Chapter One: Secret Door
"Ebony, get up, we're going to be late!"
Groggily, I opened my eyes. My best friend, Willow, was standing in front of my bed with her hands resting on her hips. Her perfect hips. Everything about way perfect, from her silky black hair to her forest-green eyes to her model-esque figure.
I didn't feel like getting up. I had slept well over ten hours and still felt unrested. All I wanted was to turn around and continue sleeping, preferably forever.
"Come on, I really want to eat some breakfast before we have to endure double potions with the Gryffindors!"
Sighing, I rolled out of bed, grabbed my things and stumbled into the bathroom. I took a hesitant look in the mirror. A pale girl with long, black hair and icy blue eyes was looking back at me. I was wearing a baggy sweatshirt for my pajamas to hide the scars on my arms, and what little curves I had. I quickly looked away from the mirror and began to change into my school uniform. I hated how it took away all the individuality from a person. Makeup was the only thing I could use to make myself look a little less like everyone else. Dark eyeshadow, subtle red lipstick. All to a reasonable extend, of course. Otherwise I'd get dress coded, and most teachers didn't like me already.
"Hurry up!", Willow called out to me.
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, stepping out of the bathroom, "Let's go."
We didn't talk on our way to the Great Hall. I was lost in thought about my plans for the day. Or rather, the plan for today. So lost in thought, in fact, that I didn't notice Draco Malfoy until I was quite literally standing inside of him.
"Watch where you're going!", he spat.
"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered.
He considered me for a while. His storm grey eyes travelled down my face, my body. I wish I could say it made me uncomfortable, but being checked out by Draco Malfoy was quite the accomplishment.
He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Willow grabbing me by the arm and dragging me away.
"I'm hungry," she hissed.
"We were having a moment back there," I murmured.
Willow sighed.
"You're hopeless."
I felt myself blushing. My crush on this guy was getting a bit ridiculous. Not like I had a chance, anyway.
Once in the Great Hall, Willow vacuumed up her breakfast, while I had my quill and a piece of parchment in front of me. Now, how was I going to start this?
"If you can ready this, it means we have something in common," I wrote.
I paused. Now what? I was going to put a spell on this letter, so only those who it applied to could read it. But should I really just say straight up what this was about? Or should I keep it subtle?
"You're probably sad a lot. Have you ever wondered why there's no school consular at Hogwarts? I have. So, I'm starting a support group for students struggling with depression and the like. Don't worry, no one will come who isn't invited. 'Normals' can't read this message."
I lifted the quill to my lips. This wasn't perfect, but did it have to be?
"This will be a judgement-free zone. No matter your house or blood-status, you're welcome here. We're all in the same boat here."
Now, all that was left to do was to tell them where and when the first meeting would be.
"Have you ever just needed a room where you could breathe? Then you're probably familiar with the room of requirement. That's where our first meeting will be. 5 PM. You're not alone."
Willow leaned over to me and took a quick look at what I'd written.
"Looks good," she smiled, "I'm proud of you."
I gave her a thankful smile. Without Willow, I would never have had the courage to do this. Though the idea had been floating around my head for about two years, I never could gather myself up to actually do it.
After finishing my cereal, I took out my wand, pointed it at the piece of parchment and muttered a spell that I had practiced way too much. I didn't want anyone who wasn't meant to read this to find it. Right before we went downstairs for potions, I made a quick stop at the school board, where I pinned my letter in the bottom left corner.
"Done," I muttered.
The school day dragged on. No matter what subject I had that day, I couldn't pay attention. In my mind, I was already at the meeting this afternoon. Who would come? The only person I knew would be there was Willow.
Part of me was hoping Draco Malfoy would come. He'd seemed kind of out of it lately. Just… not himself. That mystery surrounding him only made him more attractive to me. But would he really come to a support group meeting? He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would admit to having problems. But maybe, just maybe, knowing that no one who wasn't supposed to be there would come might make him more inclined to accept help. His parents sure as hell wouldn't help him, that much I knew about the Malfoy family.
After class, Willow and I were sitting in the common room, waiting for the time to pass until 5 PM.
"What if no one comes?", I asked, keeping my voice low.
"Then you and I are just going to have a good time and a few drinks by ourselves," Willow smiled, "But I'm sure people will come. Who doesn't need someone to talk nowadays?"
I watched the big clock above the fireplace tick on.
"Meeting starts in half an hour. You wanna get there a bit early and prepare?", Willow asked.
I just nodded. My stomach was filled to the brim with butterflies, that's how nervous I was. Or maybe moths. Yeah, moths.
My head was spinning the entire way to the seventh floor.
Ah, yes, the room of requirement. First time I met it, I had a panic attack in class. I ran outside to avoid having a full-blown meltdown in front of everyone, and just ran and ran about the castle until suddenly, a door opened before me. A door I had never noticed before.
I went inside, and there was a big, lit fireplace, in front of it stood a cozy sofa with an equally cozy blanket on it. Shaking, I sat down on the sofa, cuddled up in the blanket and cried until I felt better.
Entering the room of requirement the day of the meeting showed us a similar picture. A big fireplace in the back of the room, but instead of a sofa, there was a circle of chairs in the middle of the room. Twenty-two of them, to be exact.
"Do you think the room knows how many people will come?", I asked Willow.
She shrugged.
"Probably."
"I wonder what else this room knows," I muttered.
In the middle of the chair circle sat a big, round coffee table. It had a bowl with cookies on it, as well as two carafes, one filled with pumpkin juice and one with water. Willow set down her bag and pulled out three large bottles. Two butterbeer bottles, and one with mead. We weren't sure how many people would be allowed to drink, but then again, don't most people need a drink every once in a while?
I looked around. The chairs came in four different colors. Six were green. Seven were blue. Another five were red and the rest was yellow. I wondered if this meant that there would be six Slytherins, seven Ravenclaws, five Gryffindors and four Hufflepuffs.
Willow and I both sat down on one of the green chairs. And then we waited.
The door opened for the first time at exactly five. A young Hufflepuff entered the room.
"Welcome," I smiled.
From then on, people came in constantly. A few I knew by name, a few I had never seen before. At 5:09, Draco Malfoy entered the room. He said nothing, didn't look at anyone, just sat down. My heart did a little jump.
Now, we only had two seats left. Two red ones. We waited another ten minutes, but no one else came. Maybe the room was wrong after all.
I got up to open the meeting, when the door opened one last time. To my great surprise, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger entered the room.
"The fuck," Willow whispered.
"Shh!", I made.
I lifted my head to look at them. Granger grabbed Potter by the wrist and sat down.
"Potter?!"
That was Draco's voice. He stared at the two of them in disbelief.
"Malfoy?!"
Potter was staring right back.
"What on earth is the 'Golden Boy' doing here?!", Draco hissed.
"And you? My mommy and daddy shove everything I could ever want up my ass-Malfoy?!"
"Okay, let's all calm down, this is a judgement-free zone…", I said, "Why don't we all just tell each other what brings us here today?"
"No," Draco said, "They have no right to know why I… I'm…"
"Struggling?", I asked carefully.
Potter scoffed.
"Struggling with what?"
"My father went to Azkaban!", Draco called out, getting up from his chair.
"Rightfully so, he was a bloody death eater!", Potter spat.
His friend, Granger, was staring at her feet, not saying anything. Carefully, I stepped between the two of them, trying to stop them from jumping on each other.
"We all have a story to share, I'm sure," I said, "Sit down and we'll see-"
"No, you know what? Screw this!", Draco yelled.
He stomped out the door.
"Willow, you do this meeting. I'll-"
"Got ya. Go!", Willow smiled.
She got up to greet our guests while I ran after Draco.