Chapter 7
The four friends didn't go on anymore "adventures" after that one. It had been about four months since they found the passage-way, nothing spectacular had happened since then. Gem figured out that she had a knack for Charms, Adara found that she was skilled in pretty much everything else.
Gem blinked her eyes sleepily, the night before, Adara had dragged her down to the library to study for the upcoming test's. Yawning she looked out the wide window beside her bed to find a red sky. This was the first one she'd seen this year.
"Mum always said that when there was a red sky, it meant that blood was spilt in the night," came Amy's sleepy voice.
"Really?"
"Mmmhmmm, apparently every dawn was bloodstained during the weeks leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts."
"Your mum was in the Battle of Hogwarts?" Gem asked the red headed girl
"Not directly, no. But everyone knew when it happened. Victory Day. When Harry Potter killed The Dark Lord."
"Oh, yeah," Gem said absently.
Amy and Gem sat silently for a moment."Oh, well. It's nearly Christmas!" Amy grinned. "What are you going to do this year?" Gem shrugged, but grinned at the thought.
"Dunno, hang out with the family I guess," she said, looking out the window at the snow clouds that were rolling in and dreading starting her day with Herbology in the greenhouses.
When they made it down to the Great Hall, the place was louder than usual. Adara hurried up to Gem when she spotted the Gryffindor enter the hall. There was a look of fear in her eyes that was rarely seen.
"Gem! Have you heard?" Adara asked, as soon as she was within earshot.
"What's happened?" Gem asked.
"A Slytherin first year has gone missing," Adara explained.
"What? Are you sure?" Gem demanded. Adara nodded solemnly.
"Yeah. Tash Riley. She's in my Charms and Herbology classes. You know? The one with the glasses?"
"Oh yeah," Gem looked at her feet. "She's in my Potions and History of Magic class... How long has she been missing?"
"Since dinner last night," Adara answered. "We should find her though. She can't have vanished."
"Who's vanished?" Percy asked, appearing behind Gem.
"Tash Riley. Slytherin," Gem told him.
"Oh wow. At least it's not one of us, right?"
"Percy!" Adara cried. "How could you say that?"
"No!" he protested. "That's not what I meant. I mean, sure, she's a Slytherin, but I was just saying... We should be glad that it's not you or Sam or Gem. We've still got each other so... No matter what we find out about Riley, lets try not to let it get us down, okay?" he shrugged and gave a small smile. "She'll turn up safe and sound. Promise." Adara and Gem both still looked apprehensive, but nodded.
At their respective house tables, the three of them ate in relative silence, Gem and Percy then heading towards the greenhouses with a wave in Adara's direction, meeting up with Sam and Annabeth on the way. Adara then had to go sit through Charms class with Molly fidgeting beside her. It was true, nothing like the disappearance of a student had happened since the war and it had everyone set on edge. It was when Gem, Percy and Adara were all heading to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom that they found it.
They were walking down the third floor corridor, trying to avoid the inevitable post-break rush when Adara stopped walking suddenly, heart in her throat.
"Oh, no, no, no..." she groaned. Gem and Percy stopped dead in their tracks.
"What? What is it? Adara?" Gem demanded, her voice unnaturally high. Adara wasn't listening. Her eyes were trained on the red and gold tapestry that hid the secret tunnel they'd found in their first week. More specifically, in the upturned corner at the bottom that made it look like it had been recently moved.
Adara closed her eyes firmly and was muttering something that sounded like, "Please, please, please," under her breath. Whatever it was she was doing, it didn't sound like the Hufflepuff wanted to. Checking that Gem and Percy were the only ones in the corridor and they weren't going to be walked in on, Adara took a deep breath and pulled back the corner of the tapestry, lighting the tip of her wand with a muttered, "Lumos," the spell they'd learned the week before. What little Gem could see of her friend's face went ghostly pale.
"Adara," Gem said quietly. "What is it?"
Adara stepped back from behind the tapestry and addressed the both of them shakily.
"Blood," she said, her voice shaking. "And lots of it."
Funnily enough, the three of them didn't make it to their lesson that day. After finding the blood, Adara was reluctant to go back into the passage, but insisted that they make sure they know what exactly they'd found before they go running to McGonagall. So, putting on a steely resolve, she stepped back behind the tapestry and this time, Gem and Percy followed.
Under the wand light, the red leaped out at them, in a trail that lead further down the tunnel and out of sight. Adara raised her wand so it illuminated more of the tunnel and took a deliberate step forwards, watching her feet so she wouldn't step in any of the gorey liquid. The blood trail soon became smudged, like something had been dragged through it and it made Gem's stomach turn. When Adara estimated them to be about halfway down the tunnel, she spotted a large black mound blocking the way, and stopped.
"Found her," she whispered, sounding like she was about to throw up. Not one to falter at the last hurdle, Adara approached the body and nudged her so the face turned to come into their view. It was Tash Riley, all right.
She had a large gash on her cheek that looked like she had been slashed at with a knife or claw of some sort. There two puncture wounds that had gone slightly green at the edges and her black robes were a bloody mess.
"Okay," Adara said, when seeing this. "We leave. Now." She spun around and herded Gem and Percy back down the tunnel. When they reached the tapestry again, Percy stepped out first, ensuring the coast was clear before Gem followed with Adara now bringing up the rear. Before they replaced the tapestry, Adara kicked a few droplets of blood onto the public side of the tapestry.
"What are you doing that for?" Gem demanded.
"How else are you going to explain how we found her? Or the tunnel?" Adara snapped back. "Or I suppose you want to tell Professor McGonagall how we had our little adventure that ended with us deep in the forbidden forest?" Gem looked at her feet.
"No, you're right."
"Then lets go!"
They all but ran to McGonagall's office where they were met with a stone gargoyle.
"Password?" It asked when they looked at it expectantly.
"Look, um, we don't know the password, but we need to see Professor McGonagall. It's very important!" Adara yelled at the gargoyle.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No, we don't but this is important!" Gem protested.
"The Headmistress is indisposed. Please make an appointment or see the deputy headmaster."
"Thanks a lot," Adara grumbled and turned around, running down another corridor and up several flights of stairs until they reached Professor Sigma's office. They could hear some sort of music playing very quietly, but no talking, so Adara rapped on the door.
"Come in," Sigma called from the other side. Gem wasted no time in pushing the door open and Adara started talking before they had even entered the room properly.
"Professor Sigma, you need to come right away! We tried Professor McGonagall's office but the statue wouldn't let us in and-"
"Woah, woah, slow down," Professor Sigma interrupted, expression suddenly all business. "What are you talking about?" Adara swallowed and Gem looked too stricken to speak.
"Sir, we think we found Tash Riley."
"Where?" The Professor shot from his desk and was at their side in an instant, a deadly serious look on his face as he read their expressions.
"Th-third floor," Gem answered.
"Show me."
They walked briskly back the way they'd come, the Professor striding silently behind them. When they reached the corridor, Adara faltered. "There, look," she said, pointing to the blood on the floor by the tapestry. "We noticed it on the way to Defence Against the Dark Arts and so we looked behind the tapestry and..." she didn't need to finish her sentence because Professor Sigma was already stepping behind the tapestry. A second later, his head popped out again.
"Return to my office. All three of you. Do not talk to anyone. Do not make any detours." And he disappeared behind the tapestry again. Adara, Gem and Percy obeyed and headed back to the Professor's office without a word.
