I couldn't see out the window. It had completely frosted over. Ravenclaws of every year huddled in front of the common room's large marble fireplace.

All outdoor classes had been canceled until further notice, and Professor Longbottom had evacuated the greenhouse. Apparently it was too cold for his plants in there. The Great Hall now sported quite a bit of greenery.

Rita curled up on a sofa with Bleu in her lap, and wrapped a blanket around herself so all that could be seen were their two faces.

Bleu looked up at Rita, purred, and licked her chin. Rita giggled. "Bleu, that tickles!"

I looked at my watch, which had been my father's Christmas gift to me. "It's lunch, Rita. If we wait any longer all the good stuff will be gone!"

Rita snuggled deeper into her blanket. "Oh, but it's cold!!"

"I know you're hungry, Rita. Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!"

The blanket burrito flew open, and there Rita stood, ready for lunch.

"Meow.."

Rita looked down, and there was Bleu, looking a bit upset. Rita carefully picked the blanket up and wrapped it around the cat, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Bleu meowed again, more contentedly.

"Oh, come on, Rita!

I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the common room, down into the hallway.

Just as we hopped onto a stairway, it began to move.

"Bloody hell!" Rita yelled.

"Relax," I told her as I kept walking down the stairs.

"Where are you going? You need to wait until it stops moving!"

There were a dozen steps left, and after that an open void, full of other moving staircases. One of them happened to be almost directly below us, just a meter or two down.

Of course, they were still moving, and in opposite directions.

"Rita, jump with me!"

She held onto the railing at the bottom stair. "You're ridiculous! You'll get in trouble!"

I laughed. "Nobody gets in trouble at Hogwarts!"

The stairs were still moving, and I was about to lose my chance to jump from one to another. I reached out for Rita's hand.

She made a face, but took it. We squatted on the bottom of the staircase, and counted to three.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

We jumped, flailing our arms and landing on our feet.

Rita looked pale, but then again she was always pale.

"See?" I began to say. "We aren't going to get in any trouble!"

From the top of the staircase, somebody started a slow clap.

"Wonderful!" said Professor Falls. "Brilliant show!"

Rita turned to look at me and stared, in shock and anger. "Look what you've done!" she hissed through her teeth.

Falls walked toward us.

"I'm so sorry Professor, it was all my idea-"

"Oh, Meryl! Don't get your robes in a twist. What good calculations you must have made, and such innovative problem solving!"

She turned to Rita and winked. "Ten points to Ravenclaw, on me."