Chapter Four

The Hufflepuff first years followed Shane and Rebecca through the crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the first flight of stairs. Will felt like he would fall asleep at any second, and had to shake himself awake to keep from falling over. The hardest part was trying to remember the path they had taken.

"That's the library right there," Rebecca pointed out a room to there right. "You'll be spending a lot of time there studying."

"Here we are," Shane said, pulling back a tapestry at the end of the library hall. "Ok then, well, our house is opened by a key of sorts. You hold your wand to the thirteenth brick from the floor and then tap the brick two to the right with your Hufflepuff galleon." He reached his hand into his pocket, pulled out a pile of galleons, and handed them to Rebecca, who passed them out to the first years.

"Now, DO NOT lose those, you hear me? Those are your one and only ticket into our common room. If you do, then tell me, and I'll summon it for you, but it's better if you just hold onto them."

Will studied the galleon, and noticed it had the word 'Hufflepuff' written across the top, but it looked just like a regular galleon in every other respect.

Shane tapped his own coin against the brick and the wall slid to the side, revealing a corridor that led to a well lit room. As Will walked into the room it revealed its true beauty. It had several tables, armchairs, and a couch that looked perfect to sleep on sitting next to a roaring fireplace. There were two doors right next to each other on the opposite side of the room

"The girl's dorms are on the right, the boy's on the left. The first year's rooms are on the top floor." Rebecca said. "Your bags should be next to your beds already. If you still need anything, Shane and I are on the third floors. Goodnight!"

The rest of the Hufflepuff house had already headed to bed, and Will felt like he should have joined them an hour ago. He said goodnight to Carra, Hannah, and Susan then walked up the stairs to the firstie's room. He was followed by two other boys.

The room was small and homely, with all of the beds set up against one wall, while the rest of the room was filled with dressers and bed stands. Will noticed that his cat, Drenri, was laying on his bed. He personally didn't like most cats, but this cat was a present from Telli, and if he wanted to stay on her good side, then he would have to live with it. It wasn't all that bad, the cat liked him well enough, as long as he fed him.

"Oh man, I am so tired," A boy yawned as he fell onto one of the beds.

"Me too," Will said. He walked lazily over to his own bed and did the same.

"Wa's your name?" said the third boy in mid yawn.

"I'm Justin," Said the first.

"I'm Will," Will added, pulling off his robes and getting into his pajamas.

"I'm Kyle," Said the third boy, "Nice to meet you."

"You too," answered Justin.

Will laid back in his bed. "What a great day…" He mumbled. The other two boys nodded their agreement, but Will had already drifted into dreamland.

Will was in the middle of a field, and it was snowing. There was no sun, but it was bright as day. He was sitting with Carra, and they were talking about things Will didn't know in a language he didn't speak. They talked and talked, and Will was beginning to wonder what she was saying. He became aware that he didn't recognize his own words, but he couldn't stop them from coming out of his mouth. He tried desperately to say something they would both understand, but it just couldn't come out. He was trapped in his own body, and he couldn't get out. Then Carra started to get up, and she looked angry. Will tried to say something meaningful, but he couldn't say anything but gibberish. She began to walk away, and Will wanted to follow her, but he sat there mutely. He couldn't do anything as Carra disappeared into the snow. He was now all alone, and as he sat there, he started to cry on his own accord.

Will woke with a start. It was still dark outside, and the other boys were still asleep. He was sweating profusely and tears streaked his face. He got up and went to the bathroom to wash it up.

"What a scary dream," He thought. His legs were shaking and his face was pale. We washed his face and took a warm shower, then got into his robes and went downstairs. He was going to sit on the couch when he realized that there was someone already there. He hadn't been necessarily quiet as he came downstairs, so he decided to join this mystery person.

"Hello?" Will called.

The person jumped and turned around to see who it was. The mystery person turned out to be Susan.

"Susan?"

"Will?"

The shock seemed to scare the timidness out of her. "It's funny how that works," he thought as he sat down next to her.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, leaning back and trying to hide his sickly pale face.

"J-just couldn't sleep. It h-happens a lot…" she stuttered, staring into the fire. The flames cast a light over her skin that made her seem like she was faintly glowing, and Will had to mess with his hair to keep from staring. "W-what ab-bout you?"

"Had a bad dream," he said casually. "It happens from time to time. They usually mean nothing." He may have said that, but this one felt different, more ominous. What did it mean? He sure didn't want to find out.

"Th-that's to bad," she mumbled. She looked over to him and for the first time he saw her eyes. They were a pale blue. The looked immensely deep, and showed age far beyond her years. Will couldn't help but stare into them. He felt as if she truly understood the fear and sadness he had felt in his dream. He wanted so desperately to know why that sadness was there.

Susan must have guessed what he was thinking, because she smiled faintly and laughed a frail and feeble laugh.

"You-Know-Who k-killed my parents when I was a baby. I've b-been living with H-Hannah this whole time, but she w-would never admit to that." She put her face in her hands. "I'm s-sorry, forget what I said…"

Will put his arm around her shoulders, and tried to console her.

"No, no, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" He tried to find the right word for it, but he didn't actually do anything, so he settled for just being there "I'm sorry."

"It's o-ok. I was j-just thinking a-about what m-my mom would h-have been like, who my d-dad would h-have been today... I-I may have j-just barely k-known them, but I m-miss them so much..." This time her voice wasn't shaking with nerves, but she was on the verge of tears.

Will had never done this before, but he went with his gut feelings. He wrapped his arm around her and brushed the hair out of her face. She looked up at him, tears running down her face. She leaned her head into his chest and cried. He sat there as she did, and finally, after a while, she began to calm down. He gently pushed her up, looking into her eyes as he did.

"Feeling better?" He wiped away one of her tears.

"Yeah…" Will could see in her eyes relief beyond measure. She smiled at him and wiped her face in his robes. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," He responded, giving her a hug. She pulled away and kissed Will on the cheek. She then blushed as she got up and walked to the girls dormitory.

"Thanks again," She said, "see you tomorrow."