Overlooking the Astronomy Tower was a full, yellow moon. Echo leaned gently against the railing, staring deep into the navy sky. A fog clung stickily to the air, causing the areas engulfed in flame to become hazy and distorted. A slight breeze ruffled Echo's hair, which was its usual silver-stern black color. It was after dark, and all students were supposed to be in their beds, but being the rebel that she was, Echo did not abide by that rule tonight. The stars glowed more vibrant tonight than any other night. The yellow moon stared her in the face. The giant revolving orb in the sky seemed only inches away from Echo's freckled nose, and for some reason this made her very pensive. She thought about how somewhere, right now, the Dark Lord was plotting his chase on Harry Potter; how somewhere, right now, Remus Lupin was fighting off his furry little problem; how somewhere, right now, was Fred Weasley, probably cracking jokes with his brother and laughing, without her.
Echo blinked hard. Involuntarily these tears had welled up in her sockets. The night breeze made her break out In goose bumps, and suddenly her heart dropped. It was then she realized that she wanted Fred's loving arms around her as they star gazed. She wanted Fred's reassuring words that everything will be okay, and no one would get hurt in the war, even though she knew both of those things were untrue. She wanted to join in the joy and laughter with him and the rest of the family. She wanted to crouch on the squeaky upstairs floorboards with extendable ears and eavesdrop on conversations. But these things were far away now. A tear trickled down her face as she moved her eyes to gaze over the outlined tops of the Hogwarts towers. The world shrouded in a black shadow, all except the moon and the stars.
Echo slumped now on the railing, gripping so tight that her knuckles were white. She gritted her teeth hard, and hissed behind them. "Please, be alive. Be okay." She thought of that Golden Trio she loved so much. She wondered how life was for them. Where were they now? Buried in ice and snow, lost and confused in the forest. Were they even alive? Of course they were. If Harry Potter was dead, the whole world would know of it. What about Ron? What about Hermione? No, they were fine. They had to be. Hermione was the brightest witch of her age, and surely she could pull Roonil Wazlib out of one of his concoctions.
What about her parents? It was mid-November now, and neither Clifford nor Wilhelmina Trenton written their daughter. She hadn't written them either, but she still expected something from the parental units in the owl post. Tomorrow she would write them. She would tell them that she was extra studious in her classes. She would tell them what it was like having Severus Snape as headmaster, and how it was very strange not to walk into the great hall and not see Albus Dumbledore humming to himself at his podium. She would write them about the friends she had here, how their friendships had grown stronger, and how they were preparing themselves for the worst. She would tell them of her Hogsmeade visit last Wednesday and how Neville had gotten sick from eating too many licorice wands. She would leave out the part where she cursed Crabbe and Goyle to where they hung from their toes behind the Hog's Head though. She would close the letter saying she would write soon, where in truth, she didn't know when she would write them again.
The drapery ruffled as the breeze picked up. Echo thought about going back to her four poster bed, snuggling under her aubergine colored quilts, and entering a well-needed slumber, but instead, she sat down on the cold stone and buried her face in her hands. She cried. It was a long and hard cry, but she had felt so close to her new friends, but so far from the old ones. She hated how uncertain she was about everything in her life. Would tomorrow come? Sure it would. Would it be the same as today? No, it wouldn't. Would it be for better or worse? Nobody knows. Echo wish someone knew. When she would have these deep, psychological questions, she wasn't afraid to sneak out of the portrait hole and wake up her headmaster to talk about these things with. It was very different with Snape. Everyone was posture perfect with him around, and it seemed only the Slytherins remains in the Dungeons.
From inside her room, she heard Silkwings rattle in her cage. Echo got up, pushed past the curtains, and unlocked the brass cage and let her Barn Owl free. Silkwings stretched out far, shaking her feathers, and climbed onto Echo's shoulder, nuzzling her cheek. Barefoot, Echo treaded back outside to the railing and let Silkwings fly free for a bit.
"Must get crampy being stuck in a cage all day," Echo softly said. That's exactly how she felt. So prepared to fight, so prepared to let loose and go at it, but here she was, trapped in her own world. Like her owl, Echo was going to spread her wings and fly. She knew where she was headed to for Christmas holiday. She was going to pay the Order of the Phoenix a visit.