𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐎𝐮𝐭 {𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲}

| 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐀𝐍 | 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘪𝘭

I perked up at the mention of our ex-Headmaster. "I'm sure he's watching us from somewhere," I said.

"Somewhere? I sure hope you don't mean heaven or something!" she scoffed. "'Cause there's no such thing. From the banks of the Black Lake, more like."

"I mean, at this point, how do we even know if he's still there, really." I said this as a statement rather than a question as I folded my white shirts.

That got her attention fully. She did hate to be accused of misinformation. "If you're talking about his Tomb, it's definitely there, alright!" she said, propping herself up on her elbows. "In between those two cypress trees. You know the ones to the left of that uneven mound of grass. Trust me, it's there. They've just cast a ton of protection spells over it, that's all."

"Oh. Like what?"

"The Disillusionment charm. And probably an Age Line, to prevent any wandering First Years from stumbling upon it or something."

My stomach sank. The school's most precious treasure, hidden only by a mere Disillusionment charm and an age line that I would most likely pass? I had hoped it would have been more secure, or maybe I just wanted an excuse not to do it.

"Huh." I was hyper-focused on my white Oxford shirt, pretending to perfect every crease and line. "How do you know all this, anyway?"

She rolled over onto her stomach and kicked her feet up behind her. "I have my sources. Seriously, Morie, you need to start building your network. Connections get you to places nowadays, not skills or experience."

Did I feel guilty for baiting Odalis? Yes. Would I have done it if I didn't think it would save my life? No.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

I waited for the sound of Odalis' gentle snoring before easing out of bed. Our common room was situated high up in the Ravenclaw Tower, inviting pleasant breezes and spectacular, panoramic views. But tonight, I cursed the many flights of stairs as I placed each foot carefully in front of the other in case a loose floorboard chose to betray me.

It took me about ten minutes to finally reach the bottom. My next challenge: successfully evade the patrolling professors on their nightly rounds. Today, it was Flitwick. It was easy to be fooled by his small stature and bumbling nature, but the wizened man was razor-sharp and quick with his wand, and I learned in my early years here that there was no point attempting to cast Disillusionment or Invisibility charms. Nothing got past Flitwick.

He passed the prefect's bathroom, humming to himself in a sprightly manner. The bricks were cold through my jumper as I pressed myself flush against the wall. He was approaching, and for a moment I thought he had changed his route, but he turned at the corner just before me, just as he was supposed to. I exhaled, counted to thirty before continuing down the dark hallways.

There was no light, and I could barely see past my nose. I forced myself onwards. Finally, the shape of the doors came to view. I just needed to cross a large foyer before I would finally taste the fresh night air. There was just one more obstacle.

Accurate to my expectations, along came Filch and his bedraggled cat, Mrs Norris. He was mumbling to himself, or his pet - it was hard to tell sometimes.

He paused right in front of the doors, the lamp squeaking as it swung on its hinges. I barely dared to draw a breath as I counted to twenty. By the time he moved on, my hands tingled with pins and needles from being pressed so hard behind my back.

"Morie."

I almost screamed in fright. An eager face emerged from the shadows behind me, illuminated by a wand. "Sebastian! What are you doing here?" I hissed in irritation.