Hey, everyone! Sorry I took so long to post- there were a few things in this chapter that took me forever to figure out. I just want to extend a huge thanks to the girls who inspired Lyndsay and Lanie, for being such a huge help in deciding. Also, happy holidays to you all- and I hope your 2016s are as amazing as your 2015s were!
Warning- parts of this chapter might offend some people. I'm very sorry if they do.
"Come on," Maile said, tugging at my hand impatiently. "I can hear them!"
She, Peggy, and I burst through the door to the Slytherin fourth-year girls' dormitory. Sara wasn't there- I guessed she was getting ready with the younger female Damien-followers or those who didn't have quite as much power- but Sami, Eve-Charlotte, and Katy were all clustered in a circle on Katy's forest green four-poster bed.
"Peg, Aly, Maile!" Eve-Charlotte called from the circle. "About time! We were just passing the minutes until you got here. We wanted to compare dresses."
Three dresses were already draped over Maile's bed- Sami's, Katy's, and one more that must have been Eve-Charlotte's. It was dark grey and shimmery with white lace trim, and it looked like it was meant as a halter top that wrapped around the wearer's neck. All in all, it was very mature, and I eyed Eve-Charlotte- who was only sixteen and would look foolish in such an adult dress.
Peggy laid her dress next to Katy's, Maile dug hers out of her dresser and put it down on the right of Eve-Charlotte's, and together they left me to spread my dress out over Maile's pillows.
"I thought you said Aly shouldn't wear grey because she had to make a statement," Maile commented to Katy. "How come Eve-Charlotte's can be grey?"
"First of all," Katy snapped back, "Aly should stand out because she's our future leader. And second of all, Eve-Charlotte's hair is a statement all by itself."
Eve-Charlotte tossed her long, thick red mane. "Thanks."
Peggy grinned at me. "So the rumors are true? You got a sleeveless dress?"
I shrugged. "It wasn't my idea."
"No kidding," Eve-Charlotte drawled. "You never wear anything revealing." She flipped open a small hand mirror and examined her face in it.
"I call the bathroom first," Sami ordered, snatching her dark burgundy evening gown off of Maile's bed and disappearing into the bathroom.
Eve-Charlotte ignored her. "Don't you want any boys to notice you?" she pestered, dark blue eyes burning into mine.
"Speaking of Aly and boys," Katy gossiped, "guess what? Aly was hanging out with a boy this afternoon and won't tell us who!"
"Wait, what?" Sami screeched, poking her head out of the bathroom door. "Who was it, Aly?"
"I wasn't!" I protested, waving her away.
Eve-Charlotte laid a dainty, creamy hand on my shoulder. "Aly, dear, you know you can tell us! Even if it's a rebel boy." Her beautiful face contorted into a sneer. "It isn't a rebel, right? Not Mason or Owen or that fourth-year Gryffindor boy, what's his name?"
"Nick," Katy helped.
"I don't know who the first two are, and certainly not Nick, he's way too arrogant," I assured them. "I wasn't hanging out with a boy. I just took a walk around the corridors to clear my head."
"Uh-huh," grumbled an unsatisfied Sami.
Katy giggled and added, "Suuuuure."
"It's true," I insisted helplessly.
Peggy patted my shoulder comfortingly. "We believe you, Aly. Don't worry."
"I don't," Sami mumbled before disappearing back into the bathroom.
Eve-Charlotte leaned forward. "You do know that Finley fancies you, right?"
"So I've heard," I grumbled.
"She thinks it's disgusting," Maile added.
Eve-Charlotte giggled. "I'll take him if you won't. He's handsome."
"I'm closer to his age, and I'm smarter," Peggy argued.
Eve-Charlotte flopped gracefully (somehow) back onto Katy's soft bed. I sat on Brooklyn's, which was next to Katy's. "Just because you're in Ravenclaw doesn't mean you're smarter than me." Just as Peggy opened her mouth- probably to argue that yes, that was exactly what it meant- Eve-Charlotte sighed. "It doesn't matter, anyway. He fancies Aly."
"He's all yours," I muttered. My attention had been caught by Brooklyn's bedside table, where a shining silver frame was catching the light. The glass was shattered- maybe the frame had been thrown or had caught a wayward curse or something- but the picture, still intact, was of Brooklyn and me hugging outside of the Black family mansion at Christmastime of our first year. I smiled widely. If Brooklyn hadn't trusted me at all during the time when she thought I was a traitor, the picture would've been hidden away or destroyed. She's trusted me this whole time.
Sami came out from the loo in her stunning, sleek red dress. Sami, like Maile, was a bit pudgy and had a round face- so she looked like a child all dressed up in Mummy's clothes, just like I'd thought the first time I'd seen her wear the gown.
"I want to do your hair," Katy called to Sami.
Maile nodded. "I call doing your makeup!"
Eve-Charlotte grabbed her dress from Maile's bed, winked at me, and vanished into the bathroom.
Slowly but surely, we got ourselves ready. Eve-Charlotte opted to leave her bright orange hair down, much to Maile's disappointment; Katy pacified her best friend by letting her do her hair. Eve-Charlotte found lipstick that matched her hair and applied it liberally, while Peggy and Sami- who had darker skin- opted for darker colors and the two blondes went for pink. Katy did my hair and gave me a strange look when I requested that she put the silver flower clip Millie had given me in my locks. (I didn't tell her it was from Millie.) However, she clipped the carnation that had probably undergone a Color-Changing Charm into my curls, which she had pinned up in a flurry of light brown ringlets.
Eve-Charlotte, the beauty guru of our little group, did most of my makeup and was about to apply the exact same shade of lipstick she was wearing to my lips when Maile shoved her aside. "Pink," she announced, her turquoise eyes daring anyone to challenge her fashion advice. "Her face is too pale. Red would be too bright against that shade of white. Plus, it doesn't go with her dress."
The redheaded whirlwind harrumphed and recapped her lipstick as Maile painted my lips with a blush pink that actually wasn't too bad. Then we all took our orange jewel pins off of our previous outfits and pinned them onto our dresses, triumphing over the fact that we were ready early.
"Ten minutes to five!" Peggy, our timekeeper, reminded us.
"We'd best get going," I agreed.
The six of us tromped in a giggling mass down the stairs, through the dark and somewhat creepy Slytherin common room, and around corridors to the Great Hall. We arrived just as the clock struck five.
"Perfectly punctual, as always, Alyssa," Headmaster Damien called from the high table, ignoring the rest of my friends. "But that dress! Didn't I order orange?"
Maile planted her hands on her hips, eyes blazing. "Have you seen Aly? Green eyes and an orange dress? No offense, but ew."
I thought Headmaster Damien would murder Maile right then and there. Instead, his mouth twisted into a loopy smile. "True. Who was it that decided such a fact? Was it you, Maile?"
I held my breath as Maile nodded eagerly.
Headmaster Damien's smile stayed bright. "Since you seem to have an eye for beauty, why don't you decorate the Christmas trees? Eve-Charlotte, Alyssa, Lachlan, and you five there"- he pointed to two older Gryffindor girls, a Hufflepuff fifth-year boy, and two first-year Slytherins- "you help her. Maile, you're in charge."
Maile turned to me, glowing. "Do you hear that, Aly?" she squealed as Headmaster Damien gave out orders to another group of helpers. "I have an eye for beauty- and I'm in charge!"
Instead of lining the Great Hall with the trees like normal, Maile whipped her wand out and carefully arranged them in a different way. Six trees lined the Great Hall's sides, three on either side. Five of the remaining six were lined up evenly behind the high table, and the twelfth pine- the biggest of them all- went smack-dab in the middle of the dance floor, which was the half of the hall closer to the main doors. While Finley and Peggy and a few other older students conjured up tables and arranged them closer to the high table, including some on the level we normally ate on (presumably for us as well), I was assigned the Christmas tree that would be placed directly behind Headmaster Damien's seat at the teachers' table. Eve-Charlotte decorated the one to my left, and Lachlan the one to my right. Together we covered the three huge pines in tinsel, popcorn strings, ornaments, and small glowing stars, all shimmering gold. But there was only one problem-
"Where are the stars for the tops of the trees?" Lachlan whined to Maile when she passed by to check our progress. He pointed to the people decorating the six trees lining the Great Hall, who levitated giant golden 2-D stars onto the tops of the huge pines.
Maile consulted Headmaster Damien, who came grinning to our sides. "Ah, yes!" he crowed playfully. "These five trees get very special stars. These, and the one on the dance floor. I'll be right back!"
After dashing out of a side door, Headmaster Damien- his black hair mussed and sweaty but his chillingly light blue eyes glowing brightly- returned with an armful of enormous gold stars. Only, they were picture frames- holding unmoving, black-and-white photos of five faces I thought I'd never see again.
Arthur.
Margaret.
Lindsey.
Carter.
Sophie.
Some people may have thought Headmaster Damien was being kind and letting us honor our dead comrades, but I knew better. He was mocking us- mocking the rebels- telling us that he would always be there, watching, knowing.
I grumbled quietly.
Headmaster Damien passed out the stars, then pulled a sixth from the large pocket of his dark robes. It was even bigger than the five with my dead fellow students. "And I'll decorate the one on the dance floor." He grinned, showing us the picture in the star frame. It was tinted gold and moving and it was of Headmaster Damien waving cheerfully, but his smile in the photo was anything but cheerful.
"An homage to you," Maile said in awe.
"A shrine," I repeated softly.
"We should leave it up full-time," Eve-Charlotte added.
Headmaster Damien chuckled, then actually nodded. "A full-time shrine for me? That's an excellent idea, Eve-Charlotte. Alyssa, we'll set that up sometime between New Year's. Come up with a design by Monday, and a location idea or two as well. For now, are you all done decorating the trees?"
Maile scrutinized the rest of the tree-decorating committee, who were also finished, and their work. "Yes, sir," she said proudly...
...and Headmaster Damien ignored her. "Alyssa, take your group and hang banners on the walls." He waved his wand, and floaty golden banners sprouted from the end of the foot-long blackthorn stick before wafting to the floor. Then he hurried off again, seeming more distracted than ever.
Maile stared at me. "Your group?" she protested.
I shrugged, feeling bad for her but pressured at the same time. Maile was a better decorator than I'd ever be, but Headmaster Damien had given me orders and I had to follow them. "I am the protégé. Come on, let's go hang up these banners before they get stepped on."
Half an hour later, normal people were flooding in. I spotted Brooklyn in a shapeless black tunic dress with only one strap for a sleeve. It seemed that the army of Headmaster Damien had gotten all of the fancy patterns for dresses and suits and everyone else's were boring. My friends, though, had found ways to spiff up their outfits some. Brooklyn had sewn a blood-red ribbon into her dress so that it wrapped down the shift, making it decently stunning. Lanie had performed Color-Changing Charms on her once-blue smock, making the sleeveless dress gradiate from a yellow top to a green middle to a blue skirt- and somehow, the skirt flared out into a dancing skirt. Rossalene had started out with a simple but sweet short-sleeved pastel pink dancing dress- it seemed not even a suit of armor could deny the lovable, innocent, permanently joyful Rossalene what she wanted- but she had tied a yellow ribbon around the waist (with a big bow in the back) and attached a length of the same thick yellow trimming around the hem and collar. She was even wearing a piece in her hair, like a broad makeshift headband. Ross always looked gorgeous in pastels and yellow, and with a waterfall of her shimmering black hair cascading down her back and a bright grin on her face, I could tell she knew it.
Rossalene, Brooklyn, Lanie, Shawnee, Lyndsay, Millie (in dull purple), Helen, and Lynne (in light green) all sat together. I yearned to sit with them, but instead forced myself to sit at the smaller, more exclusive Captains' Table.
Katy claimed the seat to my right, and Finley slid into the chair on my left when Headmaster Damien called loudly for everyone to sit down. Ivan sat sullenly next to Finley. (I don't know why he's so grumpy- it's not like he has friends he's not being allowed to sit with, I thought, and then I immediately felt bad, of course.) Eve-Charlotte and Peggy happily sat next to each other.
"This is going to be so fun," Peggy shrilled cheerily.
"Silence!" boomed Professor Damien. "You should be eating!"
Sure enough, food had burst into existence on the tabletops. One dish of soup on our table was so full that it nearly spilled during the rough transition from the kitchen- a few drops did soil the pale gold tablecloth. I glanced over the tables that were one lower level than ours, then up at the professors' table. It truly was a grand feast! Shepherd's pie, steak and kidney pie, tarts of all kinds, Sunday roasts, pasties- I have to hand it to Headmaster Damien... he knows how to throw a party!
I served myself some shepherd's pie that had been specifically marked Vegetarian and dug in. The Hogwarts house-elves never failed to do food justice. There was a story in my household- apparently, when I was six, I had asked her why we didn't have a house-elf. After all, the Vawdreys had one. For two months, I'd been obsessed with house-elves. My mother had purchased A History of House-Elves: Version VI (Revised 2006) by Osmond Eveque and Dobby: The House-Elf Who Sparked a Revolution by my now-fellow-student Aleyn Prince's mum Chelsea Prince for me, and for eight entire weeks I had refused to put those books down. I'd read all about the House-Elf Uprising in the early 2000's, when house-elves proudly stole and wore socks to demand wages and better care. Mum told me stories about how her house-elf, Ancis, had gone on strike for four months. I even read about my grandparents Black in A History of House-Elves: Version VI (Revised 2006).
Caelum and Darcy Black, part of the ancient Black clan who once treated house-elves like the lowest of the low, were one of the first families to agree to pay their house-elf, the book claimed. They had three young children- twins Hesper and Cassiopeia Black, and younger son Pollux Black- and needed a house-elf to help take care of them.
Mr. Black stated in a Daily Prophet interview: "I'm head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. If I can't even magically cooperate in my own home, how am I going to magically cooperate internationally?"
Mr. Black's words inspired many wizarding households to agree to pay their house-elves, including the Orpington and Fawley families...
Apparently, the House-Elf Uprising had left a very strong impression on young Mum. She had let her younger twin, Cassie, inherit the house-elf that was rightfully hers, and she had learned to cook. But she couldn't hold a candle to the food of a house-elf, no matter how delicious her curries were.
"Mmm, this is better than ever," Katy moaned, delicately cutting away a piece of her steak and shoveling it into her mouth. Through the bite of meat, she asked, "Did we get any new house-elves lately?"
"We can't have," Eve-Charlotte pointed out, a superior look on her dainty face. "No one goes in or out of Hogwarts, remember?"
"But what if they Apparated?" Katy argued, putting down her fork.
"People can't Apparate into Hogwarts, idiot," Eve-Charlotte snapped nastily.
"But house-elf magic is different than human magic," Peggy said thoughtfully. "She might have a point."
My heart soared. Peggy's right! House-elf magic is stronger than human magic. House-elves could take messages to the Ministry. I have to tell Lanie!
"Maybe," Eve-Charlotte allowed. "I wonder if one could take a letter home for me. Mum would just love to hear all about my fifth year." She grinned, revealing bits of brown food in her teeth.
"There's food on your teeth," I told her as politely as I could.
"Oh! Silly me." She giggled, then swiped her tongue over those bright white canines. "Better?"
"Better," I agreed as she took out her candy-apple-red lipstick and applied another coat. The gorgeous Slytherin girl was being very happy and giddy, way different than the sly, cunning Eve-Charlotte Carew that I normally knew. When she winked at Finley, I understood.
She's flirting with him. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, honestly.
Dinner was over all too quick, and then Headmaster Damien nodded to a group of eight sixth-years sitting at a table near the front. He motioned for us to push all of the tables his followers had eaten at out of the way to clear a stage for the musicians. Seven of the sixth-years pulled out different instruments- a flute, an oboe, a cello, two violins, a clarinet, and a harp- and took their positions onstage. The last of them- a lanky Hufflepuff boy- whispered something to Professor Descoteaux, who promptly transfigured a table into a piano for the boy to play. At a gesture from Headmaster Damien, all eight struck up a very jaunty dance tune.
But Headmaster Damien, ever controlling, shook his head. "A slow song," he decreed loudly, "to begin the night."
So the musicians began to play a beautiful but sad slow dance song. The harpist's hands fluttered prettily over her harp while the flute trilled softly for the intro, and the oboe joined in with long, haunting notes, and the cello and violins played harmony to the piano and clarinet's melody.
Someone tapped my shoulder, light and soft.
I spun to see Finley there, very tall and very strong-looking, his brown hair perfectly styled and swept up as opposed to drooping over his forehead like normal. His sky-blue eyes, with the streak of brown in one, sparkled as he held out his hand. "A dance?"
I stared at his tanned, callused hand. "M-me?"
He laughed. "Well, of course! Hogwarts' oldest captain and its golden girl. It's only a dance, Aly."
It sure didn't sound like only a dance. I pointed at Eve-Charlotte, desperate for a reasonably polite outlet from this offer. "What about Eve-Charlotte? I'm pretty sure she was flirting with you during dinner-"
He waved a hand dismissively. "Eve-Charlotte is beautiful, yes, but she tries too hard. And no one's eyes are your exact shade of green," he murmured, eyes drilling into mine.
I stammered, thinking fast but not blushing. "My dad's are."
His eyes hardened, and I saw Headmaster Damien in them. Finley was trying so hard to be like our tyrannical leader, and oh, how he was succeeding- happy and kind of bubbly to angry in an instant. "Do you want to dance with me or not?"
There was no way out. I sighed in defeat. "Of course, Finley."
We made our way onto the dance floor and began a simple waltz. I passed by lots of dancing couples while my hands were grasped in Finley's sweaty mitts- namely Tommy and Juliet, plus a lot of older or younger couples. I spotted Sara's slim fingers entwined with Lachlan's as they danced near the Damien Christmas pine, and my ex-boyfriend Nathan dancing with a third-year Gryffindor girl, and a very uncomfortable-looking Polly dancing with Brandon Trotter (a Slytherin in our year whose rich family lived on Brooklyn's street). I even saw Nick dancing with Lyndsay, who was clad in a red-and-purple dress with a fashionably distressed hem and sleeves. Both looked very uncomfortable, like they had been forced to dance together for lack of any other partners, but I was reminded (not too fondly) of their brief second-year romance.
Nick's gaze, sweeping over the crowd, met mine. He was clad in a suit, like every other boy in the room- and like every male student in the Hall except Ivan, Finley, Lachlan and the rest of my fellow Damien-soldiers, the fabric of his suit was a drab color. His was a boring reddish-brown, but he'd spiffed it up with a bright red bow tie. I tried to grin at him, hoping he wouldn't be frowning at me with disgust in my dreams that night.
He frowned at me with disgust and spun away with Lyndsay.
"Aly? Are you okay?" Finley asked gently, moist hands clamping tighter on mine. "You're tensing up."
I stiffened, for I had been tensing up- for no reason. I didn't care about Nick in particular, but right in that moment he represented everyone who despised me, and I adored him for it.
I would hate me, too.
"I just need some fresh air," I mumbled, pulling away. "I'll be right back-"
"No, I'll come with you," Finley insisted in an almost grateful tone, latching onto my arm and pushing through the crowds to clear a path for me. He shoved Nick aside a bit too roughly, and the fourth-year Gryffindor boy glowered at the older, taller seventh-year Slytherin, looking like he wanted to jinx him.
I would pay to see that popped into my head, and I could barely suppress a giggle at the thought.
Finley dragged me out of the Great Hall, past twin suits of armor who moved to block us but fell back when they heard Finley's voice. He stopped just after turning only one corner, into the hallway in which the doors to the lawns resided.
I started toward them, thinking I could maybe lose him in the darkness and snow outside-
His grip tightened on my arm. "It's cold out there, Aly. Stay inside."
"But fresh air," I protested.
In response, he pinned me to the wall by my shoulders.
As I gasped and struggled to get free and cried, "Finley, what are you doing?", he grinned fiendishly. Gone was the perfect, polished pureblood boy; in his eyes was something different, like the Headmaster-Damien-like flash I'd seen earlier. I saw this all as he leaned in- so I turned my head, and he planted a wet, slobbery kiss on my cheek instead of my lips.
He tried again, but I struggled and thrashed. "Get off of me, Finley," I said in a strained voice. Being pinned to the wall, attacked- it all reminded me very much of the previous year, and Will, and Art, and-
I shoved those horrid memories away and focused on the problem at hand.
"Aly, don't you see?" he crooned, using his elbows to keep me flat against the wall and petting my cheek with one hand while playing with- tugging at- my collar with the other. "We're perfect for each other, you and I."
Horror and disgust sparked in my brain as his fingers trailed along my skin and I felt one of the seams of my collar rip. Upon seeing the look on my face, the perfect pureblood flashed behind his eyes and disappeared completely, leaving not a trace.
That's why I had no remorse when I kneed Finley Denton in the groin.
He grunted in pain and dropped me, ripping the collar of my dress further, but I didn't care because I was free and he was on the ground, hurt. I didn't take any chances and ran like the coward I was, heaving sobs that racked my body as I sprinted full speed toward Ravenclaw Tower.
It was deserted, with everyone at the ball, and I slammed my hand into the eagle-shaped door knocker. "Let me in!" I panted, tears dripping down my chin.
The oh-so-familiar disembodied, melodious voice issued from the door. "Where do Vanished objects go?"
I racked my brains frantically, knowing Finley would be angrily coming after me any minute and that there were only a few places to check. Vanished objects- Vanished- Van-
"?" I guessed.
The door remained silent and did not open.
"No, no, no, please," I begged, pushing frantically against the wood. "I have to get in- I'm a Ravenclaw, I'm being chased- I'm Alyssa Salinger, fourth-year- please-"
The door clicked open.
I gaped at it in shock, but didn't question my good luck. In I ran and the door slammed shut with a decisive bang behind me.
I practically tore off the dress when I got to my dormitory, ripping it beyond repair as I struggled to rid myself of the phantom hands I could still feel against my skin. My hands were shaking as I pulled on my pajamas and burst into the bathroom. In there, I splashed water on my face until all of my makeup had washed off and my hair and the front of my shirt were soaked, then I dried myself with a quick spell and glanced up at the mirror.
I stared at my reflection, not believing it was really me. My skin had blanched milk-white, and with the cold and stress, it had started to dry out- leaving patches of flaking, cracked skin on my neck and in the crooks of my elbows. I'd grown thin, too thin, and too-big jade eyes that looked just as dull as I felt peered out from a pallid, skeletal face. My lips had turned thin and pale, and the many freckles that had once been splattered all over my face had all but vanished, leaving only a few behind. My red, running nose stood out against the pastiness of the rest of my face. I looked small and starved and sick, not at all like I belonged in the ornate surroundings. What did Nick see when he looked at me, I wondered? What did Lanie- Brooklyn- Katy- Finley- even Headmaster Damien? Did they see a rebel, or a protégé- a weakling, or a leader? Did they see a normal girl? Did they really see me at all?
The girls- and Brooklyn, whose stuff was still in the dorm, piled on Lanie's bed- returned about an hour later, their tones full of excitement as they chattered like birds. I'd lain in bed for the while they were gone, watching the minutes on the clock tick by and trying to sleep. But I couldn't. Every time I started to drift off, I felt Finley's elbows pinning my shoulders to a wall or his slimy kiss on my cheek or his hands ripping at the fabric of my dress, and I bolted upright, screaming or breaking out into cold sweats or just trembling madly. I tried to find positive sides to it all- at least I'm not seeing Nick's or Ana's or Leja's faces, or any of the dead's- but those somewhat optimistic sides to it all drifted away quickly like sand in a strong breeze.
Curled up under the covers with every light out and my bedcurtains drawn around me was I was they came in, happy as clams.
"That was actually really fun," giggled Lynne.
"Except for Damien watching us like a hawk throughout the whole night," grumbled Brooklyn's somewhat surly voice. "And the fact it only lasted an hour when it was supposed to last for four."
"Oh, hush," Helen snapped, annoyed. "Just because you were about to get asked to dance by a boy when Headmaster Damien cut the dance short doesn't mean you get to be grumpy!"
"Why did he end the ball?" Millie wondered aloud.
I thought I heard someone mumble something- probably Polly- before Lanie answered, "You didn't see? Finley ran in looking like he was about to murder someone. He spoke to Headmaster Damien for a good five or ten minutes, and that's when Damien Silenced the band and kicked us all out."
"I wonder what it was about?" murmured Helen.
Polly spoke up, maybe for the first time, maybe not. "Aly left with Finley."
"I saw that," Millie agreed.
Lanie gasped. "Did she ever come back?"
"I don't think so," Brooklyn said slowly, all trace of crankiness gone from her voice.
"Where's Aly?" panicked Helen.
"Let's go look for her," Shawnee decided. She'd been very quiet, but her voice was strong and calm, like Shawnee herself. "Maybe she's helping clean up the Great Hall with the rest of the Headmaster's followers. I'll go look there."
"I'll come with you," Lynne chirped, as chipper as ever.
"Helen, let's go check the commons," Millie said as I heard the door open and shut. Fresh tears spilled from my eyes. "Maybe she's hidden somewhere."
As they left, someone threw open my bedcurtains. It was Brooklyn, as I discovered when she yanked off the covers keeping me from the light. I blinked at the sudden rush of brightness, Brooklyn silhouetted against the glow.
"Never mind," she called after Millie and Helen. "She's right here, asleep. Come back-"
But they were already gone. Lanie, walking into my field of vision, ordered, "Polly, go try to catch up with Shawnee and Lynne and Millie and Helen- we found her." Polly left without a word, and Lanie crouched down to look at me as I stared past them at the blue wall. She slapped Brooklyn's skinny ankle, which was hand height for her at the moment. "You goose, she's not asleep, she's been awake this whole time!" She gently laid a hand on my shoulder. "Aly, we were so worried! What happened with you and Finley?"
I met her concerned, tender gaze and burst into tears.
Sobbing out the whole story took me a long time, mostly because I kept pausing to gasp in huge gulps of air. By the time I was finished, Millie, Helen, Polly, Lynne and Shawnee had all returned. At first, they entered laughing that Polly had gotten distraught after not being able to solve the door's riddle (Shawnee had apparently saved them from being stuck outside), but they quieted immediately when they saw me in tears and listened intently.
When I was done, Brooklyn drew her wand from a pocket on her dress that I hadn't even seen existed. "I'll kill him," she whispered darkly. "I'll make him wish he'd never been born. He'll regret laying hands on you, Aly. You can bet on it." With her hair half-falling out of the fancy updo she had pinned it in for the ball, her dark eyes glittering furiously, and her slender, tan fingers gripping her dark wand so hard her knuckles were turning white, she looked for all the world like an avenging warrior ready to carry out her promise.
"Oh, Brooklyn, I wish you could," I wept. "But unless he was trying to kill you, you can't just murder someone. You'd go straight to Azkaban if we ever got out of here. Anyway, Headmaster Damien would kill you on the spot, and I'm sure Finley's learned his lesson now."
Lanie hugged me softly. "Is there anything we can do, then?"
I looked her in the eyes. "Lanie, we have to get out of here and send an owl to the Ministry. Now."
So? What did you think? Worth the wait, or not? Leave your comments in the review box below!