And then the moon turned red...

I knew exactly where to go and what to do. I got up in silence ready to leave, I just hoped that no one noticed my departure. The girls kept their eyes alarmed at what Alice had just revealed to us. This must be very shocking to them. Surely something like this had never happened to them, me? Well, since I entered here, I have always lived in terror that my sister would kill me when I was sleeping. I almost always heard noises in my bedroom and once I saw her standing at the door, watching me. Until in third grade I went to her room at night and threatened her as soon as she felt my wand on her neck. From then on we made it clear that there was a truce at bedtime.

I could be shocked, but not scared like those girls over there. I had become stronger than them.

I left my seat and ran out of the dining room. Leaving behind my orange juice without drinking and the good humor with which I had woken up.

—Where is Rosenberg going?

—I don't know, I guess she's going to hide. Her sister says that she is a cowardly traitor.

—Well, she does well to hide. I think I'm going to do the same... —Alice said in a small voice.

I kept running down the hall, remembering Alice's words so as not to forget any important details. My brown hair bounced in all directions, tangled. My feet seemed fragile to touch the ground, but now I could not fall, I had to investigate as much as possible. Those who had done it could do it again and who knows if this time it would be Isobel's turn.

Stupid, stupid overbearing bitch, I wish you had died at birth. So I shouldn't have to defend two lives today.

I went up the stairs a little tired to the first floor. I would never get used to those stairs, they always managed to trip me up. But I was almost at my destination, I didn't care for the stupid stairs. I just hoped I wouldn't find anyone to kick me out of there.

Nursing

I arrived at the infirmary following the trail of light that her front door let out into the hall. I passed through the arch of the doorway looking out into the bright room. There were stretchers of iron rods on either side for the inmates, covered with white sheets and separated from each other by mint green curtains. The white-lined gurneys were empty, all but one. On one of the last stretchers was Brenda Gordon my roommate. Poor girl ... I went slowly to her side, watching in all directions in case Madame Pomfrey appeared to kick me out, but luckily she wasn't around, I'd been too lucky.

Brenda was awake, but she didn't look like the Brenda I'd known. This Brenda had bruised all over her face, her nose was crooked and one of her eyes was drenched in blood, she looked scared and very weak. I think it could be Brenda's corpse after a fight. She narrowed her eyes a little but she didn't recognize me, I don't know if because she hadn't paid attention to me or because she was very hurt. That weak being must have had a terrible time. It could not have been done by a person, those responsible for this were monsters.

—Hi Brenda... I'm Elinor Rosenberg, do you know who I am?

Even I doubted if she was still me, because she looked at me like someone who looks at a wall without seeing anything in it. She blinked very slowly a few times until her eyes widened again in amazement.

—What are you doing here Rosenberg? —she said very weakly, she was barely conscious.

—I came to see you as soon as Alice told us what happened to you.

I lied a bit. Actually, frivolous as it may sound, I just wanted information to save my skin and Izzie's. I already knew that this was cruel and ruthless but I already knew myself well and that is why I did not feel repulsed by myself.

—Alice? They told her she shouldn't say… —she was so weak that she could barely finish the sentence without turning her eyes, but she had to keep talking.

—Brenda you have to tell me everything that happened to you, don't fall asleep. What were those hooded men like? —I had to gather information as it was.

—Tall... They were wearing black... And they asked me strange things...

—Strange things? What kind of things Brenda?

Brenda was fading at times, she was very tired and in that state I wouldn't get anything out of that girl. I would only manage to give her more pain. I should come back later if I could. Now we were all in danger because of some heartless people. How has he taken all this, the director?

—Rosenberg, why don't you just walk away and leave her alone?

A male voice surprised me from behind, but I didn't know whose voice it was, I didn't know it. I turned around right away to find out who that stranger was who was kicking me out of the place. Turning around, I could see a tall, stocky boy, about 17 years old. He was blond, blue-eyed, quite a handsome boy. He is handsome enough to cajole any girl.

—How dare you talk to me like that? Your parents didn't teach you education? Or did you grow up with a Mudblood family? —I gave them where it hurt the most, in their pride.

—Rosenberg it would be better if I never see you around here again, fu...

—Derek, is that you?... —Brenda said, barely conscious.

The blond boy, who was apparently named Derek, knelt beside her. He took Brenda's hand

Between her big hands, he kissed her and whispered "Here I am" with super tender eyes.

I got out of there right away before I got more retching. In the end, I hadn't gotten any more information, just meeting Brenda's nasty boyfriend who pampered her excessively.

I was like before without any clue. Well it had been three men, tall who wore black robes. They had beaten her, raped her and left her in the middle of the forest ... and they had said strange things to her ... Strange things?

Three hooded men, dressed in robes for the occasion, had shed pure blood, pure? Supposedly pure and had been tainted, I don't know but it smells of dark magic ritual to me. I have to do a search in the forbidden section. As soon as possible.

I returned to the corridor stairs, ready to resolve my infuriating doubts, and began to climb the steps. But just as I was about to reach the third floor of the building, I crashed into a black robe ... very familiar. I held onto the railing as best I could to keep from rolling downward. I had even been injured by hitting myself against that body that seemed to be made of solid marble. Professor Snape held on too, but for less time than I did, I suppose after so many years here, he would have gotten used to these hideously treacherous stairs. Immediately he was terribly irritated by the blow I had just dealt him.

—Damn it, Rosenberg! Where the hell are you going in such a hurry!? Is it that you haven't had enough with last week's punishment, Rosenberg!? —he had fire in his eyes.

—Professor Snape ... sorry sir, I didn't mean to. —I hated that man, he was always in the middle of everything.

—I'm more than sick of you, Rosenberg! Where are you coming from in such a hurry!? —his eyes were black as the night itself, just as destructive as a stormy night. His hair looked very bad today, he seemed not to have slept very well.

—I came ... from the infirmary, sir. —I said as low as possible, fearing his wrath.

As I said this, Snape changed his posture and made it more threatening. I saw how little by little his body was tense until he was totally immobile before me. It was presented as the image of a vulture observing the last moments of life of his food before going down for it.

—From the infirmary? Why? Do you suffer from any discomfort, Miss Rosenberg?

He had even soothed his voice, giving it a soft, sweet touch. He was already afraid that I knew about Brenda and he was not mistaken. But no flattery would make me speak, least of all by saying my source of information, Alice. Snape would punish her, that I could not allow since she had defended me before her, I owed her that favor of hers.

—Yes, the pumpkin juice didn't do me good, sir. —I hadn't drunk it.

He was standing firm even with my answer given, I think he didn't believe me at all. But he made me believe that he did, to get the information he wanted from me, he was meek and gentle.

—And where were you going now, if I may know, Rosenberg? —he said in an incredibly silky voice. He knew how to cajole very well, but it wasn't going to work for him.

—That is not your concern, Professor Snape. —oh oh, did I really say that to him? I had responded in a very rude tone and he was not going to tolerate it.

Snape arched an eyebrow in surprise and then pressed his thin lips tightly together. He hated that students wanted to play smart guys with him. His eyes lit up again and everything was in a sea of flames.

—How dare you talk to me like that? Don't forget that I can send you home with just one order, Rosenberg. You're going to be punished until your grandchildren graduate, Rosenberg!

He came down to my step, grabbed my arm tightly, and dragged me down the stairs along with his billowing black cloak. Goodbye library, goodbye books, goodbye research. What a big mouth I had been, I wish I had swallowed my tongue at that moment.

Following Tuesday

Dinner time

Slytherin table

It's been two days since what happened with Brenda in the woods and I still haven't been able to find anything about it. Snape has had me scrubbing the dungeon floor with a toothbrush, and with my studies and so on, I barely make time for myself. The girls in my house are still upset by what happened, many more already know and soon the whole house will know.

The principal has said nothing of the matter, none of the professors. About Brenda they said that she was sick with the flu in the infirmary, a good lie. I think they are going to take her home, her parents want her to be safe, from what I have heard in the gossip of the older girls in my house.

But we are all anguished, we wait every day for new news from the aggressors, but it seems that the earth has swallowed them up. There were some girls who were targeting boys from other houses, mainly Gryffindor boys, that was real bullshit. Those stupid heads would think it was a Hogwarts student wanting to have fun, but this was not like that, much less a Gryffindor. It had been done by someone from outside with very dark intentions and I think this had not ended here.

Outside of all this, my sister was still in her particular zombie trance. I don't think she knew what had happened because her harpies no longer spoke to her, she was very lonely lately and it scared me because being alone was an easy target for rapists. Not that she didn't know how to defend herself well, but there were three of them.

The night passed quietly, the four tables together with the teachers dined in harmony. But the table in my house dined in a dark silence, only some boys spoke without knowing the truth of the facts. Slytherin girls barely ate a bite, I was in the same guise, my chicken thigh was still intact on the plate. Then I heard some girls near me, I was almost always paying attention to the groups of girls who sat near me, because they were always the first to know what was happening at school.

—Did Kevin really tell you that? What a disgusting boy. —Sarah commented among her friends.

—Have you seen Amy girls? —asked a girl.

—To who?

—Amy McClean, I'm her sister Stacey, sophomore. —she said with a worried face. Sarah frowned in surprise, and looked at the others with concern.

—I haven't seen Amy in quite a while, have you?

—No ... —they said in unison, increasingly tense.

You could start to smell the fear that hovered in her heads. Amy McClean proud and giddy, she was not in my room she was in Isobel's group and apparently she had suddenly vanished. She would probably show up at any moment ... if there weren't a bunch of sadistic rapists hanging around Hogwarts that was the fear of all of us.

Stacey forced a smile to hide her frustration, and the others kept talking but no longer smiling they seemed nervous.

After a while the atmosphere at the table was the same again and we were almost finishing dinner, well some of them because my plate was still the same.

Hagrid walked through the doors at that moment, scaring us all to death as his footsteps were like those of an elephant in full stampede. He came to the middle of the hall running very scared, I had never seen him like this.

—Professor Dumbledore, you have to come right away! —he said with hardly any breath.

And then the moon turned red, and I could see how the water turned to blood.