Discord

Chapter 1

If you had asked me five years ago if I thought that I would ever be standing outside Hogwarts, the answer would be no. But alas, the enormous grey-bricked building loomed over me. 

No, I'm not actually at Hogwarts, but I sure as hell wouldn't be surprised if Harry himself walked out the door. 

'Darlington Academy' was etched into the aged stone above the wooden door. The building itself extended over a hundred metres either way, at least four stories high. And yes, there were the stereotypical stone gargoyles crouched intermittently upon the roof. 

Can this place be any more creepy? Hogwarts or no Hogwarts, there was something eerie hovering in the air around Darlington. Nothing physical, but you know when you stare into a dark corner of your bedroom and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up? 

Thats what this place does to me. 

Ignoring the stare of my friends on the roof, I trudged towards the entrance, duffle bag in hand and my worn converse crunching on the gravel path. 

I was almost hesitant to push the door open, the thought of what may lay inside halting my hand an inch from the wood. 

"You've done this to yourself Desi, suck it up", I muttered. 

Straightening my shoulders and steeling my expression, I shoved open the doors and walked into exactly what I didn't expect. Whilst the outside resembled the old crumbling house of wizardry, the inside was the kind of place I avoided on my 'shopping sprees'. The place that had eyes on me as soon as my scruffy ass walked within a metre of the shop front. 

My shoes met the polished concrete floor with a loud squeak, the lady behind the desk looking up from her screen in response. 

"Uh hi? I'm Desi Waters. Desabelle, actually", I stated. 

"Great, we expected you an hour ago but take a seat in our waiting area", she sniped, gesturing to the chairs to the left. 

My mouth opened to argue but I let out a breath when I realised that she simply wouldn't care that the bus broke down, or that it refused to drop me off at the driveway and I had to walk two kilometres to get here. 

They never hear my side of the story.

I made my way to the group of black leather couches in the other room, dumping my bag on the seat and collapsing down into it's comforts. Just as I let my eyes close for a second of respite, they shot back open to the sound of light footsteps on the concrete. 

"Desabelle Waters?"

The voice came from a figure in the archway, standing tall and staring. At me. 

"Desi" I corrected.

His eyebrow quirked just slightly at my reply, green eyes roaming over my exhausted body splayed on the couch. Reaching up to push his black locks back into their regimented place, he spoke.

"My name is Eli, I've been told to escort you to the Dean's office for your introduction".

My eyes lingered as he fidgeted with a thick ring on his finger, watching the rotation send the light in the room against the wall. 

"Desabelle". 

I dragged my attention back to his face, where a small smirk made itself at home. Grabbing the bag next to me, I stood from the couch and stared expectantly. 

Nodding his head, he finally turned back towards the reception and started off in its direction. Realising he meant for me to follow, I picked up my feet and tried to catch up. 

We made our way out of the main foyer and immediately took a never ending set of stairs up to the first floor. As he led me down the hallway, I couldn't help but notice the stupidly large amount of portraits that lined the walls. Each one seemingly following me as I walked past. 

Ignoring the chill down my spine, I picked up my pace slightly to stick closer to Eli.  

As we approached the end of the corridor, we took a sharp left into a hallway I couldn't tell was there. Arriving at the only door in this area, Eli turned to me as he lightly knocked. 

"Good luck", he quipped. 

Before I had the chance to retort, he had already walked away and disappeared from the hallway. 

The door swung open.