Chapter four

Renee shot up with a gasp. She had landed, unceremoniously, sprawled out on a large thorn bush. As she tried to remove herself from it, the thorns snagged on her clothes and skin. She freed herself, only suffering a few plucked threads, and small, stinging scratches to her arms and face. She patted herself off, finding a few more lose thorns. After plucking each one carefully, she looked up. The area was empty. Which was odd. She had at least expected some shouting at her from Andie. The only difference was that the tree's foliage had changed from orange to green. Odd, but nothing too alarming.

"Uh…Andie?!" she called out, almost tentatively. She didn't want to anger her friend anymore than she probably was.

The only answer she received was the sound of the rustling of leaves through the trees.

"Andie!" she called out, louder.

Still nothing. Her stomach clenched as fear began to set in. There was no way that Andie wouldn't answer. Unless-

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," Renee mumbled to herself.

She scurried out of the forest and began to trek back up to the castle. There was no way that Andie would leave to go tell on her. Right? She didn't slow down until she was safely back into the castle's halls. She looked around. It was odd that there wasn't any teacher waiting for her. Or even one along the path back. As she continued through the castle, she received odd looks from other students. Renee did her best to ignore them. At the first bathroom she came across, she ducked in. Checking the stalls were empty, she locked the door. She moved to one of the sinks, leaning against it with her hands. She looked up into the mirror. Her curly hair was still in its high bun. Dark brown in colour. It was a few shades darker than her skin. Her eyes were what stood out amongst the dark shade of skin. Blue. About the only thing she had inherited from her mother's side of the family. Inspecting her face closely, she was able to see the beads of blood. They had started to dry on their own. Renee turned on the tap, and splashed water onto her face. She then looked down at her clothes. Wasn't looking too good. With a small sigh, she pulled out her wand from her pocket. She waved it, then aimed at her fabric.

"Diernam," she said.

The threads of her clothes pulled themselves together, mending each tear and hole. Satisfied, she re-pocketed her wand. Renee smiled. Ready to face the day. And not attract as much attention. She left the bathroom, turned left, and almost walked straight into-

"Snape!" she exclaimed.

The dark- haired professor sneered down at the young girl.

"That's Professor Snape to you," he growled out.

He then stopped. Looking over her face carefully, before recognition hit him.

"Miss Moore," he finally said. His voice held more contempt than usual.

"Uh…yes, Sir," Renee answered.

"Come with me. The headmaster would want to see you."

"Oh, I'm actually late for-"

"Now." Snape never raised his voice, however the tone he used screamed that he was not in the mood for games.

Renee quickly snapped her mouth shut. She followed along behind him, as he went through the castle halls, heading for the headmaster's office. Upon entering, Snape snapped his fingers. He pointed to one of the chairs.

"Sit," he ordered.

"I think I'd rather stand."

Snape shot Renee a glare. Renee sat. she watched as Snape moved around the room, scrawling a quick note, then sending it off with his wand. She stayed silent, not wanting the to anger the man any further. At least, she thought he was angry. It was hard to tell when his face never changed from the scowl he always wore. The two didn't have to wait long, before Dumbledore arrived. Both he and Snape shared a whispered conversation. Renee couldn't hear a word that was said. Dumbledore turned and addressed her.

"Miss Moore, welcome back."

"Thank you. I hope I haven't missed too many classes."

A chuckle came from the headmaster.

"I'm afraid you have. Missed graduation too."

Renee frowned.

"Huh?" she questioned.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush here. The year is nineteen-ninety-"

Renee couldn't help it. She burst out into laughter, cutting of the man.

"That's a good joke, Sir," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Why you little-" Snape started.

Dumbledore held a hand up to stop him. He sat himself down at his desk. His face remained serious. Not a single sign of amusement. Renee studied him.

"You're…serious?"

Dumbledore gave a single node.

"No way. Nuh, uh. That's not possible," she continued. "There's no way to go forward in time. And I should know. I've tried."

Dumbledore perked up at that. Renee pressed her lips together. Knowing she'd already said too much. Dumbledore decided to let it go.

"This time, it is," he said. "For some unknown reason, when Miss Price's time turner broke, you were sent forward."

"Miss Price? You've seen Andie!?"

"Oh, yes."

"Where is she? Is she okay? Is she mad at me?"

Dumbledore held up a hand.

"Slow down. She is just fine. At least, she was the last time I saw her." Dumbledore saw the confused look on Renee's face. He went on to explain. "Just as you were lost in time, so was Miss Price. Although, she ended up in the year nineteen-seventy-one. She told us everything."

"So…you know-"

"That it was your careless behavior that caused the accident? Yes, I know." Renee swallowed, trying to remove the lump in her throat. "However, I'm sure you've learnt your lesson. I'll contact your family tonight. I'm sure they'll be happy to know that you've resurfaced. For now, you'll stay in the spare teacher's room until we know what your family wants to do. Professor Snape will take you there."

Renee gave a small nod. She rose to her feet and followed Snape out. Being so tall, Snape's steps were long. He flew through the castle as he walked. Renee had to jog a few times to keep up. They made it to the teacher's room in no time. Renee had passed it almost every day during her first year at Hogwarts. She'd never managed to get into it though, as all the teacher's rooms had had a spell on them. One that didn't allow Alohomora t work. Much to Renee's annoyance. It wasn't that long ago that she had started learning how to lockpick, just to see if that would work against areas that were off limits. Snape unlocked the door and opened it. He stepped aside, letting Renee in first.

"Stay in here," he said. "We should have some news by tomorrow. I'll leave some food and drink. That should tide you over for today."

Snape pulled out his wand and, with a soft flick, aimed at the desk. A plate of fruit and sandwiches appeared, as well as a pitcher of water and an empty glass. Snape re-pocketed his wand.

"Now, stay in here," he ordered. "I mean it. I remember the trouble you caused when I last taught you." Renee fought the urge to smirk. "Stay put."

Renee wanted to say or what. Still, she stayed silent. Snape left the room. The door all but slamming the door behind him. Renee took the time to look around. The room wasn't as exciting as she had hoped. Bookshelves. A desk. Everything was coated in a layer of dust. The only exciting parts of the room were the claw marks that were dug into the desk, as well as the scorch marks near the door. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened in the room. She opened the only other door in the room. It just led to a bed and dresser.

Renee made her way back into the office section. She sat at the desk and began tracing patterns in the dust. As she did so, she munched on a few pieces of fruit. She was very quickly getting bored. With a frustrated noise, she crossed over to the door leading out. She tried turning the handle. It wouldn't budge.

"Dammit," Renee muttered.

Using both hands, she used more force. Almost jumping up and down in an attempt to open it, to no avail. She kicked the door. Bad idea. Pain flooded her toes. She hissed, hoping up and down on one foot.

"Sonova-" she started, then cut herself off.

"Ooo, language," spoke a voice from behind her.

Renee whirled around, quickly. A pair of boys, about Renee's age stood at the bookshelf, which had now been moved. A set of twins with red hair, and freckles. Both wore Gryffindor robes.

"Who are- Sorry. There's another way out?"

The two shot Renee a grin.

"Well, yeah," said the one on the left.

"There's secret tunnels and passages all over Hogwarts," continued the one on the right.

"I know that," Renee answered, almost snapping at the two. "Been trying to locate each and every one of them for the better part of a year."

The twins shared a look.

"You wanna see where this tunnel leads?"

"Oh, absolutely."

"He's Fred."

"And he's George."

"Renee."

Before they left into the tunnel, George grabbed some of the food and shared it with Fred. The three went in, moving the bookshelf back into place. Darkness engulfed them almost instantly.

"Lumos," Fred said.

The tip of his wand lit up, casting a blue light over them. The tunnel was long. The light could only go so far, before the void swallowed everything up.

"We saw Snape lead you around," George said, trying to make conversation. "Never saw you before. And we make a point of knowing everyone. Even the Hufflepuffs."

Renee snorted out a laugh.

"I suppose I should say the same. I mean, I am a Hufflepuff, right? But honestly, I try to avoid…certain people. I'm not big on knowing everyone."

"How on earth did you attend here without us knowing?"

Renee rubbed the back of her head.

"Heh, well it's a bit of a long story."

"We have plenty of time," Fred cut in.

"Alright," Renee answered. "It starts on October thirty-first. Nineteen-eighty-one."