A Shallow Grave

Chapter 5

The next few days were not very eventful.

I spoke to Fig about what had happened in Hogsmede and told him what Ominis had said to me, the information on what Sebastian had seen and heard from the goblins. He was stumped. Nothing could explain my sudden fainting spell at the entrance of the village, Nurse Blainey certainly hadn't seen anything like it before. Fig told me to keep my head down and avoid conversation with anyone who had had the news of my recent escapades. This was easier to manage than I had anticipated.

I searched the castle and asked around in order to track down Julian Harrington. After my talk with Ominis, I needed to find out what this complete stranger knew. Perhaps I would be able to convince him that the goblins were mistaken, that it was a misunderstanding and that they weren't actually looking for me. It turned out that he was evidently good at staying out of sight. Hardly anyone I questioned had even seen him around the castle before. No one seemed to know anything about him.

It was as if he simply did not exist.

But he had to.

There was certainly a history between him and Sebastian, that had been made obvious by his immediate disappearance at the mention of Julians name. I was curious to know exactly what had happened to cause such distain, but I needed to focus on my priorities first.

With every moment of free time I had, when I didn't have classes and sneaking through the halls after curfew, I searched every corner of the castle to try and locate him. I even attempted to break into the sixth year dorms but was met with numerous potions books being flung at my head as angry voices cursed out at me, telling me to get out.

I should learn to brew an invisibility potion.

By the end of the third day of searching, I had given up hope. That night I lay on my bed, staring up at the canopy. It was late, late enough that everyone else was fast asleep, the room only slightly lit by a single burning candle on my bedside table. It was melting away quickly. The feeling of complete silence was comforting yet disturbing. As if nothing was left in the world.

And then the note came.

A small, folded piece of parchment slid underneath the door. I heard the sound of the paper skid against the wooden flooring and quickly turned to look at it. Footsteps outside the room faded as they fled away down the corridor. I kept staring at the parchment.

This could be for anyone in our dorm.

I argued with my own mind, finding reason as to why this note had been passed under the door. It could be from one of my classmates friends, a notice from a prefect, the possibilities were endless. Yet something compelled me to read what was written.

"I heard you've been looking for me. It's easy to stay hidden if you really want to. Regardless, I assume you have questions and I've made you wait long enough. You will find what you need, if you truly require it. -H"

H.

Harrington. It had to be.

The note contained no location. No directions or any indication of where to find him. He was treating this like a game.

One that I was getting tired of playing.

I got dressed quickly, stuffing the note into the pocket of my robe. Hopefully Peeve's wasn't patrolling the halls of the castle with more torches to torment me with.

I began at the library. Reading between the lines of the note, I assumed "finding what I needed" would be a reference to knowledge. The Hogwarts library was famous for housing endless amount of information within books and tomes. I scoured through the shelves for the better part of half an hour, careful to avoid the portraits. Alas, nothing.