Strange Roommate

Kate LeWinster was a somewhat gossip-prone little witch. Not long after enrolling, she had been bestowed the title of Rita Skeeter II.

Kate had been a little pleased at first, but when she considered that upperclassman's reputation, it was undoubtedly meant as an insult.

Only Ravenclaws could have come up with a nickname like that. They always enjoyed giving seemingly flattering nicknames whose deeper meanings only clever people could spot.

She had earned the name because of the Crying Boy Loki incident.

Loki was a sharp-tongued, mean-spirited little wizard from Hufflepuff.

What he loved most was mocking pretty little witches, presumably to draw attention to himself.

Penelope had been one of them. Kate had even been a little disappointed that he had not come after her instead, but when she looked at her height and baby face, everything became clear.

Later, to stand up for Penelope, Kate used her natural talent for stealth to photograph Loki's blackened underwear and spread the pictures far and wide, cleverly keeping herself out of it.

When Loki found out, he wailed in the Great Hall and was dubbed the Crying Boy.

Some Ravenclaws still discovered what Kate had done, so the name Rita Skeeter II began circulating within Ravenclaw on a small scale.

Kate had recently discovered something else strange.

Her roommate, Penelope, a half-blood little witch, received letters every day. Whenever she got one, she wore an odd smile. After replying, she would hide the letter in a box with vicious fangs that bit anyone who was not its owner.

And Kate had noticed that Penelope's letter-writing had gone from one letter a day to two.

With Halloween approaching, Kate found that Penelope's routine had also changed. During her free time, instead of going to the library, she would sneak off alone to the Fourth Floor Abandoned Classroom, then mysteriously vanish for the entire afternoon.

As a responsible little witch, Kate worried that Penelope had been affected by some strange magic, or had read some book—like how anyone who read The Wizard's Sonnets could only speak in five-line doggerel for the rest of their life. An old wizard in Bath had a book that, once you looked at it, you could never put it down! Everywhere you went, your face would be buried in it. Kate worried that Penelope might have read some book that made her write letters like mad, or one that made little wizards mysteriously disappear.

"I'm definitely worried about her, not for any other reason," Kate hypnotized herself.

On the morning of November 1, today was Halloween. There was only one Potions Class in the morning, shared with Hufflepuff. Kate was thankful she was not a Gryffindor. Since they were with Hufflepuff, Professor Snape focused most of his firepower on the Hufflepuff students, only occasionally hissing a cutting remark or two at the Ravenclaws. Some studious Ravenclaws had even noticed that the methods hidden in Professor Snape's barbs seemed simpler than some of the methods in the textbook.

The other little wizards had already changed into their Halloween costumes, but not a single first-year Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff had dared to do so yet. Once class ended, they all rushed back to their common rooms and dormitories to change.

Kate dressed up as a werewolf, while Penelope put on vampire makeup—the most common and popular costume—and wore a half-mask as well.

There were no other classes that day. Kate saw Penelope head for the Fourth Floor Abandoned Classroom again. Kate's costume was so convincing that even Penelope could not recognize her, and Kate had not told Penelope beforehand what she would be wearing for Halloween. So she swaggered along behind Penelope, which actually kept Penelope from noticing her.

Kate had come prepared this time. She had placed an extra box in the abandoned classroom. As long as she hid inside before Penelope arrived, she could observe how Penelope disappeared. The box had been sitting in the abandoned classroom for several days already, and Penelope had long grown used to it, merely assuming she had not noticed it before.

From Kate's perspective, Penelope walked behind the statue of the One-Eyed Witch, took out her wand, and said, "Dissendium." Then there was no further movement.

Kate waited for a while, but nothing happened. So she too walked behind the statue, took out her wand, tapped it, and said, "Dissendium." The statue's hunchback immediately opened, wide enough for a fairly slim person to fit through. Kate quickly looked up and down the corridor, took several deep breaths to encourage herself, then crawled headfirst into the opening and moved forward through the passage.

After entering the passage, Kate found herself sliding down it like a stone slide. She fought the urge to scream as she slid for quite a long way, until she hit cold, damp earth.

Kate stood up and looked around. It was pitch-black all around her.

Kate was glad she had been studious and had already learned a few little spells. She raised her wand and muttered, "Lumos!" The light revealed that she was in a narrow, low passage. Kate shone her wand on herself and found not a speck of dust on her body. The passage earlier must have had some strange magic as well.

The passage twisted and turned, no different from a rabbit burrow. Kate hurried along, stumbling now and then over the uneven ground, holding her wand out in front of her the entire way.

About an hour later, the passage began sloping upward. Kate wanted to give up several times, but then she thought, I've come this far, and quickened her pace despite her panting.

Ten minutes later, she reached the foot of a damaged stone staircase that stretched upward beyond the limits of her sight.

Careful not to make any noise in case Penelope ahead heard her, Kate began to climb.

One hundred steps, two hundred steps—she counted as she climbed to keep herself from getting bored, but eventually lost track. Kate climbed and climbed, watching her feet... then suddenly slammed her head into something hard.

Could I have climbed too fast? But Penelope's butt isn't that hard, Kate thought wildly.

Kate awkwardly realized it had all been her imagination. This seemed to be a trapdoor. She stood still, rubbing her aching head as she listened.

She could not hear any sound from above, so she slowly pushed open the trapdoor and peered outside.

She was in a cellar, surrounded by wooden chairs and wooden crates.

Kate climbed out of the trapdoor and gently closed it—the door blended seamlessly into the dusty floor. No one would ever guess there was such a door in the floor.

Kate slowly crawled toward the wooden staircase leading upstairs. Now she was certain she could hear people talking, not to mention the sounds of bells ringing and doors opening and closing.

Kate did not know what she should do, so she went up the stairs.

At the door at the top of the stairs, Kate slipped out and found herself behind a counter. She crouched down, crawled to the side, then straightened up.

Whew, that was exhausting.

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