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Siya led him up the staircase until they reached the ruddy looking, almost rotting wodden staircase that looked like it may collapse any moment, but she still climbed up confidently. "It's held up by magic, don't worry." she reassured Ilir. He followed hesitantly to discover that the stairs led to a cryptic looking trapdoor, held shut by an enormous bolt.

Siya unlocked the bolt, pushed it open and helped Ilir up. What they saw first was the winding shelves with several filled and half filled jars . Ilir discerned these jars to contain potion ingredients.The attic was dimly lit by a large ball of yellow light hanging from the beam of the roof . In the middle of the attic was a large cauldron that stood apart from cauldrons of various other sizes strewn across the attic.

"Amazing, isn't it? This is literal paradise for all potioneers." Siya said as she swung her arms around.

Ilir did not know exactly what to say because the attics' strange odour and all the funny looking things filling up the jars did not exactly appeal him. He was quick to spot a window and walked over to let some air in as the room had already started to feel stuffy. When he did open the window, the sight that greeted him was truly amazing. He could see all of Hogsmeade from up here.

But what really caught his eye was situated far, far away. It looked like a castle. The architectural beauty stood high on a cliff, overlooking a lake shimmering in moonlight. It was absolutely breath-taking. He stood there, unable to look away, until Siya came over and pointed at it, saying, "That's Hogwarts. Our school."

Ilir was stunned. That was a school? Schools were meant to be plain looking buildings weren't they? Wait, that was his school? Ilir continued staring, baffled until Siya tapped on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. He turned around to see what appeared to be her holding a long and thick stick like thing. But after looking closely he found that they were several twigs entwined and twirled around something.

"See, this was what I was talking about." she held it carefully as if it was a baby. Then suddenly she said loudly, "Lumos!" To Ilir's utter surprise the end of the long stick started glowing . "See, I can do magic. Even if it only the basic spells" she said before saying 'Nox!' to put the light off.

"Here's the most interesting part." she smiled widely and concentrated, before yelling, "Transformus!" The staff became shorter and shorter in size and magically wrapped itself around her finger to become a ring. She showed it to him proudly. "See? Now you can spot its gemstone core." Ilir noticed a small but brilliantly shining electric blue gemstone neatly embedded into the ring.

After a while, Siya realized how long they'd been up there. 'Come on. It must be at least 8 'o' clock now." she said as she closed the window.

They climbed down the attic, and it was as they made their way downstairs that they saw a door to a room which was situated near the staircase open. A lady wearing an old fashioned nightgown, whose blonde hair was put into a bun to keep it from falling into her long, oval face, walked through.

When she spotted them, she asked, 'Is there anything such as room service here?'

"Not yet, ma'am, but I can help you." Siya was quick to reply.

"This pink water you have here. It's rather nice, but I finished it. Could you please bring me some more?" she asked, her words were accompanied by a very fancy accent.

"Sure ma'am." Siya replied, taking the glass jug. "Is there anything else you might need help with?"

"Oh, that will be all," she started, "but the floorboards are a little creaky, though. You might want to get them fixed." Siya bowed politely and the woman shut the door. As continued their way down the stairs Ilir asked, "How is the water here pink?"

"Oh, we boil the water with some herbs, you know. From back home." Siya replied, and Ilir nodded.

"Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow." Siya left Ilir outside his room, and it was then that he realized just how much time had passed. It was almost nine pm.

This time, when he went to bed, he went a little less confused and a little more hopeful. I might be getting a hold of things now. He thought, right before he fell into a deep sleep.

A sleep that was interrupted by a terrifying dream. He saw the castle over the shimmering lake appeared a few times over and over until it morphed into the image of his grandfather's house in Albania and suddenly he was hearing Dren and his parents screaming . He awoke with a start, and figured out that Dren and everyone else was still asleep.

Strangely, he felt the sudden urge to go and look at the castle. If only to make sure that the place that would be his safe haven actually existed, that it wasn't just a bizarre product of his imagination. He put away his blankets, slipped his feet into his slippers and made haste up the wooden staircase, only to find the trapdoor open.

Meaning that someone was in the attic.

The person seemed to be pacing about and talking to someone. "Do you know if he is still alive?" This was definitely not Siya. The pitch of the voice was lower and the footsteps sounded heavier.

"I am a ghost, not a register of people who are dead," a raspy, high pitched voice replied who Ilir identified to be the ghost. "He might have died. Who knows?" The unknown voice rasped.

"You two always quarrelled anyways. Why care if he is dead or alive?" The ghost asked.

"Oh, shut up! Please."

"You never cared for your kid, I say. Obsessed with your work, both of you. That's why she grew up a crackhead."

"Oh, enough of that. Siya is not a crackhead. She grew up under my parents' care. She has learnt much more from them than she ever could from either of us."

Ilir heard a loud sigh before crack sound, and the ghost suddenly floated down through the trap door. 'And you,' she said, looking over her shoulder, 'be glad I didn't tell her you were here.'

When Ilir peeked up the trap door, he stood, dumbfounded.

There was nobody there.

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