Chapter 14
(A/N From Tara's POV)
I woke up really early this morning. I don't know why, but I got up and looked out of the window just in time to see the sun emerge gloriously from the ambiguous mountains surrounding the cryptic castle. Sorry about the weird descriptions. I just feel a little poetic today – you'll have to put up with it!
None of the other girls were up, so I silently slipped on my robes and slid out of the dormitory, feeling fresh and reawoken. I crept down the spiral staircase to the common room: much like the Gryffindor tower, and found myself standing in a deserted common room, the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw smiling down at me. It was unusual for the common room to be this empty: usually, there would be loads of sleeping kids lying around, not bothering to move after their late-night studying. I walked across the room. Under my foot as I reached the door, I felt something shatter. I looked down and under my foot found a mass of coloured glass, shards glinting feebly in the sunlight against the dull carpet.
"Excuse me?" I heard a voice say, coming from the spiral staircase I had just came down. I turned around to see a dreamy-looking person looking at me vividly. She had dirty-blond hair and looked strangely serene.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" I asked quickly: maybe this glass thing belonged to her.
"No," she said. I heard a slight hint of Irish in her voice. "I always get up early – its nice to get out before the air is filled by Wrackspurts." I was confused. "They're nocturnal, you see," she said, as if this would make me understand everything. She ambled slowly down the staircase and looked around the room, before walking over to me. I almost laughed at the way she walked around (she looked like a ghost) but stopped myself, realising it would be very rude. I also realised that if I had been here for 7 years, I must know this girl, who looked only a year younger than myself.
"I'm sorry, but I can't remember your name," I said, my face reddening with embarrassment.
"Luna Lovegood – don't worry about forgetting – I though I felt a Blimbit zooming around in here…" What the hell is a Blimbit? "Do you mind if I walk with you? It gets terribly boring sometimes being alone."
"Yeah! Sure! That'd be fine. You can show me around some secret passageways, 'because I don't really explore much," I said modestly. To be honest, the thought of walking around the school with Loony…oops! Luna Lovegood was slightly daunting, although I am sure that around her, if I ever ran out of things to say, she would talk for the both of us!
We headed out of the Ravenclaw area and wandered around several corridors.
"There's a deserted corridor upstairs that not many people know about – It has a great sculpture depicting the inventor of Fizzing Whizbies." I already knew about this corridor, but like Luna, the intrigue of seeing this statue made me want to explore it – really.
"Let's go check it out!" I said over enthusiastically. Luna grinned widely and began making her way to the stairs. "Hold on a sec – I just need to check something – I'll meet you up there in a minute." I needed a moment alone temporarily. Something felt wrong – I know that sounds horribly cliché, but I suddenly felt a wave of horror drop through my body. Luna shrugged and ran eagerly up the staircase, reminding me of a giddy little schoolgirl skipping merrily along a suburban street.
Luna disappeared from view and I felt something touch my shoulder. Instinctively, I spun around, but was greeted by nothing other than a haze of morning air.
"Who's there?" I shouted, drawing my wand. The tip was glowing red, matching my feeling of despair. There was no reply. I turned back around and nearly jumped out of my skin as I found a tapestry on a nearby wall staring at me with its beady eyes.
"You there!" It shouted. It was a fat knight in a bronze suit of armour, riding a fat pony, which was grazing on the woollen grass. "Yes! You there!" He shouted again when I looked back at him. "For goodness…." He started mumbling angrily to himself. "Come here!" he bellowed, making me jump again. I rushed over towards him, fighting the irrational fear that he would jump out of the tapestry and would be decapitated.
"Were you out here stalking these here corridors hither?" I giggled inwardly at his strange speech, resisting the urge to return his rudeness by shouting "What the hell?"
"No." He looked at me suspiciously. "I was in bed. Sleeping." He still looked suspicious.
"With whom?" I nearly slapped him before remembering that he was part of a 2D tapestry.
"No one! How dare you!" I shouted incredulously.
"Carry on then," and with that, he lifted his head up high, and I swear that as I started walking up the staircase to find Luna, he blew raspberries my back, muttering insults like "whore" and "sleeping slut". Naturally, these insults didn't bother me, as they were coming from a fat ancient knight who has a severe speech impediment, besides, his suspicions weren't even true!
I ran up the staircase, eager to escape the demented knight, and found myself in the deserted corridor, which was dimly lit by beams of sunlight pouring through rafters near the ceiling, illuminating dust from the past millennium before the hit the ground, forming strange spot-light shapes. "Luna?" I shouted. I had a feeling if I was any louder, I might cause an avalanche.
"Over here – I can here a strange sound," she replied, keeping her dreamy demeanour despite having to shout at me from the other end of the corridor. I walked up to where her voice came from and found her staring at another tapestry. Fortunately, this one was devoid of fat knights and ponies.
"Shh!" Luna said, pressing her finger to her lips when she saw my mouth open to speak. "Listen carefully!" We stood in silence for several minutes before I heard what she was hearing. It sounded like a muffled snore and seconds later, it was repeated. I had a sudden thought.
"Luna," I said.
"Yes?"
"Is there a passageway behind this tapestry?"
"I don't know, but it sure would explain the sound," and with that, she reached forward and lifted the tapestry, showering us with clouds of thick dust. I couldn't see anything because of it, but when it cleared, the sight made me realise why I had had a bad feeling earlier.
"Harry!" I shouted. Harry jerked awake, and upon seeing me and Luna, pulled his robe over his entire body, whereas before it had only been loosely wrapped around him.
"Tara! What are you doing here?" He asked, putting his glasses on. The mass of black hair next to him started to awaken.
"Who the hell is that?" I said. I was furious.
"Ella – she's new," he said, as if that would explain everything. I stepped forward and kicked Ella as hard as I could, and she jumped up.
"Ow!" her voice sounded horrible and scratchy. Harry turned to her.
"Ella – are you OK? You didn't sound like that yesterday," he said. I stared at him in disbelief, and the slapped his face as hard as I could – it felt good! Luna started clapping, but stop when Harry shot her dirty looks.
"Oh look," Ella started to say. Her greasy black hair was covering her face, but I knew who this was. Before she could say anything else, I shouted "Crucio!" Her hair shot out of the way, waving wildly around her twisted face, which was screaming out in agony.
"Lestrange? You've got to be kidding," said, Harry, jumping up (with his robe on), shaking his head in denial. "I did not just sleep with that toxic bitch," he said, muttering to himself once again. He ran off, pushing past Luna.
"Worse than that," I shouted after him, "You slept with my monstrous mother, you bastard!" I felt sick at the thought, but as I shouted these words, Bellatrix escaped my spell and disappeared: I don't know how, but when I looked around back at her, she was gone. I turned to Luna, but before she could say anything, a voice rang out, echoing throughout the castle.
"Tara Lestrange, please will you report to the headmaster's office immediately!"…
A/N Sorry about the long wait, but here is the latest chapter! It sounds confusing, but think, and you'll get what has happened and what will happen. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Now, make me happy and press go!