Miya lifted a corner of the tapestry and carefully glanced around the corridor. The torches were unlit and the castle was quickly darkening, but there was no sign of student or ghost. Miya let the tapestry fall and sat on the bottom step of their hidden passageway. The heavy cloth did nothing against the nightly chill creeping into the stone. Miya wrapped a reassuring arm around her friend and whispered, “It’s alright, Alice. They’ll be here soon.” But Alice continued to sob quietly into the sleeve of her robes. The sound was oddly loud in the evening silence.
When night fell around them, cold and dark, Alice fell silent. Miya didn’t dare to light her wand. She peered at her watch in the dim light and told Alice cheerfully, “Look, we don’t have long to wait. It’s almost time now.” Still, the corridors were painfully quiet – Miya strained her ears, jumping at the slightest creak of armor or portrait strolling by – but there were no footsteps or voices. Alice seemed immobilized, even when Miya shook her gently. Miya couldn’t blame her, after what happened.
The world outside their castle walls had become a dark place, prompting most students to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays. Despite the efforts of staff and ghosts, the growing threat in the Wizarding world had cast an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust among the students. The usual animosity between Slytherin and the other houses became outright contention. Harmless hexes became more serious spells intended to do actual harm, and anyone of “impure blood” caught out after hours was fair game.
Miya tightened her arm around Alice, remembering the aftermath of an encounter with a nasty gang of Slytherins who ambushed Alice on her way from the library to their Ravenclaw dormitory. The gouging charm had left her maimed and bloody in the hospital wing. But the greatest damage couldn’t be treated by potions or their mightiest Cheering Charms – Alice confined herself to the Ravenclaw dormitory even when classes started.
That was how Miya found herself crouching behind a tapestry in a fourth floor corridor, comforting Alice while they waited for a group of Gryffindors. The rumors of an organization intent on interfering with the Slytherins’ handiwork caught Miya’s attention a week ago. With some discreet questioning, a fellow Ravenclaw had helped arrange a meeting to smuggle Alice out of the castle to Hogsmeade, where a family friend would be waiting to take her home. Miya knew only a few details of the plan. It seemed so clever in the light of day but, in the January chill pervading the dark corridors, she was suddenly worried for her friend. Would Alice really be safer outside, with her muggle family? Miya wasn’t so sure anymore. Her own family tried to be positive with news from home, but there was no denying the danger. Her mother had even proposed leaving the country to her homeland, China, during the summer holidays. But Miya’s father – ever the patriot – refused to leave his home in a time of need.
Miya nervously tugged on a strand of her ebony hair, fine as silk, and pulled her cloak closer to her body. Speaking more to herself than Alice, she whispered, “They’re late. Where are they?”
When night fell around them, cold and dark, Alice fell silent. Miya didn’t dare to light her wand. She peered at her watch in the dim light and told Alice cheerfully, “Look, we don’t have long to wait. It’s almost time now.” Still, the corridors were painfully quiet – Miya strained her ears, jumping at the slightest creak of armor or portrait strolling by – but there were no footsteps or voices. Alice seemed immobilized, even when Miya shook her gently. Miya couldn’t blame her, after what happened.
The world outside their castle walls had become a dark place, prompting most students to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays. Despite the efforts of staff and ghosts, the growing threat in the Wizarding world had cast an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust among the students. The usual animosity between Slytherin and the other houses became outright contention. Harmless hexes became more serious spells intended to do actual harm, and anyone of “impure blood” caught out after hours was fair game.
Miya tightened her arm around Alice, remembering the aftermath of an encounter with a nasty gang of Slytherins who ambushed Alice on her way from the library to their Ravenclaw dormitory. The gouging charm had left her maimed and bloody in the hospital wing. But the greatest damage couldn’t be treated by potions or their mightiest Cheering Charms – Alice confined herself to the Ravenclaw dormitory even when classes started.
That was how Miya found herself crouching behind a tapestry in a fourth floor corridor, comforting Alice while they waited for a group of Gryffindors. The rumors of an organization intent on interfering with the Slytherins’ handiwork caught Miya’s attention a week ago. With some discreet questioning, a fellow Ravenclaw had helped arrange a meeting to smuggle Alice out of the castle to Hogsmeade, where a family friend would be waiting to take her home. Miya knew only a few details of the plan. It seemed so clever in the light of day but, in the January chill pervading the dark corridors, she was suddenly worried for her friend. Would Alice really be safer outside, with her muggle family? Miya wasn’t so sure anymore. Her own family tried to be positive with news from home, but there was no denying the danger. Her mother had even proposed leaving the country to her homeland, China, during the summer holidays. But Miya’s father – ever the patriot – refused to leave his home in a time of need.
Miya nervously tugged on a strand of her ebony hair, fine as silk, and pulled her cloak closer to her body. Speaking more to herself than Alice, she whispered, “They’re late. Where are they?”
