"Expecto Patronum," Lily told the fat lady. The portrait swung open on it's hinges. "I'm sure Hugo's in here," she told Maddie with an evidently fake smile on her face. Maddie stepped into the common room. Please be here! Please be here! Please be...

No Hugo. Maddie scrunched her eyes shut to keep in the tears. "Wait!" Lily insisted as she stumbled through the opening to reach Maddie. "He could have gone to bed. Gosh, it's after midnight." Maddie seemed doubtful, but wiped her eyes and nodded. She made her way to the stairs silently.

As she trudged up the steps to the boy's room, she felt Lily on her heels. "Maddie," she whispered. Maddie stopped in her tracks, and, after a moment, turned to face her.

"Should... should we be up here?" Lily continued her whisper. Maddie thought about it. The boys and girls were separated in dormitories, and if a boy barged into her room, she knew she wouldn't be happy. "Well," Maddie thought of a reason, "they're asleep so it won't matter, really."

They continued up the stairs. When they came to the first door, Maddie took the handle in her frozen palms, and turned. The door scraped across the uneven wooden planks of the floor. Maddie winced at the noise. Lily followed her into the room.

They examined all the sleeping boys quickly. They didn't see a tangled mob of orange hair sticking out from a blanket pile, like they were hoping. Maddie even ran her gaze across the beds again, just to make sure. Nope.

Lily frowned at the one empty bed, right in the middle. Hugo's trunk lay open and clothes were spilling out of it. A few owls and a rat were jiggling in their cages. There was also a sleeping cat on the end of the last bed, but no Hugo.

Lily motioned at the door, and Maddie gently pulled the knob so it opened just enough for the two to sneak out with ease.

Back in the common room, the fire crackled as the girls finished the stairs. Maddie turned and wait for Lily to step away from the arched doorway, not wanting to wake any boys. "Oh, Lily!" Maddie whined. Lily sighed, "What are we going to do, now?"

"We could tell Headmistress?" Maddie suggests. Lily nodded, "Yes! We can..." Her voice trailed off and a frown formed on her face, "I don't know that password." Maddie plopped down on the leather arm chair and buried her face in her hands.

Why is there a password for everything?!