Swish and Flick

Chapter 3: Ollivanders

The castle is a literal maze, and it doesn't help my stupid ass that staircases move. And apparently, some of them have a vendetta against first years as one of the steps purposely tries to trip me which almost causes me to fall and plunge to my death. It's funny how I was trying to escape the girls' prying eyes, only to find myself almost dying a senseless death -- murdered by mischievous staircases.

Good thing there's a gentlemanly suit of armor which grabbed me by my sweater, but then it literally stopped moving, its steely grip on my collar unbreakable, and I hung in there for several minutes like a damn Christmas decoration, totally useless and hopeless. I swear if I ever escape this embarrassing situation, I'm going home.

Just when I was about to start crying (a freaking ghost passed by me -- as in literally passed through my body and I felt the icy cold chilling my bones) out of fear and frustration, I hear that familiar husky and mirthful voice of Camila echoing in the hallway to my left.

"Camila! Help!" I shout desperately. I don't care if I cause a ruckus, one more ghost invading my body will send me straight to the psych ward. Do they even have psych wards in here? This world is mad crazy and I wonder what sort of insanity they would deem too much which would qualify being locked up in an insane asylum. I bet Dumbledore is really a crazy old fart with delusions of grandeur and an overactive imagination.

The talking and giggling stops and I hear footsteps advancing towards my location.

"Lauren?" Camila gasps. "What happened?"

"Please help me down. Man of Steel here saved my life, but, apparently, there's a price to pay for being spared from the indignity of broken bones and a crushed skull." I whimper as I struggle against the unmoving armor.

Camila quickly starts jumping up and down, trying to grab the armor's hand, but it's like seven feet tall and it stands on some sort of a stone pedestal, so considering Camila's tiny stature, she's pretty much useless, as well.

I see a movement of black robes and blonde head and before I could see what's happening, I feel myself free falling for a second or two, and I land ungraciously on my butt.

I look up to see Camila offering me her hand, and the tall blonde girl who saved me snickers beside her.

"Lauren, are you okay?" Camila asks worriedly.

"I am. Thank you." I pat my butt, for lack of better things to do, because I can sense the girl's gaze focused on me -- and that's what I meant by ogling, I hate it. I feel like she's judging me in her head and I can't even muster the confidence for an unshakeable eye contact.

"Oh, by the way, Lauren, this is Taylor Swift. Taylor, this is Lauren Jauregui."

A chilling smile forms on Taylor's angular face, and I nod and thank her for saving me.

"You just have to tickle the armor. It likes grabbing anything that flies by within its range, but it doesn't mean any harm though. It's just lonely, I guess, and it wants to befriend anyone who wanders through here." Taylor explains. "There's a myth that the soul of Romeo possessed the armor, and he's forever waiting for his Juliet."

"So he thought I was Juliet?" I ask incredulously. So, what now, is Shakespeare a wizard, too? I can't fucking handle this shit.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Camila asks. "Aren't you going to Diagon Alley?"

"I am. Dinah, Ally, and Mani are waiting for me by the entrance, but I got lost."