The Thorns of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [2]

Chapter Ten: Calista's Theory

Cool leaves brushed against her skin as she held her hand out along the hedges that lined her on either side. There was nothing to light the path ahead of her except for the dim glow of the moon and stars above her. Dark grey shadows swayed in the surrounding area. Step by step she meandered through this seemingly endless maze.

Her hands began to shake, and the rest of her body followed close behind, but she didn't feel cold. A long sleeved uniform covered her body enough to trap in what little heat it could against that cool night air. Still, she continued to shiver so hard she had difficulty keeping her hand outstretched.

As she continued further into the sharp corners of the maze, a white glow began to emanate down one of the paths she found herself on. It started off faint at first, and she had almost passed it, thinking it was only the reflection of the moon. Yet she began to follow it, and it only grew stronger and stronger, lighting the area around her. The maze opened into a small clearing, where she found some sort of trophy on top of a pedestal. The very silver of the trophy itself seemed to be glowing.

She reached for it. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she knew she needed to grab it. It was alluring in a way. And the closer she got to it, the more she could feel the buzz of energy behind it. There was something more to it than just being some simple trophy. Yet as her hand neared it, she seemed to move slower and slower, until she came to a complete stop. She couldn't move, something was blocking her, she...

Oriane woke up.

There was no more maze or moonlight shining above her head, there was just her in her dormitory, accompanied by the light sound of scratching. She slowly rose in her bed and blinked away the sleep from her eyes as she glanced around the room. The sun was already up, and she knew they would have to rise for school in a few minutes, but everyone else was still asleep.

Everyone except for Charlotte, anyway. She sat upright in her bed still in her nightgown with some sort of book in her hand. In her other hand was a bright orange pencil, something Oriane had seen the girl carrying around every now and then, and she scratched away making what sounded like quick and short lines.

Oriane swung her legs over the side of her bed and her bare feet hit the cold stone with a soft pat. She approached Charlotte's bed, but the girl's full attention was casted towards Emerald bed, and as she neared, she quickly figured out why.

Milo, Emerald's obnoxious demon in disguise of a cat, was completely passed out on the foot of her bed. He had stretched himself out as long as his little body would go, laying on his side with his full belly completely exposed. He was so limp and unmoving Oriane would have thought he was dead if it weren't for his chest moving up and down with each breath he took.

Charlotte's amber eyes watched the creature carefully, turning her attention back and forth between him and the sketchbook in front of her as she carefully drew every detail. With the way the beds were positioned, Oriane wasn't able to look over her shoulder to see what she was drawing, but she didn't really need to ask to know what she'd find on that paper.

"He's such a cutie," Oriane whispered with a giggle.

"Sure, now that he's not trying to chomp my toes at four in the morning," Charlotte muttered. She sighed and her sketchbook went limp in her lap. "He's lucky he's handsome."

With the paper fully exposed, Oriane couldn't help but steal a glance at what Charlotte had been working on. Just like she had expected, it was a drawing of Milo. Every detail was caught perfectly, from the frizz of his fur, to the angle of his whiskers. Even the folds of Emerald's blankets underneath his small weight were done without flaw.