POV of Parvati Patil

At lunch, I couldn't stand it for long, so I quickly ate my piece of the casserole and then disappeared again. I made my way to the Gryffindor common room alone, as I had left my books for Charms and Transfiguration in the dormitory. It didn't take long before I noticed out of the corner of my eye that James was following me, which made me quicken my steps further. He still managed to grab my arm and forced me to stop. We were already on the 7th floor, where there was a lot going on as most Gryffindors were just now making their way to lunch. I looked at him and was surprised to see this determined look in his eyes. Without hesitation, he pulled me with him into a quieter corridor. I leaned against the wall of the corridor when he finally let go of me and eyed me with a serious look.

Just as he was about to say something, his eyes suddenly widened in surprise. I turned around and immediately understood why: A door had suddenly appeared in the wall behind me that had certainly not been there before. Without hesitation, James went past me to the door and opened it. It revealed a room that looked very similar to the one from the previous night, but now you could see high windows with padded window seats, although I was sure that the room, if it was the same one, had no windows at night. In the middle of the room, however, there were three red armchairs with a side table on which stood a candelabra, just like the night before. The candles of the candelabra had burned down, though, which strengthened my suspicion that it must be the same room.

We had entered the room wordlessly and sat down in two of the armchairs before I hesitantly began:

"We found this room by chance last night... just like now. I thought I would never be able to find it again."

"Why were you out at all? I mean, you didn't tell me anything about it." He sounded reproachful, almost offended.

"Zane had challenged me to a duel..."

"And you didn't say anything?! I would have come with you!" he interrupted me.

"I didn't want you to get into trouble..." I admitted honestly. That had been the only reason.

"I can take care of myself!" James reacted angrily.

"Yes, I know, but I didn't want to drag you into this—Hermione and Ariana either..." I tried to explain.

"And how was it? The duel?" he asked without further ado, which left me surprised for a moment.

"He didn't show up. Probably he and Bella were caught beforehand." I told him about how Veatrix had appeared instead, and then we heard footsteps and wanted to flee to the common room, finding this room in the process.

"We should keep an eye on this room. If it really has changed since last night, it could be very useful," James remarked before I continued to explain how we were caught after all and had to serve detention in the forest.

"They seriously sent you into the forest?" he interrupted me incredulously, to which I nodded and described everything in detail. Of course, he got the full version of the story—how I had transformed and chased away the creature.

"But who could be so desperate as to drink unicorn blood?" he pondered aloud. He was voicing what I had so far banished to the back of my mind.

"I don't know—someone who is dying and will use any means, even if their life is cursed for it?" But what really preoccupied me was how this person, if it was indeed a human, had gotten into the forest. After all, apart from the students, teachers, and of course the house-elves, there was no one at Hogwarts.

We had to admit that we would need to continue the conversation later, as a glance at my wristwatch told me that we only had ten minutes left to get to class.

Charms passed largely uneventfully. I could hardly concentrate on the lesson, as I was thinking about this mysterious creature the whole time. Towards the end of the lesson, I became restless because we had Transfiguration next.

Oliver, James' brother, next to me, seemed to notice that something was wrong and kept nudging me when I sat for too long without practicing the spell. He seemed to know that I would either not tell him what was wrong at all, or at least not in the classroom where everyone could overhear. At least he didn't ask what was wrong.

As we said goodbye to Oliver, Ginn, and Padma, who had been eyeing me with concern the whole time, and made our way to Transfiguration class, I got a queasy feeling in my stomach. Professor McGonagall had been anything but pleased to find students from her house outside the dormitories, which is why I dreaded facing her mood. Guilt already weighed heavily on me, but the prospect of a severe reprimand—complete with names being called out—filled me with apprehension.

Without looking into the eyes of the grey tabby cat sitting on the desk, I sank into my seat and stared at my wand, which I had placed on the table in front of me. When I heard the familiar stern voice of my Head of House, I flinched slightly, but didn't look up. As expected, there was quite a thunderstorm. What a disgrace it was for Gryffindor to have gained four troublemakers who ensured that Gryffindor was denied the House Cup.

I was fuming. I had no idea why, but from one moment to the next, I had become incredibly angry at this woman who was herself to blame for the fact that we had no chance of making up the lost points. She could have simply deducted fewer points like Snape.

Only when I noticed James' alarmed look did I realize that I had clenched my hands into fists and that my eyes must have turned green again. Out of the corner of my eye, I could observe Hermione and Ariana, both sitting with their heads bowed, while Veatrix looked almost bored. This sermon was meant for her just as much as for us, but as Bella had told me, Snape had only deducted a few points from her, which apparently led to her feeling less guilty than we did. I envied Bella and Zane for the fact that their Head of House hadn't exposed them in front of the whole class.

I had never been so glad that a lesson was over as I was in that hour.

After Professor McGonagall had finally started the actual lesson, I had hardly taken in anything more. I had half-heartedly tried to practice the spell we were supposed to learn, but without any notable success. At least Hermione had managed it again, so I could turn to her later when I would practice it for homework. Besides, she had at least earned Gryffindor 5 points back, which actually improved my mood a little.