'This is hopeless!' cried Kevin Entwhistle in frustration, throwing down his quill and running his hands through his hair.
I looked over at him from my perch on the wide stone windowsill. His desk was covered in pieces of parchment which were inscribed with an array of runes.
'It's not so hard. You just need to be patient and figure it out slowly,' I said with assurance.
Kevin turned around in his chair and gave me a shrewd look, his heavy eyebrows contracted.
'It's easy for you to say; you're one of the best in the class. Ancient Runes is anything but easy.'
I shrugged and said nothing, while secretly revelling in his praise. I was by no means a genius when it came to most of our subjects, but since we had begun to study Ancient Runes at the start of the year, I had found myself easily keeping up with the constant flow of new information. It was the first time since beginning Transfiguration that I had found something that I was naturally good at, and I quite enjoyed that feeling.
The old oak door to the common room swung open and several members of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team spilled in, chattering in loud voices with their broomsticks over their shoulders. The pretty and popular Cho Chang of the year above ours flicked her long hair out of her face and sat down on the arm of a sofa to talk to a group of friends. I noticed Kevin gazing at her out of the corner of his eye.
Smirking, I turned my face back to the tall mullioned window and rested my cheek against the glass. The sun was high in the sky, and was shining brilliantly over the grounds. The window had become hot under its glare, and was pleasantly warm to the touch. As I felt the heat of the glass on my cheek, my mind wandered and my eyes swept across the fabulous view below. Ravenclaw Tower afforded its students the most breathtaking view of the castle grounds and surrounding mountains. One could see for miles and miles from its windows.
I gazed lazily at the lake and then the greenhouses, their glass roofs glinting in the sunlight, before glancing at the dark trees of the Forbidden Forest, whose branches were waving in a light wind. I was about to look away when I noticed something odd at the edge of the Forest. Raising my head slightly, I squinted at the spot far below me, trying to discern it. It appeared to be a small dark animal of some kind. My first thought was the boarhound kept by Hagrid, but the shape didn't look quite right … it was too thin and loping. The creature paused in a patch of sunlight and turned its head upwards towards the castle. It appeared to be staring right at me. I felt a slight shiver at its gaze. It looked like a dog, or possibly a wolf, with a coat of deep black fur. A moment later, and it turned around and padded into the dark trees.