Chapter One
Hedwig's Flight
Allyson sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, trying very hard to concentrate on, 'Dark Arts And Its Dark Past', her feet quite warm by the crackling fire. The night was cold and unpleasant, and herself, Harry, Hermione and Ginny stay awake, the common room deserted, waiting for the return of Harry's white, snowy owl, Hedwig.
They all tried their best to keep their mind off it, Allyson concentrating on the dusty book her and Harry had retrieved from the Restricted Section under the invisibility cloak a few nights before, Harry finishing Snape's essay, Ginny counting her galleons, and Hermione, knitting numerous elf hats.
Hedwig had been gone for several weeks. Harry had written a letter, addressed to 'The Burrow', which wasn't a far distance for Hedwig to travel, however, it was the middle of November, and the weather had been particularly stormy and dull. When Hedwig did return, she would hopefully be carrying the response to Harry's letter, which made them more anxious.
"Three Galleons," Ginny said, half-heartedly.
"It took you that long to count them all?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes," Ginny replied. "But note that I counted them two hundred times."
"For a minute I thought we were in the presence of Crab or Goyle," Allyson laughed.
"They wouldn't be able to count the first one, let alone count them two hundred times over," Harry said, and they all laughed, forgetting what they had stayed up for, the return of Hedwig.
The thought suddenly dawned on Allyson, and, not to her surprise, signs of realisation hung on everyone's faces.
Allyson's long, brown hair rest upon her shoulder, and her hazel eyes darted around the pages of the book, not taking in any information, drowned in her thoughts.
"Can we go down to Hagrid's? Or, maybe… sneak into the Slytherin Common Room and jinx Malfoy or something? I just need to do something to take my mind of things, other than read this pointless book," Allyson sighed, slamming the book shut.
"We could put a Punching Telescope in the dormitory…or an Edible Dark Mark." Ginny suggested.
"An Edible Dark Mark?" Hermione questioned, looking puzzled.
"Well the name says it all, but it will make anyone who eats it sick. Fred and George put one in Zacharius Smith's cauldron to scare him. It was rather horrific."
"Well, there's no point, because Umbridge has put sensors in the corridors." Hermione exclaimed, putting her elf hats aside, and writing a long letter – to whom Allyson did not know – on a piece of parchment.
"Would it still sense us even if we had the cloak?" Allyson asked, really thinking about this.
"Possibly, but I think it's a bad idea anyway. You and Harry could be caught again, and receive another detention from Professor Umbridge. Oh, and don't let me forget Angelina's reaction," Hermione warned.
"I'm just going to go to bed. I doubt Hedwig be back tonight. Plus, we have double Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts tomorrow," Harry said, with little enthusiasm.
"Don't forget Divination!" Allyson threw her hands up in celebration, sarcasm in her voice.
"You don't want to wait a little longer?" Ginny asked, as Harry got up to walk to the boys' dormitories.
"No, I think Harry's right. I don't think she'll be back tonight, the weather just keeps getting worse, I don't think Hedwig would risk it," Allyson said, also getting up to walk to the girls dormitories, followed by Hermione and Ginny.
"Night," Harry said to them, disappearing into the boys dormitory.
"Night," they all replied, and lazily walked into their own dormitory.
Allyson quickly undressed and put her pyjamas on, wanting to avoid any conversation. The others did the same, the atmosphere completely silent.
Allyson pulled the curtains closed on her four-poster bed, and pulled the blankets over her head, snuggling deep into the mattress. She tried to stop thinking but was unsuccessful. There was so much going on, she didn't know if she could keep everything from them anymore. But I'm muggle-born, she thought. It's completely and utterly impossible.
She closed her eyes, drowning out of consciousness. Little did she know that in twenty-four hours time, she would have come face to face with her love – yet her worst enemy.