By the way has anybody else ever wondered why Filch's cat is a Mrs? Is she married? And to who?
Who's Mr. Norris?
Chapter 7: The Midnight Tour of Hogwarts
J.D. quietly got up from her bed, after checking to make sure that everyone else was asleep. A few snores and heavy breathing reassured her about that. It was the perfect time to do some exploring, when no one could interfere. J.D. took the small vial of potion out and drank a third of it. She hoped that it would last three hours. Slowly she started to disappear.
Sneaking down the stairs, careful not to make much noise, J.D. hurried across to the portrait hole. In her hurry, she didn't notice that someone was sitting in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. She climbed out (the Fat Lady was very confused to not see a body) and made her way towards the Great Hall. That, J.D. figured was where she should start.
She started walking in the opposite direction from where the Gryffindor Tower was and walked for a long time before she came to a fork in the hall. Deciding to go left, J.D. continued on. She walked again a long time until she came to a flight of stairs. She was about to walk up when she heard a voice.
"Smell around, my sweet. I want to make sure that no one is about. Filthy children, making messes at night, they think I won't catch them, but they're wrong..."
J.D. held her breath as the caretaker Filch and his creepy cat, Mrs. Norris, walked past. Mrs. Norris paused a moment at looked straight at J.D. before continuing. J.D. was nervous. She didn't want to be caught, that wasn't the point of the whole excursion. J.D. walked up the stairs and came face to face with another boy. It was the boy Hermione said reminded her of Viktor Krum. He was examining the walls, periodically knocking on them as if checking for secret passageways. J.D. stood watching him for a moment until he stopped knocking and seemed to have given up. He let out a muffled curse and walked in the opposite direction from where she was standing.
"I don't know how I let dem talk me into dis. Dis is ridiculous. I don't know vhat dey vant from me anyvays. I should be goink {go-ink ; going} to sleep." The boy continued muttering as he walked down the hall.
She followed at a distance, curious to see where he was going. A small interruption occurred just then, that prevented her from trailing the boy. As she walked past the wall upon which the boy had been knocking, the panel creaked and slid open revealing a small room.
J.D. was completely shocked. It looked as if the room was meant for her. She stepped inside, the doorframe was exactly the right height, and the panel shut behind her. She wasn't afraid, though, because she somehow knew she was safe. The room was painted purple, (her favorite color) and it smelled like jasmine. That was J.D.'s comfort smell. If she smelled jasmine then everything was alright.
The room made J.D. curious. How did it get there? There were so many interesting things inside, like a purple chaise lounge, mosaic table, pitcher and glasses, and even a clock. There was a beautiful mirror, framed in purple glass, that hung on the far wall. She crossed the room to look in it and was confused by what she saw. It looked like Crystal. She seemed to be examining another room, one filled with crystal. J.D. leaned in closer for a better look and bent so far forward that her nose touched the glass. But instead of bumping her nose, it went right through.
"Crystal?" J.D. asked hesitantly, not sure if Crystal could hear her or see her .
"J.D.? What are you-?" Crystal began and then stopped at the sight of what was in front of her. J.D. had her head through the mirror.
"What is going on Crystal? Where are we?"
"I don't know. But I think these rooms, I think they were made for us."
"Crystal I'm supposed to be invisible. How can you see me?"
"Maybe, it's the mirror. I don't know J.D. I don't know what's going on. We'd better go, can you find your way back?" J.D. nodded, "Good. Don't tell about this. At least leave me out if you tell the story to your friends. Understand?" J.D. nodded again.
Crystal left her room and J.D. turned and left hers. She'd spent more time in that room then she thought she had. Racing back down the stairs, J.D. suddenly realized that she was lost.
"Not again, not now!" she moaned.
Stopping to take a breath next to an ugly stone gargoyle, J.D. notice someone had dropped a piece of chocolate on the ground.
"Hmm, it looks like a chocolate frog."
To J.D.'s astonishment, at those words the gargoyle came to life and jumped aside, revealing a spiral staircase that was continually moving, like an escalator. She stepped on cautiously and found herself being carried up and up. When she finally reached the top she was facing a solid oak door with a gold griffin door knocker. Carefully, J.D. motioned to use the knocker, but she found that the door was already open. She stepped inside and the door creaked shut.
"How nice to see you, Miss Miller."
J.D. stumbled on the rug at the sound of that voice. Professor Dumbledore was sitting at a claw-footed desk in front of her, his eyes twinkling.
"Professor Dumbledore! Oh, I had know idea that this was your office! I'm so sorry!"
"Don't worry, Miss Miller, you're not going to be in trouble. You're not the first student to go exploring the school. However I think that it may have been more than that that brought you to my office. Is there anything you would like to discuss with me?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
J.D. thought about her secret room, she couldn't tell him that, but there was that boy.
"Well when I was, er, exploring I saw this boy. He's new here too and he looks like Viktor Krum."
"Ah, that is Mr. Krum's brother, Vladimir. Please go on."
"Yes, well, Vladimir was tapping on walls in this one corridor. Then he started talking to himself, saying that someone had told him to do whatever it was he was doing."
"I see, thank you Miss Miller. By the way, how are you enjoying Hogwarts?"
"I like it very much, sir. It's certainly larger than Tolblox," J.D. replied.
"I am glad. Although I imagine it is different from America. I wanted to inquire, have you had any more visions, since the test?"
J.D. was about to reply that she hadn't when she caught herself. "Who told you I was having visions?"
"Why Mr. Potter. It seemed he was concerned about your visions of him. He gave the impression that you would be coming to see me yourself."
"Oh, well. I haven't had any more Professor," J.D. answered truthfully.
"Good, good. I think that will be all Miss Miller. Please come see me whenever you have a problem, or something peculiar happens."
Did he know? J.D. liked the headmaster, but sometimes she felt that he could read minds. She thanked him and left his office. Heading back down the spiral staircase, J.D. noticed a little poem carved into the wall.
Strong are the bonds that hold us together
Our love will be real through all kinds of weather
The storms that come soon cannot tear us apart
Forever and ever we are joined in the heart
J.D. liked that poem and made a note of it. There were initials carved next to the poem, a JP. She continued walking until she realized that she was still lost and that the potion might have worn off. She was trying to find a land mark when she bumped into something. The problem was, there was nothing in front of her to bump into.
"J.D., it's me, Harry. I've got my invisibility cloak. Come under," Harry said.
Confused, but grateful for the protection, J.D. got under the cloak.
"Harry what are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?"
Harry showed her a map, it was amazing. The entire school was shown including some secret passageways and there were little dots that labeled people, which moved around according to where they were. Right on the spot she was standing there were two dots labeled, Harry Potter and Jasmine Miller.
"This is amazing! Where did you get this?" J.D. asked.
"I'll tell you later. Now, we've got to get back to Gryffindor tower, before we're caught."
"I have something amazing to tell you too, but I wouldn't mind a little sleep."
Harry led the way back, using the Marauder's Map as a guide. They chatted quietly along the way.
"What were you doing out of bed now? No, don't tell me, you were using your unpopularity to go sneaking around the school," Harry shook his head.
"Right in one. I found something amazing, but I'll tell you, Ron and Mya later," J.D. yawned, "Wow, I am really tired."
"I wonder why, it might be because it's one thirty in the morning and you've been prancing around the school all night."
They made it all the way back to the Tower with out getting caught, although Peeves gave them a scare. He almost caught them and that would have meant loads of trouble. After saying good night to Harry, J.D. ran upstairs to her dorm and crept in. She fell asleep instantly.
* * *
J.D. said good night and ran off to her dorm, so Harry started off toward his. He climbed the staircase and let himself into the room. Hee found Ron waiting on his bed.
"So did you find her?" Ron asked.
"Yeah. She was lost, but it seemed like she came from Dumbledore's office. I wonder what they talked about. Oh, and J.D. said she had something she wanted to tell us about. I'm too tired. G'night, Ron."
"Good night Harry," Ron watched as his best friend climbed into bed and then settled in himself. It had be a long night.
