Darkness.

The Devil's Snare, trapping me in its iron grip. I can't move, can't breathe. I can't even see.

No help is coming. No help came before, and none will come now that the Devil's Snare has silenced my screams.

But then- impossible. No. I must be imagining it.

The door opens, and light, wonderful light, floods in. I squint at the doorway, trying to make out the figure silhouetted in the door. Caleb?

"Incendio!" It is Caleb!

Flames appear at the end of Caleb's wand, forcing the Devil's Snare to retreat. A few tendrils are scorched by the fire.

I stand, tugging myself free from the dead vines. "How did you know that I was in here?"

"I got a letter telling me to come," Caleb says, holding out a piece of parchment that has a map drawn on it. "I don't know who sent it."

The maps don't look like they were drawn by the same person. Of course, the one I received is still buried in the Devil's Snare, so I can't compare them.

I look down, realizing that my robes are completely shredded. I'll have to change when we get back to the Ravenclaw common room.

As if sensing my thoughts, Caleb starts walking faster. "You get changed into new robes. I'll tell your friend what happened."

I nod and hurry upstairs, hoping that my dormitory will be empty.

Unfortunately, it isn't. I spot Alana perched on her bed, staring at the window.

Alana turns. "What happened to you?" she says, her eyes widening when she sees my robes.

"I got caught in Devil's Snare. Merula tricked me into going in," I say. I change the subject. "How's your ankle?"

"Better," Alana says. "It still hurts a little, but Madam Pomfrey says that it'll stop hurting in a few days."

"I have to get changed," I say, digging a fresh robe from my trunk.

It only takes me a minute to get changed, but when I return, Rowan has joined Alana.

"Caleb Green told me what Merula did." Rowan's eyes are filled with anger, matching the tone of her voice. "We have to do something."

"Rowan's right," Alana agrees. "We can't let her get away with this, Celena."

I nod in agreement. "We can't," I say, "Let's talk to Ben. Merula bullies him, too, and he's really good at Charms."

"Does anyone know where he is?" Alana asks.

"No." Rowan shakes her head.

"I'll talk to him during breakfast tomorrow," I say.

The Room of Requirement.

That's where Ben said he likes to hide from Merula. He said that an older student taught him how to enter it, although he couldn't say who, or even what house they were in.

Unsurprisingly, he's too afraid to duel Merula himself, or even try a couple of the dueling spells. I barely even managed to talk him into watching Rowan, Alana, and I practice.

The four of us gather at the entrance to the Room of Requirement. Ben is nervous, twitching and looking down at the ground. Alana looks around grimly, as if she's expecting an attack. Rowan just looks excited to learn more spells. As for me? I'm almost as nervous as Ben. Ben is the best at Charms in our group, but he's far too nervous to confront Merula. Alana and I are equally skilled, but Merula has been more antagonistic towards me, which means I'll almost certainly be the one to duel her, and face the consequences.

We pace back and forth. We need somewhere where we can learn how to duel, I think.

On the third pass, a door appears in the wall. The rest of us follow Rowan in.

We find ourselves in a spacious room lined with bookshelves. The floor is carpeted, and there are pillows strewn around the room. Presumably, they're to cushion us if we fall. On top of the bookshelves are various devices that I don't recognize.

Rowan pulls a book off of one of the shelves and sits cross-legged on the floor with the open book in her lap. She flips through in search of a good starting spell. Alana and I peer over her shoulders. Ben is fascinated by a dark stain on the carpet nearby. I try not to think about what could have made it.

"Here!" Rowan says suddenly. She stops turning pages and points at a heading.

"Rictusempra," I read. "The Tickling Charm."

"It's simple, and it'll be embarrassing for Merula to have a laughing fit in front of loads of people!" Rowan says excitedly.

Alana gets to her feet. "Let's try it, Celena!"

I stand as well, facing her and raising my wand. Rowan demonstrates the wand movement for us. Ben seems to have gotten over his nervousness and examines the textbook. He offers some minor corrections, and then we're ready to begin.

"Rictusempra!" Alana shouts. A jet of silver light shoots from the end of her wand, hitting me in the stomach.

I double over, laughing uncontrollably. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Tears run down my cheeks. My breaths come in gasps between laughs, forming a stitch in my side. I start to understand how this spell could be terrifying if it wasn't removed quickly.

Rowan finds a counterspell, and my laughter stops. I stand up straight and raise my wand. "Your turn, Celena," Rowan says with a grin.

I point my wand at Alana. "Rictusempra!"

Rowan turns to watch as Alana falls into the same laughing fit. I grin wickedly and aim my wand between Rowan's shoulder blades. "Rictusempra!"

"Hey!" Rowan shrieks before dissolving into giggles.

"Rictusempra!" I say a third time, hitting Ben with a jet of silver light. Too late, I worry that I shouldn't have. What if the spell still makes him nervous?

I don't have time to think about it any more, because Alana collects herself enough to hit me with another Rictusempra, and I join the other three in a giggling mess.

We decide to learn one more spell that day. Rowan selects the Disarming Charm, Expelliarmus, which the dueling book calls "a dueler's most essential spell".

Ben decides to give it a try, so we pair up, him and Rowan, me and Alana.

"Expelliarmus!" Alana shouts.

My wand jerks free of my hand. I make a grab for it, understanding what makes Expelliarmus such a good spell. Succeed, and your opponent is helpless to prevent your next attack. Fail, and they're still left vulnerable for a few precious seconds.

"Good j- Expelliarmus!" Alana is caught by surprise and drops her wand. While she scrambles to pick it up, I hit her with Rictusempra.

"Nice combo," Alana says, still catching her breath after another bout of laughter. "You're ready for the duel- if you duel her." She pauses for a second. "I figured whoever she comes after next would be the one to duel her."

"That seems fair," I say. "Think you're ready?"

Alana shrugs. "How good can Merula be? She hasn't practiced like us." But I hear the slight waver in her voice. She's more nervous than she's willing to admit.

"You guys good?" Rowan's voice interrupts us.

"I think so. You?" Alana looks at me for confirmation and I nod.

"We're done too," Rowan says. "Should we go back to our common rooms?"

Rowan and Alana leave to return to Ravenclaw. Ben walks towards the Gryffindor tower. I follow him.

"Good job today," I say.

"No one's scared of laughter, Celena," Ben says. His voice is sharp. He looks straight ahead, avoiding my eyes.

"I didn't say you-"

"That's why you were congratulating me, isn't it? Because I wasn't afraid. Do you think even I'm afraid of literally everything?" Even with his head turned away, I can tell that he's crying.

"No! I just wanted to say that you did really well with the spells, and- and-" I'm lying, and it's clear as glass. I feel ashamed. Ben is right. He's not a little kid, needing to be congratulated every time he does something right.

Ben turns. I was right. He's crying. "That's the real problem. I'm the best at Charms. I should face Merula," he says. "But I'm too afraid. You've done nothing but help me and now I can't return the favor. I can't stand up for myself, can't defend my friends. I'm useless and a coward."

"Each of us has our own weaknesses, and our strengths," I assure him. "This isn't the time for your talents, but your time will come. And when it does, you'll be ready."

It's what any good friend would say, but something tells me it's more than that. Something tells that Ben's moment will come, and when it does...

I'll be glad I saw it.