Prologue
Abby felt almost as excited as she'd felt on her first day at Hogwarts. She took a breath that was meant to be calming but came out loud and shaky. She was not the only one trembling with excitement. The door in front of the three friends seemed to be the conclusion of years of exploring, the last secret to unveiled in this castle, and now that they were on the edge of graduating maybe their last adventure together. The door was deep black, with no markings other than the ones they had already deciphered, the symbol of each of the four houses in a circle, surrounded by sigils of mysterious magic, and below, a thick black iron handle. It was not much taller or wider than the doors of regular classrooms, but a confusing energy that emanated from it made it ominous, powerful, dark and certainly dangerous. Abby's hand slowly rose to the iron handle but before she wrapped her fingers on it a high pitched voice interrupted her.
"Wait!... Let me do one more dispelling magic spell before we…"
"No!" a unanimous shout from the other two girls cut Mel's voice short before she could continue.
"Mel, we made five of them already, the door is safe!" Abby whispered loudly and stopped before mouthing what she was really thinking: at least as safe as we're on this side of the door, Merlin knows what was waiting on the other side.
Abby turned around to face the door again, but she took too long to move her hand so she got interrupted again. This time by Harper's voice: "if you die…can I have your broom?"
"Thank you for your trust "friend", I love you too," Abby replied back.
"I'm just nervous okay? We've never dealt with this kind of magic before. Am I the only one?" Harper confessed.
The three young women looked at each other, none of them, not even Abby could hide the thick coat of fear they felt; but they laughed. The laugher was not full; it was more of a wave of giggling that cleared the tension in the air. They laughed because they couldn't hide anything from each other, they laughed because they've made it here, together, and they laughed because that's what they do.
"Sure Harper, you can get my broom. And Mel, you get all my movies."
"Yei" Mel squeaked.
Abby's joke getting them all back at ease.
The laughter finally subdued with a heavy creaking sound that brought all of their worries back. Surprisingly, they hadn't noticed a natural light flooding from the other side of the door through cracks that hadn't been there just an instant before; and given their current whereabouts would have to be magically induced. They stood in place, watching the door open itself just enough to be an invitation. Harper whispered "that's creepy." The rest nodded emphatically in agreement.
"Oh, pardon my manners. I didn't mean to frighten you, but I was getting curious about the laughter at my doorway." It was a woman's voice and it was sweet and light. With a nostalgic sigh she continued: "I haven't heard real laughter for so long…"
The marauders looked at each other, each to the others looking for the non-verbal agreement that they would do this together or not at all. After a whole round of nods, Abby grabbed the handle and pulled with very little success: the door was just too heavy. Without been asked to do it, they helped, once the six hands were ready, they pulled together and the door slowly gave way to their efforts. Inside there was a girl their age, a girl who was closer to a statue than a girl, a girl who had raven hair and translucent skin, a girl who looked like she hadn't moved in a terribly long time, a girl who only moved to give them the sweetest smile they've seen, a girl who by the state of the cell had been trapped in a secret tower in their magic school for more than fifty years.