Chatter and babble rolled through the corridors of Hogwarts, colliding with the old stone walls and being reflected by them. The paintings giggled and joined in the humming sound that filled the wizarding school like a hive of bees this early morning. Everywhere, young and old students hurried through the hallways, which were flooded with golden sunlight through large arched windows. The hem of their wizarding cloaks fluttered behind them like flags of every color. Sometimes in Gryffindor red, then again in Ravenclaw blue, Hufflepuff yellow, or the emerald green of the Slytherins.

Everyone had their own unique goals on this sunny autumn morning. From Potions to Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against Dark Arts, Arithmancy, or History of Wizardry, all students searched for their classrooms. Some sat together at breakfast in the great hall. They took their time while their classmates, perhaps wanting to play it safe, were already stepping through the thresholds to the relevant classroom.

A hand tugged at the blue coat and reached for her hand in an attention-grabbing manner. It drew her eyes from the noticeably increasingly thinning stream of students down to her little sister. Sophie's red strands flowed around her shoulders, and a yellow bow bobbed with each step. Her big, blue-green eyes squinted up at her, and though she didn't say a word, Loreley could read the question from her face.

"I know your roommate said that we just have to go past the Arithmantics classroom to get to the greenhouse..." she answered her unasked question but instead led her across the Transfiguration courtyard toward the north hall. "But we can't go that way," she continued by way of explanation.

The whispered "Why?" was so soft that Loreley almost missed it. And yet her heart immediately beat joyfully because of that little, ridiculous word. Every word had become precious since her mother's disappearance. That fact pulled the corners of Loreley's mouth up on invisible strings.

"You know, there's always a big Erumpent skeleton in the hallway at Arithmantik," She related in a theatrical tone, "And do you know what happened when I walked past it last year?" Meaningfully, she looked down at her little sister. "A wind came up as if by a ghostly hand," she murmured, leaning closer to Sophie, whose eyes grew wider and wider. "And then..." she delayed the moment of truth as long as possible before her fingers shot forward and pressed into her sister's belly and hips in tickling motions. "...it attacked me, woo!" she chirped, her laughter mingling with her sister's, but reflexively, she immediately lashed out at her hands, which tickled her relentlessly.

The laughter was followed by an incredibly reproachful look and puckered lips that literally screamed, 'That's not funny!'

Loreley's chuckle continued to ripple like water from a stream over small stones; then, she half-lovingly apologized for the little attack. "Joking aside. The skeleton just collapsed." Loreley rolled her eyes. "Of course, the grumpy janitor blamed me. Yet most of the stuff at Hogwarts is thousands of years old. No wonder things fall apart sometimes."

Sophie raised an eyebrow a little higher, mirroring Loreley's habit at that moment when she was skeptical.

"Don't look at me like that. I honestly didn't do that." Loreley's fingers closed gingerly around Sophie's hand. It was a little damp and sweaty, but she didn't mind. It also didn't bother the older witch to pick Sophie up at the Hufflepuffs' common room every morning in the future and take her to her classroom. It was just... safer. If she could be with Sophie, it calmed her fears of losing the last thing she had left in this world. May others feel safe at Hogwarts. She didn't. Loreley felt strange and haunted. As if something could be lurking around every corner.

The witch shook her head so quickly that her hair flew back and forth. This made her little sister frown questioningly.

"It's nothing. Just a silly thought," Loreley hurriedly waved it off, then cleared her throat as they turned right toward the aisle of the bell tower. "Anyway, this is a shortcut."

With a brief groan, she pushed open the door to the bell tower and led her sister past the massive pendulum with the star pattern to the opposite door.

At that moment, a loud thump echoed in the room.

>>Knock, knock, knock<<

Irritated, Loreley turned her head toward the door to the side from which the sound had come. Sophie paused in her stride and pointed to the gate, where there was another thudding sound.

>>knock, knock, knock<<

Loreley rolled her eyes as she let go of Sophie to step into the doorway. 'There really seemed to be a lot of idiots around Hogwarts,' she thought, annoyed. After all, she had no time to waste if she wanted to get Sophie to class and reach her own on time.

>>Wham, wham, wham!<<

The knocking became more insistent, and Loreley hurried to bridge the distance to the door. Each of her footsteps caused a reverberation in the great hall of the tower as she hastily reached out her hands for the door handle. "Whats your problem? The damn door is not locke-"

>>Wham!<<

The tremendous bang made Loreley jump back reflexively.

Before she even touched the ring of the door, it flew open and bounced with a loud thud against the stone wall on the other side. The wood shook under the force, and the iron handle trembled in its fixture.

But that was not enough. Like a roll of thunder, the blow sounded again and then a second time. Directly on the opposite, another door flew open with a jolt and slammed against the wall with a furious bang. Two suits of armor that had flanked that one jumped startled to the side. One tripped over its lance and fell to the floor with a loud clang. The pieces rolled across the stone slabs, and the helmet rolled away.

Loreley immediately reached into her cloak and jerked her wand in a defensive stance. Her fingers closed around the handle so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her pulse and thoughts raced and tripped.

"What by Merlin's beard?"