Together (A Harry Potter love story) 3

7

MILLIES POV

"Hey, El," I greeted, latching onto the boy's arm and pulling him from the Great Hall.

"I've been standing here for about ten minutes," Elwood complained, while I just laughed, "waving like a git."

"Sorry," I said, giggling, "but I had to get my timetable. Did you get yours?"

"Yep," Elwood said, as we made our way up the marble staircase. "I've got Divination first."

"Good, so have I," I told him. "Let's go."

The journey through the castle to North Tower was a long one. Two years at Hogwarts hadn't taught me everything about the castle, and I had never been inside North Tower before.

"There's - got - to - be - a - short - cut," I panted, as we climbed our seventh long staircase and emerged on an unfamiliar landing, where there was nothing but a large painting of a bare stretch of grass hanging on the stone wall.

"I think it's this way," said Elwood, peering down the empty passage to the right.

"You've said that five times already," I moaned.

"I think I know this time," Elwood insisted. "That's south. Look, you can see a bit of the lake out of the window..."

But I was now watching the painting. A fat, dapple-grey pony had just ambled onto the grass and was grazing nonchalantly. I was used to the subjects of Hogwarts paintings moving around and leaving their frames to visit each other, but I always enjoyed watching them. A moment later, a short, squat knight in a hit of armour had clanked into the picture after his pony. By the look of the grass stains on his metal knees, he had just fallen off.

"Aha!" he yelled, seeing Elwood and I. "What villains are these that trespass upon my privates lands? Come to scorn at my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you knaves, you dogs!"

I watched in astonishment as the little knight tugged his sword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down in rage. But the sword was too long for him; a particularly wild swing made him over balance, and he landed face down in the grass.

"Are you alright?" Elwood asked, moving closer to the picture.

"Get back you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!"

I giggled silently as the knight seized his sword again and used it to push himself back up, but the blade sank deeply into the grass and, though he pulled with all his might, he couldn't get it out again. Finally he had to flop back down onto the grass and push his visor to mop his sweating face.

"Erm - we're looking for the North Tower?" I asked awkwardly. "Do you know the way?"

"A quest!" The knight's rage seemed to vanish instantly. He flanked to his feet and shouted, "Come follow me, dear friends, and we shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the charge!"

He gave the sword another fruitless tug, tried and failed to mount the fat pony, and cried, "On foot then, good sir and gentle lady! On! On!"

And he ran, clanking loudly, into the left-hand side of the frame and out of sight.

Elwood sent me an anxious look but I just shrugged and followed the knight. I heard Elwood groan, but he soon caught up with me, laughing.

"Be of stout heart, the worst is yet to come!" yelled the knight, and I saw him reappear in front of an alarmed group of women in crinolines, whose picture hung on the wall of a narrow spiral staircase.

Puffing loudly, Elwood and I climbed the tightly spiralling steps, getting dizzier and dizzier, until at last I heard the murmur of voices above us, and knew we had reached the classroom.