Her bare feet brushed the rough hewn stone, stone that thousands of feet had walked. Stories. Lives. People. They had all faded, lost amongst the shadows. Remembered only by the wear they had left on the stone. It was fascinating, she mused, how easily people forgot. Yet the castle remembered. The castle always remembered. Maybe that was the particularly magical thing about Hogwarts; not the ever-changing staircases or the animated portraits; Just it's ability to remember every student that passed through its doors. Even the ones that were invisible. Even the ones like her. Her pallid feet were soundless upon the stairs as she reached the height of the tower. A multitude of stars greeted her, twinkling merrily from the heavens. Her soft grey eyes scanned the room for other company, the Astronomy Tower was a popular place for couples to meet after hours and she had no wish to blunder into the middle of something she could have done without seeing. Leaning against the railing she closed her eyes, letting the soft wind flow through her hair, caressing her face. When she closed her eyes like that she could pretend that she was not who she was. But rather, a bird in flight. A bird, without a care in the world, a bird who flies solo, only her and the wind. A howl pierced the serenity of the moment and her eyes flew open. The landscape was beautiful bathed in the full moon's light. She almost wished she could touch it, embrace it. Be immersed in the serenity it seemed to radiate. Trance-like, she climbed over the railing and balanced on the small over hang of rock. She grasped the railing behind her, the only thing preventing her fall. What she would give to fly, just once. To be able to feel the wind rushing past her, The freedom. Then, slowly, she let her hands slip. And for the first time in her life, in that one moment of freedom and flight, she felt like she belonged.