you raise me up || harry potter

chapter 8: slytherin

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aurora borealis

★ by brandon fiechter ★

♢ ♢ ♢

Harry didn't know what to expect when they arrived in the dungeons, far below the rest of the castle. They had arrived at a bare stretch of stone wall, and she looked around nervously. What were they doing here?

The prefect turned to the rest of the group. "This is the entrance to your common room," she announced. "It requires a password to get in. The password will be posted every fortnight on the notice board inside—if you forget it, it'll be your own fault and you'll have to wait for someone to let you in, so keep that in mind. And you may not share the password with students from any other house or let them into the common room. Got it?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Password is 'Draco Dormiens.'"

Draco nudged Harry. "Latin for 'sleeping dragon,'" he whispered, looking smug upon hearing his name. Figures Draco would be fluent in Latin at eleven years of age.

When Harry stepped inside, she was expecting a dingy, damp and unfriendly room. She had overheard the Gryffindors talking about their common room: bright with warm colors of gold and scarlet everywhere, roaring fire, squashy armchairs, cozy and holed up in their own private Tower. She was quite jealous at that; it sounded much more welcoming than a dungeon.

But that didn't stop her mouth from dropping open. This common room was a grand one, nothing short of magnificent. A fire crackled in the hearth, with multiple dignified armchairs waiting nearby. The walls, though gray, were ornately designed, and pillars of stone were engulfed by what Harry assumed to be the ancient-looking roots of trees. They crawled across the wall and disappeared into the floor, and the ceilings were swathed with vines of rich green ivy. This place whispered of age, thrummed with the echoes of ancestors, timeworn by the thousands that had come before.

Two winding staircases off to the sides led up to a second level where bookcases lined the walls alongside large Gothic windows. And above it all, a spectacular dome, casting light that bathed the entire room with a gossamer green glow. Harry didn't usually like green—it made her feel uneasy—but somehow she didn't mind this kind, elegant and ethereal.

Windows? How could there be windows and a dome in a dungeon?

"This common room," the prefect said with her head held high in pride, "Is beneath the lake of Hogwarts. If you look out the windows," she waved her hand, "That is the water. The light that you see comes from a very powerful enchantment—it never goes dark here. You might even see the giant squid swim by sometimes. Or the merpeople," she shrugged offhandedly, "But no one has seen them in over a hundred years."

Although her awe was overwhelming, a shadow of trepidation jabbed at the back of her mind. She quickly ripped her gaze away from the windows. Merpeople? Harry mouthed at Draco do distract herself. Draco just rolled his eyes at Harry's ignorance in return. 

The prefect abruptly shut her mouth and snapped to attention. Confused, everyone turned to the direction she was looking. 

Melting out of the shadows, out stepped Severus Snape into the green glow of the Slytherin common room.

"Thank you very much, Miss Farley," Snape said smoothly, voice low and formidable. "You may dismiss the rest of the students. I shall take it from here."