During the first three nights in their new home, Crystal was awakened by loud banging noises coming from the walls and attic. She would bolt up, wide eyed, and glance instinctively over to Herbert's empty portrait. He left every night before she prepared for bed and would stay away to "preserve her modesty." Somehow, the empty black wooden chair in the frame was even eerier than it would have been to have him staring at her as she slept. Tonight was no different, and she felt a shiver go down her spine as she quietly wished the painted gentleman would reappear in his frame and reassure her.
Crys pulled her wand from under her pillow and illuminated the tip, lighting the room. The entire coffee shop below was silent, and she could barely make out the sound of Corvus' snoring from the other room. Another bang came from the walls, and scurrying sounds seemed to follow it. The tattooed snake on her arm, who was by large nocturnal and awake anyway, coiled into an s-shape on her neck and hissed, startled, before slithering away to a safer hidden location under her arm. Crystal crossed her arms, hugging herself reassuringly.
When she was growing up, Crystal's childhood attic had become the home to a family of squirrels. Their loud bumps and scratching noises had kept her awake then, too. Her father, in his typical jack-of-all-trades manner, had single handedly captured all of the squirrels using rigged cages and bait, and relocated them miles away to the wooded park around Lake Alatoona, where he assured Crystal they were spending their days happily in trees eating nuts.
Another loud bang echoed through her room, making her jump. She stood, inhaling deeply. Crys straightened the oversized t-shirt she had been sleeping in and held her head high. If her No-Maj father could handle the multitude of unpredictable things that life threw at him, she could handle a few squirrels in the walls.
Barefoot, she crept out of the room and into the dim hallway. Long shadows slanted away from her in jagged angles, making her shiver again. The sounds were louder from the hallway, and now she was positive they came from the attic. Crys bit her lip, and with her free left hand went for the door knob. She tried to turn the knob as quietly as possible, but it didn't matter. The old door let out a prolonged, painful squeak as it opened on its ancient hinges.
The light from her wand reflected off a pair of large, yellow eyes, hovering in the corner of the attic. She froze, locking eyes with the creature. Without making a noise, it turned before slinking away into the darkness. Crystal was able to make out a sleek tail punctuated at its tip with dark plume of deep brown fur before the creature moved out of the light of her wand and seemingly into the void.
Crystal closed the door, her heart pounding fast. Eyes still wide, she made her way back to bed. If it was a squirrel, it was a large one. Either way, it was a problem that would require more research in the light of day, and several cups of strong coffee to solve.
