Chapter 3

I flew through all the chambers that led to the Philosopher's Stone. Just as Snape had told me, I found all the chambers empty and devoid of the tasks that had been placed there by the other teachers. I remembered how I worked side by side with them …my friends. I imagined the looks of disgust and horror that would form on their faces when they discover what I truly was. A traitor.

As I neared the trapdoor, I heard muffled voices coming from above it. I froze. Icy cold fear gripped me tightly. My heart hammered so loudly that it seemed to be deafening to my ears. 'The wizards from the Ministry must have arrived!' I thought, panicking. I wondered if I could slip past them unnoticed. I hovered slowly in the air and drew closer to the trapdoor, craning my ears to hear the voices clearly. Suddenly, the trapdoor flew open and I jumped. I nearly fell from my broomstick!

"It's all right, Timothy. There's nothing here. Come on, we can't let those dorks from Slytherin think we're scared!" A youthful male voice came from above. I heaved a sigh of relief. They were not the Ministry, they were only students! But then again, what were students doing here?

"I can't believe you are doing this for a dare, Edward!" A second frightened voice said. "What if we get killed? Remember what Dumbledore said at the beginning of the term? And anyway, I can't see what's down below, it's too dark!"  The first boy called Edward cut across Timothy. "Come on, Timothy, don't be such a scaredy-cat! So what if we can't see the bottom?" he scoffed. "I bet it is a soft landing. I'm going to jump!" I gasped in horror. That stupid boy was going to jump! I looked down below me. The Devil's Snare plant that was supposed to be there had already been cleared by Snape and Dumbledore, leaving a cold hard stone floor. The trapdoor was at least four stories above the floor. If that boy jumps…

I saw a pair of legs dangle from the trapdoor. "I'll be all right, don't fuss," Edward's voice came from above. I hung there in the air, unsure of what to do. I prayed that the boy would not be foolish enough to jump. My prayers went unanswered. "Alright then, let's go!" Edward yelled and he plunged forward. I watched his falling body with shock. My brain went numb. What was I going to do? Save the boy? But how? What if I lose my balance in the process and the invisibility cloak slips off? I can't let him see my face, can't let him recognize me…

Edward was reaching the ground fast. His eyes were wild with terror and his mouth open in a silent scream. His yellow hair was streaming out in a wave behind him. Before I knew what I was doing, I had already whipped out my wand. "Mobilicorpus!" I muttered under my breath. In the spilt second before he would have slammed against the ground he jerked to a stop. "Huh?" he cried out. "What the heck is going on?" He started struggling in mid-air. I cursed under my breath. That foolish boy. His struggles would make it harder for me to save him. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and ran down the sides of my face. Concentrating on the spell and trying to keep my wand steady, I slowly brought him upwards towards the trapdoor. He struggled and fought even more violently. My wand shook harder and I had to use all of my strength to keep it under control.

His friend was staring wild-eyed at him from the trapdoor. "Edward, are you okay? What's happening?" Edward seemed too scared to even speak. I couldn't blame him. If I was falling and suddenly jerked to a stop and brought upwards, I would most probably have reacted the same way as Edward. I brought Edward towards Timothy and the boy grabbed him. I relaxed my hold on the wand and wiped off the sweat on my face. Edward was babbling to Timothy like an idiot. "I dunno, something just stopped me from slamming against the ground! It was so weird… one moment I was falling and the other…"

I heard Timothy's frightened and pleading voice. "Let's leave this place. There's something strange going on, and I don't like it!"

"Go. Just go," I muttered under my breath urgently. I had wasted enough time. I was supposed to be out of Hogwarts by now. "No!" I heard Edward say. "Death before dishonour! I would rather die than be called a coward by the Slytherins." I rolled my eyes and cursed under my breath again. That thick- headed fool! From the way he is talking, he must be a Gryffindor. 

I knew what I had to do. I did not relish the idea but knew it was the only way to make those two boys, especially Edward, leave. I flew up towards the trapdoor where the two boys were now arguing. I held my wand ready in front of me. "Let's leave, Edward. C'mon, this place gives me the creeps," Timothy was pleading. "No, if you want to go, fine. I'll carry on myself." Edward's curt voice said. By this time, I had positioned myself directly below the open trapdoor, where I could see the faces of Timothy and Edward clearly. I recognized Timothy as one of my third-year Hufflepuff students. He had brown eyes, a pointed nose and black hair. Edward, on the other hand, had grey eyes, yellow hair and a pug nose and was a third-year Gryffindor student. 

Pointing my wand at Edward, I murmured, "Oblivate." At once, Edward's eyes glazed over and a look of dreamy unconcern came over his face. Timothy must have noticed this for he said worriedly, "Edward? Are you alright? Don't do that, you're scaring m-" By this time, I had also hit him with a memory charm. His eyes became as dull as Edward's and his face took on a placid look. "What are we doing here?" said Edward dully. Timothy shrugged and yawned. "Blimey, we had better go back to bed or we'll get into trouble," he said as he got up. Mumbling an agreement, Edward followed Timothy and they both left the room. I could barely contain my relief. The memory charm had worked. Those two boys would remember nothing of what had taken place here just now.

I heaved a sigh of relief. I could finally get out of this place. I waited for about five minutes to be sure that the boys had really gone and would not come back. I pocketed my wand and flew up through the trapdoor. Opening the door that led to the outside of the third-floor corridor, I looked around anxiously. Not a soul was in sight. Good, the wizards from the Ministry of Magic had not arrived yet.

 Moonlight streamed in from a window, illuminating the area around me with a silvery ghostly light. I looked down and saw only moonlight and shadows where my body was supposed to be. It felt so unnatural and disturbing. Even though I've walked countless times around Hogwarts at night, this time I felt nervous and scared. I don't belong here anymore. The sooner I leave this place, the better.

When I was younger, I had always loved Hogwarts. I loved its moving staircases, its Great Hall and moving pictures. An aura of mystery and comfort surrounded this ancient castle and I always liked to think of it as my second home. But now… I sighed. I knew that I would never be accepted here again. I was now an outcast of the place I had once known and love.

I shook myself. This isn't the time to brood about Hogwarts. I have to get out of here as soon as possible, before…

I heard footsteps and voices coming along the corridor. My heart leapt to my mouth as I recognized my father's voice. "Dumbledore, are you sure that it was my…my son who was working for You-Know-Who and is now dead? It can't be! You must have made a mistake! I know my son better than anyone! Slatero would never join the Dark Side!" I felt a pang of acute guilt and sadness as I listened to the disbelief and anxiety that filled my father's voice. I was seized with the sudden urge to whip off the invisibility cloak and present myself to my father, hug him and tell him that I was sorry. But I fought down the urge. I knew that if I did that, I would get both Dumbledore and Snape into trouble. My father and Dumbledore were nearing me. A team of wizards (Aurors, no doubt) was walking behind my father and Dumbledore, who were in the fore-front.

 I knew that I could not face my father. My heart was thundering wildly in my chest, and I feared that it might explode. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. I cursed under my breath. "Damn it! Why do I keep on crying? I've cried more times tonight than I ever did in my lifetime!" I brushed the tears away forcefully. Turning away from the group of men and my father, I flew off in the opposite direction. Their voices and footsteps faded away as I put more and more distance away between them and me. I managed to reach the entrance of Hogwarts without meeting anyone else along the way.

The double doors that led to the Hogwarts grounds were locked. I pulled out my wand and muttered, "Alohomora!" They swung open silently.

A cold wind was blowing across the grounds, chilling me to my very bones. I drew my cloak tighter around me as I flew out of Hogwarts. Everywhere was bathed in silvery light from the moon. It was silent and still. It all seemed so…so unearthly. There was no other way to put it. It was like as though I was no longer in reality but in some weird dimensional space. 

I slapped a hand to my forehead and shook my head. I was losing my focus. I had to remain in touch with the present and not let my mind wander to the past and unnecessary things. I tilted my broomstick upwards and gained altitude. The stars above me twinkled and glittered merrily like a thousand diamonds as though welcoming me. I laughed bitterly at the thought. Hovering above Hogwarts, I looked down at the giant, ancient castle with all its splendour and grandeur for one last time. "Farewell," I whispered.

So saying, I turned and took off into the night. I was on my own.

I planned to fly to a mountain range located west of Hogwarts. I had visited that place in my travels and liked it. There are many caves located there for me to hide in. I was confident of finding my way there as my broomstick had already been equipped with a glow-in-the-dark compass, which enabled me to see the face of the compass without any difficulty at night. After making sure that I was traveling on the right course , my mind soon wandered. I hoped that my father would not take the disgrace I have caused to my family name too hard. If that foul Rita Skeetar woman of the Daily Prophet finds out about what I've done… my father would be ruined.

What a poor way of returning his kindness and affection. Before I could stop them, images from my childhood ran through my mind. The time when my father brought me to a zoo and taught me how to fly a broomstick. How he tried to take time off to bring me on holidays…

 CRASH! A lightning bolt streaked out from the dark, stormy clouds in front of me. Shocked, I snapped out of my thoughts. I had been so busy thinking that I did not know that the sky above me had gone steadily darker, as more stars became blocked by dark, swirling masses of clouds. Rain began to pour forth from the clouds like a waterfall. At each passing second, the raindrops increased in both size and tempo. I was soon drenched from head to toe. Lightning leapt out from the clouds like forked tongues every now and then and I had to swerve and dodge like mad to avoid them.

My robes were getting increasingly heavy with rain and were weighing me down. I cursed as I dodged another lightning bolt. The raindrops were now falling so thick and fast that I could hardly see. I wondered whether I would be able to survive this storm. Suddenly a blinding yellow flash enveloped me, and my body felt as though it was being consumed by fire. I cried out in pain. Darkness closed in and I lost consciousness.

Author's note: Sorry that this chapter took so long to complete, I had exams. Thank you to all those people who have reviewed my story. Please don't forget to give me your reviews for this chapter! All your feedback and information would be greatly appreciated.