IT was a good feeling to be able to look forward to a relaxing night after finishing essays and having a filling dinner.
I was already dreaming about being able to unwind in the comfort of my own dormitory until I was suddenly reminded of something crucial.
"Hey, Mar, can you do me a favor? I really need to hand in this essay by tomorrow so I can't join you for our rounds tonight," Ernie explained, staring at me sheepishly.
I froze midway through packing my things back in my bag and shot Ernie a panicked look.
"What?"
"I completely forgot we had rounds tonight," I whispered, horrified.
"Again?" Ernie said awkwardly but held his hands up in surrender when I shot him a look.
Shutting my eyes in pain, I hurriedly packed and left my bag on the table whilst muttering curses under my breath.
Merlin, how could I have forgotten my Prefect duties?
I must've been so consumed with homeworks and my notes that it completely slipped my mind. Worse, this wasn't the first time it happened.
We were the only fifth-years that were awake in the common room, accompanied with a group of fourth-years and some seventh-years who were also completing essays.
Ruby already left to sleep after seeing us work, claiming that she was going to strangle herself if she saw another Potions essay being written.
If it weren't for the growing dilemma in my chest, I would've enjoyed the ambience the room gave. Halfway through writing my essay I could already feel my eyelids grow heavy listening to the soft crackle of the flames in the fireplace. But now I was very much awake.
Ernie shifted in his seat, waiting for my answer and I sighed. It's not like I was annoyed that Ernie was asking, in all actuality I didn't mind at all. It was just such a big inconvenience that I realized last minute, just as I was about to seek refuge for the night.
Cursing myself internally, I gave Ernie a smile and a nod. My memory was really horrible.
"Thank you, Margo," Ernie sighed in relief. "I owe you one."
"You better," I replied jokingly and we chuckled.
"But seriously, Ernie, you owe me."
The castle at night was rather intimidating if not scary.
"Lumos," I muttered, holding out my wand.
The corridors were dim, the torches lining the walls and my wand providing the only source of light. It was chillier at night, too. I pulled my sleeves down to my wrist, cursing myself for not bringing my robes for extra warmth.
I was gripping my wand tighter than usual; due it be to the cold or my paranoia, I didn't know.
Usually when I did my rounds it would be with Ernie and the two of us would be joking around or talking about anything that came to mind. But now I was alone with no one to talk to. I took notice of the way the corridors looked more eerie in the dark.
And just to my luck, I had to patrol the seventh-floor corridor which was very far away from my common room.
I didn't know why I was so scared. The chances of anyone invading the castle seemed too slim. But still, I couldn't help but let my imagination run wild and overthink scenarios of what might happen whenever I turned a corner or dared look back.
My thoughts drifted to my parents' conversation that night, about how someone might be after me. . .
No, no, I told myself.
Shaking my head, I cleared the thought away and hummed to distract myself.
Despite what I was feeling, I had to admit that it was interesting to explore the corridor when I wasn't busy to get classes and there was no one around.
In the dim lighting, I could see the portraits of old wizards and witches that hung on the walls, all of whom were sleeping peacefully I had to lower my wand so I wouldn't wake them.
After knowing for sure that there were no students out of bed, I turned another corner and found myself in the corridor where Barnabas the Barmy's tapestry faced a wide and bare wall.
Yawning quietly, I was about to head for the portrait that led a shortcut to the Common Room until I heard a sound.
It was so soft that one could barely hear it unless the first time. But all of my senses were on overdrive; hyper-aware especially during the night in an empty corridor. I whipped around frantically, squinting into the dark to see if I could find anything moving.
"Bloody hell," I breathed out.
For Merlin's sake, you're a witch! My subconscious told me.
I made sure there was no one else in the entire corridor, so who else could be making those sounds?
Without wanting to take any risks, I quickened my pace, my long strides becoming jogs until I was absolutely positive I was running pathetically.
My mouth moved, chanting the same phrase repeatedly to myself until it was all I can think about.
"It's nothing, it's nothing, it's nothing."
Taking another glance behind me, I kept my eyes strained for anything, not realizing that when I turned another corner for the millionth time, a dark figure would bump into me.
I did the first thing that felt was right: I screamed.
I felt the figure collide at my front, instantly covering my face with my hands and jumped away when it tried to grab me. I don't know what made me cover my face, stand there and scream but I knew that fear made you lose control your senses.
My heart was all I could hear and it pounded so hard that I was afraid it would burst out of my body.
By now, I jumping up and down as if I just burned my feet despite being held down. My whole life felt like it just flashed before my eyes.
"Hey! Hey!"
I continued to scream, shutting my eyes tightly for good measure, ignoring whoever had a hold of me.
This is it, I'm about to die. Maybe if I scream louder someone might be able to rescue me.
"Lovett!" The figure said loudly. "Bloody hell, will you calm down? It's just me!"
I froze, the scream dying in my throat as I instantly recognized the voice.
Breathing heavily, I put my hands down and stared at the laughing face of Draco Malfoy. I blinked once, then twice to get my eyes adjusted to the light to make sure that I wasn't just seeing things.
I wasn't even annoyed with the fact that he was blatantly laughing at me. I was just so relieved that he was someone I knew.
"Merlin," he chortled, his hand clutching his stomach, "you should've seen how you reacted."
"Draco," I breathed, "it's just you." I clutched my chest right above my heart, willing for it to stop beating at such a dangerous speed. In all my life I have never felt such relief and horror at the same time.
"Of course it's just me, who else were you expecting?" He commented, making me blush as I realized how stupid I must have looked.
Instantly my reflexes took over and I slapped his chest.
"Hey!"
"I can't believe you! You. . .you can't just scare people like that and laugh," I managed to let out, still feeling like a huge brick was sitting on my chest.
"Technically, I didn't scare you. You just weren't looking at where you were going. Again."
I ignored him. "And it's past curfew, Draco. What are you even doing here? You know that I can take points away from your house," I rambled, crossing my arms over my chest and standing straighter to seem authoritative.
"First of all, Lovett, I'm a Prefect too, remember," Draco scoffed, proudly showing off his glinting badge to in the dim lighting.
My shoulders sagged and my face heat up again. "Oh. Well, I didn't remember. It's pretty hard to when someone like you has that position," I said, mumbling the last sentence to myself.
"What did you say, Lovett?"
"Nothing."
Draco rolled his eyes, stepping beside me and continued his way towards the staircase.
"Come on."
"W—what?" I stared at his retreating back dumbly. "Go where?"
"Back to the dungeons, you idiot," he shot over his shoulder. "It's the quickest way to the Hufflepuff Common Room."
I wanted to tell him about the secret shortcut that I knew about. But after my encounter with him, I don't think my heart could take anymore jump-scares — even if there weren't any.
So I didn't hesitate after hearing his last comment. Without looking back, I quickly hurried after him and stayed close by his side, but not too close that I could feel his arm touching mine; just enough to keep a couple of inches of distance.
Even until now, my heart was still beating at a ridiculous speed. I must've gotten scared really bad.
"You go in front of me," said Draco suddenly, "since you keep looking behind like someone's about to bite your arse."
"How do I know you're not going to scare me," I shot back glumly, but nonetheless stepped in front of him and made my way down the stairs.
"Because I already got that chance, Badger," he replied happily, no doubt a satisfied smirk etched into his features.
I didn't reply, only taking steady breaths to get my heart to beat back to normal as I let the silence engulf us. I didn't know how long we walked together before the barrels of the Hufflepuff Common Room finally emerged into view.
I almost cried in relief.
From behind me Draco scoffed. "Barrels, really?"
I didn't have the energy to give him a glare or make another comment. All I knew was that I needed sleep and maybe some water.
I turned around to face him, wringing my hands in front of me anxiously as I stared at his relaxed posture, hands in both of his pockets and few buttons from his shirt undone. I willed myself to look away from his neck.
"Erm. . ." I trailed off, still refusing to look at his eyes properly as flashes of earlier played back in my mind like an embarrassing montage. "Thanks," I finally said.
He only nodded and I took that as my cue to knock on the correct barrel until I remembered something.
I felt inside robe pockets and sure enough, the soft material of his handkerchief grazed my fingertips.
I fished it out and gave it to him. "Erm, here, by the way. I kept it in my robes so I don't forget to give it to you the next time I saw you," I explained, seeing his look of confusion when I procured it from my pocket.
"It's all washed and scourgified, so don't worry about the blood. . .and stuff."
Draco eyed the fabric and took it from my hands. "Thanks," he mumbled so quietly that I barely missed it.
I just nodded and finally entered the Common Room.
I was too tired to even realize that we passed by the Slytherin Common Room first before arriving to mine, or that he didn't go inside and leave me by myself.
I didn't even notice how he stayed rooted in his spot outside my Common Room, staring at my retreating figure until the door shut behind me.
NEVER in my life I remembered a dream so well after I had woken up.
Well, maybe a few snippets here and there but never one that I could picture so vividly that she scenes played smoothly all throughout.
So when I got up that morning, I spent a few extra minutes in my bed to stare at the ceiling as I tried to figure out what the hell I just saw.
In the dream, it seemed as if I was an omniscient being. I could see what was happening and who was in it but they didn't seem to see me. I didn't know if that made me glad or kind of disturbed.
It started with a boy. He looked young, maybe in this early twenties give or take, with dark hair and dark eyes. But when I saw his face clearly, I could tell that he had once been extremely handsome if it weren't for the growing bags under his eyes and how sickly pale he had become.
I remembered being in a forest, though I didn't know where exactly. The leaves on the trees held shades of auburn, orange, and brown. A couple of them falling to the forest floor.
It smelled of wood and dew, and the air was chilly. I thought that maybe it was because of the wisps of fog that danced around my feet.
But the more I stayed and followed the boy, the more I felt something odd in the air; something that definitely didn't feel right in a muggle forest.
I shuddered in my sheets, goosebumps forming in my arms as I thought about the little details that irked me. It was like I was actually in it.
I didn't get to see what happened next. I woke up right after the boy stopped in front of a big hollow tree in the middle of a clearing.
One thing I knew for sure, that it was one bloody strange dream.
Reluctantly sitting upright, I glanced at the clock on my bedside table and sighed. I only had thirty minutes left to get ready.
Quickly stripping out of my pajamas, I prayed that no one was in the girl's dormitory so I could take a quick shower there. I was not about to sprint all the way to the fifth-floor where the Prefect's Bathroom was.
I washed and dried myself with a spell, changing into my uniform before grabbing my bag and walking out of the Common Room with only ten minutes until classes started, meaning I missed breakfast.
Before I could enter the Great Hall, I was greeted by Ruby and Ernie.
"Hey, I was wondering if you managed to save me some food—"
"Yes, but nevermind that—look," Ruby said hastily, grasping my wrist and dragging me towards the entrance where a portrait was hung on the wall.
"Huh," I remarked, "how come I never noticed that—"
"Not just that," Ruby said exasperatedly.
"Go on, read," Ernie pushed.
It looked more like a sign rather than a portrait. The title was written in big bold letters and at the bottom corner was an official-looking seal with an elegant signature.
I could already feel a frown form on my face.
BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS
All student organizations, societies, teams, groups, and clubs are henceforth disbanded.
An organization, society, team, group or club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.
Permission to reform may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).
No student organization, society, team, group or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.
Any student to have formed, or to belong to, an organization, society, team, group or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.
The above is an accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four.
Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor.
"Are you bloody kidding me," I seethed. I turned around to face them in disbelief. "How did she even find out?" I whisper-yelled.
"I swear when I get my hands on her," Ruby muttered darkly.
"Easy, Ruby Bear." Ernie patted her shoulder, "Don't forget to call me when you do, though."
"I told you not to call me that."
I graciously accepted the bread roll that Ruby handed me and took two bites, letting my cheeks resemble a squirrel's as I exhaled heavily through my nostrils, staring down at the sign like I could will it to burn itself.
"I see you've seen it, too."
We looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione emerging from the Great Hall who walked to where we're standing, mirroring our angry expressions.
"Do you think anyone snitched?" Ernie asked quietly.
"No," Hermione shook her head, "I jinxed that paper we all signed to spot out the snitches, and so far, no one sprouted out horrible zits yet."
Mine and Ernie's eyes widened whilst Ruby gave her a wicked grin. I
quickly swallowed the bread to tell her how brilliant she was but was stopped before I could even open my mouth.
"Well, well, look who it is."
We turned around to face Draco Malfoy and his group of absurd Slytherins along with snobby Pansy Parkinson. Draco strided forwards, giving all of us a once-over and scoffed haughtily.
I frowned, memories of last night suddenly resurfacing.
"If it isn't Potter, mudblood Granger, and Weasel." He turned to look at the us. "And here's Lovett, mudblood Hawthorne, and Weasel Number Two."
"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron growled.
"How original," Ernie muttered under his breath.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked angrily, fists clenching in his sides.
Draco smirked, taking the chance to rile him up even further. "Just wanted to say goodluck on playing Quidditch this year."
"Just go away."
"Where's the fun in that—"
"Look, Draco," I interrupted loudly, shooting him a stern look when I realized that he was trying to start a fight. "Why don't you just sod off, yeah?"
He kept his gaze on Harry but stepped backwards and clenched his jaw, not bothering to take glance at me. From beside him, Pansy scoffed.
Casting one last look at all of us, Draco turned to leave with the rest of his company trailing after him.
"Huh," Ron said, "How'd you make him leave so easily, Mar?"
I shrugged at him and took another bite from my bread roll.
.