The Misfitters

Chapter VIII: Unfortunate Consequences.

~🦅🐍🦡~

The castle was quiet. So quiet that you could hear the ringing of your ear drums. The three boys were even quieter as their footsteps walked through the halls. No one wanted to speak, they were afraid too. Afraid of being past curfew, and afraid of what was to come for them. Danger lurked in their future and they knew it. There was no escaping this, Chance knew that.

Abaddon wiped dry tears away from his red, puffy eyes and nose. He sniffled away the depression with his head down to the floor. Without saying a word, he left the group and towards his common room in the dungeons. No one said goodbye.

As Davey and Chance approached closer to the kitchen, Chance decided to break the ice. "I'll see you soon, Davey." He said, he gave a smile, but his sadness overcame it and pushed it back off his face. Davey did the same.

"Bye Chance, get some rest, buddy." He said, opening a door and heading to his common room near the cellar.

Chance was left by himself in the quiet school. It seemed strange, wondering where everyone was. They were meant to be in bed, but usually he'd still see people roaming around after hours. He shrugged it off, despite the eerie feeling that laced the walls. Walking up flights upon flights of stairs, he made it to the grand staircase that they had gone on plenty of times before. He silently cursed out the fact the Ravenclaw common room was so high up in the castle. The tallest tower, it was. It was said to symbolize their heads in the clouds and fresh air of wisdom. Might as well symbolize being ripped as hell because after school ends, they'll all have jacked legs from these stairs.

He climbed higher, and higher, and higher. And everything seemed fine, until he saw something strange. It already was eerie with no one around, but the giant gashes in the Gryffindor common room's entrance was even worse. Confused as all hell as to what he missed, and questioning if he was just hallucinating, Chance waited for the stairs to shift towards the common room to check it out. The stairs made him jump as they snapped out of place, rotating him into his destination. He hurriedly climbed the stairs as soon as they came to a halt.

Standing in front of the Gryffindor common room, he lightly touched the broken canvas to analyze it. Are people still in there? They can't be, could they? Chance thought to himself. Whatever it was, Chance felt like if they were now caught in their common rooms, they'd be in big trouble. So roaming the halls didn't matter. Wherever the kids must be, that the trio isn't, will make them in big trouble for sure, anyway. Chance sighed. It wasn't his problem to care right now, he had a lot more on his mind and a lot more trauma to digest.

Many, many more stairs later, Chance had finally reached the common room door.

"I am an odd number, take away a letter and I become even. What a-"

"Seven. Let me in." Chance grumbled under his voice, aggravated with how the Common room door operated. You must tell a riddle, that's how you get in. It's a rotation of many different riddles so it's nothing impressive, Chance has memorized them all to answer them easily. His first year, he had waited outside the common room for 30 minutes until someone walked outside, he couldn't figure out the riddle. He cried that day.

The door swung open, and what do you know? More stairs to climb. But Chance did eventually make it to his bed. As soon as he came into contact with the bed, he flopped over and fell into a deep sleep.

Chance had nightmares that night. And so did the others. Images and sounds of horrible events played on repeat like an old broken record. The lack of sleep and the stress contorted into images of fear and fright. Screams were heard in Chance's brain as he tossed around in his bed. Trying to rid himself of the horrid faces. It was a long night. But when he awoke, strangely, no one was even in the dorm room. Perhaps they'd all be at breakfast, but it was strange that they wouldn't wake him. With sunken eyes and a gloomy expression, Chance got ready for another day of school. And a Monday, it was today. Even better.