Fly, little ballerina

4. The voice

Somehow, Mila had managed to get herself to the entrance of the great hall – where she had eaten lunch – after she stormed out of her common room. She stood still for a second, wondering whether to go up the moving staircase or go outside and enjoy the sun.

Who knows how long this weather will last.

However Mila made her mind up swiftly, deciding that going up the stairs would be better if she didn't embarrass herself by being late to her lessons. Unfortunately for her, the stairs started moving just before she had the opportunity to get off at the first floor, meaning she ended up on the 2nd floor.

Mila wandered around, tracing the wall with her fingertips, happy to be experiencing even the slightest bit of freedom. She tried some deep breaths but found that it did nothing to calm the simmering rage. She couldn't believe the audacity of that man, calling her a burden.

But deep down, she had a feeling he was right. She wished that he was wrong, that she did deserve to be in this school, just like everyone else but then she remembered that the only reason she was even here right now, was because she had to spy on and potentially kill, the three men she had so quickly become acquainted with.

Excitedly making her way to the first door in that corridor, Mila was disappointed to see that it was just an empty classroom, potentially used for transfiguration if the large, black cat statues on either side of the podium were anything to go by. She left to try and find a more interesting classroom only to find another empty classroom filled with seats on either side of a podium with a stack of books on the floor.

The cycle of finding boring classrooms repeated for a couple hours until she decided to go outside. Saying that she hated all the classrooms may have been a little unfair, seeing as she had adored the astronomy tower and the DADA classroom: she had discovered which classroom it was by finding some textbooks in the cupboard.

After wandering around a little longer, Mila had found herself in the herbology classroom. Just as she was looking at some of the posters on display she heard someone whisper her name. Quickly she turned around, only to find no one there. Mila was immediately set on edge. After standing still a couple seconds longer, Mila made her way outside, towards the greenhouses, wanting to explore a little more.

The first greenhouse was beautiful. Mila slowly walked along the planted mandrakes while gently tapping her fingers along the workbenches as she went. She paid close attention to the detail inside the greenhouse: there were many gold vines that wrapped around the support beams as well as little plant pots that hung from the ceiling. This classroom was so peaceful. Deep down, Mila knew that if she couldn't practice ballet to clear her mind, she would definitely come here.

Mila stood still for a moment, clearly lost in thought, only to hear someone whispering her name again. Again, she turned around and searched for the source of the mysterious voice and yet again, she found nothing.

The young girl walked over to one of the benches, trying to make herself more comfortable despite the feeling that something was wrong. So, she looked up at the pixie dust that floated around her, sparkling in the bright light that refracted into the greenhouse. It was peaceful. There were no gunshots, no screams or pleas, just silence. And for some odd reason, the calm silence scratched an itch in Mila's brain. She took a couple of deep breaths, bathing in the sweet serenity.

After a few minutes, Mila got up, wanting to visit the other greenhouses - there was a total of six – and as she made her way to the last greenhouse, she couldn't help but notice the light fog that was starting to form, the previously sunny sky turning grey and cold.

This immediately set off alarm bells in her head – fog couldn't form that quickly. She grabbed the hand gun that had been placed in the waistband of her grey sweat pants and loaded it. Soon enough, she was surrounded by the fog that had somehow seeped into the greenhouse with her, leaving her to rely on her other senses to determine what was going on.