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Chapter 17

Senna

Dreams. What were they?

Dreams are what your subconscious tells you when you're in the REM stage of sleep, an annoying voice at the back of her head told her. Yes, that was true, but what really were dreams?

The question ran through her mind as she walked into the divination classroom. The classroom was empty as moonlight streamed through the windows, creating patterned shadows on the ground. She looked around; the elements of the subject still had their individual sectors set up, and the 'dream' section lay in a slanted wall by the top-left corner of the room. It was essentially a shelf with glass vials holding memories of dreams carefully put together row by row, and a pensive lay untouched on the top shelf. A mirror stood before the pensive and Senna looked away, not wanting to see the dark eye bags that had inevitably settled themselves on her face after so many nightly adventures.

"Remind me what lie you told the teacher to make her allow us to use the room?" A voice rang through the room. Senna whipped around to face the doorway and a tired, irritated Ashlyn with something- was that a snake?- tailing her stood. The girl walked over and picked up one of the vials disdainfully.

"Ew. Who even believes in dreams telling the future anyway?"

Senna shrugged. "I told the teacher we were working on an extra credit project. So, what does the clue say again?"

"You've found the clue, you've cast the spell. What you've done is doing well. Inside out and outside in, memories keep showing kin. Do be careful, lest you wait, what's come may be a big mistake." Ashlyn recited the words.
"So the mistake part. We know about the dreams, we know the spell, and we've found the clue. There's the vials, where the clue should be if my recollection is right. Maybe it's behind that pattern on the floor- what does it say?" She bent down and squinted before standing back up.

"Hui Yi. So what is the mistake we're mak-"

She was cut off by the floor opening up under her.

***

Senna rubbed her eyes as she blinked them open, getting used to the light. She couldn't see anything.

A faint pressure on the side of her leg reminded her that yes, she had a wand, and yes, she was a witch, so yes, she should probably cast a light spell. She rolled over, sitting up and pulling the calloused wood out as she waved it. The faint light lit up wherever she was; walls of bottles filled with silvery liquid lined the walls, and she glanced up the top to check; the floor of the divination room had closed up.

"Hello?" Senna said, a tremor in her voice creeping out. Her voice echoed into the hall and she pointed her wand threateningly before her, eyes darting around to check if someone really was there. After hearing no response, she moved closer to the shelves, wanting to see whatever the silver liquid was. The shelves felt rusty and old, and as she turned her wand towards the ceiling to check for a way out there was an old sign hanging on chains; Archival Section 3: Hall of Memories, Property of Meiling School for Witches and Wizards.

So they were memories. Vials of memories stretching out for years dated the walls, all of them carrying thick layers of dust as a telltale sign of being untouched for years. What was this, the two Lost Halls of Divination?

She walked closer and picked up a bottle of swirling silver, brushing off the dust to reveal the label. The chinese characters were unfamiliar, but she understood the basics of it: Memory Belonging to Xin Feng Cai.

So this was really one of the two Lost Halls. She could only hope she was in the one where the murder didn't happen. The label said memory- the clue wasn't here. It couldn't be. She scoured her brain for information- yes, both halls were connected, yes, they were shut down, yes, there was a murder. She moved closer towards the shelves, fingers tracing over the engraved year labels until she reached the time. There was a memory from the teacher, one that Senna thought was the death scene as she saw the reflections of the glass. The murder of Teacher Lihong (李紅). She stared at the silvery substance for a second, wondering if it would be okay to just take it.

She wandered closer to the beginning, close to where she dropped. The years drew closer and closer to their time, but memories still filled the shelves.

The memories shouldn't be here.

Senna replayed the fable that she'd been told and she was right; it didn't add up. The glass vials were still laid out perfectly, but the layers of dust just weren't there. If the two Divination Halls were put to a stop 50 years ago, how could a memory from just last year be here?

"Time to go," she muttered to herself and reshelved the memory, pointing her wand in front of her. The hall led on for ages and she shook her head, brushing her hair out of her eyes. The exit couldn't be there, could it? No, it couldn't. The halls probably connected there. She shook her head again, gazing at the silvery memory before looking away.

Senna turned around ready to head back and find an exit out when she froze; two golden eyes were staring right back at her.