The Shadow of Slytherin

The Gryffindors talk

"I received a chocolate frog," Ominis states, the golden blue package in his hand. His face in your direction, his nose wrinkles while his mouth turns into a smile. "Did you get fudge again?"

Your back leant against the banter, Garreth to your right, his mouth twisted at the discovery of his treat, pepper imps, you sigh. "I did, care to trade?"

"Indeed, I will." Ominis hands you the package and takes the fudge, a small bite of it lingering on his tongue as he smiles content and waves his wand to get a better look at the other students walk on through the maze as well.

Your wand summoned, you wave it around, small spiders appearing before the cabinet, the students screeching as they jump aside when one of the spiders pops to release a green mist.

"Morningstar, if I did not know better, I'd say you may become a prankster like me," Garreth states, proud as he stares towards the entrance of the maze. "Although, I will require my wand to compare."

At the flick of your fingers, Garreth's wand appears in your hand. With a grin, you offer it for Garreth to take and open your mouth to say something, but the air crackles and a voice sounds.

"All students to the great hall, it is time for the feast."

"Excellent, I am starved. Are you coming, Salem?"

With a nod, you follow Ominis down the spiral stairs, and walk all the way to the great hall, but while Ominis enters, you turn your back. Something nags you and with the hair in the back of your neck rising, you hush down the stairs in direction of the Slytherin common room.

With a swoosh the secret passage opens to lead you into darkness.

As if the weight of the world has dropped off your shoulders, you grin, rush back up the stairs and towards the great hall where a tall Gryffindor students holds open the door, a grin on his face when you roll your eyes and enter the room before the great hall, but instead of holding the door for him, you open it just enough to walk through and head over to Ominis, who waves his hand at the sound of your footsteps nearing.

A sigh rolls over your lips when you turn to see the Gryffindor head to his own house. Your legs swung over the bench, you drop and lean onto your elbows, half listening to the headmaster with another story about his great family and their traditions, the other ear in direction of Atticus, who lowers himself onto the bench, his head leant closer to Alex and Akira, arguing about an urgent matter, but you cannot hear them properly when the headmaster announces another performance by the teachers.

This time however they decline and instead produce some more treats for the students before the tables overflow with all kinds of food.

And while the others indulge in the great feast, you sit silent at the table, the eyes observing the other tables, the students as they chat and stuff their faces. The teachers at their table arguing while headmaster Black toasts to himself.

At the sight of Tara, slipping Alec something, your mouth twists, but you ignore it and instead cheer at Ominis, who has stuffed his face with pumpkin pie, the whipped cream glued to his nose. In the corner of your eye, Alec drops onto the bench, farther from his friends, eating the pink treat Tara has given him.

While you continue to watch, his eyes drat to you, a smile rising in the corner of his mouth, but as he bites into the treat, his eyes grow dark, the smile vanished from his face.

Out of the blue, the hair in the back of your neck rises, and your eyes dart to the entrances, but you cannot see anything, neither near nor farther from you, and no one else appears to have noticed anything strange either. As if all the world had gone silent, you sit still, the eyes on every move around, but nothing appears strange, nothing jumps at you, yet the hair on your arms and in the back of your neck stand high alert.