The three of us hurry up the staircase, which was long, lit by torches, and turned corners in unexpected places. At last, we reached what appeared to be a solid wall.
"Get under here," Harry instructed us, pulling out the Invisibility Cloak and throwing it over us. He gave the wall a little push.
Harry handed me the Marauder's Map and I blindly pulled it to my face to see our tiny dots going down the fifth floor corridor.
"We're up on the fifth floor," I whispered. "Filch is going away from us, let's go the other way."
In the few times I had prowled the castle at night, with Harry, I'd never been this afraid. Through squares of moonlight upon the floor, past suits of armor whose helmets creaked at the sound of their soft footsteps, around corners beyond which who knew what lurked, Harry, Luna, and I walked, checking the Marauder's Map whenever light permitted, twice pausing to allow a ghost to pass without drawing attention to ourselves.
"This way," breathed Luna, pulling us toward a spiral staircase.
We climbed in tight, dizzying circles before we reached a door. There was no handle and no keyhole: nothing but a plain expanse of aged wood, and a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
Luna reached out a pale hand, which looked eerie floating in midair, unconnected to arm or body. She knocked once, and in the silence, it sounded like a cannon blast. The eagle opened its beak, but instead of a bird's call, a soft, musical voice said, "Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"
"Hm, what do you think?" said Luna to us.
"What? Isn't there just a password?"
"Oh no, you've got to answer a question," said Luna.
"What if you get it wrong?"
"Well, you have to wait for somebody who gets it right," said Luna. "That way you learn, you see?"
"Ivy, you try! You once said you were best at logic and strategy," Harry said to me.
"Hm, well, a phoenix is born of ash from its flame," I thought aloud. "It's a circle... A circle has no beginning."
"Well reasoned," said the voice, and the door swung open.
The deserted Ravenclaw common room looked nothing like Gryffindors; it was a wide, circular room, airier than any I had ever seen at Hogwarts. Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue-and-bronze silks. Looking around, we tried to find the statue.
"Harry, over here," Luna said.
Both of us turned in the direction Luna pointed to and Harry quickly stepped out of the Cloak.
"Harry, no!" I whispered harshly.
Out from under the Cloak, Harry climbed up onto Ravenclaw's plinth to read the words: " 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.' "
"Which makes you pretty skint, witless," said a cackling voice. Harry whirled around, slipped off the plinth, and landed on the floor. I turned to look up at the woman. The sloping-shouldered figure of Alecto Carrow was standing before us– Luna and I hidden under the Cloak—, and even as Harry raised his wand, she pressed a stubby forefinger to the skull and snake branded on her forearm.
With a quick reflex, Luna and I quickly pulled out our wands and Stunned the ugly woman. The force of our Stun caused her to fly into a large bookcase and hit the ground with a hard smack.
"I've never Stunned anyone except in our D.A. lessons," said Luna, sounding mildly interested.
"Especially a double Stun?" I breathed. "Very noisy, I wouldn't be surprised if—"
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Poisoned Youth | ✓
Fanfic"I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did..." "For the last few years?" "No, for the last seven..." Possibly one of the worst things that could ever happen is falling in love with your best friend. Naturally, that's exactly what happened. - *conn...
