"Madness"
(part three)
Roger silently made his way out of the Ravenclaw common room. His breath came shallow and rapid, and a cold sweat made him shiver in the drafty corridor. He stopped for a moment and tried to collect his thoughts. The lit torch on the wall threw his face into shadows as he pressed himself against the cold stone and tried to think. What am I going to do? What will my parents think? Will I be expelled?
Roger was sure that things like this had happened at Hogwarts before, but he didn't know how those situations were handled. What did those kids do? Were they as frightened as he was? A swooshing sound from the dark end of the hall brought him out of his reverie. He moved quickly, staying in the shadows and hoping that he hadn't been seen by whoever, or whatever was out there, lurking in the night.
When he arrived at the empty classroom he was panting, but he had lost whatever had been tailing him. He hoped that Susan would be there already...he wanted to get back to the safety of his common room before they ran out of luck and got caught.
He peeked into the room to see if anyone was there, as was his habit. She was already there, sitting forlornly at an empty desk. She smiled at him grimly as he sat down at a neighboring desk.
"There has to be a spell." She spoke suddenly, and he was startled by the determination in her voice.
"What?"
"I said...there has to be a spell, Roger. A spell that will...you know." She pointed down to her stomach.
"Susan, I..."
"No, Roger...there is no way that we can keep this baby, don't you get it? I want to just get back to normal." Her voice had become tremulous, and Roger could tell that she was going to cry.
"Susan, but...can't we just talk to our parents? I mean, surely they will understand that it was an accident..."
"No! Don't you see that they will never understand? We're supposed to know better! How could we have been so stupid?" She was openly crying now, and Roger had no answer for her. No way to make her feel better. He just felt so helpless. How could he have let this happen? He sat there and watched her cry, and then he was crying and there was such a feeling of shame between them that they couldn't even look at one another.
After a few minutes Susan looked up at the ceiling and said, "Roger...you must help me find the spell. I know that there's a spell that we can do. Meet me in the library tomorrow after breakfast and help me find the book. We'll get a Restricted Section permission slip if we have to. It'll be easy for a Ravenclaw. We have to act soon, Roger...before it's too late." With those words she stood up and made her way out of the classroom and into the darkness of the corridor without a backward glance. Roger sat at the old desk for a long time before finally getting up and leaving the classroom and its coldness behind.
At least he tried to leave the coldness behind.
Roger silently made his way out of the Ravenclaw common room. His breath came shallow and rapid, and a cold sweat made him shiver in the drafty corridor. He stopped for a moment and tried to collect his thoughts. The lit torch on the wall threw his face into shadows as he pressed himself against the cold stone and tried to think. What am I going to do? What will my parents think? Will I be expelled?
Roger was sure that things like this had happened at Hogwarts before, but he didn't know how those situations were handled. What did those kids do? Were they as frightened as he was? A swooshing sound from the dark end of the hall brought him out of his reverie. He moved quickly, staying in the shadows and hoping that he hadn't been seen by whoever, or whatever was out there, lurking in the night.
When he arrived at the empty classroom he was panting, but he had lost whatever had been tailing him. He hoped that Susan would be there already...he wanted to get back to the safety of his common room before they ran out of luck and got caught.
He peeked into the room to see if anyone was there, as was his habit. She was already there, sitting forlornly at an empty desk. She smiled at him grimly as he sat down at a neighboring desk.
"There has to be a spell." She spoke suddenly, and he was startled by the determination in her voice.
"What?"
"I said...there has to be a spell, Roger. A spell that will...you know." She pointed down to her stomach.
"Susan, I..."
"No, Roger...there is no way that we can keep this baby, don't you get it? I want to just get back to normal." Her voice had become tremulous, and Roger could tell that she was going to cry.
"Susan, but...can't we just talk to our parents? I mean, surely they will understand that it was an accident..."
"No! Don't you see that they will never understand? We're supposed to know better! How could we have been so stupid?" She was openly crying now, and Roger had no answer for her. No way to make her feel better. He just felt so helpless. How could he have let this happen? He sat there and watched her cry, and then he was crying and there was such a feeling of shame between them that they couldn't even look at one another.
After a few minutes Susan looked up at the ceiling and said, "Roger...you must help me find the spell. I know that there's a spell that we can do. Meet me in the library tomorrow after breakfast and help me find the book. We'll get a Restricted Section permission slip if we have to. It'll be easy for a Ravenclaw. We have to act soon, Roger...before it's too late." With those words she stood up and made her way out of the classroom and into the darkness of the corridor without a backward glance. Roger sat at the old desk for a long time before finally getting up and leaving the classroom and its coldness behind.
At least he tried to leave the coldness behind.