Sofia woke up early and rushed out. She nearly tripped over her bodyguard who had fallen asleep in his chair, his feet spread out in her path. It was never the same student twice and she never recognized any of them.
He looked up as she stumbled.
"I think it's safe to say you can go to class now." She said.
The boy grunted and left without a word. How long was Riddle going to keep this up? Riddle might be looking out for her, but students were beginning to glare at her as they passed by her in the hallways.
She wasn't hungry yet, so Sofia went up to Riddle's office to help grade student papers. It gave her something to do and helped pass the time.
Riddle had gone to breakfast. Sofia was halfway through the stack when a gust of air came out of nowhere. Several papers blew off Riddle's desk, scattering them across the room. She tried to catch as many as she could but failed miserably.
"What the hell?" She shouted.
She began picking up the scattered mess and ducked under the desk to get the rest. A creaking noise drew her attention as she heard the click from one of Riddle's locked cupboards.
Sofia popped her head out but saw no one. The cupboard door was left open. "Hello?"
Nobody answered. She got up and closed the cupboard and went back to grading papers.
Later, she went down to breakfast while there was still some left. She spotted the boys and sat next to them. Remus looked much better than last week. Sirius was leaning on one hand, while his eyelids fluttered for a moment as he fell asleep. James smiled, unable to resist temptation, and pushed Sirius' elbow out of the way.
Sirus's face fell into his oatmeal as Sofia and Remus froze. Sirius shouted himself awake and glared at James, oatmeal covering his face. James burst out laughing until finally Sofia and Remus joined in.
"Think you're funny?" Sirius said.
Sofia and Remus quieted down as Sirius wasn't laughing. This only made James laugh harder.
"Give me one reason I don't punch you in the face?" Sirius challenged.
James had a mischievous look about him as he held up a blank parchment. "Because today is a great day!"
Sirius stared at James in amazement. "You're kidding!"
Remus smiled softly and shook his head. "How did you manage to get that back?"
"Why is everyone so excited over a blank bit of parchment?" Sofia asked.
Sirius smiled ear to ear and broke out laughing.
"I am simply amazing, that's why," James said.
"What is that?" Sofia asked.
"Don't worry about it, sweetheart." James winked at Sofia.
Sofia went quiet. For the first time, she felt she didn't belong in their group. "Fine. Keep your secrets." Sofia said.
She got up, trying to hide the fact that it bothered her.
"Oh, don't go away mad honey." Sirius teased, "Just go away."
Sofia threw Sirius a tight smile and decided to go to the library and research dreams.
Most books were on dream meanings. Doors represented transitions in life. That was unhelpful. She spent most of the day in the library. Back when she was in school, she never really went here unless it was necessary for a project. She found a book on Lucid Dreaming. How to know that you're dreaming and triggers to use while awake. Triggers were used while awake and let you know you were dreaming while asleep. Her favorite trigger was holding your nose. While awake you can't breathe, in dreams, you can. This one would be good to use.
Sofia sighed and closed the book. Her mind drifted to James and his friends. She frowned thinking of Sirius Black. He didn't like or trust her. She couldn't really blame him though. She worked for Riddle and on top of that, she was responsible for what happened with their friend Peter.
There had been absolutely no books connecting dreams with magic. Maybe she was looking too much into it. There had been nothing magical about what had happened. It hadn't happened since then anyway. Might as well forget about it.
It was dinnertime already and Sofia's stomach growled. Had she been in the library all this time? Maybe she was turning into a Ravenclaw. The thought made her smile. She decided to avoid the Great Hall, remembering the incident with Sirius. She went directly into the kitchen instead. She found the painting of the fruit bowl. She tickled the pear and the door appeared. She was glad she had been a Hufflepuff since they all shared this secret with each other.
The house-elves were cleaning up when she went inside. They all looked up at her in surprise.
"Can I help you with anything?" A house-elf asked.
"Um, I know you all just cooked, but can I just get a sandwich or something?" Sofia asked.
Five or six house-elves all scrambled to make her request. They were all making a variety of sandwiches and came back with a plateful of different ones.
"Um... just one is fine. Oh, okay. Thanks." She smiled.
She sat at one of the tables and ate a turkey sandwich.
One came back looking worried. "We can make you something else if you'd like. Maybe a bowl of soup to go with the sandwich?"
She was about to object when a second house-elf appeared. "No no. How about some roast chicken?"
"Um... guys," Sofia said.
They ignored her. Two more house-elves joined them. "Roast chicken? She needs something better. I know! A nice steak!"
"Yes! Yes!" Another agreed. "Filet Mignon!"
"With mashed potatoes!" The first one said.
"Don't forget the gravy." A house-elf spoke up.
They all scampered off and began to cook. Sofia rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Okay. I'll just go now." Sofia said.
She cringed feeling guilty and ran out of there.
Riddle was absent when she got back to her room. He must be up working late again. She'd have to help him out more often.
Sofia closed her door and got her nightgown on. Smiling she slipped into bed and fell asleep.
The room was basked in an orange light when she woke up. She remembered she was in a dream but had trouble remembering the details of her waking life. She explored Hogwarts, her mind felt foggy. She arrived at the Room of Requirement and found a Golden Door.
Noises came from the other side. She drew closer and heard the sound of laughter. It sounded like a party.
"Hello?" She asked timidly.
"Come in. Come join us." A female voice invited.
Sofia let her hand hover over the doorknob. Something felt off. This reminded her of something. Why couldn't she remember?
She placed the palm of her hand on the door. The moment it touched the door a man's voice boomed from behind her.
"What are you doing in here? Get out!" He shouted.
Sofia snapped her head around in the direction of the demand. A large muscular man in a tattered black robe glared at her from the shadows. He grabbed her and with one hand flung her to the other side of the room.
Sofia crashed against the wall and crumbled to the floor. He came at her again and Sofia scrambled to her feet and ran. She felt her fear control her dream and was unable to move.
Sofia gasped and sat up in bed. She sighed with relief, remembering it was just a dream. She got up and poked her head outside her door. Riddle was already up and gone.
Sofia stepped down the hall and into a bathroom, washing of face of sweat. She got a shower in Riddle's private bathroom and got dressed. She wondered what time it was.
She made her way to the Headmaster's office to help with more paperwork. No one was up or around. It must be early still.
When Sofia arrived, the door was locked. Odd. She put a hand on the door and cast an unlock spell. It didn't open.
Since when did he start password protecting the place? She remembered the weird incident from yesterday and sighed. She'd have to go find Riddle.
She started down the stairs and noticed something written on the wall. As she drew closer she noticed it was written in blood.
You have nowhere to run girl, we know what you did.
She watched it in alarm and looked around as if eyes were watching her from every direction.
A large shadow appeared from behind.
She spun around as the large man from her dream grabbed her by the throat.
She gasped, clawing at his fist when a second voice appeared.
"Stop playing games, just finish her already. She knows too much." The second man said.
The large man squeezed her neck and lifted her off the ground.
Who the hell were these guys? Where the hell was Riddle?