(DISCLAIMER: All characters and the whole Harry Potter franchise - except for Jeremiah Hallysworn, Mallory Evans, Alice Urie [plus a few other more characters I haven't decided to get into the story yet] and all the real people who are their own owners- belong to none other than J. K. Rowling)

Two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, not a word. Not an update.

Alice stares blankly into a starry nothingness as she stood at the Astronomy tower.

Nothing. She's left in good hands, they said. It would be fine, they said.

No, nothing was fine for Alice Urie on an unusually clear Tuesday night. The stars seemed to nod in agreement by twinkling brightly. But they were too bright. Maybe they didn't agree, after all.

They looked like children, chattering amongst themselves about the secrets of the universe. There, alone at the Astronomy Tower, Alice glanced at the dainty little watch that was given to her by a girl she met at a muggle daycare. She had disassembled it plenty of times. It never really worked in their household until she realized that the way it functioned was the way a muggle fashioned it to be - without magic. Muggle technology was never really properly functioning when around an atmosphere that reeked of magic. So, Alice did what she could and tinkered a bit, avoiding as much as possible having to use explosives and whatnot.

The watch was ticking faintly, helping it blend in to the sound of evening breeze, the frogs croaking, and the crickets calling out.

Four weeks and a day. How much longer should she have to wait?

It's not her fault, Alice knows it isn't. It could've happened anytime, even before their falling out. But would've it happened if she was alone? Well, she wasn't technically alone, Helena was there, she was sure of it. Was she? Either way, Mallory was alone. Alice could not even begin to comprehend all the guilt and pain that she was feeling in her own gut.

She sighed and leaned against the railing. It was a cold night and everything seemed to be asleep. Alice closed her eyes in hopes of waking up to a world she never knew existed. There, house-elves weren't so low on self-worth. Purebloods wouldn't mind the existence of muggle-borns. War and famine would be a thing of the past. Nothing could possibly stop her from pursuing her dreams in becoming one of the greatest scholars. But they're only until dreams in this world. Alice couldn't escape it even if she badly wanted to.

The faint sound of footsteps nearing interrupted her thoughts. An almost ethereal humming accompanied the echoes of footsteps pattering on the floor.

Alice didn't react. She didn't mind much being caught by now.

A few meters away, a girl, nearly the same age as Alice, walked, a bowl of food in one hand and a piece of fried potato on the other. She was humming something that was not familiar to Alice but somehow,they way whoever this girl was humming made every note stand out, as if that was exactly how it should have gone.

Alice turned around to face whoever was on the way.

Park Jisoo, a distinguished 7th grade Gryffindor given the honorary title of 'Head Girl', was wearing a nightgown and socks that did not match. She had her hair in a peculiar hairstyle, with two little buns on top of her head and the rest left down. As her name suggested, she was of Asian descent, Alice wasn't exactly sure where but if she were to guess, she'd take a chance at her being Korean.

Park Jisoo stopped humming as soon as she saw Alice looking at her. She eyed Alice for a few moments, still munching on a piece of fried potato.

After a good half minute, she shrugged and headed nearer to where Alice was, continuing what she was humming.

Alice did not know what to do so she just stayed there unmoving, with only her eyes following Park Jisoo's figure as she drew closer.

In the end, Park Jisoo just stood next to Alice leaning on the railing and Alice stopped being tense.

It was quiet for a while, with just the sounds of nighttime and a girl's humming filling the air. It continued on like that until a growl erupted everything.

It wasn't a threatening growl, no, but it sounded very familiar to both of the girls' ears. This was especially true for Alice. She knew exactly where it came from. She just so happened to have felt corresponding vibrations in her stomach.

Park Jisoo turned to look at Alice and Alice met her stare, her lips pressed into a thin line.

The girl clad in unorthodox sleepwear then shuffled closer to Alice until they were a mere 6 inches away from each other as they both leaned onto the railings. She then held the bowl she had brought with her in two hands and outstretched her arms.

"Here, take some," the Gryffindor girl requested. It was the first time Alice had encountered this girl outside school hours. This was also the first time she had interacted directly with the head girl.

Park Jisoo had offered Alice some chips, and Alice complied. She quickly took three pieces, her pride telling her that it was not very friendly to take too much, and her physical instincts just telling her to get more because she was quite hungry. She put all three of the pieces immediately into her mouth, wiping any oil or residue with the back of her palm and then shielding her lips from view with her hand.

The girl chuckled. Her laugh sounded so sweet despite its deep tone, like it was a mother's laugh. It reminded Alice of her own mother. She quickly took a mental note that she should probably write to her parents again, telling them of when she was going to arrive for Christmas break. She had only mailed her parents twice for the past 2 months and despite it being only a fifth of the school year,admittedly missed her parents.

The girl with long vibrantly magenta-colored and slightly wavy tresses spoke gently yet quite stern. "It's alright, I can pass by the kitchen again. I mean, I'd quite literally live there if not for the fact that my sleeping quarters are on the other side of the castle," the older student said, encouraging Alice to take more than she had already. Park Jisoo noticed how pale and thin Alice looked. It made her gut stir, thinking that Alice was probably malnourished. She didn't like it. She didn't like seeing Alice like that. She didn't want seeing anyone as if they were on the verge of death due to starvation.

Alice had just finished chewing and immediately swallowed. She was staring at the bowl of chips and then looked at Park Jisoo with a bit of guilt.

Park Jisoo again chuckled and shook the bowl slightly, "It's fine, don't be shy. I could easily get more if I wanted to."

Alice immediately took about 5 pieces, bunching them on one hand and using the other to pick a piece and deliver it to her mouth. Park Jisoo took a piece for herself and started to bend down. Alice stepped backwards, anticipating what the older girl as about to do.

Park Jisoo had set the bowl down beside her foot, settled herself to sit on the floor with her legs criss-crossed, and quickly fished a small pouch from her gown's pocket. She untied a knot and widened the mouth of her pouch just enough so she could fit the width of her arm into it. She had half of the length of her arm inside the small bag, amusing Alice as she bent down to sit beside the older girl. This made Alice reminisce about one of her brother's antics which was using a great lot of bags enchanted so it had much more space than it had originally offered, its storage proving to be much bigger than how one would see it from the outside.

A few clanking noises had emitted from the bag until Park Jisoo's hand had come up with two glass bottles. Alice's face had a look of confusion and suspicion plastered onto it and Park Jisoo noticed.

She giggled this time, "It's alright, it's just sparkling grape juice, no alcohol. It's my go-to sweet tooth craving." She looked at the label first before she passed the bottle to Alice before the younger girl could even remark her protest.

Alice quickly wiped her oily palm at the side of her robe before taking a bottle from Park Jisoo's grasp. The girl with bright red hair was correct - it had no alcohol content and it was simply a fizzy juice drink.

Alice was about to ask a question when she heard a popping sound followed by a soft fizzing noise. Park Jisoo had already opened her drink and she her lips had formed a gummy grin.

"Mianhae," Park Jisoo couldn't help to laugh before realising she hadn't spoken in english. "Aish, I mean- I apologize. I get quite excited when given sparkling juice. Do you need a corkscrew? Here, here," she ushered, holding out another item for Alice to receive. Alice noted her unconscious use of a foreign tongue and she immediately felt her heart ache. She'd probably feel not too bad about it if it didn't bring about such painful memories along with it.

Alice took the screw without another word. She did, however, stare at it daintily as if it was some sort of alien contraption. She had never held onto one before. Her father and mother never really had the purpose for it in their household. Everything had to be screwed on or off, and open or shut, or simply just covered with a snap. The only time she would see such a tool would be if any guest had brought their own booze, which was rare. None of Alice's direct relatives were especially known to have drinking habits.

Despite not ever using it, Alice had some idea of how it was used. She quickly scolded herself and pointed out that if she had paid attention to Park Jisoo, she'd known exactly how to do it.

"Need me to do it for you?" Alice heard the older girl inquire, offering help. Alice, deciding to save herself from embarrassment in the event that she would not successfully be able to open the bottle, just handed the bottle and corkscrew to Park Jisoo and let her open the bottle. Another 'pop' was heard and the drink fizzed as the bottle was handed back to Alice.

Park Jisoo decided to take a swig of her fizzy and slightly citrus drink and Alice followed suit, letting the relatively cool and bubbly liquid stay for a while in her mouth, savoring in the sour punch of the substance, before swallowing and letting it run down her throat, the lack of a burning sensation verifying that this drink indeed have little to no alcohol content.

"More chips?" Park Jisoo offered, sliding the bowl closer to Alice and Alice produced a shy and small smile before taking a chip into her mouth. Park Jisoo giggled again, its sweet sound resonating in the relatively empty Astronomy Tower. A comfortable silence engulfed them as they ate. Park Jisoo had taken out a peculiar packet and took out her wand to cast a spell. The packet glowed slightly and inflated, producing a series of popping noises. This caused Alice to flinch away slightly from her companion and for Park Jisoo to scrunch up her face with a playful smile. When the popping stopped, Park Jisoo put away her wand and carefully tore the edge of the bloated packet. She then proceeded to fill the now empty bowl with the contents of the packet and Alice watched, intrigued at what she was doing.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're Alice Urie, right?" the girl with a peculiar hairstyle inquired. Alice nodded, thankful that she did not have to go through the formalities of introducing one's self.

Alice continued to stare at the peculiar pieces of what she assumed was edible food. "You're Park Jisoo," she replied, her velvety voice ringing out for the first time in that conversation.

Park Jisoo kept pouring the contents of the packet into the bowl and said, "Yes, you can call me Jisoo, that's my first name. I don't really like the sound of people saying my whole name, given they're confused on which one to use. You see, the last name goes before the first name for Koreans. The case is the same for the Japanese. It's awkward enough some people have to call me 'Miss Park', makes me sound like my aunt."

Jisoo finished pouring and set the packet aside, turning to Alice to continue, "I do think I might change my name someday. 'Jisoo' sounds so ancient." She tapped the now-filled bowl and motioned for Alice to get a piece. "Heated corn kernels, or as Muggles call it, 'Pop'-corn."

Alice's eyes glimmered with wonder. Jisoo simply took a few pieces, getting ready to put them in her mouth when she encouraged Alice, "It's good. This packet just so happened to be simply butter-flavored. If you want to get into Muggle food, this is definitely something I'd recommend you to start with."

Alice followed her advice and took a piece into her mouth. The butter had seeped into the kernel and Alice let herself relish its flavor. With a satisfying 'crunch!', Alice had started to chew and she found herself to be enjoying this peculiar treat.

"So, what brings a fifth year Ravenclaw to the Astronomy Tower at 3 am on a Tuesday night?" Jisoo casually asked as she took another sip of her fizzy drink.

"I can't sleep," Alice replied shortly, her tone monotonous.

"Ah, I see. It must be something pretty big for you to stay up at this ungodly hour," Jisoo remarked, earning a confused look from Alice.

"What's bothering you?" Jisoo asked lightly, sounding carefree with no hesitations in the way she did. Alice noticed this, and it made her heart ache.

"I mean, if you don't mind sharing?" Jisoo added and this made Alice's heartache a little more painful. Jisoo reminded Alice of Mallory very much.

"You remind me of my friend," Alice spoke up, her head lowering.

Jisoo looked at the girl with eyes laced with concern.

"Do you mean Mallory Evans?" Jisoo prodded, now hesitant in her words. She didn't want to come off as nagging. Alice replied with a silent nod.

"Oh come now, you don't need to worry. However, it is quite cruel to ask you not to, we simply have to trust our school's medical staff," Jisoo remarked. She sounded like she stood strong with her opinion and Alice understood. Alice thought about how this was probably what Jisoo thought was the best for this situation: let the adults take over. Jisoo sighed and continued, "Mallory's a sweet and kind girl, a bit over the bend sometimes, though nothing too crazy, but she seems like a strong girl. She's too kind for a world that's been unfair towards her."

Alice's head quickly turned and asked with furrowed brows, "How do you mean?"

"Things weren't exactly the best for her in the years prior. She was being bullied for several things - her peculiar mannerisms, her blood status - as if that does anything for anyone - and damned be those who target her clothing, which by the way I think is nothing to be bothered about. Mallory may be eccentric in her ways of dressing, but I certainly won't tolerate anyone who tries to tell me how to dress," Jisoo supplied, motioning to her current getup.

"No one would talk to her, except maybe a few students here and there who were friendly enough. I'd encountered her a few times myself, and all I can think of is how in the world is this precious little being still like that in such a hostile environment."

Despite Jisoo's attempt to try and stop Alice from worrying, her heart ached just a little bit more. The guilt shrouded Alice's heart like a thick garment and much to her surprise, tears pricked at her eyes.

Alice's wide eyes grew even wider when she became aware of the stinging sensation. Once she noticed it, all other accompanying sensations followed: a lump had formed in her throat, her nose became a bit stuffy, and she could feel her breathing getting a bit heavier. Maybe a bit too heavy. She knew something was wrong when she felt her heart rate begin to pick up.

Oh no. Why now?

She was having an anxiety attack.

She hadn't had one in years.

Jisoo who had last spoken among them noticed the silence. Normally she would pass it off as something usual, but her gut had told her that something didn't feel right. She looked at her companion and saw that Alice's breathing was now erratic. Jisoo immediately dropped whatever she had in her hands and rushed to go in front of Alice.

With little hesitation, Jisoo cupped Alice's face, "Alice, look at me."

The younger girl looked at her, tears now starting to trail down both of her cheeks. Her breathing was still erratic and her chest felt tighter than it has ever been in a while. She tried to close her eyes several times but Jisoo kept telling her not to.

"Look at me," Jisoo said in a deep authoritative voice and Alice complied in fear of angering the head girl.

"Focus on my eyes," Jisoo spoke in a much more calm voice with her commanding tone still present.

Alice did so and her piercing blue eyes met with Jisoo's big brown doe eyes. They were warm. When she looked at them, she felt their warmth. They reminded Alice a lot of how her own brother's looked. She didn't usually remember how they looked like, but seeing Jisoo's eyes refreshed her memory somehow.

"Take a deep breath right now."

Alice complied.

"Now slowly, let it out."

Alice did that too.

"Okay, now do it again."

Alice took a second deep breath before releasing it as slow as she could without letting her lungs burn from the lack of oxygen. The tight sensation in her chest was fading and her heat beat was starting to slow.

"Two more, come on," Jisoo urged Alice and Alice followed her command.

Once Alice had become calm, Jisoo let Alice's head out of her hold. Alice sniffed and immediately wiped her tears. "Sorry," she muttered softly, her face slightly warm from embarassment.

"It's not a problem. I've had several of my friends suffer some sort of panic or anxiety attack at least once each year. Besides, it's the least I could do for having you as a companion this evening, or well, morning," Jisoo chimed in an effort to reassure and cheer Alice up. The Ravenclaw sported a grateful smile.

Jisoo let out a sweet grin before patting Alice's back. "You're a strong girl, Alice. Nothing could ever bring someone with the likes of you down. Not even evil itself."

Alice thought about what Jisoo said before thanking her. Jisoo smiled at the younger girl endearingly.

A few seconds of silence had passed before Alice asked, "do you perhaps have a tissue? I believe I left my handkerchief in the Ravenclaw tower."

Jisoo was nodded and was about to fish into her tiny pouch when a series of several loud creaking sounds had rung in the air. This was immediately followed by a barely audible but clearly present noise that proved to be unfamilar to both of the girls. It was quite eerie the way it was so loud one second and how it was all silent the next.

"Ah, someone should really look into those pipes of ours," Jisoo remarked, slightly surprised but generally unfazed by the sounds, fishing into her pouch for her tissue packet.

"Did you hear that?" Alice asked still lingering on the sound that had followed the sound of pipes creaking.

"The creaking? Mhmm, it's most likely just old creaky pipes be old and creaky," Jisoo responded, taking her hand out of the pouch and giving three sheets of tissue to Alice.

"Not just that, the one that came after," Alice remarked and Jisoo gave her a concerned look before hesitantly speaking.

"I thought only I heard it, it sounded like..." Jisoo trailed off, struggling to find a word to describe the noise.

"Slithering?" Alice prompted. Jisoo nodded. Both of them looked around them, eyeing walls carefully.

"I better check on Merrythought's classroom. Something might've escaped," Jisoo said, starting to pack up all her perishable goods.

"You better get going, too. We have classes tomorrow. I don't want to hear news from students of a girl sleeping in because she spent the wee hours with the Head Girl eating snacks. It's unheard of," Jisoo urged Alice in a teasing tone. Alice smiled and thanked her, bowing in respect before retiring for the night, the warm thoughts of a girl with fiery red hair districting her enough to be able to fall asleep.

However, these thoughts, no matter how happy they were, could never stop the nightmares that were just about ready to leap out and ensnare Alice in her slumber.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;

pLEASE READ HUHU

*Universal Studios theme starts playing*

Hi omg. I know I have a lot to explain and apologize for (especially the amount of time it took for an update and also how this is basically just a filler chapter of some sort) but I'll wait until I eventually finish this.

I!! AM!! GOING!! TO!! FINISH!! THIS!! I swear on the stars and on my albums that I will. I will not let this become one of the fanfics that will eventually go discontinued, NO!! I have enjoyed every single minute writing this, it's just that I really rEALLY really have been so busy. Having a STEM track really takes up so much time and I'm so thankful that people have still been reading this even after I started to become inactive!!

ALSO!! HAPPY 80K?? LIKE OMG?? I'VE NEVER HAD A WATTPAD BOOK REACH THIS FAR LIKE WHAT.

ANOTHER ALSO!! I've had such a bad writer's block for sometime, and I apologize for that one time I accidentally uploaded this chapter unfinished jadsjakd, so I added another character (she's from TWICE uhu i love her) that would somehow help me (and Alice) push through with the story line. Idk how long it would take me for another update, but I assure you, it won't take as much time as it did for this upload.

Again, thank you all so much!!

all the love as always,

tuffhufflepuffxx