Chapter 5 ~ The Shadow

Fred and George meet Andresa, Harry is alone in the dark corridor...

That evening, dinner was spent silently between the small group composed of Andresa, Hermione, Harry and Ron. Luna vainly tried to keep the mood light. She could clearly see that it was not succeeding, but she persevered anyway. Fred and George soon came, whispering between themselves. They had not yet seen Andresa since she had arrived in the school, and while they were exchanging mischievous grins, Fred’s eye drifted away and saw her.

“ Look who’s here !” he nudged his brother, barely believing his eyes. George mumbled a ‘what’ and then saw her too. They were some distance down on the benches and were now nearly ashamed of not having noticed her before. The shame soon melted away as they both, at the same time, rose to their feet and came to her.

“ Andresa ?” George was incredulous. She smiled up at them and came to her feet to face the twins.

“ That’s me.”

“ No, it can’t be you. You’ve grown so much.” The tension always left when those two were around, and once more there seemed to be a liveliness at the table. Andresa laughed at Fred’s comment, and George, still not convinced shook his head.

“ Which one’s George, which one’s Fred ?” he asked, as though this would surrender a sort of proof.

“ What a ridiculous question, George,” she narrowed her eyes playfully. “ And Fred,” she continued, turning to the other. “ I’ve never been much smaller than you.”

“ So what were you doing all this while ?”

“ Not very interesting things.”

“ Preparing meals for your dad ? Getting ready to be a housewife maybe ?”

“ You know me better than that, Fred.”

“ You would have been out hunting with your wand then,” George shrugged, making a guess.

“ No,” she easily lied. “ And I’m not going to tell you.”

“ So much for being friends.”

“ It was nice talking to you too Andresa,” Fred added to his brother’s comment.

“ Ah, you two.”

They winked at her, which meant we’ll talk more seriously later. Then they turned away, their voices fading again once more to whispers. Andresa, a now bright smile on her face, spoke delightedly with Luna. They talked about historical Quidditch games, of the players they were fan, of the magical creatures they could possibly find in certain parts of the world, which poked Hermione’s interest and chimed in every now and then and then began to participate actively. Soon, Ron was enrolled. And as everyone spoke animatedly, Harry gazed silently at Andresa who laughed every now and then and smiled and realized that she looked very familiar.

 

Harry excused himself from the table, saying he was going to the bathroom. He left the Hall and went down the corridors towards the dormitories. A cold feeling passed over him and he looked outside through the windows, and could see nothing strange in the dark. However, when he turned back to look ahead of him, a shadow moved around the corner and disappeared. Harry stopped in his tracks, and took his want out. Then he remembered what Dumbledore had said. He decided it was perhaps better that he kept his wand at the ready. He went on down the corridor and walked around the corner, but there was nothing there. A cold gust of wind came from somewhere. A door had to be open ahead, wherever. He wondered at that, and realized that ahead, it was the Gryffindor’s quarters, which meant the door to the Gryffindor’s quarters, which meant that something or someone had entered and not closed the door, which was not possible since there was the Lady in her frame, opening at the password and then closing. Harry sprung forward then, and found that the door to Gryffindor was closed, but there was no Lady in the frame, and cold air came from underneath it. He turned on his heel and looked around. There seemed to be the same shadow at the corner from which he had come, still there, and this time not moving. He squinted, trying to see better. There was nothing more he could see in the dark but the form of a black cloak. The being seemed to be floating in the air. Chills ran down his spine.

“ Lumos,” he tried saying, holding his wand in front of him. It didn’t work. The light that began to glow at the end of the wand made a white spark and faded out immediately. The tip of his fingers were becoming icy. There was a whisper behind him and he abruptly turned around. There was nothing there. He turned back to the shadow to find it had approached him of some couple yards. The cloak seemed to be moving back and forth, as though there was wind. The hood was all dark, and nothing could be seen within. The hands could be seen, coming out of the wide, black sleeves. It wasn’t skin. It was a silvery armor, and in one hand, the shadow held a wand. Harry’s breathing quickened. It wasn’t that close yet.

Harry. There was a whisper behind him. He heard it, distinctly, almost hissing. He whirled round as fast he could, but there was nothing there. He turned back to the shadow, which was now barely a yard away. A foul smell came from beneath the hood. He passed a hand over his forehead, wiping away the sweat, and made ready : the wand of the adversary was being raised.

Author's Note

I hope you're enjoying this...