Aludra | Book Two |

Chapter 5

Just to let you all know, updates may be a little slower because of school starting back up. However, I'll still be giving chapters as frequently as I can!

Enjoy!

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When Aludra was before the light of the fire in the common room, she realised that white and brown feathers were stuck to the front of her robes and in her hair, and her pink slippers were caked over with a dried layer of mud. Upon entering her dorm, she inspected her pillow and saw that there were no tears or rips in them, leaving the origin of the feathers unknown. Aludra stuffed the soiled slippers under the bed and plucked the feathers off one by one, jamming them into her pillowcase when she was finished. She got under the sheets and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take her, but it never did. Instead, the girl lay awake for hours and hours, watching the room fill with light behind her eyelids and waiting for the rooster's crow, signalling that it was time to get up.

But no matter how long she waited, the roosters remained silent.

* * *

Dear Tom,

I'm becoming very worried. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the castle, not knowing how I got there. There were feathers in my hair on all over my night gown, and my slippers were covered with mud. At first, I thought I'd been sleepwalking or something, but then I spoke to Hagrid in the castle today. He was very upset, because all of the school roosters' necks had been snapped in the dead of night. I had no idea what I was doing last night, and for me to wake up covered with feathers and muddy feet is far too suspicious. I'm scared, Tom. I don't know what to do.

Sweet Lulu,

Perhaps you are feeling a tad bit homesick? This can cause people to sleepwalk, and you easily could have gone around the castle and even wandered out into the grounds.

But what about the feathers?

A dirty joke played on you by Peeves the Poltergeist. Once, I witnessed him dump an entire cauldron filled with frog brains on an unfortunate girl a few years below me. A rotten nuisance, he is!
Seeing as you've told me that Hagrid lives very close to the forest, it is very possible that an animal of some sort crept out in the night and attacked his chickens. There are many dangerous things lurking there, and any one of them could have attacked the poor birds.

Do not worry yourself, Lulu. Confide in me, trust in me, and I will reassure you. You needn't be concerned about anything as long as you have me.

Thank you, Tom. You're always so level-headed and rational!

I think you forgot charming, too.

Don't get too egotistical, now!

Of course not. I'm sure you will be feeling better soon, Lulu.

But as time progressed, Aludra only got worse.

October brought chilly weather and many colds to Hogwarts, and it seemed that Aludra was one of the many victims. This cold, however, was very different to any other she'd experienced; her nose was not blocked or runny, her eyes did not water, her chest was not filled with mucus and her throat was not dry. Instead, Aludra constantly felt tired and weak, her appetite close to non-existent and her face pale-looking. Her friends noticed a change in her behaviour instantly, and they hurled questions at her.