Sophie Pendragon, Year One | Half-Vampire At Hogwarts

Chapter Fourteen: Boundaries

         As the time grew closer to midnight, I heard the trio running to me. I shifted back and ran to meet them.

          "Sophie! What is it?" Harry asked.

          I huffed out of breath from shifting and running, "Draco. I think he set you up to get caught by-"

          "Meeeow," Mrs. Norris meowed loudly behind us.

           "It's Filch's cat!" Hermione cried out.

          "Run!" Ron yelled.

           Harry grabbed my hand, "This way!"

           I didn't argue but I was concerned how I didn't sense Mrs. Norris so close by. Running with the trio, we got on one of the staircases and stopped to catch our breath. Mrs. Norris was on our tail, ironically, and I noticed Harry was still holding my hand. Suddenly, the staircase started to move and my other hand went to Harry's chest from the sudden jolt.

          "Sorry!" I said, embarrassed.

         "I-It's ok!" Harry assured, also embarrassed.

         When the staircase stopped, Mrs. Norris began meowing loudly for Mr. Filch. Peeves also heard and began to cause trouble.

          "Students out of bed! Students out of bed!" he yelled, a massive smile on his face.

          "Where are we?" Hermione asked.

          "Doesn't matter!" Ron yelled and we ran through the unfamiliar corridor.

          As we ran, the stone pillars lit with flames whenever we approached one but quickly went out when we passed. The trio was frightened by the thought of getting caught but I felt a massive presence at the end of the corridor. At the end was an old round wooden door and Harry attempted to open it.

          "It's locked!" he exclaimed.

          "Not for long," I said and drew my wand, "Alohomora."

          The door unlocked and I went in first. Harry was holding my hand still and Ron and Hermione followed us in. I squeezed Harry's hand at the creature whose presence I had felt. Harry was also frozen next to me. It was a massive three headed dog that was in a very light sleep. Mrs. Norris and Mr. Filch left the corridor but I couldn't find words to tell them.

          "Alohomora?" Ron asked.

          "Standard book of spells, chapter eleven," Hermione responded, a little put off.

          "Well, Filch thinks this door is still locked," Ron said, relieved.

          "It was locked," Hermione reminded him.

          "And for good reason," Harry barely whispered as the dogs began to wake up.

          All four of us were now frozen as the dog set its sights on us. They began to show their teeth and I felt they were being extremely protective over something. I noticed they were standing on a trap door beneath them but they were also very angry we were here. When they started to bark ferociously with their large teeth, we all screamed. As we made a run for it, it took all four of us to shut the door on one head of the dog that was still trying to bite us. We ran back to the staircase and realized that was the third floor corridor that was out of bounds. Harry apologized for getting me into so much potential danger but I told him it was alright since he needed the back up after all. Hermione was a bit put off by that response but she said nothing. We wished each other goodnight and went our separate ways in the staircase. I shifted into a bat and went to the baths after getting my uniform for the next day. As a bat, I could still carry my clothes with ease but it would look silly to see a bat doing that so I still had to be vigilant to not get caught. In the baths, I met another ghost.

          "Now, aren't you out late," she said.

          She was a female student from a different time at Hogwarts. Her hair was in pigtails and she had large glasses. Despite her shrill voice, she seemed intrigued by me.

          "Vampires often are. I'm Sophie. Sophie Pendragon," I said in the warm water.

          Her face lit up, "Sophie? Are you Sophie Hatter's daughter?"

          "You knew my mum? The Hufflepuff seeker?" I asked, just as surprised.

          Her laughter echoed in the empty bathhouse, "Your mother is the kindest person in the world!"

          My heart sank as I did into the water, covering my mouth. The ghost girl noticed my silence and began to weep.

          "Don't tell me. She's dead now, isn't she?" she sobbed.

          I began to cry and was selfishly relieved a ghost's misery wouldn't affect my hunger. The ghost girl circled the ceiling in wails and moans. My heart was crying just as painfully.

          "I'll be your friend, if you like. I might not look like my mum, but I would like to be your friend too. What's your name?" I said after wiping my eyes.

          "Myrtle. Myrtle Warren. But everyone calls me Moaning Myrtle and makes fun of me," she said sadly.

          "That's awful!" I exclaimed, deeply upset.

          She giggled softly, "Your mother said the same thing. You better leave soon. The professors tend to patrol the school grounds too."

          Sure enough, in the distance were faint footsteps. I got out of the bath and got dressed in my uniform for the next day. Making sure to avoid getting caught, I finally got back to my common room but I was exhausted. I was so tired that I put away my clothes and got out my bag for classes in the morning. Instead of going to bed, I ate a tablet and laid on the couch in the common room where I slept with Calcifer.