𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 | 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒇𝒐𝒚 | 𝟏

𝟐𝟏*

It was early in the morning when Olivia found herself wandering to Professor Snape's office near his private quarters. The sun was only just rising over the edge of the Black Lake, a beautiful golden hue scattering across the water. The sky was painted with burnt orange and dark purple hues as the moon retreated.

The night prior had been a full moon and for obvious reasons, Remus hadn't attended her lessons the previous day. Olivia could hardly blame him but she had been waiting for Sirius's letter very eagerly. She wouldn't get it now for another three days.

It was still technically curfew hours as she made her way through the cool corridors still dressed in her pyjamas. Her hair was thrown up in a greasy bun, slick with sweat following the nightmare she'd just been stuck in for the last however many hours. Her fingers were still shaking and her knees still felt weak as she tried her best to navigate her way to Snape's office.

She made sure to bring her wand with her and she was glad for it, even if she had to rut around in near darkness looking for it while making sure she didn't wake up Serena or Alexis. She had the awful feeling that she was being followed and it wasn't the paintings on the walls either because the majority of them were still sleeping, even with the sun rising.

Every few steps she turned but she never saw anyone behind her. Still, it was unnerving. Especially when she thought there was already someone out to get her.

When she saw Professor Snape's office door come into view she ran the rest of the way down the corridor, her heart banging in her chest as that feeling of danger lurked around her shoulders. She banged her fist against the door rapidly, turning on her heel and looking down the corridor still half bathed in darkness.

A whimper escaped her lips when she saw a dark figure standing completely still and unmoving in the middle of the corridor.

She threw her body into Snape's door, twisting his handle to find it locked, before her body flew into fight mode. She lifted her wand and fired wordlessly, watching the ball of light leave from the tip of her wand and go soaring toward the dark figure.

The creak and movement of the door in front of her sent her into overdrive, however, and as soon as it opened she launched herself through it before she ever had the chance to see if her spell had hit her mysterious stalker.

Instead, she slammed Snape's door closed and locked it, mumbling the charm, while also locking it manually. Then, she cast a silencing charm and a further protection charm before she turned and collapsed against the old wood and blew out a trembling breath.

Professor Snape was standing before her, his eyes wide as he looked at her disheveled form in front of her. Finally he said, "What an earth do you think you're doing, Black?"

"Shhh." She urged him even knowing she had cast a silencing charm to prevent anyone outside from hearing them. Her paranoia was eating her alive. She pushed off his doorway and walked into his dark office, lit only by a fire light on his desk. She took a seat in the leather chair in front of his desk, lacing her fingers together as she leant forward on her knees and said, "Someone followed me here."

Snape walked to his desk and sat down opposite her, arching his brow, "One of your house mates I presume."

She shook her head firmly, "At this time in the morning?" She questioned him, "No, whoever it was wanted to hurt me."

Snape's brows drew together fractionally, "And how do you know that?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat, staring absentmindedly at her Professor's desk, "I had this... feeling." She explained to him, feeling it start to leave her body, "It was like a warning, urging me to run, whispering to me that someone was following me."