“Why do you like Quidditch so much? It’s not even that fun” Scarlett complained as she trudged alongside Hazel to the Quidditch pitch. She would be staying inside Hogwarts unofficially while Hazel went out to play the Quidditch match against Slytherin. “Just because you’ve never sat on a broomstick before doesn’t mean I have to hate Quidditch as well,” Hazel retorted. Scarlett rolled her eyes and said,”Whatever. See you later.” She started to climb the twelve long sets of stairs while Hazel went the other way to the windy pitch.

When Scarlett finally reached the common room, she sighed at the familiar sight of her stack of the Daily Prophet. Just as she was about to sit down and enjoy the peace and quiet, she heard a whooshing sound. Well, that’s weird. No one’s supposed to be inside the whole building. Wait, but it sounded like… no one can be flying. Because the only person that was able to fly was… already dead? Heart pounding, because she did not want to find out what would happen if she got caught, she ran up the stairs three at a time to the dormitory. She reached the top just as the door clicked open. She whirled around. Time seemed to slow down. Her face was the same way she remembered it. Dark, grey eyes, a pale, ghostly face, curled hair squeezed into a messy bun. I can’t panic. Not now! She wrenched open the door and almost slammed it shut in panic. She channeled her shock into magic by casting protective enchantments onto the lock. “Fianto Duri! Salvio Hexia!” she gasped as she ran to hide under a desk nearby. Careful to not thud on the floor, she was about to hide inside. Her head was already under when she noticed that there was already someone waiting there.

She ducked as her silver sword came rushing through the air, almost touching her neck. How did she get in?! she thought frustratedly before looking toward the open window. She definitely flew into the building. She took her wand out and waved it in desperation. “Impedimenta!” she screamed. But something was wrong. Every time she hurled a spell at her opponent, the red and blue jets of light just didn’t seem to reach her. She tried everything. It didn’t work. She noticed that Beatrix used the same wrist movement every single time. That’s not how you move your wand when you’re deflecting a spell. She must be slowing down time, she thought with a prick of satisfaction. This time she aimed for her opponent’s wand hand. “Expelliarmus!” she yelled with all her willpower. Beatrix was successfully disarmed.

Now all Scarlett had to do was send a signal to the pitch. Waving her wand faster than ever, she opened the window and sent out a red signal. She could just make out the surprised looks on everyone’s face and heard a horde of footsteps, running up to the common room. Meanwhile, Beatrix was recovering. Unnerved, Scarlett screamed “Petrificus Totalus!!” But Beatrix had already disappeared. Or maybe she had just slowed down time. Why did that coward have to hide behind time, out of all things?! That’s when she saw the sword dangling mid-air. She’s still here! Obviously, Scarlett cleared her mind and tried to think of what to do next. But she also wondered if she was the only one who could hear another  pulsing heartbeat echoing against her own. Tha-tump. That is definitely a Horcrux. Tha-tump. What should I do? Tha-tump. Tha-tump. Tha-tump.

T

H

A

T

U

M

P

At the same time, she heard Beatrix scream, “THE SWORD OF GRYFFINDOR!!!!!” from somewhere else. But the voice sounded louder than she would have liked. Turning around, she let out a blood-curdling shriek as she looked up and got a glimpse of her ugly, horrid face and heard “You were way easier to find than Orchid” before everything went black. When she woke up, she found herself in a grey room that reminded her of a storm. Where am I? She thought. The sword is gone. What was that heartbeat? And who is Orchid? I have to find that sword. Then I’ll find Orchid and get out of here. She was jerked out of her reverie as she heard a voice say her name. She froze. That voice sounded exactly like her mother. Was she really here? A light flickered. Or is she a duplicate?, she thought suspiciously. She whipped around and saw her ghostly, pale face. “Mom?!”