The Hollow Beneath Hogwarts

100. What The Hell?

Sloane pushed open the dormitory door with her shoulder and immediately kicked it shut behind her.

The silence was glorious.

After the chaos of Christmas, the New Year Ball, travelling back to Hogwarts and being surrounded by people constantly, the quiet felt like a luxury.

She dropped her bag onto the floor with a thud.

Goose didn't even stir.

The little niffler was curled into a tight ball inside his cage, snoring softly beneath his favourite blanket. One tiny paw twitched as he slept, likely dreaming about stealing shiny objects or terrorising Blaise.

Sloane smiled.

Carefully opening the cage door, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small plastic container filled with sliced peaches.

"Breakfast for when His Majesty wakes up." She set the container beside him along with a small glass of fresh water.

Goose gave a sleepy squeak without opening his eyes.

"You're welcome."

The niffler immediately went back to snoring.

Typical.

Sloane laughed quietly before pulling out her wand.

With a lazy flick, the contents of her bag began floating through the room. Clothes folded themselves neatly into drawers. Books flew onto shelves. Toiletries disappeared into the bathroom.

A few Christmas gifts found homes on various surfaces around the room.

By now she had become very good at unpacking.

Years of constantly moving from place to place had taught her how to settle into a new space quickly.

The final item left inside her bag was a vinyl record.

Sloane smiled immediately.

Joanna had bought it for her at Christmas after listening to her talk about it for nearly six months.

Apparently her aunt had eventually become so sick of hearing about it that she simply bought the thing.

Removing the record from its sleeve, Sloane crossed the room and carefully placed it onto the turntable.

A moment later she dropped the needle.

Soft music crackled to life.

The familiar sound immediately relaxed her.

Perfect.

Draco had gone to see Professor Slughorn.

Harry and Hermione had decided to go for a walk around the grounds.

Even Ginny and Luna had disappeared somewhere.

For once...

For the first time in what felt like forever...

Sloane was alone.

Completely alone.

And she intended to enjoy every second of it.

She kicked off her shoes.

Flopped onto her bed.

Then immediately rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

The music drifted around the room.

For a few blissful moments she simply listened.

Thinking.