Hide & Seek

Chapter 18 - Scintilla

Chapter 18
SCINTILLA

scintilla
(n.) a tiny, brilliant flash or spark; a small thing; a barely-visible trace

SHE blinked slowly, her eyelashes brushing together lightly before parting ways once again. Gemma watched as the golden reflection did the same, her muddy green irises looking much more catlike in the rounded surface of the egg.

Her chin rest atop her hands that were sprawled flat across the wooden coffee table, her nose practically touching the cool metal.

Gemma had found herself in this position almost every morning and every evening, really any free time she had, staring into the rich shine as if by sheer will alone she would understand the clue.

She and Harry and managed to successfully capture their eggs, which meant they would both be continuing on to the next task.

It would be taking place toward the end of February, and seeing as the sleet beating against the walls of the castle was suggesting it had barely surpassed December 1st, there was still plenty of time to figure out the hint their prize was supposed to possess.

Upon re-entering the common room after defeating their dragons, the two champions had joyfully, and perhaps a little cockily hoisted their golden eggs high above their heads—and to the chorus of enthusiastic shouts, they'd flipped the latching and cracked into their gleaming centers.

The excited chants had almost immediately turned to horrified yelps as the eggs let out simultaneous shrieks that rivaled that of the baby mandrakes.

It was safe to say that not a single person had understood how the shrill yells were supposed to give any clue as to what the next task would be, and Gemma had taken up the pastime of scowling at her egg any chance she got.

She usually carried it around with her, tucked safely between textbooks in her bag, despite the added weight. She wasn't sure why, it just felt more secure than leaving it sitting on her nightstand or locked in her trunk.

Lavender was always poking around her private life anyway, and the last thing Gemma wanted was her sticky hands on the perfectly polished egg that was meant to provide her with some idea of what she'd have to face in a few short months.

And yet, as much as Gemma stared at the thing, it had made no more sense in the following weeks as it had that first night.

Every time she dared to twist the latch at the top, the same horrendous, earsplitting noise erupted from its depths. The looks she received from fellow classmates weren't worth the embarrassment, and so Gemma had resigned to trying to crack the code with her brainpower alone.

It was turning out to be quite the feeble feat.

Just then, a second reflection joined her own, large brown eyes and big bushy hair exaggerated by the sloping curves of the egg's shell.

"You do realize that staring at it won't help you figure out the clue any faster, right?" asked Hermione from over Gemma's shoulder, her eyebrows quirked upwards questioningly.

Gemma let out a frustrated sigh, lifting her chin from its resting place and glancing at her friend.

"I know," she said, "But I feel like I've read every book in the entirety of the castle, and not a single one has been of any use."

"Is it still letting out that terrifying noise every time you open it?" inquired Hermione, now standing at her full height again, her uniform perfectly pressed as usual.