Following the Fox

Chapter Two: The Letter

(A/N): Releasing this one earlier than anticipated (I ignored my schoolwork for this). Please ignore any possible errors in coherency, as I've just now finished this at 2:32 AM. I will try to update again next Friday (Dec. 15), but, like always, no promises!! Schoolwork comes first :P (we'll see how that goes).

-Jay

The First time Emmett stepped foot in the Ravenclaw common room, he instantly knew it would be his favorite of the castle.

Its wide, circular shape afforded perfect lighting from the towering windows on the far side. Blue and bronze accentuated the room in the form of drapery and carpet- on which plush, comfortable furniture resided.

Tables were strewn in an unorganized fashion; each supporting a candle that never seemed to burn out. Bookshelves of varying content littered the walls; the biggest of them sitting alongside a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw in a semi-circular niche opposite the main entrance. Lush sofas and leather chairs spread the polished stone floor- the majority of which surrounded the most comfortable fireplace Emmett had ever seen.

On either side of the fireplace were broad, elegant staircases- each leading to a balcony overlooking the room. Two plain wooden doors labeled 'Prefect's Quarters' interrupted the smooth stone brick wall (which was thick with school advertisements and reminders).

Despite such grandeur, nothing came equal to the mural of the night sky on the ceiling.

No one knows exactly when it got there, but rumor has it that a group of students painted it long ago to aid with their astrology homework. Its magnificence was underappreciated by most (as it's a common sight for any Ravenclaw), but Emmett particularly loved the night's sky.

He often snuck out of his dormitory late at night to trace the constellations with his fingers, keeping track of the various moons and planets dancing across the darkness.

It reminded him of the clearing his mother first showed him when he was 6 years old. Every time they visited, Emmett considered it a treat. Her voice echoed in his memory each time he gazed upward into the night.

"Whenever you find yourself upset," she would say, pushing the hair from his eyes, "no matter its perceived significance," Her face concealed her age, but her hands did not. They were calloused, with an aura of experience radiating over fresh wrinkles, "come outside and tell your worries to the sky, and you can let them go."

Her eyes were wise and welcoming. Her voice, accentuated with the rich hue of motherly love, carried the same tones of feisty energy she used to command the transfiguration classroom.

"The stars will take care of them." She said it so carefree; So factually. Emmett felt no reason to distrust her.

A sharp rap on the window behind Emmett brought his attention to the present.

A sleek shape of onyx aimed its eye at his, and struck the window once more. It didn't break eye contact. Just as Emmett began to get up, the nag of an all too familiar haughtiness harassed his ears.

"Let that thing inside before I notify Thomas of such disruptions." Oscar Charles, the common snitch, referred to Thomas Charles, the 5th year prefect (who happened to be his older brother).

Emmett didn't like Oscar.

According to Harper, he abused his relation to Thomas (who is just as annoyingly pompous as Oscar) to give himself a sense of power. Emmett provided no insight- he simply didn't care enough to care why Oscar acted like a spoiled git.

Harper proclaimed indifference as well, although she went out of her way to infantilize and humiliate him. Once, during their introductory potions lab as first years, she made Oscar cry. Harper, subdued by a fit of laughter, tried to whisper to Emmett the reason for his tears.