Chapter Eighteen

The holiday ended very soon. Hogwarts returned to its normal track, with the ugly piggish face of Amycus Carrow and Alecto Carrow's equally malicious face. All these reappeared in front of Virginia as though her eyes and nerve had been cursed again.

In this holiday, people have their gains and losses.

Harry Potter gained access to the true Sword of Gryffindor. His best friend Ron Weasley was back to help him. And he has known the tale of the Deathly Hallows.

Voldemort gained information he needed, information about that unconquerable Elder Wand, but he lost "the Boy Who Lived" again within only a few milliseconds.

Xenophilius Lovegood, his daughter taken away by the Death Eaters, tried to catch Harry Potter for them in order to get her daughter back, but he failed drastically.

Virginia mastered the Patronus Charm, gained a huge shock and lost it again very soon, and as for that she wasn't regretful at all.

Ravenclaw students were crowding in the Common Room. Most talked about the scene on the train when Luna Lovegood was taken by the Death Eaters. They knew that was because of her father's Quibblers and its support-Harry-Potter messages.

They discuss Harry Potter's name under their breath as though the mere name infuses power into them. But everyone was cursing You-Know-Who in the heart. No one dares saying out aloud. Most people just cursed the Death Eaters during their conversations.

Virginia looked up at the vaulted window. It was all dark, but the light was rather bright inside the room. She could still see the snows falling outside.

She missed the Astronomy Tower but couldn't go there at this time. She went upstairs to the eighth floor where the headmaster's office and the Room of Requirement lie. Of course the latter was her destination.

This action, strictly speaking, was not wise, even a bit stupid. The holiday was such an ideal opportunity to come here, but she didn't. Now that the holiday has ended there are much more eyes at Hogwarts, she starts doing dangerous things nevertheless. This sounds really a little silly.

But Virginia thought differently. She liked the environment during holiday when she could concentrate on her study and improve her efficiency. Thinking about her Patronus, she believed herself to be wise indeed, for she would never be able to allow it fly in the sky except during holiday.

And now she admits that she wishes to escape the grave sense brought by the students. The castle soon turned from the relaxed studying environment back to the nervous and tense atmosphere. This makes her wish to go away.

At the eighth floor she gave herself the Disillusionment Charm again out of habit. Compared to the Carrows, Virginia was more frightened about headmaster Severus Snape. If the former make you feel disgustion and hatred, then the latter makes you oppressed, grave, unable to draw breathes.

She wished to find a place for quiet deliberation, but stangely after three times of walk the door failed to appear. She tried several times and reorganized her words, but the door was still not there. She even tried the hiding place she went in before but it was of no use.

She stopped dead and realized abruptly – There are people inside!

Who might that be?

Virginia opened her valve of memory suddenly. The Room of Requirement isn't actually a mystery. Draco Malfoy had been inside. The members of Dumbledore's Army were also in there as well. Even several Death Eaters went out from that room throught the Vanishing Cabinet.

And this year, the hiding room will be burnt. Oh why she just thought of it! It would be burnt by the follower of Draco Malfoy, using an evil fire which belongs to very dark magic. And the Horcrux Ravenclaw's diadem was destroyed at the same time.

Harry Potter will come back, of course she knows that. But she only just noticed what that would mean.

Virginia lay against the wall and waited patiently. Finally a door opened and three people emerged. The first one was Neville Longbottom.

These Harry Potter's close helpers appear completely different from her imagination. She felt a bit depressed, for when she was reading the series, she percieved them as kids, but now these "kids" are all adults, taller and older than her. She is still a little girl.

And then came Ginny Weasley, who is very beautiful, quite unlike the one in the movies. Virginia thought she knew why Harry Potter cannot resist the temptation while leaving the eighth floor. She does not plan to come again recently. She has to go back and think carefully about all these.

Back in the dorm she took out her quills and parchment and started writing about everythng she remembers or not. She wrote down her memory as completely as she could. She didn't know when she fell asleep.

She was waken up by her clock. She wished to go back to sleep but knew she can't, for the first lesson is Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration. She finished as quickly as she could but was still late. McGonagall let her sit down and didn't punish her. She exhaled deeply and vowed not to stay up late at night any more. Then she suddenly become speechless. That parchment! That parchment she wrote on yesterday was still on her bed! She forgot it completely this morning. What a silly mistake!

Virginia rushed back to the dorm first thing after class. She knows that her dorm won't have others in, but she still warns herself to be careful. During class just now she lost concentration for a long while. Professor McGonagall watched her several times.

This Transfiguration class teaches the Converting Spell. It is a basic one, and they were asked to turn one thing into another, similar thing. This was much too easy for Virginia, so she would not have any failure even without concentration, but this time she finished much more quickly than before. Well, this was an unexpected accident for the always careful Virginia.

She noticed her neglect at once and raised her head, only to meet McGonagall's thinking eyes. She quickly pretended a never-too-late-to-mend ecstatic expression. McGonagall went to her and nodded, saying to the whole class, "Very good! This is the first time we transfigure living creatures. Ms. Winchester is the first one to finish, and performed rather excellently. Five points to Ravenclaw!"

Then she looked at Virginia and said, "You are brilliant, Ms. Winchester. Keep on working hard."

It was not until the end of the class that she realized her mistake. Apart from her, nobody in the class succeeded at converting it. This time she really saught the limelight.

She felt a bit uneasy, but the parchment in her dorm is more enticing, so she hurried away quickly. But just as she was going out, Professor McGonagall stopped her, "Ms. Winchester, please stay behind for a while."

Well, she felt nervous now. But an accidental performance isn't that serious, blind cats can also catch mice occasionally, it isn't something to be surprised about.

"Ms. Winchester, do you feel confortable at Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall asked kindly.

"Not bad, Professor." Virginia answered, "I like here; it is fantastic."

"I'm glad to hear that. If you, er, ever encounter some problem, you are always welcome to find me." She said, "both in study and during daily life, you understand? Ms. Winchester."

"Yes, I think I understand. Thanks, Professor."

Virginia went out and rushed back. Luch? She has no mood to have lunch. In fact, she doesn't want to eat anything now.

The hook was still creating difficulty for her. It sang slowly, "What's the most powerful thing in the world?"

Oh the convoluted philosophical question. Virginia thought for a while and said loudly, "Faith! Faith is always the most powerful in the world!"

"In a sense, your answer is exceptional." The door opened, and Virginia rushed windlike upstairs. The few people in the Common Room even failed to find out who that was.

Oh! Very good! When she took hold of the parchment she felt quite relieved. Today there's finally something not that terrible! She folded it carefully and thrust it into the donkey-skin pouch in front of her.

Then she fell down onto her bed. She had no strength left at all. Fortunately it's History of Magic in the afternoon, and she can have a sleep during that time. Now her condition is only too bad to go on indeed.