ROSIER

17

Stars and Storms
...

Gwen tapped her quill against the constellations, her eyes glancing over at Dorcas ever so often. It was another day of total silence, and other than the brunette, she didn't bother to find a full-time company to replace her.

It was painful to watch how Dorcas sat with a group she never honestly liked. Only last week did they make fun of how seriously they took themselves, and now the brunette was laughing about every bad joke made by them.

Gwen spent most of her time with Remus, but he was, so she assured herself, not a replacement but an honest friend. She turned the page of the current astronomy book, an old one she borrowed from Professor Sinistra in the hopes of finding clues, but it was as useless as the rest she tried out.

The laughter became louder, and Gwen questioned why she chose to sit in the Great Hall either way. Maybe because both Garg and Remus were busy, but definitely because she desired to be close to Dorcas at least in distance.

"You're so funny." The blonde quietly mimicked Dorcas as the tapping became more frequent. "There's no one I'd rather be friends with. Blah, blah, blah."

She glanced to the other end of the table, linking eyes with the brunette for a second before inevitably losing her again.

"That doesn't look like homework," Connor surprisingly sat down on the seat opposite her. "Astronomy again? Can I take that as a sign of you liking it?"

"It's a nonlinear relationship," The blonde quickly checked the other papers on the table, but luckily, none were directly related to Ivan.

"Can I have a look?" Connor asked, taking the paper. "Mystery Constellations?" He smiled. "I like that name. Seems fitting."

"Thank you, that's what I said too,"

The golden boy looked at the books she had next to her, while Gwen noticed the sudden stillness from the loudest group in the room. She didn't even need to glance at them to know what expressions their faces must have turned into.
They might be a big group, but the blonde sat with Connor Abernathy, and that was bound to cause envy and noisiness to spread. Now Dorcas was the one out on the conversation.

"And what exactly are you searching for?" Connor asked.

"I don't know, maybe some secret message or hint or," Gwen stopped herself. "It's a Riddle I got from my uncle. He's sure I can't solve it."

"Was your uncle possibly a Ravenclaw?"

"Uh, yes, my uncle was a Ravenclaw," She nodded, fearing the lie to be obvious, but the boy didn't seem to think twice about it.

"Then I think I know how to decipher it," Connor stood up from his seat. "Come on, I want to show you something."

Gwen grabbed her belongings, sending one last look over her shoulder. She crossed eyes with Dorcas, but now it was the blonde who looked away.

Connor took her toward the Ravenclaw Tower, but instead of solving the Riddle to open the entrance, he walked a few metres further until they stood in front of an empty wall. With a wink thrown over his shoulder, he walked right through the stone.

Gwen stood frozen. They had walls like these in the dungeon, too, most with the tendency of enclosing right after you entered, to trap you inside. "Connor?" She asked, only for his hand to reach back to her side of the wall, silently asking her to take it.

The other side was a room much too small for two people to keep a proper distance between them. There was a ladder to climb as she followed after the boy. He lit the room with his wand, showcasing a sight that stole Gwen's breath away.