Brightest Star

Chapter Eleven

Izzy stared up at the ceiling and listened to the sound of seven other girls' breathing. After talking for a long while with them, they finally fell asleep after being shushed five times by the female prefect. Now she's the only one awake. She turned over to her bedside table and took out her timetable.

"Breakfast, Transfiguration, Potions, Lunch, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Dinner, Astronomy." she whispered to herself.

Putting it back onto her bedside table, she closed her eyes and started breathing deeply, trying to convince herself to sleep and that she would need all her energy tomorrow.

"Come on, Izzy. Sleep. Just sleep." she murmured to herself.

Giving up, she grabbed her quill from her open trunk and a roll of parchment that she and Remus went to buy during their trip to Diagon Alley. She started to write a letter to her parents, saying how amazing everything is so far, asking how Ella's new cannula feels on her and how she's faring with her lung cancer now. She signed off hoping everyone was well.

Folding it, she tiptoed out of her bed, out of the dorm and downstairs into the Common Room. The curtains were all drawn and the Common Room was pitch black. Izzy stumbled around until she felt someone tap her back. She gasped and turned to see Elliot, holding a muggle flashlight. Izzy exhaled.

"What are you doing here?" Izzy hissed.

"I could ask the same of you. What are you doing here?" Elliot raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Well, I can't sleep. It's so weird sleeping in the same room as other people. Their breathing is really... loud."

"Same here." Elliot nodded. "So I came downstairs to see if anyone else was awake."

"I came downstairs to find a book and possibly deliver a letter."

"The typical Ravenclaw. What do you do when you can't sleep? Read a book."

"Am I allowed to deliver a letter, then?" Izzy asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"You're not allowed to go out of the Common Room after hours." Elliot said. 

Izzy held her hand out. "Give me the flashlight."

Elliot handed her the flashlight and Izzy grabbed a book from the nearest shelf. She shined the light onto it. "Hogwarts: A History." Izzy read. "Hmm."

Izzy sat down onto the nearest armchair and Elliot sat down next to her. Izzy turned to the first page and began reading. After a few hours, they felt a coldness draw closer. Not bothering to look up, Izzy kept reading.

"Um... Izzy?" Elliot stammered, pulling on Izzy's dressing gown.

"What is it, Elliot?"

"You might want to look up."

Izzy looked up and screamed.

The ghostly lady covered Izzy's mouth. "Shh! Don't scream so loudly. People are still sleeping."

Izzy looked at the lady fearfully. "Then why aren't you sleeping?"

The lady laughed a soft fluttery sigh. "I'm a ghost, dear. Some call me the Grey Lady, but others call me Helena Ravenclaw, like they should."

"The Grey Lady..." Elliot gasped. "You're the House Ghost!"

"Yes, I am. That's all I could be and can ever be since I died."

"Who or what killed you?" Izzy asked.

"The Baron. He loved me and when I rejected him, he killed me then killed himself."

"Did it hurt?"

She laughed softly, "Of course it did."

"What is death like?" Elliot asked timidly, not wanting to insult the ghost.

"It was dark and I did not want to leave. I was afraid of what happened after, you see. So I chose to stay as a shadow of my former self, a mere ghost. I never wanted to face the unknown anyway. What are you reading?" the Grey Lady asked.

"Hogwarts: A History. It's a very good read so far and very factual." Izzy smiled.

"I've read all these books a thousand times over the few thousand years. Each and every one of them. They were never boring."

The children nodded in understanding.

"The selection of muggle books in the library is also quite good. You should read them, especially the ones by those three Brontë sisters. Wuthering Heights was very interesting."

The children heard a muted thumping noise and saw Eliza running down the stairs in her school robes, the tip of her wand glowing.

"There you are!" she hissed. "I woke up and saw you not on your bed so I went to the other dorms to check, even the boys' dorms! And here you are chatting to Helena and Elliot. I was so worried. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"Look, Eliza, chill. It's alright. I just couldn't sleep, that's all."

"Well then, you'd better get changed. Everyone else is waking up and breakfast awaits in the Great Hall. Meet me downstairs, pronto!"