I believe I owe you an apology. I wanted to keep writing, and I said I'd publish one nearly every day, but
school literally started August 13th. Sorry! I decided to make this one extra-long for you guys . . . (also, Immortal
Guardians was excellent. The Reilin was so cute! Reilin ALWAYS makes my day :D)
Conor's P.O.V
I couldn't find her ANYWHERE. Abeke, I mean. Meilin was back to avoiding us (I heard she attacked Rollan
and Abeke in the halls yesterday.) Rollan kept watching Meilin worriedly but she was sitting with the Slytherins. She didn't
talk to any of them, though, she just distressingly picked at her breakfast and kept her head low. Her hair wasn't even in a bun,
it was just wild and uncombed. I had no time to be worried about Meilin, though; Abeke wasn't sitting with us!
Then I thought bitterly that maybe she was sitting with Shane. I hated that guy! Seriously. I HATED HIM! And I'm CONOR.
I'm supposed to pretty much like everyone.
Stupid Shane.
Later On
"ROLLAN!" I bumped into my best friend, sending scrolls everywhere. He raised an eyebrow judgmentally.
"I literally can't find Abeke ANYWHERE!" I said, running my hand through my blond hair anxiously.
His frown turned into a reassuring smirk. "Dude. It's okay, maybe her dad took her out of the school for a week or something."
"Can they do that?" I asked quietly. "What if Abeke's in trouble? You KNOW her dad doesn't love her!"
"Bro!" Rollan said, both eyebrows raised now. "Sorry, I'm worried," I sighed, lowering my head. "Yeah, I know. I'm worried
about a girl too," Rollan said, lowering his gaze as well. I heard a patter of footsteps echo through the hall and turned to see
a girl turn the corner. I think it was Rosabelle, wearing her hair straight today. She had long bangs covering half her face and she was
wearing combat boots. That's why they were making so much noise.
She turned rigid still once entering the hallway, her eyes wide. At first I thought she was staring at me, but I quickly realized
as Rollan squirmed and cowered that she was staring at him. He told me during class about last night, and I couldn't help
snickering. She narrowed her eyes, slowly reaching for her wand.
"Hide me! She's a witch!" Rollan said, pushing me in front of him.
"Rollan, technically ALL girls in this school are witches," I pointed out.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" he yelled.
I rolled my eyes, but an idea sparked in my mind. Rosabelle was a prank-master in training, right? She ought to have
explored the entire castle of Hogwarts by then, even if we were all first-years. She should have known every crevasse of the school.
"Hey, listen, Rosabelle," I started, holding out my hands defensively before she could kill us all.
She narrowed her eyes. "What if I made a, um, deal with you?" I suggested. Sorry Rollan, I thought.
"What kind of deal?" she asked suspiciously. "A deal where I don't KILL Rollan and . . . whoever you are?"
"Ummm. Well. Yes. What if I told you if you help us find our friend Abeke, Rollan would go on a date with you?"
"WHAT?!" I heard Rollan whisper/shout.
"It's for the best," I hissed.
"NO WAY!"
"Yes way," I said firmly.
Rosabelle considered, tapping her finger on her chin. "Hmm . . . okay," she purred, delighted. "BUT NO BACKSIES. Or else I just . . .
might . . . accidentally . . . kill you in your sleep." I gulped at the seriousness in her eyes. I sighed.
Great! Now we had a search party. I knew she was in trouble, I just knew it. And I had one main suspect . . .
Meilin's P.O.V
The curse was awful. I said as many unkind things as humanly possible to people from other Houses, and I even complimented
my least favorite teachers, for example Professor Trunswick. (His son was so obnoxious! I mean, sure Rollan had a giant head some times,
but this Devin kid acted like royalty!) I often found myself in the very bathroom where I grieved my father's death and was cursed.
I kept desperately searching for clues, or a hidden cure. All I could do was get a lump in my throat thinking of how horribly screwed up
things had turned. I wanted to go home! NO, Meilin. You must PERSEVERE! I remembered my personal Karate classes, where I used
to kick butt. I wished I could kick CLARISSA'S butt. In fact, I could let her get a taste of her own medicine . . .
Sweet revenge flashed through my mind, searing anger and a scathing search for justice burned in my heart. If I could find
out how to GIVE people that curse, I could curse HER. And she would SUFFER like I DID yesterday, when I was enslaved in my own mind,
like watching a movie-screen as I knocked out my best friend and made the boy I liked flee in terror. WAIT. Boy I liked?
Uhm, heh heh. NO! EWW! Rollan? That's . . . gross! Why would you ever give me that . . . disturbing thought! That I, um, LIKED Rollan.
Seriously! Just my friend.
That's all.
STOP DISTRACTING ME! The point is, I planned to get my hands on that Bile Curse, one way or another.
Abeke's P.O.V
I woke up in the afternoon. The room was lit up and I could see I was in a bright, sunny room. It was really hot. The floor was wood,
and there were dusty old boxes surrounding. I found my hands unbound and stretched them in wonder, memory flooding
through my mind. The first thing I did was try the door, but it was locked. The second thing I did was search for my wand, but I couldn't find it.
I searched the boxes for something useful, like a key. Maybe this was a test, and a teacher like Professor Tarik had put all of us in separate
rooms and try to get out without using wands. I doubted it, but I didn't know why ELSE I would be in here.
But that didn't make much sense; I mean, it wouldn't explain why I was all tied up last night. Panic set in when I couldn't
break down the door. And the room appeared sound-proof by the way my voice bounced off the walls every time I called to be
released. "PLEASE LET ME OUT!" I finally yelled, sinking to the ground. Was nobody coming to my rescue?
The window too small to climb out of, the door unbreakable. Why was I here? I began to give up, when the door opened.
Conor's P.O.V
Rollan was pretty much really mad at me. He claimed I set him up on a date with a psychopath murderer.
Hey! I had to do what I had to do!
I stared at Shane the entire class period. He began to get really uncomfortable, and fidgeted in his seat. I made sure I would stalk him after class
and see if he was hiding anything. For research.
What I found was very interesting.
He was walking to the Slytherin dungeons, and I didn't know if I was allowed to follow him.
Relax, it's to find out what he's hiding, I thought. If I got in trouble, though . . .
Well, I was done for.
We approached the doors of the Slytherin House. Shane whispered something to the painting of a snide-looking man, and glanced around. I
was hidden fairly well, though. When the doors opened, he stepped in and they immediately closed behind him.
I approached the large, snake-engraved doors myself and whispered, "Conquer all," like Shane had said.
"You're not a Slytherin!" the snide-looking painting ridiculed me.
"Yes I am! I, uh, STOLE this Gryffindor scarf," I lied. He didn't budge and I thought, why didn't I take it off earlier?!
Then I took a different approach. "LET ME IN NOW!" I ordered. "I SAID THE PASSWORD YOU FOOL, YOU MUST LET ME IN OR
I will TELL THE HEADMASTER!"
He rolled his eyes. "Move along, boy. This is for Slytherins only! I know a Slytherin when I see one."
"Fine," I sighed. "I'm just looking for my friend Abeke."
That's when it got weird. He seemed to realize something and his eyes bulged.
"You can't see her!" he told me angrily. "GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!"
"What?! SHE'S HERE?!" I exclaimed, matching his tone of voice. "LEAVE NOW!" he ordered me.
I had no choice but to leave. But I had to tell my friends.
Something fishy was going on, and I had proof.
I'm sorry if this was all over the place, I think I made it too fast-paced. Last night I did the chapter, but my computer died and I had to
re-do it. Anyways, thanks!