Stigma | Jikook + Harry Potter AU

Chapter 5: Unconfined

Lisa had been warned by plenty of people, friends and fellow classmates alike, to not go walking around at night; especially not without company. The creatures rumored to be lurking in the halls were consistently dangerous enough, without the current threat of a kidnapping adding extra risk. Any student with common sense wouldn't dare to be out in the hallways after dinner time, but Lisa wasn't afraid of such threats.

Just a few hours ago, the Ravenclaw's best friend, Jennie, had been lecturing her about the risk of going 'missing' like the few before her had. No explanation, no letter, nothing. Just gone. She found the rumors to seem a little over exaggerated and considered herself to be smarter that the supposedly kidnapped girls. Lisa had never been one to listen to the words and voices of others, and she knew that her chances of being abducted or attacked, were very slim.

Jennie was just being paranoid. Most of the girls who had gone missing were prettier than they were intelligent. Lisa was not a helpless girl, no. She was strong willed and wouldn't allow herself to bend to anyone, not even her best friend. She understood Jennie's worries, but just worries they were.

The halls and corridors of Hogwarts were dimly lit at this time of the night, any noise sounded eerie because of the lack of presence. Anything that made a creak or a croak, wasn't of human descent or aesthetic, it was all so familiar. Lisa had never not felt eased or comfortable in the walls of this ancient castle.

The blonde had left her bag in the library. It contained many of her books, and most importantly, her wand. She had plenty of studying to do, so she needed the books. And what was a witch without her wand? Lisa was quite forgetful at times. It was often that she would leave her wand or books somewhere, and this wasn't her first time sneaking out of the dormitory to go and find them. At least this time, she knew exactly where she had left them, something that wasn't usually true.

Lisa had thought about taking Jennie with her, just to be safe, but Jennie didn't like breaking the rules and she was already sleeping by the time Lisa had realized that her wand and books had been, yet again, misplaced. Besides, a fearless girl like herself didn't mind going alone anyway.

These hallways were always quite cold during the night. Of course, Lisa had known this. But yet again, she was quite forgetful, and warm clothing hadn't been the first thing on her mind when she had snuck out. Her slim arms began to pepper with goosebumps, and she found herself cling onto her torso tightly, trying to provide her frail body with some type of warmth.

The grand library wasn't too far. Lisa walked quickly and quietly, running her nimble fingertips against the hard stone wall. It was pitch dark, but she had no wand to light her way or guide her. Not that she would have used it anyways. That's how students get caught at night. Lisa certainly didn't need to be getting caught. She just wanted her books and her wand back.

Lisa had barely made it down the first hallway when she felt long cold fingers wrap around her wrist. She tried shaking the person off, feeling angered that someone must've caught her. Though her anger quickly changed and she felt paralyzed as a cold dark figure wrapped cloaked arms around her waist. For the first time in a long time, Lisa was scared.

She let out a scream, but everything was quiet. She tried screaming at the top of her lungs, but there was no sound. She tried to move, but her body was frozen and any remaining vision she had in the darkness became blacker. She didn't see a face on the figure that held her and she didn't hear a voice. But she could feel a heaviness around her that could only mean one thing. The magic being used to hold her hostage was very, very dark.

When she came to, Lisa was lying on her back, her eyes focusing in on a face.

"Anna...Popplewell?"