his invisibility cloak, and they all happened in the staff room. He wasn't entirely sure what was happening in the Great Hall, but he needed it to happen quickly. He wanted the time leading up to his birthday dinner to move quickly, because Ron, Hermione, and Draco were coming a little before and sleeping over.
Harry started to walk down the marble staircase. He blinked, and suddenly he was in the Astronomy Tower.
"What?" he muttered, hurrying down to the Entrance Hall.
"Harry!" Hermione tackled him into a hug. "We've been looking for you for ages!"
"But when did you get here?" Harry asked, completely bemused.
"Two hours ago." Hermione looked at him strangely. "You came and said hi to Ron and Draco and I, then said you had to use the bathroom. You never came back. We've been looking all over for you for over an hour."
"But I was just coming down the stairs." Harry looked around at everyone in the Hall; All the professors, Severus, Ron, and Draco. "You three weren't here. And you," he addressed the teachers, "were still in the Great Hall, having your meeting."
"Harry, that meeting ended ages ago." Severus said, looking concernedly at his son.
"But," Harry looked thoroughly confused. "But I was walking down the stairs. Then I blinked, and I was up in the Astronomy Tower."
"Harry," Draco looked scared. "Harry, you've been gone for ages. You said hello to us, then left. We thought you'd been abducted or something."
Harry looked down at the ground, thinking hard. Why couldn't he remember those hours?
"Well, we've been planning something, Harry." Minerva said, redirecting the conversation. "And it'll be the perfect time for you to meet the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"
"It's not Dad?" Harry asked.
"Well, no..." Minerva said, casting Severus a sideways glance.
"Why not?" Harry demanded of Dumbledore. "He's applied for it every year, why do you insist on not giving him the job?"
"Let's go have your birthday dinner, Harry." Severus said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder and steering him into the Great Hall.
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