CHAPTER ONE

VIOLA HOLLOW – RAVENCLAW POV

Hogwarts was a school of witchcraft and wizardry.

Haven’t heard of it? tham gia the club.

A selected few used to think that being called a “witch” was an insult. I’m one of those selected few, being a muggle-born and all. Although “muggle-born” is the politically correct term, Slytherins have developed a habit of calling us “mudbloods”. It’s a highly offensive term.

I was a witch, while my brother was a wizard. We both come from a string of muggles – A.K.A. non-magical beings – who have never heard of “Hogwarts” hoặc anything else that related to magic. My brother first received his letter, which I had no idea about, when he was ten. I was eight at the time, so my parents figured it would better if they didn’t inform me that my brother was a wizard and possessed magical powers, on the off chance that I didn’t have any of my own.

They were wrong.

Needless to say, I collected my letter and headed off to Hogwarts, where I was tossed into the Ravenclaw household and began learning to control my magical ability.

After being here for four years, – it was the start of my fifth năm – I’ve learned who to be seen around with, who to avoid, and what Những người bạn to collect. I’ve also come to the conclusion that being a muggle-born didn’t necessarily make bạn “respected” amongst the wizard community. My brother was a Gryffindor; they were kind and brave, unless bạn were a Slytherin. The Slytherins were nasty creatures that preyed on the insecurity of others. They loved to abuse everyone not of their household in every way possible.

The Hufflepuffs were the amusing bunch. They got their feelings hurt easily, and they didn’t bother to protect themselves against the wrath of the horrid Slytherins. Ravenclaws, on the other hand, were the most intelligent of the bunch. They had wits and brains, but where generally used to get good grades of their homework hoặc “O’s” on their O.W.L.s hoặc N.E.W.T.s.

How did I know this? I was speaking from experience, of course.

Boys were the main culprits. They would do anything; I mean anything to get good grades. Even if it meant ripping your tim, trái tim into tiny pieces. Oh, but let’s not get into that.

Basically, my only talent at Hogwarts was academic wise. I had never received anything below an “O” on my O.W.L.s, and I knew everything there was to know about Hogwarts and the classes they teach. I’ve read almost every book – minus the sách in the restricted section, although I have read quite a few of those – in their massive library. It’s almost like my drug, these books.

So now, I was sitting in the library, my nose shoved behind yet another book. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, so almost every student of Hogwarts – not including anyone under third năm – were roaming the snowy village. I was never a người hâm mộ of the snow in the first place, so I tended to steer clear of the white frost.

With an abrupt slam, – which honored me with a glare from Madam Pince – I shut the book I had been đọc and set it gingerly back on the shelf. I nodded towards Madam Pince, whom glared at me once more, before leaving the large thư viện and strolling down the halls of Hogwarts.

I had no doubt that my brother was in Hogsmeade at the moment; he was probably goofing off with his Quidditch buddies. I had never had a liking for the sport; I’ve never tried it, but it didn’t seem like my kind of thing. On the off chance that there wasn’t a soul lollygagging in the dungeons, I made my way to that area of the castle.

Within the tiếp theo ten minutes, I was slowly creeping down the dungeons, looking left and right for a Slytherin. I felt as if I was breaking rules; that the Potions professor would come out and take a million points from Ravenclaw for me roaming his corridors. The thought gave me the chills, which made me wish I had on a áo, áo khoác over my Ravenclaw sweatshirt. Just as I thought this, doors began to form on the tường parallel to me. I knew I shouldn’t approach the door. I’d learned that anything that had a mind of its one was not to be trusted. Curiosity and excitement got the best of me.

Slowly, I crept towards the door. My snow boots were making obnoxious noises that made me want to kick them off, even if I knew I would regret it.

bởi now, I had approached the large double doors. My breath was coming quick but shallow. I draw my hands into the inside of my sweatshirt. I could literally feel the ice radiating off the door. With a quick shiver, I pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

Immediately, warmth flew over me. I felt myself relax and sigh in relief. Warmth. Exactly what I needed. It didn’t take me long to spot the large áo, áo khoác hanging on the tường bởi the door I had just come in, which was now slowly shutting. My brown eyes travelled around the room for another exit while I clutched the áo, áo khoác in my hands.

I was just about to wish for the door to come back when I heard the ugliest scream I’ve ever heard. I felt sudden shock, which made me shake thêm than I had when I was cold. Slowly – with my tim, trái tim racing and my eyes wide – I made my way around a corner.

Standing there was three seventh năm Slytherins that I knew bởi name. Vance Wellings, Marcus Murphy, and Demitrius Kilos all stood there. Vance was facing the opposite way of the other two. In other words, he was staring at me with wide, vivid blue eyes. Although the Slytherin did not move, he stood there, staring at me with fear, as Demitrius and Marcus screamed at something lying on the floor.

Vance and I had… history, if bạn may. Not the kind of history that everyone assumes but history nonetheless. I hated him even though he seemed to find it all a joke. He never listened to what I had to say; he didn’t tham gia in when his Những người bạn were harassing me and my friends. In fact, he seemed somewhat awkward when I was around.

But right now, he simply looked terrified.

“Who did bạn tell?” The leader of the group and Slytherin body, Demitrius, demanded. I tore my gaze away from Vance’s fearful eyes and towards the back of Demitrius’s blonde head. He sounded angry; his shoulders were shaking with rage, and his hand was clenched in an extremely tight fist. “Who did bạn tell?!” He shouted, pointing with his wand (I assumed it was his wand, due to the fact that I was the one standing behind him) at the thing lying on the floor.

“N-no one, D-Demtrius. I woul-d n-never tell anyone ab-bout what you… you’ve been doing in h-here,” whispered a feeble voice. I could not put a name on the voice, but I knew the voice nonetheless.

“Don’t lie to me!” Demitrius shouted louder than he had before. Just after he đã đưa ý kiến this, he shouted “CRUCIO!” With a trudge, the leader turned around suddenly, catching my eye.

I could see the shock registering on his face. As soon as it was there, it disappeared. The nasty Slytherin smiled with such smugness that made me want to run off.

“Well, well. If it isn’t Miss Hollow. Come to tham gia our little party? Or, are bạn here to spy on us?” Demitrius spat.

I stayed stiff, wincing every now and then at the females terrible screams.

“You’re supposed to answer his question,” Marcus chuckled, staring at me with lust.

“I-I…” I stammered, Mất tích for words. If I could apparate, I would.

“Just let her pass. She won’t say anything to anyone.” Vance đã đưa ý kiến suddenly, eyeing me like I was some prize. I nodded in encouragement.

“That wouldn’t be any fun, Vance. We could erase her memory… but that wouldn’t be any fun either, would it?” Demitrius looked like he was thinking hard about it. His thumb was placed on his chin while he looked up at the ceiling. “We could always… torture her not to say anything. Oh! I got it! Let’s just kill her. What’s another?” Demitrius đã đưa ý kiến with a booming, arrogant laugh. Marcus joined in half-heartedly. Vance didn’t. On the other hand, he stared at the two with hatred. I was taken aback.

Slowly, I began to creep backwards. I was within two yards of them. That was far too close. Just as I began to inch back, Demitrius extended his arm and pointed his wand at my chest.

“Where do bạn think you’re going?” He asked with amusement, inching towards me. I was almost positive that my tim, trái tim would jump out of my chest at any một phút and land on the floor at his feet. “We can do this the muggle way…” He cracked a smile, “…which you’re probably used to, hoặc the proper way.” He đã đưa ý kiến proper with such emphasis it made me want to run out of the doorless room. “What do bạn think, Marcus? What’s your take on this?”


“You know good and well what my take on this is,” Marcus grinned. I knew where this was going.

Then, with another smile, Demitrius shouted “Avada Kedavra!”

VINCENT HOLLOW – GRYFFINDOR POV

Something was wrong. I could feel it in the pit of stomach.

I had arrived back at the lâu đài thêm than two hours ago, and I have yet to find my sister.

We generally don’t try to find each other, but we do. It’s almost as if we have this sort of… connection. It started when she reached the age of six; I was eight at the time. bởi then, I had noticed some odd behavior in myself. I could do things that other kids couldn’t do. When I went to school to hiển thị it off, the kids thought I was either really weird hoặc really gifted. The only one who didn’t think it was weird was our tiếp theo door neighbor – Vance Wellings. I never understood before Hogwarts, but I do now.

Anyways, my sister began hiển thị the same signs. I knew where she was almost all of the time. We almost… attracted each other, in a way. We had always been close in the first place. The two of us had never really managed to get into a major fight. It just seemed… wrong. When she arrived at Hogwarts, we were always seen within ten feet of each other. Except in classes, of course. Even if she hadn’t told me what class she was going to, I knew where she was and vice versa. The divination professor always brought me up as an example and đã đưa ý kiến me and my sister had “special qualities”. She always was a crazy woman.

It wasn’t ever planned, it just happened.

But right now, I had no idea where she was.

That was the main reason why I came back to the castle. One minute, I knew she was walking in the dungeons. I didn’t approve, but I wasn’t there to tell her “no”. The tiếp theo minute, she was gone. It was almost like that part of my brain just blanked out.

At the moment, I was going up and down the Slytherin corridors, daring one of them to confront me. I looked around every corner, searching for her. Either she managed to get into some secret room of Hogwarts – which was extremely unlikely – hoặc she was in serious trouble.

Fear was literally eating me on the inside. I peeked around the corner, and just as I did that, I crashed head-on into Demitrius Kilos and his little “gang”.

“Watch it, Kilos!” I shouted, grasping my wand.

“You watch it, Hollow!” Demitrius shouted back, poking me in the chest with his wand. I swatted the death stick away. “What are bạn doing here anyways?” Demitrius asked, crossing his arms.

“Am I not permitted to roam the corridors of my school?” I spat, glaring at the nasty Slytherin.

“If you’re looking for your sister, good luck.” With a smile, he pushed past me with Marcus bởi his side. Vance lingered a few giây before passing with abruptness. If they did anything to my sister, I would kill them with my bare hands. No wand needed.

Now, fear was controlling my limbs. I stiffly walked up and down the halls, watching for any sign of Viola. I pushed past angry Slytherins and teachers. I began to panic. “If you’re looking for your sister, good luck,” was what Demitrius had said. What had he meant?

Then, that little part of my brain turned on again.

She was there, somewhere in the dungeons, looking for me.

Just as I turned around, I spotted my sister. A strong wave of relief fell onto my shoulders as she ran towards me, her long, thick, dark brown hair flying behind her.

“Oh Vince,” she cried, tears filling her dark brown eyes as she wrapped her arms around my chest. “Something is wrong.”

“What? What’s wrong, Viola?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her. She quickly pulled away and looked me right in the eyes.

“I’m not dead.”