I hesitated, not quite sure whether I wanted to open the door. What if it wasn't a bedroom, and I'd set myself up for disappointment? What if it was just a cell?

Either way, they're still giving me somewhere safe to stay, which is more than most people would do for me.

With this thought, I turned the doorknob, and pushed open the door.

I cautiously looked inside, and my eyes widened in shock. It was a bedroom, and it was bigger than I could ever have imagined a bedroom to be. Three of the walls were white, and one was a vibrant red, which reminded me of the Gryffindor dorms and common room. The floor was covered with a grey, fluffy carpet, which looked softer than anything I'd felt before. There was a rounded, beige lightshade hanging from the ceiling, with what I faintly recognised as an — what was the word...? Oh yes — eletic light inside it, and light grey floor-length curtains on either side of a wide window. There was also a large bed, bigger than any I'd seen before, with grey and pastel pink cushions and covers on it that gave the room a very cosy feel. On either side of the bed stood low, wooden bedside tables, with brass lamps on the top of them both, and at the end of it was a long, pastel pink, padded bench thing. Opposite that was an armchair in the same colour, as well as a wooden desk, with a pink chair on wheels, and a large wardrobe.

"Wow," I breathed. It was the only thing I could get out.

"It's all yours," Remus said with a smile.

I looked at him, not really believing what he was saying.

"Mine?"

He nodded, but I was still sceptical. If they were letting me have this incredible bedroom, then there must be some kind of catch. I didn't deserve to be given a bedroom like this without earning it somehow, I knew that much.

Just as I'd opened my mouth to ask what they wanted me to do, Sirius said, "Ivory, I know what you're going to say, but you don't need to do anything to earn it."

"But—"

"You don't need to do anything to earn it," he repeated. "I don't care if your parents have taught you that you don't deserve the most basic of things unless you do something to earn them; it's not true, alright? You deserve this room more than anyone I know, and you deserve so much more on top of that. Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise."

The corners of my mouth twitched into a small smile. "Th-thank you," I said quietly, my amazement so strong that I could barely form the words.

"It's not a problem," he said softly.

There was a pause, then Remus said, "Are you ready to meet the others yet? Or do you want to have some time to get settled?"

"Can I — can I stay up here for a bit?" I asked quietly, my eyes drawn back to the beautiful bedroom that seemed to beckon me.

"Of course. Do you want one of us to come up and get you in a bit?"

I nodded slightly, and mumbled, "As long as you don't mind."

"If we minded, we wouldn't ask," Sirius said, smiling slightly. "One of us will be back in about ten minutes."

For a few minutes after they left, I just stood in the doorway, still not quite believing it was mine. Then, I stepped into the bedroom, feeling my feet sink into the soft carpet. I walked first to the desk, then the wardrobe, then the armchair, touching each of them to make sure they were real, and that this wasn't just a dream. Just as I turned to do the same to the bed, I noticed a door that I hadn't seen at first, as it was on the same wall as the one that lead out into the corridor. I knew that I really shouldn't open it, just in case, but my curiosity got the better of me. Before I knew what I was doing, I'd pulled out my wand and opened the door.

On the other side was a bathroom, tiled from floor to ceiling in pastel blue. As well as the usual toilet, sink, and shower, there was also a cabinet, and a long, white tub thing of some sort, which the shower water seemed like it would fall into. I frowned slightly as I tried to think of what this was called.

Oh, a bath. As in, the thing this room is named after. Merlin, I surprise myself with just how stupid I can be sometimes.

Rolling my eyes at myself, I stepped back out of the bathroom and closed the door behind me, making a mental note to ask either Remus or Sirius about it. I wanted to make sure I was allowed to use it before doing so, knowing that I might get hurt if I didn't.

I looked around the bedroom again. It was beautiful, and much, much nicer than I had imagined, but I couldn't help feeling that something was wrong with it. I didn't quite know why, but being in it alone filled me with a sense of unease. It was as though someone — or maybe something — was there, watching my every move. Gripping my wand a little tighter, I walked to the wardrobe, which was the only place I could think of that was big enough to hide without being seen.

"Hello?" I said quietly. "Is anyone there?"

No reply.

"Show yourself."

I waited for a few seconds, my heart pounding in my chest. It was the only thing that I could hear in the otherwise silent room. When I still got no answer, I put out a shaking hand and flung open the wardrobe door.

It was empty.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," I muttered, closing the door again. But no, I was sure that I was being watched; I could feel the slight prickling sensation that happened when someone was staring at me. But if they weren't in the wardrobe, where were they?

They could be under a disillusionment charm, I suppose...

Suddenly, I thought of a way I could know for sure whether there really was someone in the room, or whether it was just paranoia making me imagine that there was. I raised my wand slightly, and muttered, "Praesentia revelio."

I could see faint glowing outlines of people throughout the building, as well as some animals. Most were downstairs, but a few were in what I assumed were other bedrooms. I looked around my own bedroom for any sign that there was someone there, but there was nothing. Removing the spell again, I flopped onto the soft bed and wrapped one of the fluffy blankets around me. I knew now that there was no way anyone — or anything — was in the room, or even anywhere on the same floor as I was. That spell was made to reveal the presence of any living being nearby — humans, animals, and magical creatures alike — and there was no way to stop it detecting you.

Now that I was sure I wasn't being watched, and that I was just being paranoid, I was a little more relaxed. I burrowed my way under the layers of soft, fluffy blankets on the bed, curling myself up under them. The weight of them helped calm me down almost completely, and I closed my eyes. For the first time in months, I felt warm, safe, and happy.

In the midst of the darkness, I'd found the light.

***
A/N: This chapter was a weird one to write. I don't really like writing big blocks of description like that, but it was accurate to how Ivory would be seeing the room, so it had to be done.

Oh, and in case my description has meant that you couldn't visualise the room (which wouldn't surprise me tbh 😂), here's the picture that I based it on:

And here's the one I based the description of the outside of the building on in the last chapter (but I obviously added the flowers on the wall and in the garden):

Obviously you can feel free to visualise them in whatever way you want, since that's kinda the whole point of descriptive writing; these are just how I see them.

Aaanyways, that's all from me for now. Byeee!

~Charlie 🖤