Chapter Text
The Great Hall noises are louder than I’d imagined they would be on the first night of term. There are too many heads turning. Too many whispers. Not mine to answer.
As the Sorting Hat was lifted from my head, the Ravenclaw table erupted. I didn’t wait for any cues and moved to my house table, sitting next to a tall, blonde girl.
“Hey, nice to meet you! I’m Madeline, but everyone calls me Maddie.” Warmth reached her eyes. “This one over here is Arya.” She gestured to the small, black-haired girl next to me, whose face looked like she’d just sucked on a lemon.
“Adhara,” I replied, tilting my head with a grin. “But I’m guessing the whispers already covered that.” They had. Clear enough to carry.
The table was filled with food, and I decided to try some pork chops, hoping the silence would stick. I missed music played too loudly for the room it was meant for. Noise that wouldn’t stare back.
I scanned the rows of students. Only two exits. Not very safe for a place this big. Two boys at the Slytherin table ignored the hall, absorbed in their own conversation. The quiet didn’t last.
Arya leaned closer to my side, her attention locked on the green-and-silver table across the hall. “You’d be wise to keep your distance from that one—Sebastian Sallow.” She nodded toward the messy-haired boy.
“Why?” I avoided tracking his location in front of her again. “He doesn’t keep to where he should. Plus, he's got a fan club more insufferable than his ego.”
I poked at my food and frowned. “The brown-haired one?”
“That’s him,” she muttered. “The pale, blind boy next to him is Ominis. His shadow.”
“Hmm. Yeah, sure thing.” I shrugged it off, faking indifference, though I still kept him in the corner of my eye. Not that I’d asked.
At first, Sebastian didn’t even glance my way. He was leaned into a conversation with Ominis, all but ignoring the rest of the hall. But as the main course cleared and dessert appeared, the whispers about me must have gotten harder to ignore.
The shift came slowly—his attention no longer on his friend. His head was tilted just enough to register the way students around me were pointing and whispering.
He wasn’t eating; he was watching the room watch me.
Not curious. Scheming.
His face remained a mask of boredom, but every movement I made was being catalogued. I breathed in slowly, not to give him something to work with.
Professor Fig had said Professor Weasley would help me after dinner, so I waited.
As the Great Hall began to empty and the Prefects started calling out the first years. My collar tightened around my neck. I wouldn’t be anyone’s tragic tale.
Students slipped out one after the other. Time thinned the noise, and I was left alone at Ravenclaw’s table. Soft clinks of vanishing silverware and scratching on the floor by the benches echoed off the walls.
Above me, the enchanted ceiling faded into a velvet stretch of stars.
I could feel it before I saw it.
Movement from the Slytherin table.
Sebastian stood. Not rushed. Not hesitant either. Just deliberate.
Ominis had told him something, but it no longer held his attention. His focus had already shifted across the hall.
No immediate approach. The distance lingered.
Then—movement
Not toward the exit.
One step at a time. As if there were no urgency at all.
My pulse didn’t spike—but it sharpened.
He stopped a few feet away. Close enough to be intentional. Far enough to keep decorum.
Neither of us spoke.
His gaze swept over me, appraising, not admiring.
And then…
“Miss Astrum.”
Professor Weasley’s voice carried cleanly through the thinning hall.
“Another time,” he murmured, almost under his breath. Not a question. Not his to decide.
I broke eye contact first and turned toward Professor Weasley. She stood near the staff table, gesturing gently for me to join her, an encouraging smile on her face.
When I looked back, Sebastian wasn’t there.
The walk to Ravenclaw Tower was a blur of moving stone and whispering portraits. Professor Weasley pointed out the Charms classroom and the Defense Against the Dark Arts floor with practiced efficiency. She moved at a firm and steady pace that suggested she was used to students struggling to keep up.
“You’ll want to memorize this route quickly,” she said, not unkindly. “The staircases have opinions.”
I wondered what they would think of me.
As if on cue, the staircase ahead of us groaned and swung left. Professor Weasley didn’t break stride.
“The entrance to Ravenclaw Tower is at the top of a spiral staircase. The knocker will ask you a question.”
“A question?”
“A riddle. Not a password.” She glanced back at me. “Ravenclaw values wit and individuality.”
We stopped at a big, ornate door. Its dark wood and bronze hinges made me blink. At its center lay an eagle.
The beast’s eyes glinted, and its wings spread slightly as a resonant voice spoke.
“I follow without loyalty and leave without farewell. I am shaped by you, yet I am not yours. Look away, and I am still there. What am I?”
I stared at the bronze knocker, pulse still not quite settled.
I follow without loyalty and leave without farewell.
“An enemy?” I murmured under my breath.
They follow. They ambush.
But they’re not shaped like me.
The bronze eagle said nothing. Neither did Professor Weasley.
Look away, and I am still there.
“Reputation,” I murmured, staring at the floor. My chest tightened.
No. Too obvious.
That wasn’t it.
My attention snagged on the torch beside the door. Its flame danced against the stone, and something shifted along the wall beside me.
Shaped like me.
I turned my head.
I remained.
A slow breath left me.
“A shadow,” Obvious.
Always there whether you wanted it or not.
The eagle’s wings gave a satisfied flutter. “Correct.”
The door swung inward.
“Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Astrum.” Miss Weasley’s warm voice interrupted my thoughts. Then she was gone, robes sweeping the corner.
I pushed the door open.
As I stepped into the Ravenclaw common room, the crisp night air wrapped around me, carrying with it the scent of old parchment and ink. Blue and bronze filled the room, from the heavy curtains to the polished metal details along the walls.
The place was still buzzing with excitement. Low debates, quills scratching, someone arguing about a theorem near the windows.
Madeline saw me frozen at the common room’s entrance and waved enthusiastically. The dark-haired girl sat beside her, watching me with open calculation.
“Adhara, come sit with us!” She exclaimed, patting the empty seat beside her. Too easy and a bit much. Still.
“At the feast, you looked like you wanted to disappear, so I thought I’d wait…” Her eyes darted down.
“Ah, the chocolate cake helped a lot.” I smiled at her and leaned back, mirroring her friend’s dismissive posture.
“You know, people had plenty to whisper about. But given your… circumstances…” She didn't look up from her book.
“Ignore her. She doesn't bite, just barks.” Madeline rolled her eyes.
The dark-haired girl’s face contorted in a grin, and she pretended to bite the air close to her friend. They both laughed. I let it pass.
“So… First impressions?” Madeline said, moving to her armchair’s edge.
“Yeah, yeah... the castle and all that bullshit. Now tell us, are the rumors correct? Were you really attacked by a dragon?” The book snapped shut as she leaned forward, already too interested for my liking.
“Arya, that's... not polite,” she tried saying, but the way she bit her lip told me she wanted to know too.
My gaze drifted to the flames before I answered.
“It happened. The dragon and the ministry official.”
The fire cracked, and my voice caught with it.
Madeline’s smile faded. Her eyes widened as her hands flew to her mouth. She reached out to gently squeeze my hand. I hadn’t realized how cold mine were.
“That's... that's terrible,” she murmured, her voice soft. “I'm so sorry you had to go through that.” I didn’t need that.
The book didn’t open again, and I could feel Arya studying me before she turned to the same hot coals.
“Well,” she said after a beat, then leaned back in her chair. “At least you're here now.”
The common room door creaked open, and a tall boy with messy brown hair and round glasses entered. He scanned the room before zeroing in on our group, changing direction without pretending it was subtle before making his way over. His teeth flashed in a smirk.
“Hey, Maddie,” he greeted. That tracked. A nod—then his attention shifted to Arya and me. “I don't think we've met. I'm Everett Clopton.”
I shook his hand, keeping my face carefully still. “Adhara Astrum.”
“Heard you had quite the day, Astrum. Is it true there was a dragon?” He looked far too eager as he got closer. His palm was sticky with sweat against mine. I didn’t pull away fast enough and stiffened, shooting the blonde a quick look.
The word dragon landed all at once, and my eyes stung. Before I could answer anything, she stood up and stepped between us.\
“Out, Everett. She’s had a day long enough and doesn’t need people interrogating her about it.”
The boy’s face twisted with surprise; his hands shot up in surrender. Madeline grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a dark wooden staircase corridor, its steps alight with a soft yellow glow. Why?
“Yeah, don’t even think about probing her like that. You’re not us,” I heard the other call out, her voice mock-serious, before she broke into a laugh and followed us.
We went down two levels, passing the 7th and 6th year dormitories and their bathrooms, only to stop at a door that had a small bronze plate engraved with the number 5.
“This is us. I thought you’d like to know where everything is.” Her hand reached for the doorknob and turned it, revealing a big, cozy room.
Three sets of bunk beds lined the stone wall; heavy blue and bronze star-patterned curtains hung on each of the beds. There were three double-seated desks along the wall by the door, and wardrobes stood on both sides of the room.
But the real treasure of the room was the pair of window nooks. Each had armchairs, a small wooden table, and shelves built into the walls.
Practical and inviting.
The faint smell of parchment reached me. A silly poster plastered on the desk wall made me pause. I remembered my old room. The memory was so vivid I couldn’t look away.
I approached an armchair by the window and looked out over the school grounds. Beyond the glass, everything was dark and silent. Something stirred in the depths of the pitch-black lake.
I closed my eyes at the sight, and a smile emerged on my lips. Finally, a space that wasn’t glaring at me. It almost felt like home. Almost. It shouldn’t.
Maddie showed me the only unclaimed bunk: the middle bottom one. Perfect for quick, necessary night escapades.
“I’m assuming you don’t have many clothes to spare…” She was already rummaging through her things when she let out a triumphant little “Ha!” as a dark blue scarf with the Ravenclaw symbol on it was found.
“You can have this. I much prefer lighter shades if you ask me, and it seems to… well, it complements the blue and green in your hair better than it does mine.”
She wouldn’t quite meet my eyes, but her mouth turned into a side smile as she held the soft scarf in my direction.
“Thanks, that’s really nice of you.” I searched her face for a moment, and my throat pulled tight. A sideways grin tugged at my mouth.
Arya sat next to me and opened her book again. The blonde talked loudly about classes, trying to fill me in on every teacher’s quirk and preferences, favoring the ones she liked most.
Time slipped by quickly. Eventually, yawns started replacing the conversation.
“I guess that’s it.” Madeline stood up, stretching her arms. “We should get some sleep before it’s too late. Tomorrow, Professor Weasley will give us our schedule for the term.”
“Ugh, you’re right… I just hope no snakes this year.” She put her book aside and followed Maddie towards their bunk bed.
“Arya! You know that’s impossible, they always mix us in eventually.” Her voice sounded stern, but then she let a low chuckle escape.
“Adha, are you coming?”
“Yeah, I’m coming, Mom!” As soon as I stood, the sight of her crossed arms stopped me. Arya had a grin on her face. “I’m sorry, I’m going to bed now, see?” As she rolled her eyes and smiled, I smirked.
Everyone started muttering low good nights here and there. The lights were out.
The soft flutter of the curtains stirred the air overhead. I shivered. Sleep felt too far away.
It had been a long day, but the linen bedsheets were cold. I let myself sink into them.
Before my body finally gave in, something twitched deep within my head.
*Another time.*