Morgan le Fay Institute for Magic

Chapter 13 - Fantastic Friend

Alois is a Death Eater.

The revelation raced through Ravenna's mind for days. At first she'd refused to believe it. He'd been so nice to her. So eager to help her and the other Morgan le Fay students. He couldn't possibly be involved in the group of people that kept attacking random people, could he?

Ravenna had taken his first letter from her drawer and read through it again, and again. Every time she did so, she noticed that something wasn't right, if you read between the lines. Me and my associates are working hard to make a change. To make sure everyone is treated equally, whether they graduated at Hogwarts or at Morgan le Fay. He wasn't focused on helping. He was focused on making the change he and his associates wanted to see: overthrowing the Ministry.

His associates, Ravenna thought angrily. She could kick herself. Of course he means the Death Eaters. They're the ones who want to take down the Ministry. How have I not seen that before?

It was the middle of the night when Ravenna found herself in the common room alone. Everyone else had already gone to bed, but she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. She hadn't slept properly in days.

Di, the common room kneazle, stretched in Ravenna's lap. Her claws pierced right through Ravenna's robes.

"Ouch!" she pushed the creature off her lap, muttering, "Stupid cat."

Di shot her a look as if she'd understood the offensive word.

Ravenna had been so lost in thought, she'd almost forgotten about the kneazle on her lap. With a glance at the letter beside her, she leaned forward and tried to lure Di back towards the sofa. "Come on, Di. Come here, I've got something for you."

The kneazle couldn't resist the temptation of being petted. As soon as she jumped back up onto the sofa, Ravenna held the letter out in front of her.

"Kneazles sense untrustworthiness, right? Go on, then. Tell me: is Alois trustworthy?"

Di slipped underneath the letter and climbed back onto Ravenna's lap, nudging her head against her arm.

Ravenna sighed, petting the kneazle anyway. "You're supposed to be useful," she grumbled. "What, is a letter not good enough for your sixth sense?"

Di ignored her words and lay down, rolling up into a ball.

"If only my life was as easy as yours." With a shake of her head, Ravenna folded up the letter and threw it into the fireplace. She sank back into the sofa, watching the flames eat up the parchment.

What do I do now?

Ravenna jumped when the common room door suddenly flew open. Dan walked in, breaking off a huge yawn as soon as he spotted her. "Oh," he said. "You're still up?"

Is he still mad at me? It was the first thought that shot through her head. Since their meeting with Alois, Dan had barely spoken to her, and when he did it was nothing more than one-word responses.

She felt even worse about it now, because he'd been right. Alois was dangerous.

"Yeah. Can't sleep. Why are you still up? You look tired."

Dan came over and dropped himself onto the sofa next to her with his eyes closed. Di hissed and jumped away from the sudden movement. "That's an understatement. I've spent the past six hours with my head over a boiling cauldron. I think the fumes may have damaged my brain."