Finally, they reached a portrait of a large lady in a pink dress. One of the oldest kids, a prefect, turned to face the large group of first years and said, "The password to the portrait hole is treacle tarts."
The portrait door swung open and all the first years clamored through the hole that was concealed behind the portrait of the Fat Lady. Once Albus had gone through the portrait hole he looked around at the common room. It was a large room with lots of over stuffed red arm chairs and sofas, all semi-circled around a roaring fire in the fire place. At the edges of the room were small, unobtrusive desks that could be used for studying.
When Albus was done looking around the room he turned his attention back to the prefect that told them the password. The prefect directed the boys and girls to the correct dormitories. Albus said good night tiredly to Rose and Clara and shuffled slowly in the direction of the stairs leading up to the beds. He dragged his feet up the stairs and made his way to where his trunk was placed next to a bed. He flopped lethargically down onto the bed and fell in to a deep sleep without even bothering to change.
When he woke up the next morning Albus looked out the window next to his bed. The sunlight made the grass glisten, and the trees of the Forbidden Forest looked almost formidable because of the way the sun caught the leaves. He turned his back to the window and got dressed quickly. He hurried down stairs and was surprised to see Rose and Clara waiting for him.
"Did you sleep well?" asked Clara.
"Yeah, I did," Albus said. He looked at her face curiously,. There were deep shadows under her eyes and she looked dead on her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked. "You look worn out."
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she assured him.
Albus left it alone, but he felt like there was something that she was not telling him. Clara walked ahead and Albus turned to Rose with a questioning look, but she just shrugged and whispered, "Don't worry she won't tell me either." Albus and Rose climbed out of the portrait hole and rushed to catch up with Clara. "Well, I hope you'll feel better," said Albus softly.
Clara smiled grimly. "Thanks, Albus. Sorry I was such a grump."
"It's okay," said Albus. They reached the great hall and walked through the open doors. Albus's breath was once againl taken away as he glanced at the ceiling in awe. The ceiling was now a cloudless blue sky. Albus, Clara, and Rose walked over and sat down. They talked while they ate their breakfast.
"So what do you have first?" Rose asked Albus.
"Um, I have Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and then Potions," said Albus, "What do you have?"
"Same as you," said Rose, "I wonder what Clara has." They both turned to Clara to see what she had, but she remained silent and staring into space. "Clara?" Rose shook Clara's arm, "Clara, snap out of it!" Clara shuddered and inhaled with a hiss.
"Sorry, what did you say?" Clara asked dazedly.
"Never mind," said Rose, she turned to Albus and whispered "What's wrong with her? Should we tell someone?"
"No," Albus said, "Maybe she'll be better tomorrow."
"Okay," said Rose, "But we'll only wait one more day to tell someone."
Albus, Rose, and Clara finished breakfast and started their walk to class. They walked slowly out of the hall into the swirling mass of students amd weaved their way to one of the many staircases. They started the long ascent up the staircase. Suddenly the staircase jerked away from the landing above. Albus and Rose reacted quickly, grabbing on to the railing. Clara, on the other hand, was not so quick and she tumbled down the stairs gracelessly. Albus and Rose looked after her in horror.
They hurried down the stairs to find Clara's crumpled form at the bottom. Rose shook her shoulder. "Clara! Clara! Are you okay?" Rose threw a desperate look towards Albus.
Albus knelt down, "Clara, say something." They both waited for a moment, and Clara mumbled something.
"What was that?" Rose asked.
"I'm fine," Clara said in a muffled voice.
"No, your not," said Albus. "You're going to the hospital wing."
"No. I'll be fine just give me a minute," she protested weakly.
"No. You are going to the hospital wing," argued Albus. "You're not yourself."
"No. Look, I'm fine," Clara jumped brightly and tried to look happy. "See?"
"Fine," said Albus. "But if you look worse we'll take you to the hospital wing, alright?"
"Fine," Clara agreed.
They continued their walk to class, not even trying to hurry because they were so late. Finally, after many wrong turns, they made it to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room. Professor Cornwell glanced away from her class to look at the three extremely late students.
"You may make your excuses to me after class, but for now, sit," she smiled and indicated three seats located close to the front of the room. Albus sat down quickly, and Clara and Rose followed. They pulled out their books and wands and sat quietly waiting for the teacher to continue.
"Thank you," Cornwell said and continued what she had been doing before the three arrived. "This class is not to learn about how to kill or how to win a fight. It is to teach you how to protect yourself in the wizarding world. There are many many different creatures and spells and such that can take your life. This class is about how to defend yourself and survive in our world."
Cornwell touched on a few more key points for her class and Albus looked over at Clara, who had her eyes looking forward. He looked at her face; her eyes sunken and her shadowed face looked weary and thin. Her body was slouched tiredly in her chair. He thought worriedly about what could be wrong with her.
"Alright, class dismissed, but Pamerson, Potter, and Weasley, come talk to me." Everyone stood up and gathered their stuff to go. Albus Rose and Clara made their way forward to Professor Cornwell's desk.
"Aright, tell me why you were late," she sighed, as if she did not want to hear.
"So, Clara didn't sleep well and so she was out of sorts and so when the stair case rotated she fell down and was hurt so it took us a while to get here. We're sorry and we're planning to take her to the infirmary before next class," said Rose quickly.
"We really are sorry. It won't happen again," reassured Albus.
"I understand, please be sure to take care of your friend," she paused and glanced at Clara who was staring into space, "Or, then again, maybe I should take her to the infirmary."
"That might be best," said Albus. "She refused to let us take her."
"Yes, I think I will take her. You both are excused from being late," Cornwell said. "Hurry to your next class." Cornwell took Clara by her arm and led her out of the room.
Rose looked at Albus and said, "I thought we were going to wait until tomorrow,"
"Yeah, well, she didn't seem to be improving so I guess it's for the best," Albus said.
"I guess," Rose said with doubt in her voice. "Come on. We don't want to be late for Charms."
Albus and Rose hurriedly packed up their stuff and walked a short ways to Charms. Luckily, they were not late again. They sat down as a short teacher entered the room.