CHAPTER 3
Nicole and Sera stood up as the other Gryffindor did, the students emptied out into the corridor, there they found Jeanne walking with Draco Malfoy. Sera waved at Jeanne and began to walk over with Nicole when a very tall female prefect blocked their way saying that they must proceed to the dormitories immediately without delay. Sera and Nicole looked at Jeanne, who just smiled and mouthed,
"Let us just meet up later."
The two nodded and waved goodbye to Jeanne as Fred and George walked up to them,
"Come on slowpokes-"
Fred started,
"The Gryffindor Dormitories is that way."
George finished with a smile as he pointed to a long stair case that leads to the next floor. Sera smiled at the twins and they walked up to the staircase and took a few steps, suddenly the stairs moved, making Sera and Nicole grip at the twin's shirt, Nicole at Fred's chest, while Sera on George's hand. The twins laughed quietly,
"Don't worry, it's alright. The stairs do this all the time."
Fred reassured as he gripped Nicole's hand softly. Nicole blushed brightly and looked away from Fred. Sera and George looked at each other and just smiled. The stair case kept moving until it has stopped in front of a full-body painting of a plump lady sitting on a gray boulder with only a white toga wrapping her body. Her face moved and looked at the students with topaz eyes,
"Password?"
She asked in a melodious voice. Fred stepped up and said,
"Caput Draconic"
The painted lady raised a brow and nodded and swung herself with the canvas revealing a stone tunnel.
"Ladies first."
Fred and George stood at either side of the opening, with Fred on Nicole's left, or George on Sera's right. Both girls smiled and walked in the short dark passageway.
When they got out Sera and Nicole found a cozy common room, with sofas and armchairs in red, the carpet of the floor was burgundy, two wooden book cases stood between the entrances, filled with fictional and non-fictional books written by well- known wizards and witches. A huge fire place sat in the middle of the far wall, blazing with red, orange and blue flames. There are two stair cases from either side of the fire place, Fred gestured to the right staircase which is carpeted in a darker shade of brown,
"That leads to the Male dormitories-"
"While that one leads to the Female dormitories"
George finished as he gestured the left staircase, which was carpeted in a lighter shade of brown. Sera and Nicole looked on admiring the common room when a female prefect walked up to them,
"Are you Nicole Silverman and Seraphina Vane?"
She asked, Nicole smiled,
"Yes, we are. I am Nicole and this is Sera"
Nicole gestured to Sera who gave the prefect a smile.
"Well, nice to meet you, you two will be sharing the room with three other girls"
"And they are?"
Sera asked as she tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her left ear, the prefect shifted little and said,
"They are Korelai Gilbertson, Victoria Salvatore and..."
The girl paused, furrowing her brows and said,
"Luna Lovegood"
Sera raise a brow,
"What's wrong with her?"
The girl shrugged saying,
"She is a total weirdo, she talks about weird creatures and does stuff that are so out of the ordinary... well I guess that's what you get for being the daughter of the author of the 'Quibbler' "
Nicole's eyes lit up,
"The 'Quibbler'? I think I have read that somewhere, I seem to recall reading a column about invisible insect-like creatures that make your head go fuzzy."
"That's the 'Quibbler' alright, so good luck"
The girl replied and walked away. Fred and George smiled,
"Luna is not really weird, once you get to know her, you'll see she's quite cool"
George said as he rested his elbow on Fred's left shoulder,
"Yea, the girls here are a bit cruel to her because they find her annoying but in fact she really isn't. So, don't judge a book by its cover"
Fred whispered quietly and stifled a yawn,
"Well, we better get to our own dorm room and get some rest. You two should do the same. Big day tomorrow"
"Alright, goodnight you two"
Nicole replied with a smile as Sera waved goodbye to George and went to their respective staircases, Sera looked at Nicole,
"So, what do you think about the twins?"
In an instant Nicole's face turned rosy pink and cleared her throat,
"Ah, I find them really funny and very easy to get along with."
"Which one do you like?"
Nicole turned her head sharply to Sera and blushed harder,
".. Fred..."
"I see..."
Sera quietly said with a soft smile, Nicole then asked rather hurriedly,
"Was I obvious?"
Sera smiled and shook her head,
"No, no, your signs were undetectable."
Nicole let out a sigh of relief,
"Thank you Sera."
Sera cupped Nicole's hand and said,
"Do not worry Nic, your secret's safe with me."
The two girls smiled at each other, and walked up further and stepped on the last step of the stairs and walked on, in front of them was a long corridor filled with doors on each side. Sera saw different girls coming in and out of a few rooms, giggling and casting harmless spells, Nicole glanced inside a room where three blond girls were mauling over a teen's magazine on the cover, she saw the muggle actor "Johnny Depp" smiling wickedly. Nicole chuckled quietly; suddenly the two heard a low deep coo of an owl in the next room,
"Midnight"
Sera quietly said to Nicole and both of them walked into the room and found 5 poster beds with velvet red bed curtains, encircling an old-style heater, the nearest bed to Nicole had nothing more than a black suitcase and 2 duffle bags, on Sera's right side were two poster beds pushed near each other, one bed had several yellow suitcases all over and one small pink pouch. The sheets were magically turned yellow and it was obvious the mattress and pillows were altered too cause they looked so fluffy it could burst any moment, the bed next to it was similar only it had pink sheets and sleek red suitcases. Then two simple poster beds with white sheets and comforter, in the middle of the bed was the lone medium sized window. On the right, the bed had 3 lush purple suitcases with the initials 'S.V' printed in gold, in front of each bed was a huge wooden chest for personal use, on top of Sera's was a gold cage, in it was Midnight, staring into Sera's eyes. The next bed had three green suitcases with the initials "N.S" in white ink, on top of Nicole's chest was a sleek silver c\age, inside it, jumping up and down, was Honey duke, the two girls immediately walked over and freed the two birds who flew out and circled the dome-like ceiling a few times before landing on their master's beds. Sera looked at Nicole,
"I think I want to keep my bed as it is, you?"
"Same here, come on, let's unpack"
The girls smiled at each other and walked up to their beds and began tidying up, they hid their suitcases inside the huge chest and their clothes and personal belongings inside their personal cabinets. When they finished up they sat down on their respective beds as their owl's hooted goodbye and flew out of the window, heading for the owlery.
"Who are our roommates again?"
Nicole asked as she whipped out her journal, Sera closed her eyes and quietly said,
"Hmmm, let's see. Korelai Gilbertson, Victoria Salvatore and Luna Lovegood."
"Want to bet that Korelai and Victoria's beds are the ones by the door which was girlified?"
Nicole asked as she smiled wickedly at Sera, Sera laughed and asked,
"Ha-ha, I wonder what Luna looks like?"
"Yea, I am curious about her, that girl prefect didn't like her."
"- If you want to know, just ask."
Nicole and Sera turned their head towards the door, there, stood a small girl with long blond hair and doe-like eyes placed on a perfect circle face. She wasn't wearing her school robes, instead she wore faded blue jeans with lots of patches on the left pocket side, a wrinkled tie-dyed loose shirt and open brown sandals, Nicole bounced off her bed and smiled,
"Hello, my name is Nicole Silverman, Your Luna right?"
The girl walked up and stood in front of her bed,
"Yea, I am Luna Lovegood."
Nicole smiled deeper and extended her hand saying,
"Nice to meet you."
Luna softly smiled and shook her hand, she glanced at Sera, who smiled and walked up saying,
"Hello, I am Seraphina Vane; just call me 'Sera' "
"Nice to meet you, I like your name, very unique."
"Thank you, I like yours too."
Sera replied, she looked at Nicole who was looking at Luna from head to toe.
"I apologize if we were talking about something that seemed rude to you. The other girls were talking a lot."
Nicole quietly said, Luna shook her head,
"It is alright, I am used to it."
"Why?"
Luna looked at Sera, who was looking at her intently,
"I am not like those girls who make fun of others, nor do I care, I have other stuff to put my interest and I am not someone who would hold a petty grudge."
Luna quietly said and walked to her bed and took out a notebook and pencil, she then began to scribble. Nicole furrowed her brows slightly,
"We are sorry Luna, we didn't mean to probe. We are new here so it's quite new to us."
Luna looked up and smiled softly,
"It's alright, I understand."
And went back to her scribbling. Sera glanced at the wooden clock just above the entrance, it was already seven thirty pm, and she looked at Nicole and said,
"Come on, let us get ready for bed."
(JEANNE'S POV)
Jeanne stared at the common room of the Slytherin House. The floor was made out of black marble. The walls, sleek gray. Its style was a combination of medieval and modern designs. The fire place was huge, on either side of the fiery furnace was two stairs cases, then around the common room were leather couches and metal tables, the walls were made of gray stones and medieval torches hung around the walls. Slytherin students were walking around, coming up and down the stairs chatting and laughing. Jeanne leaned against a bookcase which was filled with stories of its forefathers.
"I feel alone damn it."
Jeanne thought as she bit her lip softly,
"I wonder what Nic and Sera are doing right now..."
The thought stuck as she watched the burning flames in the fire place, she didn't see Draco coming up to her,
"Hey"
She looked at Draco, he changed from his school robes and into a black T-shirt and dark blue silk pants, she glanced at her watch, it was already 6:45pm,
"Hey Draco, ready for bed I see."
Draco looked down at his clothes,
"Yea and why aren't you"
"I have not walked up to my room yet."
"And why is that?"
"I... don't know"
Draco raised a brow,
"Is it because your two pals are not here?"
Jeanne looked into the eyes of Draco, they were glazed, warm maybe, the boy she shared a laugh with was standing before her, but the boy from the train still lingers. Then Jeanne suddenly remembered the man in the black robes,
"Draco, who was that man in the black robes with that awful inky black stare?"
"Oh, hmm, that is Professor Severus Snape, he is the head of our house."
Draco replied, He looked at the fire and stifled a yawn,
"You should get ready for bed; the prefects will do their rounds in about 10 minutes."
Jeanne nodded and walked off to the right staircase and looked back,
"Good night Draco..."
Draco gave a soft smile,
"Good night Jeanne."
And walked off to the left staircase and disappeared. Jeanne smiled and ascended the steps thinking about all that has happened since she and her friends got off the Hogwarts Express.
"We will be close... no matter what."
Jeanne thought as she entered her dorm room, it is very different from the Gryffindor dormitory, the walls are made of jade, the 5 oak poster beds surrounded a glass heater, the beds had silk green bed curtains, four of the beds were already occupied, the single unoccupied bed was facing exactly the heater and beside it is the one window. On the bed were Jeanne's three white suitcases with her initials branded on the side. In front of her bed was a metal chest, on top of it was a wooden birdcage, resting inside was Sienna, Jeanne walked over and quietly opened it, instantly the bird flew out and circled Jeanne and landed on top of the cage, looking at Jeanne with its bright blue eyes.
"Go on, go to the owlery and get some proper rest."
Jeanne whispered softly into the owl's ear, in less than a second the bird flew up and out of the open window. She then walked up to it and closed it. Jeanne flipped out her wand and her suitcases opened, all of her stuff floated to the open cabinet and placed themselves neatly, her personal stuff disappeared in a little drawer, when all her clothes and stuff were neatly placed inside she closed the cabinet and the last thing that came out of Jeanne's suitcase was a black padlock and clasped itself through and around the black handles. Jeanne then uttered a few incantations so that no one can open the padlock or the cabinet itself. Jeanne flicked her wand at her suitcases, they shrank and began to deformed, it slowly turned into 3 white bangles, and they floated toward Jeanne's right hand and went through her slender wrist. There they dangled quietly. Jeanne smiled and tapped herself, her clothes changed into a white razor back shirt and red silk shorts. She then climbed on her bed, softly placing her head on the soft pillow, pulled the covers on her and slowly drifted to sleep with thoughts of Sera, Nicole, Draco and Hogwarts swirling in her mind. Not knowing that a dark figure with black robes with inky black eyes was staring at her from the slightly opened door...
(SERA'S POV)
Sera stared at her bed's ceiling as she listened to the steady breathing of Nicole, who was sleeping soundly on the bed next to her. Sera tossed to her left,
"I can't get some sleep..."
She thought restlessly. The more she closed her eyes the more awake she feels. She rose up and folded her legs beneath her, facing the window; the view was that of the Forbidden forest, it was eerie and enigmatic. Sera stared into the fog filled forest with solitary trees with thick branches and dark leaves. The grass seemed darker than the ground itself,
"Oh! To hell with it!"
Sera thought as she jumped off the bed, revealing her purple sleeveless shirt and black knee high legging pajamas, she slipped on her soft walking shoes and grabbed her black hoodie jacket from the cabinet and threw it on her, she felt a chill run down her spine and spun around to see if anyone was awake, she found none and looked back at the window, smiling, she brought up her left wrist, revealing a black metal cuff, embedded on the center was an onyx stone shaped in a perfect circle. She lifted it to her lips and barely whispered,
"summa invisibilitas"
Sera glanced at the full length mirror beside the cabinet and smiled deeper, the mirror showed none of her, she was invisible. Sera then looked back at the window, again lifted the band to her lips and closed her eyes, picturing the Forbidden Forest; she then kissed the stone softly. She then opened her eyes slowly and found herself in front of the Forbidden Forest. Sera looked at the forest as an icy breeze wrapped her up, tugging on her jacket she walked into the forest, she walked past looming trees and dried leaves, feeling in everything the forest had,
"This is not so bad."
Sera thought as she walked deeper into the woods. She listened to the symphony of the night crawlers, she then heard a fowl snarls here and there, sensing a human presence the hidden animals went back to sleep. She walked farther, the trees seemed to transform as she walked further, when she entered the trees were at least 3 meters apart, but now they seemed to be closer and thicker, Sera looked up and she could only see fragments of the night sky.
"This forest is thick..."
She thought and walked on further and deeper into the Forbidden Forest. She glanced to her left, more trees and darkness, when she glanced at her right, she saw thicker trees,
*SPLASH*
It came from her right,
"There's something there..."
She thought and started walking t its direction, every step she took made her farther from the castle, she then heard the distinct sound of water, and she could even smell it. She took a few more steps; there she found it, an oval lake, and its surface clear and untouched, like a glass mirror surrounded by thick oak trees, the grass felt soft and fresh. Light flooded the mystical place; Sera looked up and saw the magnificent full moon amidst the countless stars of the night. Sera surveyed her surroundings, mot a soul in sight, a boulder caught her eye, it had a flat surface facing the lake, it took 5 simple strides for Sera to reach it, and she then jumped up on it and sat crossed-legged. She slowly closed her eyes and kept silent; the symphony of the night once again engulfed her. The insects crawling around the dead leaves and decay, the frogs jumping around from lily pad to lily pad, fish swimming around the reeds and jumping out of the still water, making beautiful arcs of tear drops, the birds fluttering around the trees, she could hear it all..
*HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW WWWWWLLLLLLLLLLL*
Sera instantly opened her eyes as she flinched. She picked up her ears and looked around,
"I heard it again..."
She thought, she searched the trees with her steady gaze, nothing was there, sighing she gazed back to the lake, Sera breathed in and out slowly and watched the water shimmer. She found her reflection in the clear water and sighed,
"The charm broke when I heard the howl, I should not have panicked."
She said quietly and bit her lip; the band was given to her by her late mother when she was born. It's the only thing she has of her. Sera closed her eyes as she remembered what the band does, it turns her invisible and creates a barrier around her so that nothing can detect her, it can also transport her from place to place, it can also turn into a rapier, its blade made of onyx, light as a feather but as hard as a dragon's scale. Sera smiled on the thought, the band was passed down to mother and daughter for generations. She lifted her left wrist and placed it on her left chest. As she did so a single drop of water fell from her face, and stared into the depths of the lake...
"Girls shouldn't linger around strange forests in the dead of night..."
Sera's head spun around to her left, there, leaning on an oak tree, was a man with chin-length shaggy brown-black hair and a thin mustache, he wore tattered robes of brown, stained with mud and dirt, his black pants tattered and torn by the knees, revealing skinny muscular legs, he wore brown sandals that seemed worn, he had pale slight brown skin, his lips were thin and his nose was small, on top of it were a pair of glistening black eyes. The man stared into Sera's eyes with folded arms; Sera stared back and replied quietly,
"The forest is not strange, just misunderstood."
He raised a brow,
"Misunderstood? Are you not afraid? This forest is filled with creatures that just might kill you on the spot."
His voice engulfed Sera, it was smooth as silk and deep as the water, Sera found it abit hypnotic and... Sad,
"Creatures only attack when they are provoked, or to provide. It kills if it has to."
Sera countered as she looked back at the lake, the man cocked his head to the side, he reluctantly took a stepped forward, and Sera looked back and stared. She could see him better in the light of the moonshine seems to be famished, the skin sags slightly but he is muscular. Sera did not feel an ounce of fear not even nervousness,
"Something about him-"
She thought, the train of thought vanished when the man asked,
"What are you doing here?"
Sera smiled quietly,
"Same goes for you..."
The man smiled back softly,
"What is your name?"
Sera gazed into the man's eyes for a moment,
"My name... is Seraphina Vane."
"Well that is a lovely name, Seraphina."
The man said as he walked closer, he stopped in front of the rock and leaned on it as he gazed on the lake,
"Mesmerizing is it not?"
He asked, Sera slowly nodded,
"It's so tranquil and hypnotic..."
The man looked at Sera; Sera leveled here eyes to his gaze,
"Who are you?"
"Who am I?"
The man replied as he turned back to the lake and gazed for a moment then said,
"Well... I.. I am just a simple man enjoying the exquisite scenery that mother nature generously made for me to see and I am blessed to have such a mysterious, beautiful young woman to share this with."
Sera felt her heartbeat quickened and her cheeks burn, Sera bit her lip and shook her head slightly. Her companion turned to her, his eyes so soft and weary, Sera thought it was like a dog's eyes, he then asked,
"Shouldn't you be in bed? It is quite late..."
Sera sighed,
"I could not sleep."
"Is there anything else?"
She gazed into the man's eyes, he was watching her intently, and she then felt her own eyes soften and gazed back to the lake, lips quivering slightly,
"I... I am worried."
"Hmm... About what?"
Sera softly smiled at him and shook her head,
"I will not tell my inner thoughts to a stranger with no name."
He smiled at this,
"Touché my dear I-"
He paused and cocked his head toward the trees to his left, a moment passed and said slowly,
"My name...will be revealed next time. I can hear Filch the caretaker trudging through the trees; he might catch you if you do not return to your dormitory, now."
Sera stared into his eyes for a second then she stood up and jumped off the rock, somersaulting into the air gracefully and landed safely on her edge of the forest, She looked back to the rock, he was still there, Sera's eyebrows knitted together for a second then said,
"I... I will come back here again tomorrow night at 9:30pm."
The man leaned on the rock and smiled, Sera felt her heart quickened when he did, he said,
"Then I will be here waiting, until then Seraphina Vane."
Sera felt uncertain to go but she shook her head and gave the man one last look and went inside the woods, She raised her left wrist and closed her eyes, picturing her bed and kissed the stone, she felt her body stiffened for a split second and she opened her eyes, she found herself in her dormitory once again, She glanced at the clock above the door, it was already midnight. She sighed and changed into a pair of fresh pajamas and gently went inside her warm soft bed. Sera glanced at Nicole's sleeping figure. She softly smiled,
"I cannot tell her."
She thought and said quietly,
"Not yet..."
She then looked around her, the three other occupied beds did not seem to have stirred in her absence, and no alarms were set off either. She thought,
"So... why did he say that Filch was out there?"
Then it dawned on her that he must have lied to her, she shook her head as if to erase the bad thought and laid back into her soft pillow and slowly sleep engulfed her as a howl came from the Forest.
