Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-47-

With less than two weeks left for the term to end, the atmosphere at the castle shifted tremendously. From what little Dorcas could decipher from the confines of the Gryffindor tower, everyone seemed to be much more joyous, and it filled her with immense emptiness thinking about how little it mattered to the world that her mother was gone.

The fifth and seventh years seemed to be more subdued as they were sitting for the last of their OWL and NEWT exams, for they looked completely exhausted and disoriented as they remained in the common room, buried in their books. Many of them walked around like ghosts, muttering revisions under their breath, apparently too preoccupied to look where they were going, often walking into the fireplace or bumping into walls every now and then, and had to be rescued by the other students. Even James Potter and Sirius Black, the wild mischief makers of Hogwarts, were to be seen studying by the window of the common room, not making a racket as they so loved doing.

In another universe, Dorcas thought dolefully, in another time perhaps, she would have been among them. Among those haunted looking souls who had given up eating and drinking to cram last minute revisions. She would have joined Maeve and Silver in the library, pouring over her notes, cursing the exams under their breath and abusing the examiners who would watch them as they sat for their exams.

Now she watched from afar as Maeve leaned over a hundred scrolls of parchment, eyes drooping, occasionally looking out of the windows longingly; she watched as Silver read and reread her books, looking highly distressed. Dorcas realised with a jolt that she didn't miss hanging out with her friends, she no longer looked eagerly at them as they spoke or laughed. She didn't really feel much nowadays. She merely sat near the window looking out at the Hogwarts grounds, her hand gripping her wand tightly, longing to leave Hogwarts and start working for the Order as soon as possible. But she couldn't get herself to leave. How could she, when the people responsible for her mum's death was right here in the castle?

But every time she thought of them, her mind went back to the warning McGonagall had given her, and her respect for the head of the Gryffindor house kept her from doing anything yet.

"Where are you going?" asked Silver wearily. Dorcas blinked, realising she had risen from her now permanent seat by the window and was walking towards the portrait hole. "I have Cauldron Cakes, you want some?" Silver pushed aside her books and extracted, from under them, a box of what looked like some squashed cakes. She had been extra nice to Dorcas since the time she had reprimanded her for locking herself up, and Dorcas had to admit the new behaviour didn't suit Silver at all.

"No, thanks," she said quietly. "I was just - heading to the kitchen. Don't want to bother you."

Without waiting for a reply, she climbed out of the portrait hole and was a few floors below them in seconds.

As she passed the Great Hall, Dorcas noticed a great crowd of students standing near the entrance to the hall, although the large doors were shut. Moving into the shadows, she wondered what was going on, before realising that they were waiting for their exams to start. What did they have now? It was probably Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies or History of Magic, for Maeve and Silver wouldn't be sitting in the common room now if they had an exam starting in ten minutes. The crowd was small, and she suddenly spotted Juliet amongst them, standing beside her boyfriend Tristan. Muggle Studies it was, then. Juliet had mentioned to her once about how Tristan had forced her to take Muggle Studies, and she had ended up actually enjoying it, so much so that she even took it to the NEWT levels.

Careful not to be seen, Dorcas crept across the Hall through the shadows, until she reached the entrance to the basements. She wasn't really intending to go the kitchens, but after telling Silver that she was, she thought it wasn't really a bad idea. Plus, she was hungry.

After Silver's little outburst, Dorcas had taken to going into the kitchen for her meals, which was definitely a better option, more so because the house elves positively adored her. It was in the kitchens that she had smiled for the first time since her mother's death, and it was in the kitchens where she could hang around freely without any human presence. The house elves always made sure to stuff her with food to the point that she would be unable to walk with her stomach weighing her down, and it was this, more than anything else, that lifted her spirits, even if only slightly.

But as she came to the entrance of the basement, she halted suddenly. Just a few yards away from her was another entrance, much darker and mildly ominous looking. The entrance to the dungeons. Where the Slytherin common room was located.

Professor McGonagall's words repeated in her mind once again. But a terrible, uncontrollable urge overtook her, undermining any warning the Professor has given her, and her words faltered to a stop to be replaced by a firm determination. Without thinking, without considering her chances, Dorcas turned away from the warm welcome of the basement and strode determinedly into the dungeons.

It seemed like she was plunged into a cave; it became dark so suddenly. The rough path descended before her, lit eerily by torches hanging on brackets at intervals. She hesitated for only a moment, and strode confidently forwards.

She did not know what she was going to do; she had no plan at all. But all reason seemed to have left her body, and a voice inside her urged her on, giving off waves of encouragement. She did not know where she was going either, and allowed instinct to guide her, trusting the fact that she was still inside the Hogwarts castle, and that the path would surely lead somewhere. Somehow, she convinced herself, she would reach something, or someone.

With these feeble assurances, she proceeded, knowing that she couldn't turn back now if she wanted to. She came across forks every now and then and wondered, vaguely, how deep the castle went. She had heard that the Slytherin common room itself was below the lake, and that Slytherins could enjoy a view of the dark waters through the windows. She suddenly had a strange urge to witness it.

Someone bumped into her and cursed loudly. Though she held her wand in front of her, Dorcas wasn't really paying attention to where she was walking, and was thrown back as the large figure glared at her, pointing a lit wand in her face. He didn't seem to have been really affected by their collision, and by the light of his wand she registered a look of pure mirth on his face as she scrambled to her feet.

"Well well well," he said gleefully, watching her through sharp grey eyes. "If this isn't the lovely Ms Meadowes. Your mother's unfortunate demise must have opened you up to the reality; you must have realised what we are capable of doing and have decided to join our side, have you?"

Her insides squirmed with hatred as she heard him talk about her mother, but she gave a dry humourless laugh. "You're as delusional as your Dark Lord if you think I'm going to join you," she spat. The Slytherin's eyes shone with laughter, she noticed, even though he has extinguished his wand, and was holding it right under her nose.

"Well, good for you to come to us anyway," he said in a voice that sounded like he was just thanking her for accepting his invitation to a dinner party. "I haven't had a chance to test my skills ever since that MacDonald girl; it's always nice to have preys walking blindly into the predator's den."

He opened his mouth to shout a spell, but Dorcas was ready. She waved her wand and he was thrown off his feet, sliding several metres across the cold hard ground. He was back on his feet in seconds, but Dorcas has already strode forwards and shot another spell. Her lack of need to say the incantations out loud gave her an advantage over him, and he kept stepping back as he merely managed to deflect a few spells every now and then.

His casual expression has melted away. His face was hardened as he realised that she was no easy prey. But there was only so much Dorcas could do by herself, when she had willingly walked into the enemy's lair. She heard footsteps behind her and realised with a jolt that she wouldn't be able to fight two of them at once.

No, not two. There was more than one person coming up behind her.

Before she could register what was happening, something hard slammed into her from behind. She stumbled, the dark, greenish dungeons swam before her eyes, and in a feeble attempt to clutch the wall for support, she dropped her wand and fell to the floor.

The last thing she saw was Mulciber leering at her from above.