The Years We Were Alive: Year 1

Found

January 12, 1972

Lizzie felt goosebumps form on her arms. It was dark and cold. She couldn't see either. It was fine, she reminded herself. The ghosts here weren't anything to fear, other than Peeves. She was fine. Everyone else was in bed.

Her watch told her that she had been out for hours. At least, what she could see of it. She had stopped wandering around in hopes of finding her way back, favoring a small alcove where she could hide. IT was quite comfortable too.

"Ugh, gag me," a familiar voice sounded through the corridor, "I can't believe they're still let in,"

Snivellous.

"Those mud bloods need to learn their place," his friend responded. Lizzie felt her heart speed up and now it felt as if her heart was beating in her toes and her fingers.

"Petrificus Totalis," Lizzie pointed her wand at the pair once they came into her field of vision. Once she saw that they had hit the floor she ran in the opposite direction, making sure they wouldn't see her. Now, she could hear the heavy sound of her shoes hitting the ground.

"WHO'S OUT OF BED?" the gnarly voice Lizzie recognized as Filch echoed through the castle. He sounded like he was about where Lizzie dropped the two Slytherin boys. She continued running, Filch would be wound up with finding someone to do the counter curse.

She was even more unsure of where she was, considering she moved up a couple of floors. How many was it? 2? 3? Oh no. She had to remind herself not to panic. She stopped for a moment to take a breath. Calm down.

A quick look at her surroundings showed her a dead end. The corridor just... stopped. That's okay she thought nobody will come down here. She was still scared though. She wished that she hadn't left, or even that she had heard what the rat-faced boy was going to say. She noticed she was pacing before she noticed the door.

Right where there had once only been an empty wall, she saw a nicely cut golden door. Was she really that inattentive? Sirius would probably say yes to that. James wouldn't. James would tell her that someone who could become a seeker had amazing attention to detail. Yeah, she wouldn't miss an entire door when she's lost.

Inside she saw a room that looked like it shouldn't have fit behind that wall. It was miles wide and jam-packed with stuff. Trinkets and such. She stepped in and closed the door. She shot sparks into the air so they would mark where she was. She was sure that if she got lost in here, she really would be lost.

She started to wander around the heaps and piles of things. She thought a lot about could-be-pranks gone wrong, or maybe right. A stack of dung bombs was right by the door. She climbed deeper and deeper into the room. She had never heard of something like this before. A room that lets you store contraband in it. What a weird thing to have in the castle.

There seemed to be pathways extending throughout the whole room like a nervous system. Different trails leading in different directions. Occasionally, Lizzie would shoot up more sparks. Just in case. Because she had gotten herself deep into the room. She still had the creeps as she did in the dark halls, it was just easier to ignore because of how confused and distracted she was.

Damn. If only she'd had the map. Then maybe she could come back again. It was an amazing room, really.

"Hmm, how'd you get in here?" she said aloud to a small tuxedo cat that was walking around. She leaned down to pet it, but it ran away. Lizzie shot up sparks and started to follow it.