❝ MERLIN'S GHOST! ❞
❝ I MEAN, YOU'RE NOT WRONG. ❞
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Albany Bronwen was no Chosen One by any means, but being haunted by the ghosts of the greatest sorcerer of all time and a former king had to count for something, right?
❃ in which a lone...
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THE FOLLOWING DAY took simultaneously a minute and an age to arrive as Albany tossed and turned through the night. She had no hope of getting any sleep in, though tried regardless, desperate to give her body its much-needed rest. As necessary as a week of full-on swimming lessons had been, every muscle she could name was feeling the burn, and her throat was raw from the amount of lake water she'd ingested. The practice had been costly; she only hoped it wasn't too much so.
When she finally gave up on sleeping and decided to get out of bed before the others, dawn was barely creeping over the horizon. The window into the lake from the Slytherin common room made her stomach knot. Maybe I'll befriend the Giant Squid while I'm out there.
Her entire being spent the morning being sucked into a bottomless pit of dread. She was the first student to arrive in the Great Hall, and the room felt incredibly empty and eerie without any other occupants. Her early rising must have been just as concerning as it was surprising, for when Fred and Carly finally made their way inside for breakfast, they both appeared very confused and worried to see her.
"Hey, Allie," Fred greeted warily, sliding into place opposite her. He couldn't help the sly smile that crept up on his lips. "Water you up to this morning?"
Albany shot the boy a dead stare. "Fred, one more lake-related pun today and I'll kick you to the fucking moon."
Fred's eyebrows raised in response. "Noted."
Carly reached across the table to give Albany's hand a comforting squeeze. "Rough night?" she guessed.
Albany yawned; she could physically feel the dark bags forming beneath her eyes. "You could say that...." Her eyes darted between her two friends suspiciously. "Where's George?"
Fred instantly paled, and Albany's stomach dropped. "I thought he was with you," he said. "I haven't seen him all morning."
Carly pulled at a curl while Albany bit her cheek; the incident that had occurred last time George was missing had not gone forgotten.
"I'm sure he's fine, right?" Albany said, and her voice wobbled as she straightened in her seat. Instinctively her eyes were drawn to the Slytherin table, seeking out Faith; the girl was sitting alone and not eating. Her hair was tangled and unkempt, and her head was lowered.
"Probably," Fred mumbled, though was just as antsy, glancing around the room as if hoping his twin would pop out of hiding and surprise them all. "Knowing him, he's probably setting up a good luck Albany party somewhere...."
For once, Albany was too worried to blush.
"Maybe we should look for him," she suggested, itching to find the boy. Was she just being clingy? Was she overreacting? Surely things couldn't get worse today... right?
