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Post by Viola Derrick on Dec 11, 2012 16:38:16 GMT -8
It was almost eleven-thirty at night when Viola left the abandoned classroom on the first floor and started her journey up to the towers. She'd gone to the classroom right after dinner that night to retrieve her Potions textbook. She often took to studying in dusty old rooms around the castle when the Gryffindor common room was too loud and the library was filled. It was also in these rooms that she would dance.
She hadn't taken a lesson in over a year, but Vi still remembered all of her favorite steps. She practiced them once or twice a week. Whenever she got the chance. She hadn't meant to dance then, but it happened anyway. She had been heading for the door with her book in hand when she just found herself twirling and humming to herself. Ballet steps from her childhood mixed with the waltz and tango she'd been taught just a couple of years ago. She didn't stop until her feet hurt, and realized an hour and a half had already passed. Viola grabbed her fallen book and ran from the room.
She ran all the way to the fourth floor, unconcerned with being heard or caught. Viola had an almost perfect record. One detention for being caught out of bed at night wouldn't hurt anything. She slowed to a walk finally and was about to climb the stairs to the fifth floor when she remembered something. A secret passageway someone had mentioned. It was on the fourth floor, and would take her to the other side of the castle, where her tower was. She decided to risk it.
It wasn't that hard to find the entrance to the passageway once she started looking. It was poorly hidden behind a tapestry. She was surprised she hadn't found it before, having passed by it hundreds of times on her way to the library. But the passage was dark. It didn't contain any lit torches like the rest of the castle. And it wasn't even wide enough for two people to stand side-by-side. Mercy clutched the book to her chest and lit her wand, holding it out in front of her as she walked.
There wasn't much to see in the passage. No portraits or statues. It was just a plain corridor, meant to get you from one place to another. Viola found her mind wandering the longer she stayed in there. She thought about how dark and old the corridor was, and how it seemed as though no one had used it in years. She wondered what would happen if she stayed there. Would anyone miss her? She had a few friends, sure. And maybe those annoying boys that teased her all day would take notice. But would they care? Certainly not her family. She was the black sheep, after all.
'A wolf in sheep's clothing, maybe,' she thought and winced. Just thinking the word sent shivers up her spine. Wolf. It reminded her of the night she was bitten, of how scared she'd been then and the morning after. It made her lose hope in ever finding a way to live a happy life. Without a cure, she'd forever be alone, hidden away in the shadows of some forest. Viola dabbed at the tears in her eyes with a sleeve, but more followed. She sat down on the cold stone floor and let the tears fall and the light drain from her wand. The tower would still be filled this time of night, and she couldn't let anyone see her crying, so she'd just wait it out in the dark.
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