Of Tethered Shadows: Ancient and Unforgivable

Chapter 10: Charms Class

Lucy stepped forward on the stairs in front of her, her footsteps echoed off the marble floor. The design of the Defense against the Dark Arts Tower gave a regal, gothic feel with its dark brown and gold marble. As she walked up the stairs, she heard a classical music piece playing. There weren't any specific students to follow so she kept walking up the stairs at her own pace, stepping onto the second level now. She made a left at the corner of the stairs, walking through a corridor filled with knights in their armor, standing straight and attentive the moment she walked past them. She heard an echo of a scream somewhere and paced faster through the corridor. She went up another two flights of stairs to get away from the screaming voice she heard bouncing off the walls.

"That life is behind me. I promise!"

"Come now, Annabelle! It was a long time ago!"

Lucy finally made it up the last flight of stairs, entering a room full of students in all houses grouped around. Some were standing and talking while some were sitting on another flight of stairs. Lucy noticed a statue in front of her, it reminded her of the one she saw back in the ruin with Professor Fig. This one was holding a scroll instead of a book and the globe was floating above his hand instead of gripped. The walls were a brown wood with periwinkle paint in each middle row of the wall. There were words etched in gold by a classroom door. She could see that up the next set of stairs students sat on, there were more students and a larger pane window letting the sun light up the room.

"Strange," Lucy muttered to herself, admiring the statue.

"Professor Ronen tends to go on a bit. We sometimes have to remind him to finish the lesson," a nasal voice speaks next to Lucy.

Lucy turns her face to the culprit, a tall boy standing next to her. She notices his robes are red and his tie was gold with red stripes, meaning Gryffindor.

"Leander Prewett," he says, extending out his hand to her confidently.

"Lucy Bellamy," she says cautiously, shaking his hand.

He had bright orange hair that was cut short and neatly combed, his complexion was spotted with freckles spotted all over. His smile came off as a sneer to Lucy, something about him felt off or maybe it was just his sharp cheekbones and nose that threw her off. He had dark brown eyes that almost appeared black, those same eyes stared back curiously at her.

"Some of us don't necessarily want him to get back to the lesson," a girl in Ravenclaw robes stepped into the middle of them. Her black hair was tied back with strands falling to the side of her face.

"Samantha, meet Lucy. Lucy meet Samantha Dale," Leander introduced proudly.

Samantha tightened her blue tie that had golden stripes wrapped around it, "You're the new student everyone's been whispering about? Nice to meet you."

Poppy walked past Lucy, her hand waving at Lucy to follow.

"I'll see you all in class," Lucy said, following after Poppy.

Poppy entered the class, Lucy following shortly behind. The Charms classroom looked exactly identical to the waiting area she was just in. Rows of desks and benches were placed in tiers in the back and middle of the classroom. The front rows were separated by a middle wood walkway, leading to the Professor's desk. The walls and blackboards were etched in that same writing she saw outside. Tall windows let in streams of the early morning light into the classroom. The Professor's desk and corners of the classroom were surrounded by stacks of books and cluttered by parchments. There were strange glass globes all around the classroom. Hanging chandeliers hovered overhead, lightly swaying with a small breeze coming from the window.