The Roses of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [1]

Chapter Ten: The Artist

"I shouldn't have eaten so much in Hogsmeade. After eating dinner, I feel like I'm about to burst at the seams," Calista whined as she set her hand on her bloated stomach.

"I told you eating too many chocolate frogs would come back to bite you," Emerald sighed.

The four girls found themselves walking down to the dungeons after dinner, heading for the common room. It had been a long and successful day of celebrating Oriane's belated birthday and enjoying all the sweets in the world. But it was beyond time that they retired for the night, having spent most of their day running around between shops.

"At least I'll be sleeping good tonight," Calista sighed as the girls began to scamper down the stairs.

"God, I hope so," Charlotte grumbled.

A large stack of barrels was quick to come into view, just past the sweet smelling painting of a large bowl of pears. Oraine did the honors of knocking on one of the barrels to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. Moments later, the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room was revealed.

They scurried through the entrance, almost melting instantly as they met the warmth of the nearby fireplace. A few students were still up and about, finishing up last minute homework, or attempting to wind down with a good book. Things were quiet as the girls climbed the twisting staircase up to the next floor, making their way to their dorm. At the beginning of the year, Oriane found herself counting the doors to the room, but at that point, the location had become engraved in her mind.

The door slammed shut behind them as the girls entered the room. Calista was quick to begin stripping down, groaning as she quickly changed into pajamas. She seemed to be the only one comfortable enough to change openly in front of the others, though, as everyone else, Oriane included, waited for their turn to use the bathroom.

"So, how would you rate today?" Emerald asked as she attempted to smooth out her curly hair. "Since today was supposed to be your birthday celebration, and all."

Oriane thought for a moment, eyes falling to the gold ribbon that was still tied to her wrist. She couldn't imagine herself taking it off anytime soon. And though it was an odd birthday in the sense that there was no Esme or birthday cake to be had, she did have that bracelet.

"I'd give it a ten," she said, tearing the canopy of her bed to one side.

And then there was no canopy. No bed, no Emerald. Instead there was a stone hallway, with various paintings hung upon the walls. She instantly recognized that she was in Hogwarts, though she wasn't quite sure where exactly within the castle she was.

At the end of the hallway was a painting on the wall. It was large, large enough to cover Oriane's entire body and still have room to spare. The scenery was beautiful. Old, classical Greek temples laid in the background of the painting, with vivid greenery and flowers up towards the front.

But in stark contrast to the painting itself was a terrible gash that ripped through the canvas. Parts of the fabric hung down as if it was crying over its wound.

Next to the painting sat a large, black dog. Its fur was thick, and it stared directly down the hallway at Oriane. Dark eyes burned holes through her as it sat next to the ruined painting.

Her vision vanished just as her knees hit the rock hard surface of the floor beneath her. Blood gushed through her body, the sound of it agonizingly loud as her eardrums throbbed painfully in her skull.

"Ori?" Emerald asked, as she carefully put her hand on her shoulder.

She ignored her, and instead found herself quickly glancing around the room. Her eyes landed on Calista, who sat on the foot of her bed. It was as if she had forgotten all about her stomach ache. Her dark eyes were wide as she stared at Oriane, who still hadn't stood from her knees.