The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 17: In the Pipes

Every night Alex spent her nights sleeping either on Ana's bed with the girl for comfort or in the infirmary next to Calista. There was never a point when the girl was on her own. It was obscure to see her without someone by her side. She hardly even went to Divination anymore, knowing she would have to sit alone, the seat beside her remained vacant as her best friend laid still as stone in a cot just a few levels of mortar and brick below her.

Instead of sitting across from her, Lucian now took a spot next to his sister at every meal.

"Lex, you've gotta eat," the older brother reminded her for the third time; although Alex refused to eat a single bite of food every time he prompted her. His thick brows furrowed in worry at his sister's unusual lack of appetite.

"Callie hasn't eaten anything for weeks, Lucy. You expect me to eat?"

"Actually, every petrified person is still eating," Aeron explained as he shoved a piece of pork chop into his mouth, "Sure it's all blended so it goes down more easily, but they're still eating. Eating more than you at least."

Her blue eyes fell to her plate, scanning over ever bit of untouched food that remained on her plate. The skin beneath her eyes were tinged red and blue, looking sunken in and swollen.

With a shaky hand, Alex picked up her fork and began cutting up her meatball, lifting the food into her mouth as if guilted by the whole ordeal. As she bit into it, chewed and swallowed, the girl hummed at the taste, smiling for the first time since she arrived during the holidays.

Ana too ate with a shaky hand, the other one was stuffed into her pocked; her thumb ran over the tiny piece of paper that arrived to her that morning.

"Soon. We will meet again. -The Heir of Slytherin"

It came to her by owl, bright and early in the morning as the rest of the school was still sleeping. Thankfully, Ana was sat alone in the Great Hall when she received it. If Lucian, Aeron, or even Draco had read the cryptic message, she would have gotten an earful, and Ana couldn't be bothered having her friends jump at the chance to question the identity of the writer. She had too much to worry about.

Ana rubbed her temples again, digging her fingertips into the skin leaving it red and sore in an attempt to sooth the ache. They had been growing worse ever since the leaves began to thaw and the sun stayed out longer day by day. No amount of sleep had helped and it only grew worse with knowing Snape and her mother were keeping secrets from her.

The voices were also just a minor inconvenience.

"Ana!"

Aeron whispered to alert her to the Great Hall being emptied at the continuation of the school day.

"We've got to get to Arithmancy, what's going on with you?"

"Just a headache, Aer, nothing to be too worried over," she explained as she sat up straighter, doing her very best to seem unaffected by the whispers that swarmed her head.

"What's going on with you? You have hardly eaten anything and you and the twins haven't exchanged a single glance. Did you guys get in a fight?"

Ana rolled her eyes at Aeron's uncanny ability to guess her grievances on the very first try. Of course, he didn't guess her problem with people talking in her head, but she'd rather him remain oblivious to that one.

"Lee has convinced them that I am the heir of Slytherin," she sighed as she took a bite out of her chocolate covered strawberry. Since being so anxious, she hardly noticed just how hungry she actually was.

"And why the hell would they believe that rubbish? It would make no sense for you to be the heir; why would you as the heir petrify one of your best friends?"