Aileen woke from her dream drenched in a cool sweat. It was the same every night. Derived from the cruel memory from long ago, it always started with nothing, then turned into the image of her running down an endless hall. She kept running and running and it never seemed to end until she was suddenly pinned to the wall with a knife to her throat, at which point she woke up.
Shaking her head, Aileen flopped back onto her bed and fell asleep.
In the morning, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ed sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.
"What classes did you sign up for, Harry?" Ron asked, biting into a piece of toast.
"The usual. I'd actually rather not take Divination or Potions, but it's the only way I'll be 'well-rounded' when I graduate."
"Well it's true. If you take those classes, it will appeal to people who you might want to work for more than if—"
"Hey, guys?"
"Yeah, Ed?"
"Aren't we supposed to be in Transfiguration right now?"
Aileen was surprised at how well-behaved her classes were. It seemed that once they found out about how she didn't move her lips when she talked, they quieted down and actually paid attention. Even the seventh years did.
As the class filed out, she turned to the window, where she saw it was raining.
Sitting on the window seat in the far corner of the room, she thought of how the rain brought back so many memories.
A cough came from the doorway, shattering the silence and Aileen's memories.
She quickly stood up and turned around. Walking in were the four she had met on the train.
"Oh, I'm sorry…I was daydreaming again…Please take a seat and I'll start as soon as everyone gets here."
Soon the room was full, and Aileen took her place at the front of the room.
"Please be quiet now. It's time to start."
Everyone looked around. The voice didn't seem to come from the front of the room—it was everywhere, almost as if it wasn't her speaking at all.
Aileen laughed. Again, the students looked at her. Her face was frozen in an unemotional look, like she didn't want to be where she was.
"Yes, it's true. If you haven't noticed already, I do not speak using my voice. I have it in my mind and speak through there. If you have a problem with it or me in general you may take it to the Headmaster."
The room was silent.
"Very good. As you may have seen last night, I did mention that you have all been missing out on the studies of other Dark Arts. One should not focus on merely their own world, as something may happen that is unexpected."
"I swear I've seen her before. She looks so familiar," Ed whispered to himself. "I just don't know where."
"Now, can anyone tell me what a homunculus is?"
Ed's head snapped up. What kind of "dark magic" was she going to be teaching them? How to create a homunculus? He frowned and scribbled something down on a piece of parchment.
"Yes, Hermione?"
"Professor, you should actually be calling us by our surnames. And a homunculus is defined as a falsely-made human created by alchemy."
Aileen winced at her explanation. "Not exactly. And I'll call you however I want. I'm younger than you. I shouldn't be calling you by your surnames."
More murmurs went around the classroom. Younger than them?
"Settle down, class. Homunculi are fascinating creatures. They're more than just a falsely-made human—as you so bluntly put it, Hermione. Homunculi are people, like you and me, but—Yes, Edward?"
"Homunculi are evil. Their single purpose is to find the Philosopher's Stone. And mine, too," he said, mumbling the last part.
"But Harry destroyed the stone four years ago!" Hermione said.
"WHAT!" Both Aileen and Ed cried the same thing at the same time. For the rest of the day, neither was in a good mood.
"It's gone…" Aileen whispered after everyone left. "I came here for one thing, and it's gone…"
:sigh: not much of a chapter, but it'll have to do.