The morning came and went, and it was now lunchtime. It was a sunny autumn day, so Sicilia insisted on dragging Lucretia outside for a bit of a picnic. They sat beneath a large and twisting oak tree, its leaves as bright as the scarlet and gold stripes on Sicilia's tie. Maelstrom circled overhead and then flew down to join them. The large, stately raven hobbled over to Lucretia, croaking his usual "Never!" His black eye and his golden eye gazed up her longingly as she asked him, "Is that all you have to say?"
"Never!" he replied, nipping affectionately at her knee, demanding a piece of bread. Sicilia was chattering to Wystaer Shindou, a Slytherin girl, and asking seemingly endless questions about Draco Malfoy. Wystaer was a very clever girl, and didn't always follow the rules, which made her a good fit for her house. Unlike what most Slytherins (supposedly) were, she was actually a very sweet and nice person... to her friends, that is. She would do anything she could do to help them.
Lucretia wasn't really listening to them, as she was too immersed in her own thoughts:
If I were decapitated, would I be me in my head, or me in my body? What right does my head have to call itself me?
But she never reached the answer, as she was startled back to reality by the mention of her name.
"You're coming with me aren't you, Lucretia?" Sicilia pleaded.
"What?" asked Lucretia.
"To the Slytherin boys' dormitories! I want to sneak in to see Draco, maybe he will dream of me...if I use this spell I found..."
"Are you crazy?! You can't do that!"
"Oh yes I can, Wystaer told me the password and directions and everything!"
"I don't think that's a very smart idea..."
"Come on, it'll be so great!"
"What do I have to do with it?"
"To keep lookout, of course."
"Uh..."
"Wystaer is going to cause a distraction so no one left in the common room will see us, then we'll sneak in, and you'll let me know if anyone's coming!"
I was 10:45, and most of the students at Hogwarts were fast asleep. Not these three, though.
Wystaer had recently acquired some dungbombs on a trip to Hogsmeade, and had been saving them for a special occasion. The cold, dark halls were mercifully empty. It was now or never. When she set them off, Sicilia and Lucretia would make their move.
BOOM!
The signal went off, and the remaining stragglers in the Slytherin common room ran down the hall and around the opposite corridor of where Lucretia and Sicilia were waiting hidden to see what was going on. In the mass confusion, Lucretia and Sicilia easily slipped into the Slytherin common room, using the rather intriguing password "Carpe Noctem". Lucretia's suggestion to put a silencing charm on the door of the dormitories had worked well. Apparently none of them had heard a thing. "Shoot some red sparks under the door if anyone comes, then I will hide!" Sicilia whispered, carefully creeping into the boys' room. Lucretia nodded silently and tried her best to blend in with the shadows.
Several minutes passed, she hoped Sicilia would be done soon. She became more and more anxious as the minutes slipped away. She heard swift footsteps fast approaching the common room door. She quickly sent the sparks beneath the door, praying that her friend had received the warning. Once again trying to be invisible in the darkness, the common room door opened with a loud creak. But the figure who appeared in the doorway wasn't their friend Wystaer, it was Professor Snape. The look on his face was one of total fury, and he scanned the room with the end of his wand lit. To her horror, he stormed up the stairs toward the dormitory door, his boots falling heavy on every step. Her heart jumped in her chest harder with every inch closer he approached. Determined to find the culprit who set off the bombs, he cast his light down the hall toward the dormitories. His lumos spell was powerful, and not one nook or cranny wasn't drowned in the intense light.
SHIT.
He spotted her cowering in a corner, shaking with fear.
"WHAT in Merlin's name are you doing down here?" he demanded. She could do nothing but stare. Then he realized exactly whom he was yelling at. His black eyes seemed to burn straight into her soul. "Miss Morrigan...I must say I am quite disappointed with you." His voice was dangerously soft. "Sneaking around in places you don't belong? In the middle of the night? 20 points from Ravenclaw. I'll see you in detention tomorrow, be in my office at eight o'clock," he said coldly. She was too afraid to make a move. "Get back to your dormitory! NOW!"
