The Will of the Wands
Chapter 4 – Remarkable Ravenclaw
The first thought that came to Madison's otherwise occupied mind was, how on Earth did they manage to hide a place like this from Muggles? She, like so many other first-years, was not paying attention to the man with a beard that looked like it could take over half of Madagascar if it felt like it, but rather staring up at this thing...this thing they called the castle.
"Oof, sorry!" Madison nearly went headfirst into the inky black lake, thanks to one uprooted tree branch. Once again, as was habit, she quickly glanced around to make sure that no one she knew saw. Again, genius, you're in ENGLAND! Unless, by some freakish coincidence, one of your former mates from the Manhattan Academy for Girls- God, I hated that place-...where was I?
"Hurry up, will you?" A voice came behind her, and she swiveled to see an impatient redhead tapping her foot.
"Don't get your panties in a twist, I'm going! Have a cow!" Madison muttered under her breath. Upon receiving another death glare from the foot-tapper, she quickly hopped into the remaining rowboat, if you could call it that, and waited. Unfortunately for her, the redhead seated herself on the other side.
"How are we going to get from here to there?" The girl wondered aloud. "There aren't any bloody oars!"
"Well, perhaps you should keep your mouth shut for a second so we can hear the tall guy talk! Honestly, you Brits are completely full of-"
"Where'd you grow up, a sty? Do you talk to your mother with that mouth?" The other girl smirked.
"Interesting sense of humor you have there," Madison retorted, her face growing hotter by the second. "Where'd you learn, private lessons? Bet they cost a fortune."
"At least you realize I can afford private lessons if I felt I needed them, unlike yourself." The redhead said coolly. "Then again, you don't seem like the brightest crayon in the box, and, then again, my status is anything but unrecognizable."
"Someone's full of themselves, aren't they?" Madison said, highly amused by this offending Brit's wit. She had always been one to attack with sarcasm and spur-of-the-moment jeers, and in the five years she had attended the Manhattan Academy for Girls, she'd never found a worthy opponent. Well, now. There's a first time for everything, right? That's what Madam Oppenheim always said. I think.
"A' righ', firs' years! There, jus' roun' the corner, tha's Hogwarts!" Hagrid then interrupted from the biggest rowboat in front of the small fleet. Madison and the redhead glared at each other, each daring the other silently to be the first to break and admire the winding turrets and many towers that was Hogwarts. Thankfully for Madison, they both cracked at the same time and 'oohed' collectively.
As their boat neared the middle and darkest part of the lake, they heard new sounds of people getting out of the boats far ahead. "The front's landed," breathed the other girl. Madison nodded slightly. Then, out of nowhere, from what seemed to be the very bottom of the thousand-fathom deep lake, came a giant tentacle, which slapped down on the bow. The boat easily snapped in half, like it was a mere sprig off a pine tree. Flapping their arms wildly, Madison and the British girl slid unceremoniously into the murky water.
Fortunately, their screams were heard by Hagrid, who immediately stopped the rest of the boats and whipped out an old, slightly bent, flowery umbrella and jabbed it in their direction. As more tentacles wrapped around the girls' feet, a bellowed spell threw the giant urchin off guard.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" A jet of light whizzed by Madison's head, missing it by mere inches, and hit the creature somewhere in the deep. Instantly, the grip pulling Madison down loosened enough to grab a hold of the other girl, who was close to hyperventilating, and take hold of Hagrid's outstretched hand.
"There yeh go, tha's it, wrap yerselves up in this, we're almos' there...tha's the ticket." He draped his enormous moleskin coat, which could have fit three six-foot men easily inside, around both the girl's shoulders as soon as they were dripping and shaking on the planked floor of his own boat.
"Thanks," Madison mumbled. Her ears were red, she just knew it. People all around were staring at them both, and Madison hated being the center of attention when it was her clumsiness they were gawking at. But then, technically it wasn't her fault. Her scrambled thoughts were sliced through by the sound of the redhead speaking again. Madison mentally prepared herself to think of something witty, and was not prepared for what came next.
"Thank you." Why I aught a…huh?
"Huh?" She was clearly confused.
"For grabbing me out there," the redhead said. All signs of her once snippy demeanor had vanished, and a smile was adorning her soft features. "If you hadn't, I wouldn't have made it through the Sorting. Hell, I wouldn't have gotten to the other side of this thing."
"Do you talk to your mother with that mouth?" Madison sneered good-heartedly. "By the way, you're welcome."
"The name's VanCarte. Alexis VanCarte. Lexi, actually." The redhead held out her small, slightly shaking hand.
"Reed. Madison Reed, after the third president of the United States. Maddy, actually, for the love of God don't call me Madison." They shook hands, and Madison continued, "So, what house do you think you'll be in?"
"Oh, I hope I'm a Ravenclaw," Alexis replied immediately. "My brother was in Ravenclaw and he wound up being one of the only people in the history of Hogwarts who got thirteen out of fourteen OWLs. It's the house that prides in people with brains." She thought for a minute. "You've got a fair shot, you're the only one I know of that can throw a witty remark faster than I can."
"You think so?" Madison asked hopefully. By the time they got to the dock on the other side of the lake, Madison had learned that Alexis had gotten her letter while she was scuba-diving off the island of Crete on holiday with her brother Perry and his girlfriend, Gina, and she hadn't befriended many people their own age because of her academic strides, and of course, the fact that she was a witch.
As they trooped up the gigantic stone steps leading to the ancient wooden doors, Madison and Alexis held their breath, and waited for something similar to the squid rising up out of the water. The moleskin coat dragged behind them as they walked, and they saw many other first-years staring as they walked past, all of them careful not to tread on the hem.
Waiting in what looked to be an entrance hall, Alexis and Madison found a spot over by a painting of a very pale witch in violet. She smiled at them smugly, arms folded across her chest.
"D'you get the feeling that she knows something we don't?" Madison whispered behind her hand.
"Well," Alexis said thoughtfully, "She might. After all, she sees a lot of what goes on around the castle."
Footsteps sounded from the front, and both girls looked up in time to see an elderly witch dressed in forest green robes with bifocals perched primly upon the bridge of her nose. After speaking briefly with a student at the front, she said, "In a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you may take your seats you have to be Sorted into your Houses. Follow me."
One by one, they followed the woman, of whom Alexis had quickly concluded was the Deputy Headmistress Professor McGonagall, into an enormous cavern that held five long wooden tables, which were surrounded by students. After they all filed in, the doors swung shut on their own accord, and Professor McGonagall motioned for them to surround a three-legged stool. "Would all un-Sorted students gather round, please?"
As they obliged silently, she continued, "Now, when I call your name, sit upon the stool and I will place the Sorting hat on your head."
After what seemed like hours, Madison's name was called, along with a brief introduction of her part in the Will of the Wands treaty, and her stomach turned to ice. She was confident she wouldn't be in Slytherin, but what if she got Hufflepuff? Alexis had told her that they were the softest of the bunch- the average Joes.
She slowly made her way towards the stool, feeling very vulnerable and wondering what might happen when the hat spoke. After glancing at the woman, she slipped the hat on her head, and gripped the seat.
'Aah, who do we have here?'
"Who said that?" Madison thought wildly. Her eyes, though not seeing anything, glanced around the brim of the hat, as if expecting to see something.
''Twas I, the Sorting Hat! Now, my dear, what can we dig up about you? Hmmm...let me see...from the Untied States, I see...of course, t'would be because of the treaty...'
"Is this all you do? Talk to people inside their heads? Wait, hats can't talk! Oh, I get it now! Maddy, dear, you're going crazy!'
'I beg your pardon? You are most definitely not going crazy, as easy as that would be to cover up your misfortunes with...no...you seem to have a gift with words...not overly compassionate...'
"That's rig- HEY! Did you just call me mean?"
'I can see inside your mind, I know what you think. You've got a brilliant mind, and it would be a waste not to use that to your advantage. Well, then, if that's settled...Ravenclaw!'
Glad that it was over, Madison leapt off the stool and whooped, accidentally knocking over the stool in the process.
Why, oh why does it have to be me? Madison felt her face flush as she slunk back to Professor McGonagall, who was frowning. She attempted a sheepish smile, and to her surprise, the woman returned it with a thin-lipped smile of her own. Taking great pains not to run, Madison made her way to the Ravenclaw table, where she tried to avoid all conversations with the older students, especially the ones closest to her which, in her opinion, needed to stop talking about how their routine skin-peels went and pay attention.
One of the last people called, Alexis stepped up to the stool with a certain air of dignity that Madison admired and, to some extent, envied slightly. Madison held her breath, crossing her fingers under the table. When the hat's decision sounded seconds later, Madison thought she would faint with joy.
"RAVENCLAW!"
With a sigh of relief, Alexis scurried over to the empty seat beside Madison and gave her a high-five. After stuffing their faces with bits of every dish they could reach, the two found their hunger to be nonexistent and wondered where their dormitory was.
"I honestly don't know where the Ravenclaws sleep. My brother always talked about how the Gryffindors got a tower, and how the Slytherins got the to think of it, I wouldn't want the Slytherins anywhere but the dungeons!" Alexis wrinkled her nose as they followed the closest prefect, an Asian girl, to the doors.
"That seems to be a matter of opinion," came a cold voice behind them. Whirling around, Madison nearly died when she saw a man that looked as close to a vampire as she could imagine. One guess told her that this man was the head of Slytherin house, otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken. She was right.
"Let's see, as you are first years, and speaking about a rival house is unwise when you know nothing about the occupants, perhaps a week's worth of detentions with Mr. Filch and myself will teach you not to judge anything by what you hear," the man said silkily, baring horribly yellow teeth, which ended in unnatural points.
"And, for the record, who are you, sir?" Alexis, ever the brave one, spoke up. Instantly she knew she'd made a mistake, since the man drew his robes around himself and gave the distinct impression of a slightly overgrown bat ready to attack.
"I am Professor Snape, head of Slytherin house. While you remain at Hogwarts, you will address me as 'Professor' or 'Sir'. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," Madison replied immediately. Both she and Snape turned to Alexis, who narrowed her eyes at Snape before answering.
"Crystal."
"Both of you, get to your dormitory before I decide to take house points off as well," Snape spat, turning on his heel and disappearing down a narrow staircase.
Looking extremely pale, Madison turned to Alexis and said," Now what do we do? We don't know where to go!"
"I don't know, either," Alexis said slowly. "But if we don't want house points taken off we'd better go somewhere!"
By the time they trudged up the marble staircase in the entrance hall, all of the first years and prefects had vanished. Some of the older students were milling about, talking to one another, going to talk to teachers. Neither of the girls recognized any of the students, except for one of three headed out the door.
"He helped me onto the platform," whispered Madison. Alexis ceased her incessant chatter immediately and looked at her friend.
"Do you know who that is?" When Madison shook her head, she continued, "Maddy, that's Harry Potter!"
Oy. I feel like I'm going to throw up.
"You did know that, didn't you?" Alexis eyed her closely. "Maddy! How could you not know?!?"
"Well, had I known it was him, I wouldn't be here, because I wouldn't have asked him to help me get through the barrier!" Madison retorted. "Honestly, Lexi, how dumb do I look?" After realizing what she had just said, Madison shook her head. "Don't answer that."
"Oh, stop it! We've got to find our way to the dormitories before Snake or whatever his name is catches up with us," Alexis said.
"Snape, actually, and wouldn't it be easier to just yell, 'Hey, anybody know where the Ravenclaw dormitories are?'" Madison said, looking about.
"Are you two lost?" A girl with rather bushy brown hair and a badge emerged from a side corridor. "Would you like me to show you to the dormitories?"
"Oh, that would be great!" Alexis said happily.
"To Gryffindor tower, then," the girl replied.
"Wait, we're in Ravenclaw!"
"Oh," the girl said uncertainly. "I don't know where your dormitories are. I'm one of the Gryffindor prefects. But, I can find someone who does know." She pulled a plastic mirror from her pocket, and said sharply, "Cho Chang, please!"
A face appeared on the smooth side of the mirror, looking quite peeved. "Yes, Hermione?" Madison recognized her as the girl who was talking rather loudly about face-peels and skin lotions at the Sorting.
"There are two Ravenclaw first years standing in the second floor corridor with me," the girl called Hermione replied testily. "I don't suppose you even bothered to check your list and do a head count, in case anyone fell behind?"
The image scowled, and then at the mention of a head count had the good grace to blush furiously.
"I didn't think so," Hermione said. "I can assure you I will report this to Professor McGonagall, and you will most likely be given a warning. I can't believe you didn't check to make sure everyone was there with you! How many years have you been a prefect, anyway?"
"Longer than you have," Cho said. She wore a smirk as she continued, "At least I don't show off by doing extra to impress the teachers. Marching around during dinner, checking to make sure the first years had no trouble getting across the lake. Acting a bit like a mother hen, aren't we, Hermione?"
Before Hermione could answer, a boy turned the corner and said, "There you are, 'Mione. I was wondering where you'd gone off to."
"Aah, perhaps I should go then," Cho said. "Don't want to get in the way of you and your...erm, friend."
"Wait just a minute! Where do the first years go?" Hermione asked.
"Bring them to the library," Cho said, inspecting a slender fingernail. "I'll meet you there. Don't keep me waiting." She vanished abruptly, leaving Hermione to snarl in frustration.
"Ooh! That girl is so infuriating sometimes!" She said this mainly to the boy, who was also wearing a prefect badge and Gryffindor robes. "Oh, where are my manners? Girls, this is Ron Weasley."
"I'm Alexis VanCarte. Lexi, please."
"I'm Madison Reed. Maddy, actually. So, where's the library?"
"Don't ask me," Ron said seriously. "Ask Hermione, it's her second home here in Hogwarts, she hardly ever leaves." He ducked a playful slap from Hermione. "She's the smartest girl in the whole school. If you have any problems, look for her. I'm sure she'd be happy to help."
"I'm not that smart, Ron," Hermione mumbled. "But he's right, if you need help, look for me at the Gryffindor table. Goodness knows how much your own prefect would help."
Madison and Alexis looked at each other. "Well, she did seem kind of snippy," Alexis said thoughtfully. "What's her problem with you, anyway?"
"If it's not our place to ask, don't answer," Madison added hurriedly.
"Well, she and our friend Harry-"
"-Harry Potter, sure you've heard of him," interrupted Ron.
"Thank you, Ron. Anyway, she and our friend Harry had a bit of an awkward relationship a while ago. It's rather complicated, but I'll try to explain. Two years ago, during our fourth year, there was something called the Triwizard Torunament going on. Harry'd always had a crush on her, and asked her to the Yule Ball, and found out that she was going with the other champion from Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory. At the end of that year, V-v-" she took a deep breath, "Voldemort came back, and he killed Cedric."
Madison gasped, and Alexis clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Anyway, last year, Cho started being a little friendlier towards Harry, and during a meeting of...of a club they were both in, she kissed him underneath some mistletoe and then cried all over him. It was a bit awkward, especially for him. He wound up taking her to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day, and he said something about meeting us after they had split up, and she got angry at him." Hermione smiled smugly. "I suppose she still thinks he was going out with me after, she's a bit of the jealous type."
"Besides, if Hermione were going out with my best mate I'd have to shoot myself," Ron added. "Mind you, I thought she fancied him at the end of the year, and that wasn't exactly a bowl of roses...that's what the saying is, right?"
"I think you've confused 'a bowl of cherries' and 'a bunch of roses'," Hermione said, giggling.
"Well, the important thing is they got the point," Ron said. "Hey, here's the library. 'Mione, why don't you show them your chair?"
"You have a chair?" Madison asked incredulously.
"No," Hermione said, still laughing.
"She might as well have, she spends so much time in here," Ron said with a lopsided grin. "I hope since now I'm her boyfriend she doesn't think I'll be spending as much time in here," he added in a stage whisper.
They had stepped into the musty old room by then, and Hermione was giving a running commentary of what normally happened there. "Over there is where Madam Pince...oh, hello, Professor," she said. An abnormally small man had appeared from the left, of which the cracked sign that read 'Charms' hung from the ceiling.
"Hello, Hermione! Looking forward to Honours Charms, I presume?" The wizard spoke in a squeaky voice that reminded Madison of a toy that had been wound too tightly.
"Oh, yes! I did that essay that you wanted me to, Professor, but I may-"
"-Have gone over the required length. You don't think that will be a problem, do you?" recited Ron. Madison giggled. "Honestly, I don't think her essays have ever been of the required length." He sighed. "Of course she'd make it to Honours Charms. Harry and I got to Advanced Charms, I thought that'd be good enough. Far cry from the standard classes." He ran a large hand through his red hair and waited until Hermione had finished.
"I wonder where Cho is," said Hermione, checking her watch for the second time in five minutes.
"She'll be here, it's only been ten minutes," Ron said soothingly. Alexis and Madison exchanged looks. How are we ever going to get to the dormitories?
"Don't you have that mirror thing?" asked Alexis.
"That's right! Oh, thank you!" Hermione began rummaging in her pockets until she found the cracked pink plastic sphere. "Cho Chang, please!" Once again, Cho's face appeared, this time contorted into what resembled a look of exhaustion.
"Sorry, Hermione," she panted. "A third year got sick and we've been cleaning it up. Seems like she swallowed one of Fred and George's trick candies by mistake at dinner and didn't eat the part the purple end was concealed in. I'm on my way."
"Is she all right?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"She's fine. The kid who put the candy in her food in the first place was her brother, and he gave her the purple end of another candy. I'm near the third floor corridor now," Cho said breathlessly.
"I'm so sorry, Cho, about what I said to you earlier," Hermione began. The image of Cho waved a perfectly manicured hand at her.
"No problem. You were mostly right, anyway. I always forget about the first-years. Marietta has to remind me most of the time."
"Okay. See you in a few minutes."
"Yeah. Should be there in five minutes. Tell the two girls that I'm really sorry. They must be scared stiff; I remember when I was a first year, I got lost and I wound up sleeping in the Great Hall until Professor Flitwick found me." Her face faded, and Hermione pocketed the mirror again.
"Handy little buggers, aren't they?" Ron said lightly. Avoiding Hermione's reprimanding glare, he gestured to the dusty armchairs nearby. "Have a seat."
"Fred and George," Alexis said, twirling a strand of her long red hair between her fingers. "Was she referring to Fred and George Weasley? The ones who have the joke shop in Diagon Alley?"
"Yeah," said Ron, turning red.
"They're brilliant, don't you think? I wonder what it would be like to spend time around them. Wonder if they'd walk around, dropping pranks like someone would drop Dungbombs around their mother," Alexis continued.
"They would," Ron replied immediately. Alexis stared at him.
"How do you know? Did you know them from school? They went here, didn't they?"
"Actually, they're my older brothers," Ron said, putting his feet up on the coffeetable.
"Really?" Alexis asked interestedly.
"Yeah," spoke up Hermione. "They tease me all the time because I'm somewhat like their older brother, Percy."
"Now wait just a minute," Ron said shortly, putting his hands up to form a T, for time-out. "You, nor anybody in this entire school, except for Malfoy and Parkinson and maybe Snape, are not anything like that prat. Yes, he may have gotten twelve OWLs, and he may have been Head Boy, but he's a damn fool, and that is exactly what you aren't, 'Mione."
"I take it that Percy's the guy who supported that madwoman who was running the school last year?" Madison said, feeling slightly put out that she had almost no idea who they were talking about.
"Yes," replied Ron testily. "Umbridge's what her name was. Foul, conniving-"
"RON!" Hermione chided. "Yes, I know she was horrible, but she's out of the picture now."
"She set the dementors on Harry over the summer last year," Ron continued. Alexis gasped, and Madison raised her eyebrows.
"I heard about that! My father's friends with Dumbledore. He's part of the-um..the..." Alexis trailed off, blushing pink.
"It's okay, we know what you're talking about," Hermione reassured her. Alexis nodded.
"Who's your dad?" Ron asked interestedly.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt," replied Alexis, without skipping a beat. When she saw that Ron was about to ask another question, she continued, "I'm adopted. He and my mum are divorced, and I took Mum's name."
"Oh," said Ron.
"Madison, are you all right?" Hermione asked suddenly. Madison wanted to take out her brand-new wand, point it in the middle of her face, and reply, 'No, I'm not! I have absolutely no clue what and who you're talking about! I'm from the United States! Nothing you know about happens over there!' She settled for nodding her head.
"Well, you're awfully quiet," pressed Hermione. "Are you sure everything's okay?"
"Yup," Madison replied. As an afterthought, she added, "I'm from New York, so I dunno what you're going on about."
"OH!" A look of sudden realization appeared on Hermione's face. "That's right! I'm sorry! How does it feel to be someone from a different country at a school with all British people?"
"It's a little different," Madison replied truthfully, grateful that Hermione had such an understanding personality. "The people are much nicer here, though."
"Are you sure?" laughed Ron. "'Cause, last time I checked, Malfoy and his gang of goons weren't high up on that list. Hell, I don't think they're fifty feet from the list."
"Seriously? The people in New York only care about themselves. They're always yelling at each other and doing horrible things," Madison said. "The night before I left for England with my mom and my brother and sister, three major stores were robbed, and six people were murdered." Hermione, Ron, and Alexis shuddered. Madison continued, "That's on the mainland, though. I live on Coney Island. That's out in New York Harbor."
"Yes, I know where it is," Hermione said, folding her hands in her lap. "I've been on holiday there twice. Do you have to take a ferry over?"
"Yeah. It's pretty cool, actually. Mom usually never lets us out of her sight, but I get to go on the ferry alone if she knows that I'll be catching the so-and-so ferry back." She stopped abruptly, then mumbled something along the lines of, "It may not sound like a big deal to you, but it is to me."
The rusted hinges on the door to the library squeaked then, signaling the arrival of Cho, whose normally sleek and perfect hair was plastered across her forehead. "I...am...so sorry," she panted. Her robes were in such a state of disarray that Hermione got the impression that she ran all the way.
"Did you run here?" Ron asked, looking over Hermione's shoulder at Cho.
"Yeah," Cho said. Struggling to keep her eyes from boring holes into his freckled face, she looked around and said, "Where are the first years?" Madison and Alexis got up and greeted her. "Okay, thanks, Hermione. Ron," Cho said, nodding to both of them.
"Thanks," Alexis said.
"If you need anything, don't forget what I said before," Hermione reminded them.
"Yeah, thanks," Madison said, shaking Ron's hand. "Bye!"
"Come on, let's go," Cho said impatiently by the door. "Come on, if you two don't hurry we'll be 'out of bed after hours'."
After they were well away from the library, Cho led Alexis and Madison through a labyrinth of passages, hallways, and staircases. As they passed the Owlery, Cho stopped and said, "This is where you can find your owl or the school owls if there's post you need to send. Mail arrives in the morning." They took a left turn from there, and then three right turns that led them to a corridor in the West Wing of the castle that was decorated with stained glass windows that arched and paintings of famous women in history.
"Cleopatra, Cassandra of Troy, Helen of Sparta, Jeanne d'Arc, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, Eleanor of Aquitaine-" Madison read under her breath as they passed the numerous paintings. "-Queen Isabel, Rowena Ravenclaw..."
The painting of Rowena Ravenclaw was, by far, the most eye-catching of them all. It showed a woman in her late twenties with a short blue dress with a matching cloak trimmed with gold. There was an enormous black raven perched on her shoulder, carrying what looked to be the woman's wand in its beak. Her hair, which was long and curly, almost matched the feathers of the bird. Behind her, the lake that was outside the nearest window sparkled with the colors of an autumn sunset.
"Here we are," Cho announced. Alexis and Madison looked at her expectantly. She looked back and forth between the two and said, "The password for this week is 'crescendo'." As she said the word, the painting of their house founder began to sink into the stone floor.
Alexis stepped back immediately, not knowing what might happen. Madison, however, stepped forward, and saw a flight of stairs leading downwards.
"Come on," Cho said, tapping her foot. Obediently, Alexis scurried down the stairs and found two wings, one leading to the left, one leading to the right. "Make for the right one, then turn one hundred and twenty degrees," Cho called from the back. Alexis did as she was instructed, and led the trio down another short corridor, which led to-
"The common room," Cho said, waving her hand. It really was a spectacular sight- there were two fireplaces, each surrounded by plush armchairs made of the finest leather. All around, there were shelves upon shelves of books. Madison craned her head to look above the archway they had come through. There seemed to be four levels total, each holding bookcases upon bookcases and convenient study tables. "C'mere," Cho said, leading them to an old ladder that looked like (and probably was) held together by magic.
"The bottom floor is for first and second years. This floor is for the third and fourth years," Cho said. She led them to the other side of the balcony, and up another ladder. "This is for fifth and sixth years." Around to the opposite side again, and up another ladder. "And the seventh years," Cho said proudly.
The top level was by far the most interesting of the three, with many wizarding games and references, such as models of the first Quaffle, dated 1274; an autographed picture of the famous musician Amadeus Mozart with the headmaster of Hogwarts at the time, a woman by the name of Elaine Generis; and an authentic map showing the floor plans for Hogwarts, which was dated more than a thousand years ago. The tables were small and low to the ground, giving off an almost Asian feel, because of the lack of armchairs. Instead, there were silk pillows in the house colors.
"I like this level," Madison said finally.
"Yeah, well, you don't get to come up here until you graduate. You get the ground floor," Cho teased. "Down you go."
Long after the moon had finally risen and the stars took their places in the dark sky, Madison and Alexis finally retired to their dormitory, which was bedecked in the Ravenclaw colors, moved their beds closer for late-night whispering, and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
A/N: Well. Well what? For all of you who wondered what Ravenclaw people operated with, now you have a picture. Somewhat. It may not align with J.K.'s feelings, but this is ours, not hers. We're only borrowing the characters and such that have made her wealthy. Yeah, slight problem there, us not owning anything but where the Ravenclaw commons are. Pathetic, eh? Eh? What are you, Canadian? (No offense to the maple leaf-bearing people out there) Well, we're American and we're writing a fic centering around Brits, so why can't we use other regional terminology? Ya have a point there. As always. Whatever. Aren't you going to tell them? Tell them what? (Dufoli raises eyebrows at very confused Siaryst) OH! Okay, gotcha! Well? Hold your britches, I'm getting there. When we began writing this fic, we had hoped that AmberVoice would be a regular participant in the madness. However , she is very busy, and will probably be joining us once in a while and to make guest appearances. So, with that in mind, Dufoli and I will try our best to write Millie, the character she created, the best we know how to do, seeing how there isn't much point in introducing such a character like Millie and not using her after two segments. Kapeish? I think they get it. Don't forget to review! The fate of the direction of this very story lies in your hands! Are you feeling okay? No, I'm not. That explains it. -The new maniacs responsible for such madness, Siaryst & Dufoli
