Silent Secrets

Chapter XIX

I blinked open my eyes to fields of scarlet, and I sat bolt upright, attempting to gather my bearings. Where was my father? Where was I? Had I been kidnapped? Run away? Whose room was this?

It was a few minutes before I remembered that I was at Hogwarts, in the Gryffindor first year girls' dormitory. I stretched and rolled silently from the bed, careful to make as little noise as possible so as not to wake anyone if they were still sleeping. The drapes parted easily around me, sliding back into place almost at once, as though I were a ghostly breeze passing through them. I crept a few short paces to the window, reaching out my hand to move the heavy red and gold velvet curtain aside slightly so I could look out. As I parted the curtains, my hand brushed against a light, silky, downy surface, the texture pliable beneath my fingers and flowing backward with the movement of my hand. The sharp figure of a young boy was silhouetted against the soft, predawn light that filtered through the gap in the curtains into the room. I stumbled backward, my hand still keeping the curtains from closing completely. What was a boy doing in the girl's dormitories?

As my eyes adjusted to the sudden light, I realized, to my growing horror, that I recognized the boy before me. Remus Lupin sat perched on the windowsill, mouth slightly open to form a small triangle,snoring lightly.

Eyes wide, I slowly let the curtain fall back into place, though a sliver of light escaped from the remaining gap. Turning around for the first time, I noticed that one of the room's occupants had left their curtains open. The oddest thing was that, from this angle, it almost looked like another boy heaped under the covers, with a short mop of messy hair spread out over the pillow. Creeping closer, I felt my heart stutter and suddenly stop as I recognized the person in question. James...

Two boys in the girl's dorms? It was more than unlikely. Had I, somehow, in my exhausted state of mind, gone up the wrong staircase and vanished into the boys' dormitories? But how had no one noticed? Was everyone simply too tired to see a girl going the wrong way?

And yet it made sense. I had seen Remus outside last night--he hadn't been with the group when we went to bed. The ancient trunk I had taken for my own was likely his, and once he came back and realized I was in his bed, he slept in the window seat rather than waking me up. And once I'd drawn the curtains, James and the others never would have realized it wasn't Remus buried under the covers in his bed.

But why though? Why wouldn't Remus have simply woken me up? Told me off in hissing whispers for stealing his bed, even if it was on accident?

Because he's being nice.

The thought slowly dawned on me, causing me to blink in surprise. He was allowing me a peaceful night's rest after an eventful day, on a soft bed that by all rights he ought to have been able to collapse into. Instead, he'd settled himself on the window sill, on a threadbare cushion, resting against roughly hewn stone walls, so I could get a good night's sleep.

I smiled quietly in spite of myself, turning and heading toward the door. I needed to get out of here before someone woke up and saw me. Twisting the gold lion-head doorknob, I slowly pushed open the door, wary of any creaking. Once it was wide enough for me to slip through however, an ominous snap came from above. I squinted and looked up, stepping closer to the door, trying to identify what had caused the noise.

At once, a bucket of frigid water emptied over my head, soaking me to the skin and exploding around me in a terrific splash. I gasped and spluttered, spitting water from my mouth and rubbing it from my eyes. Recovering from my shock, I rapidly looked around, desperately hoping no one had awoken. No peals of laughter or irritated groans met my ears, and all the boys appeared to yet be asleep.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and then froze as a voice called quietly, "Who's there?"

I remained as silent as possible, hoping the owner of the sleepy voice would roll back over, allowing me to make my escape.