- Eternal Curse -

0.1 Chapter Three

Three

After everyone had eaten, A short stout woman who was called Professor Sprout introduced herself as the head of Hufflepuff house. She introduced the new first years to their prefect, Shauna Bates, and they were whisked away to the common room. Annie chatted with Marie and Lynn as they made their way down corridors until they were by the kitchens. They went down a sloping, earthy passage, travelling upwards a little until a cosy, round, low-ceilinged room was revealed, reminding Annie of a badger's sett. Giant bookshelves that grazed the ceiling were intertwined between plants and vines across every wall, a giant fireplace on the far end that crackled with the newly formed fire inside that shone a calming light on the array of sofas and armchairs and tables littered across the entire floor.

"Look at the signs above the passageways to find your rooms. First-year girls over on the left and first-year boys on the right." Said Shauna. "School begins tomorrow morning so make sure you know your schedules get some rest as you'll need it, the first day can be overwhelming." The girls and boys split up going their separate ways for the night. Annie walked with her friends and a girl called Sally O'Hare whom they had just met. They entered a small, round room with large, oak, four-poster beds. Annie walked over to the Bed furthest to the left where there was an empty cage that Annie presumed Ivy was once inside who must have been taken to the owlery, and her cases piled on the bed. Lynn took the bed next to Annie, Marie next to her and Sally on the far right. It felt like home more than Dean Manor ever had, the warmth seeping through every item she surrounded herself with. Deep hues of yellow and gold instantly removed that bone chilling feeling she'd always had at the manor, the constant unease that had found its home in her body disappearing out of sight, out of mind.

They all sat on Marie's bed and chatted for a while. Sally was extremely sweet, and they all got along swimmingly. Then afterwards Marie and Sally went off to bed and would unpack in the morning as they were early risers. But Annie and Lynn unpacked their things that evening as they, on the other hand, were not morning people and wouldn't be able to do all the heavy lifting at seven o'clock in the morning.

As the other two slept, Annie and Lynn chatted for a while, Annie began opening up her buried feelings about her family. Lynn listened intently as Annie told her every detail she wished to share about her life at home. At times she had to bite her tongue to try not to release a wave of tears, looking away and busying herself with something else before allowing herself to carry on.

She found Lynn was the first person who would listen to what she had to say. She found out Lynn was a halfblood, her mother being a muggle which Annie felt was fascinating as she could compare both worlds, an opportunity she herself never had.

Exhausted, she washed up and went to bed, leaving Lynn as she busied herself by arranging every ornament on her nightstand. Tomorrow, Annie would send a letter to her mother and Gilmosh to tell them how she was. But for now, she had to prepare herself for her first classes of the year. She had denied having nerves about school but now they were all bubbling up to the surface. Everyone knew where she was meant to have been and she was going to have to deal with all the Ravenclaw first years mocking her for eternity.

Annie had fallen asleep almost instantly, but she awoke again in the early hours of the morning as she heard a commotion outside on the grounds. She heard two sets of footsteps making their way down the path outside the window. Annie swung her legs over the side of the bed, getting up to investigate. The windows were too high for her to reach, the Hufflepuff common room being underground. The sounds of mismatched footsteps on grass were getting fainter and Annie hurried to get to the window before they were gone.

Annie stepped on an armchair below the window and peered through the glass. She could vaguely see a tall woman (presumably a teacher) and a smaller figure heading towards a giant tree in the grounds under the light of the full moon. Annie wondered why she had never noticed it on her way up to the castle that evening. It was terribly bright and hard not to notice, its light reflecting down off the lake further down and also through the window Annie found herself staring through, practically pressed up against it.

Annie turned around in case anyone was awake, but they were all fast asleep. Relieved, Annie turned back towards the window, but the steps had faded and the two silhouettes she had seen were gone. How disappointing, Annie thought as she crawled back to bed. Why of all things had that woken her up? She never recalled being a light sleeper, emphasis on her not being a morning person in the slightest. Maybe there was more to the school than met the eye as her mother always told her in the many tales she always believed to be ones of make believe.

(A/N: Edited as of 9/10/22)