The Shadow Trio | Year 7: Running from the Light

Part 8 - Letters from America

The floating string quartet performs its usual repertoire of classical music. Meanwhile, Ominis and I briskly stride towards the Undercroft, through the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower. Over by the marbled, maroon staircase, an unfortunate familiar face makes eye contact with the two of us.

"If only a new student were to help me with my sad predicament."  Zenobia Noke whines, passive aggressively.

The innocent brown-haired girl holds a dramatic frown as she leans against the tall, marbled pillar. Despite Zenobia being fourteen years old, she looks exactly the same as when I met her two years ago. Not to mention, she still hasn't found her foul smelling Gobstones after all this time.

"Oh, take the damn hint, Zenobia." Ominis scoffs.

We round the staircase and come across the mahogany cabinet with a giant clock on the face, the secret passage way to the Undercroft. Ominis takes his wand and motions a simple flick towards the cabinet. Gears can be heard clicking as the cabinet slowly unlocks, creating a chiming ring. We enter the cabinet and the door swings shut behind us as we begin walking down the stone steps to our newly created home.

The portcullis at the bottom of the steps open as we approach, revealing the Undercroft exactly how we left it this morning. The Undercroft is laid out like an open concept flat, which resembles the Slytherin Common room. The room holds many green glassed lanterns, casting an ominous, emerald glow up onto the walls and ceiling. To the right of the Undercroft is where we set up a make shift kitchen, we turned all those old, battered barrels into a kitchen system that worked in our favour, an antique spindled worktable sits directly in front of the hearth we conjured up.

On the left side of the Undercroft, a grand bed dominates the room, which is easily large enough to accommodate an entire family. An emerald green velvet canopy cascades from the ceiling, draping over a dark, quilted comforter and spilling onto the floor in luxurious folds. A floor to ceiling bookcase acts as a barrier, separating the bedroom from the rest of the Undercroft.

The Undercroft flawlessly replicates the atmosphere of a snake pit, concealed away for my two serpents.

"Sebastian could be back at any given moment, so we have to be quick." Ominis says in a hurry towards the kitchen.

"I wasn't in Potions this morning because I found something in the middle of the night, last night."

I watch as he begins opening the top cupboard and reaches to the very back.

"I felt quite peckish so while you and Sebastian were fast asleep I..."

"Opened this..."

He pulls out a tin canister of Sebastian's favourite sweets, Flavoured Beans. I sit there puzzled for a moment, as I rarely ever see Ominis indulge himself with sweets. I let out a tiny giggle at the sight.

I watch as he removes the lid from the can with a small smile on his lips. "I know, I know... shut your mouth. I had an arbitrary hunger for Flavoured Beans."

"Anyway, when I removed the lid off the canister, I found three of these letters... the first one is dated for a little over three months ago."

He lets out a sigh of frustration. "I feel quite ashamed that I looked through his personal belongings, but my inquisitive mind could not ignore them."

He grabs one of the letters and sets the canister atop the worktable. "This is the first one, I'll read it to you." He carefully unfolds the letter and holds it in front of him.