Lauren Davies and the Glydan Pipe

The Sixth Window

Tess blinked slowly at Lauren's revelation and sat, unmoving as loud chattering continued around them.

"That is true..." she finally began and Lauren could practically see the gears in her head turning as she searched for a reasonable explanation. "But teachers aren't required to stay on the grounds at all times. It's entirely possible he just nipped out to a shop or something."

"But..." Lauren began to stutter, her face flushed with excitement as she tried to keep her voice down. "He's been sneaking around the castle for weeks."

Tess gave her a confused look and Lauren pointed her eyes to the entrance of the dormitory staircase, indicating that the conversation needed to be kept private. Without another word, both girls stood up simultaneously, rushed up the spiral stairs, and threw open the heavy door to their room. The loud shouts of students celebrating in the common room were blocked by thick walls as the room wrapped them in silence.

Lauren went over to her bed and threw open her trunk, rummaging around until she found a striped wool sock, weighed down by the object inside. Tess gave her a questioning look as Lauren held the sock upside down and allowed a small golden coin to fall out, hitting the center of her palm with a satisfying smack. The two girls stood, facing each other and staring at the center of Lauren's hand. After a few seconds without explanation, Tess finally spoke.

"A Galleon," she stated simply. "You saving up for anything special?"

"It is not a Galleon." Lauren huffed, trying to suppress her frustration. Her entire body was shaking and she suddenly regretted keeping everything from Tess. Lauren was impatient and bringing Tess up to speed was wasting time they didn't have.

"Here," Lauren said, "take a closer look." She tossed the coin across the room. It flipped in the air a few times, reflecting the light off its shiny surface, before landing in Tess's hands.

"Oh." Tess squinted her eyes and rubbed her thumb over the top of it. "There's nothing written on it." She turned it over to examine the backside and found the same thing. Although it looked strikingly similar to a Galleon, it was simply a round piece of golden metal. "Where have I seen this before?" She glanced up at Lauren, who was cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

"We used them in Professor Oldstrum's class," she explained simply.

"Did you steal it or something?"

"No," Lauren responded quickly, suddenly realizing that her fractured explanation made little sense without context and continued to fill in the gaps. "The other night, I went to see the family portrait on the second floor—"

"Your favorite portrait," Tess interrupted.

"Yes," she continued, trying to find her place in the story again. "The mother told me she saw Professor Oldstrum wandering around like he didn't want to be seen."

"So, you followed him," Tess said, connecting the dots without question.

"Exactly," Lauren said and Tess nodded like Lauren stalking a Hogwarts professor was a casual event.

"What was he doing?" Tess finally asked while crossing the room to sit on her bed. The frame creaked as she dropped her weight on it, and she tossed her neck from side to side, causing a series of outrageously loud pops to echo through the room.

"Well, I didn't actually see him, but I walked up to the third floor corridor and I could smell his cologne. That's where I found the coin." She gestured over to Tess who held it up in the air, examining it once more.

"Well, it's definitely his," Tess finally said. "I've never seen anything else like it, but what does that have to do with the break-ins?"

"Don't you find it odd that he's sneaking about the castle? That corridor doesn't go anywhere. I'm not even sure where he vanished off to."