Mystique → Hermione Granger [2] ✔

I 14 I Nightly Terrors

~*~

Summer arrived in a golden chariot, blazing around the castle; flowers bloomed, and warm heat shone on the students, who removed their heavy cloaks and rolled their sleeves up; the sky and lake alike shed their dark wintery grey and turned a brilliant blue.

It was a nice picture, one that should have been enjoyable. Alexander swallowed back his irritation. As if mocking him, the weather looked like something from an idyllic dream, while the inside was an absolute nightmare.

There was no Hagrid, and Fang at his heels, no Nia to joke with, and no Hermione. It should be pouring, thundering, storming. The whole sky should be weeping. Everything was so horribly wrong.

If only exams were his only worry, what a blessing that would be. His mind was occupied constantly: about the Chamber and the monster, searching for spiders, the threat of being pulled out of school, and his grandfather's mysterious past. It was continual like an overplayed song.

The atmosphere inside the castle had never been so tense. Most people expressed worry and dread, and any laughter ringing through the corridors sounded shrill and unnatural and quickly drowned out. Fear had spread, and there was a real imminent danger this year that affected them all.

Alexander wished that someone could make everything go back to normal. That he'd wake up one day with everything fixed as if it had been a bad dream. He secretly imagined Grandfather, with Professor Dumbledore and Minister Fudge, bursting into the Great Hall, announcing that he had found the Chamber, single-handedly put an end to the monster, and the victims had been recovered. It was Grandfather, he could do anything, even solve a fifty-year mystery.

If only it were that easy.

One thing Alexander had come to realise since he'd been at Hogwarts was that the adults were hopeless. The Professors had never been of much help or taken Alexander and his friends seriously when they needed them. Professor Dumbledore, the greatest wizard alive, couldn't do anything and Grandfather couldn't do anything. They were on their own. Still . . . a tiny ray of hope flickered.

During his free periods, Alexander visited Hermione and Nia, ensuring that no teacher saw him. He conjured some flowers and placed them in a jar next to the beds. He scanned their faces carefully for any sign of movement but neither so much as twitched. It was also surprising to find Percy visiting Penelope Clearwater, the third victim, with an unmistakable manner of distress. Alexander concluded that Percy must have been worried about his fellow Prefect.

After a while, Madam Pomfrey barred all visitors from the Hospital Wing and refused to make any exceptions. There was every chance that the attacker might reappear and finish off the victims. While this was a blow to Alexander, he complied, reluctantly, as he didn't want the culprit to come back as well. It was better to be safe.

Even Helen wasn't allowed in and her Healer lessons had been put on hold. Her constant visits to the hospital to help displayed her determination, but Madam Pomfrey had refused to let her in. Alexander secretly surmised that Helen wanted sight of Nia. She then tried her luck with the Mandrakes, attempting to help Professor Sprout in the Greenhouse, but was equally unsuccessful.