black | sirius black

The Triwizard Tournament

Getting used to being the head of her own household wasn't easy and Jayce was really glad she stayed back because if she hadn't the Selwyn Estate probably wouldn't have been a thing now.

Pandora and Xenophilius actually ended up leaving before Jayce as the blonde boy had found a place for them to stay. And so her winter holidays ended with tearful goodbyes (mostly from Pandora).

And in no time, she found herself at the familiar castle again.

She didn't take the train this time and rode in a carriage- something in the Selwyn household rulebook about not taking trains as the head of the house or whatever.

It was quite a lonely ride, so Jayce made a mental note to make a few changes to the Selwyn rulebook.

It had gotten dark by now and Jayce knew that the assembly in the Great Hall had probably already started. That meant she had no time to go to her room to unpack or settle in. Awesome.

There was almost no place for her to place her luggage with all the luggage that was already placed there.

"Off to a great start, Selwyn," Jayce muttered to herself, pulling her suitcases as she walked deeper into the castle, hoping to find a safe space to place her suitcases.

Salazar, how many students went home for the holidays? It almost felt like the start of a new year at Hogwarts given how cramped everything was.

While exploring the dark place with a frown, Jayce stumbled upon an old, dusty chest half-buried beneath a tangle of overgrown ivy.

Curiosity overwhelmed her as she narrowed her eyes at the box. Why would there be a random box like this in the middle of the castle?

Intrigued by her discovery, Jayce knelt down and carefully brushed away the dirt and cobwebs that covered the chest. To her surprise, it bore an inscription on its lid that read, "Positively Do Not Open."

Her heart skipped a beat as she pondered the possibilities of what could lie within. With trembling hands, Jayce slowly opened the creaky lid.

The moment she did, a chilling gust of wind escaped the chest, causing the surrounding leaves to rustle and dance. Jayce's eyes widened in astonishment as a faint, ethereal mist materialized from inside the box before her.

It slowly transformed into... herself?

But, she wasn't herself.

She wore a ghastly gown, too expensive for even Jayce, and her eyes held an icy unfamiliarity.

And then, she was struck down.

The lifeless eyes of her corpse fixed their penetrating gaze on Jayce, who found herself both frozen and fearful.

Jayce was frozen as she watched her flesh rot with maggots, her once lively smile replaced with broken and dry lips.

What was this? What was she seeing?

It was so sudden and so unexpected that Jayce didn't even reach out for her wand or try to get out of there.

She was paralyzed.

She had never even imagined herself to ever look like this.

Her skin was pale, her eyes glossy and almost white and her lips were dry. The corpse bore a Quidditch uniform that was almost coming apart given the random holes and tears.

Jayce felt bile rushing up her throat.

Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and to her face.

She had to get out of there.