Day 18: The Restricted Section

The drumming of a warm summer rain and its accompanying scents filled the Gryffindor dormitories; a half-conscious Margaret basked in it, holding her pillow tighter as she took in the sensory delight.
"It must be about 16... I wasted my entire saturday..." she thought.
Having spun, tossed and turned for a long while, she finally woke up, hair tousled and yawning; she checked her watched and sighed in relief.
"Oh, good, it's still morning."
Laying in bed, she stared at its ceiling, feeling the dried tears covering her face, a mortifying feeling of pure hatred filled her as she remembered the events of yesterday.
Stealing a glance at the talking mirror, she chuckled at the state of her hair and quickly brushed it, thinking about ways to spend her saturday; something to do with the rain, she hadn't had the pleasure of such warm and intense rain in a long while, she pictured her options in her mind, feeling as if she was there: her regular morning routine at the beach, a walk in the Forbidden Forest, cuddling on the couch with Margot...
As if she sensed her friend's thoughts, the matagot jumped off and rubbed against the witch's legs, her tail swishing hypnotically as she meowed; she sounded like a toad croaking, something that never failed to put a smile on Margaret's face.
"Oh ma chérie..." gushed the girl, patting her thighs; the cat jumped on.
"Oh que tu es jolie..." she whispered as she kissed the creature's head, before leaning into a drawer to produce a brush.
Loud purring filled the room, alternating brushing and kissing, the Gryffindor carefully showered her friend with affection; holding her ears between her fingers to enjoy the cold and to warm them up; enjoying the cold wetness of her truffle as she rubbed with force against her cheeks.
Fully satisfied, Margot jumped off and swaggered towards the couch.
Carefully plucking the hairs from her robes and the brush, she cleaned herself up, applied dittany to her punctured thighs and approached the basin, grimacing; she splashed her face and scrubbed, washing the tears away.

The castle was bustling, most likely made worse by the lovely rain outside, and an unreasonable amount of students loved sitting on stairs, which annoyed Margaret immensely; she briefly considered blasting through a window on her broom to get to the beach faster.
"Much faster." she thought as yet another set of stairs was blocked off by a herd of Hufflepuffs.
As if guided by the castle itself, she ended up in front of the Greenhouse, she could picture how lovely it would be to spend some time there, listening to the rain, sitting against a tree... Swallowing, she made her way through the overcrowded hall, almost running, cringing at all the loud voices, the laughs, and the smells.

Having finally reached the Greenhouse, she sighed as the massive doors opened themselves, only to be hit by the loud rain, the fragrance and the intense heat; it didn't bother her, somehow.
"I must be half plant." she thought, as she scanned the room for undesirables: only a few students sitting on benches, busy with plants or talking with Professor Garlick.
Sitting against her favourite tree she stared at the sky: full of dark clouds, with strong light shining through and blurred by the noisy deluge.
Reading her coursebooks, she didn't care whether people looked at her, if they even could, as long as she didn't feel her stares; she was content to enjoy sensory stimulation for once.
Opening her History of Magic book she smiled at the lack of nonsensical anecdotes about potters, good lovers, weasels and long bottoms.

With the Greenhouse getting emptier and emptier, the girl looked at her watch: it was noon, the perfect opportunity to get to the lake unbothered; she packed her book, stood up carefully so as to not hurt a flower or insect and walked briskly towards the hall.
Walking past the Library, she noticed Sebastian holding a stack of books looking rather grumpy, she followed inside, curious.

The Library was large, beautiful and surprisingly well lit, and there were a lot less students than she had expected, most of all: it was quiet.
"Huh, I avoided it for nothing it seems..." she thought.
"Margaret..?" asked Sebastian.
"That's me." she answered. "I saw you holding a stack of books outside, I wondered what you were doing."
"Let's call it making amends." grimaced the boy.
"Ah so you're not meeting with that lover of yours." she remarked bluntly.
"She's not..." he groaned. "I need to get on better terms with Madam Scribner if I want to get anywhere near the Restricted Section again."
"You told me you were good at sneaking inside. You can't be good if you get caught."
"I am good, but there's not a lot you can do when Peeves catches you." he hissed.
"You know what? Let's get in, right now. You first, show me how it's done since you're so good at everything." he grinned.
"I'm not good at anything, but sure, I wanted to have at least one look anyway." she looked around the room and opened her bag.
"How did you get in the last time?" asked Margaret.
"What, already out of ideas?" chuckled the boy.
"They must have placed countermeasures, I have at least four ideas." she answered, playing with a thick bronze ring.
"Disillusionment Charm." answered Sebastian, glancing at the item.
"I'm not very good at it but..." she produced a piece of parchment, folded it into a paper plane, charmed it and threw it at the metal door: flying gracefully but invisibly, the plane suddenly appeared on the other side.
"See, the charm was dispelled."
"No, you're just bad."
"Go ahead, I'm not the one getting caught for using the same trick twice in a row." she rolled her eyes.
"Fine. What else do you have?"
"This ring." she slid the jewelry down her finger and disappeared... But not her clothes, or the candy she was sucking on.
Sebastian stifled his laughter.
"That's rubbish! And give me one of these candies." he said, holding out his hand.
Sebastian was unable to look away from the candy in the girl's mouth, that he pictured her (invisible) tongue pushing around. He jumped when a bright pink candy on tin lid appeared in front of his eyes and shook as if trying to get his attention; the candy sure was annoyed.
"Oh... Uh... Th...anks..." he placed it in his mouth. "That's pretty tasty, what doesh it do?" he asked, greedily sucking a slurping, enjoying the sweet, strange taste.
"Nothing, they're fruit rocks, the pink ones are melon flavoured."
"Heh, melon." he thought.
"So as you can see the ring is pretty effective but we would have to be nude."
"I'm sorry, can you take it off, it's really... Distracting..." interrupted Sebastian, glancing inside the girl's uniform.
"Don't look inside." she remarked, before taking the ring off.
"I was curious..." he said, blushing under the now visible girl's glare.
"A-anything else?"
"Walk in." she answered bluntly.
"That is never going to work."
"Watch me." she walked casually towards the Restricted Section.
"Wait..!" half whispered the boy, following her.
Glancing around, she walked confidently and inconspicuously towards the metal door, pushed it and entered, followed by Sebastian.

"See, the upper floor has books but the really good stuff is downstairs." whispered Sebastian, Margaret nodded.
Glancing towards the center of the Library, she made her way towards the stairs while observing her surroundings carefully, eyes shining from all the interesting books and relics.
"I can't believe it worked." said Sebastian, bewildered.
"The best solution to a problem is often the simplest, especially in a magical school." shrugged the girl. "Well then, I'll let you indulge, I'll have a look around."
"Wait, I've actually never been down here, let's stay together, just in case." said the Slytherin.
"Why? Are you scared?" she asked bluntly.
"Don't be ridiculous, some of these books and items are tricky, it's better to deal with them together."
"If a book screams at me I'm screaming back, with Sonorous." she said, threateningly.
"Please don't."

The lower rooms were a lot darker and dustier than the upper floor, flying books, creature skeletons and enchanted items were everywhere, most of them looking grim, something that apparently didn't bother the girl as she pointed at random things she somehow found endearing such as a box with a moving hand inside, the skeleton of a bird with many heads and a book that moved around like a slug.
Having found an interesting book, she walked away from Sebastian and carefully approached.
"Culinary Arts of Albion..?" she asked.
"That doesn't sound like it should be down here... Let me see."
The book was a regular albeit slightly dusty cookbook with a short history of dishes from every region including Ireland.
"What is it doing down here? It's not even enchanted, the food looks good... If odd." wondered Margaret as she pointed at a pie with fish heads protuding out of the top.
"Oh stargazy pie, that's pretty good, actually." said Sebastian, eyes lighting up.
"The book is pretty, I like the drawings, this carrot here is so cute..." whispered Margaret.
"Whe should keep going." chuckled the boy.
"Actually, let me take it back, it was in the missing books list. Probably some exchange student's idea of a joke."
She thought it was funny but didn't laugh.

"What are you looking for anyway?" asked Sebastian.
"Nothing, I was curious." she answered while wiggling her fingers at a menacing masks with moving eyes.
"I've only explored the upper floor at night — you've seen how inconvenient that is." he said, looking at a menacing book.
"It's probably safer during the day, when Peeves is busy." added Margaret, looking at the book over his shoulder.
Sebastian clicked his tongue and closed the book noisily.
"Let's keep going."he said, dusting himself off and sneezing.

The deeper the duo explored, the dustier and less furnished it got, until the rooms contained nothing but draped furniture and statues.
Unwilling to get even more dust on her hands, Margaret walked further down until she reached a large circular room with a singular arch at its center.
"What's this?" asked Sebastian, making the girl jump in surprise.
"Don't be scared." laughed the boy.
"I'm not scared, you're loud." she grimaced.
"I don't know, it's an arch but... I can hear... Cats? Meowing? Singing?" she added, walking around, looking for the source of the sounds.
"I'm not hearing anything." said the boy, frowning.
"Of course he can't." she thought, as she noticed the opalescent bubbling of Ancient Magic at the source of the now much louder noise.
"I'm... Going through the arch, you'll have to get back on your own."
"Well, I'm in a bit of a pickle now, aren't I?" he said, looking at all the books he was holding.
"That's the funniest thing I've heard." said Margaret blankly, before placing the ring on top of the pile of books. "Best of... luck..? Sorry."
"I'll find a way, this isn't my first time sneaking in or out."
"I'm really sorry, I don't think you can follow me and I have to go through."
"It's fine, I know you have secrets." he waved his hand dismissively.
"I'll owe you a favour." added Margaret before walking through and disappearing.
"What a pain..." grumbled the boy, now all alone in the dusty arch room. He cautiously walked through the arch and sighed in disappointment as nothing happened.

Walking down the stairs, Margaret carefully inspected her surroundings, using the movement techniques she was taught.
"This is really pretty..." she thought as she caressed the walls and floors. "It's like... Jewelry? Marble? This was built with magic, I can feel the tingling on my fingertips..."
Like swirling water frozen into crystal, the unique material was mesmerizing, and enticed her deeper inside.
"Hm, I can't jump that far, it looks like someone was fond of puzzles." she thought, as she looked around the large room
Climbing onto her broom, she flew to the other side, jubilating; having made it safely, she flew back, still laughing.
"I'll indulge you." she thought, grinning, before slinging a basic cast at the button on top of the door.
She nodded at the cubes creating a path over the precipice and curtsied before walking through.

Margaret solved puzzle after puzzle, oftentimes bypassing them for fun but walking back, feeling like it was rude to ignore them, all the while enjoying the beautifully crafted space.
"This is quite enjoyable..." she thought, as she entered yet another room, expecting a more challenging puzzle.
Coming to life, a duo of suits of armour walked towards her with their weapon drawn, she curtsied instead and waited for them to say or do something.
They kept walking, menacingly.
"Don't do this..." she thought.
One of the statues suddenly lunged towards her with a sword, she dodged swiftly and clicked her tongue.
"Spongify." "Spongify"
"Stone statues... That's disappointing." she thought as the sword squished against her head harmlessly.
"Go away, I don't want to break you." said Margaret, waving her hand dismissively, focused on the path ahead.
Deaf, the statues keep attacking and following her; attempting to push the door open, she clicked her tongue.
"I won the trial though, why do I need to break them when they've been neutralized..."
She flicked her want and slashed them both in half with a swift Diffindo, the door opened.

Walking deeper she faced more statues and puzzles, dispatching them with ease and lamenting that she had to break them.
What she assumed to be the last corridor had multiple knights waiting for her, along with waterfall looking columns.
"I want to meet the person who built all this, it's wonderful..." she thought.
Casting a few Spongify spells, she chuckled when she noticed those statues were unaffected by the spell.
"Did they learn or are they protected?" she wondered, before downing an Edurus potion and bolting towards the first statue.

The knight slashed at her, she swiftly dodged to the side and guillotine kicked the statue's wrist off; it stumbled back, she grabbed its torso, thought "Oops, it's heavier than I thought", pushed hard and slammed its head against the floor in a move that would be called much later a German Suplex.
Still marching, the other statues slowly surrounded her, she kept a foot on the neutralized knight to make sure it stayed down and waited.
In unisson, her opponents slashed, stabbed and smashed, using the swift spell she quickly broke their ankles as they comitted to the swing and crumbled under their own weight, and their allies' own attack.
Shaking her hands, she picked off the rocky remains of the potion and walked inside the door.
It was empty save for a pensieve and a floating book.

"Hello sir or madam." said Margaret, curtsying to the tome.
It didn't answer and instead dripped a fluid into the bowl.
"Don't mind if I do." she declared, taking a deep breath before dipping her head in the magical tool.

Like swirling inky water, he surrounded shifted into different scenes: a group of wizards using Ancient Magic to help a village, a young girl and her growing into another member of the group, her desires and wishes; she heard names, arguments,, all of it felt like an increasingly suffocating blur until the visions stopped and she felt pushed out of the pensieve, with fresh air filling her lungs. An enticing tingling in her mind beckoned her towards the wall at the end of the room; remembering her first trip in similar ruins she decided to come back with Professor Fig.

Walking back to the Restricted Section, Margaret chuckled at the sight of Sebastian sitting on the dusty floor, still reading, his eyes lighting up at her sight.
"You're back."
"I am." she answered "Were you waiting for me?"
"Oh. A bit of both. This book is really interesting." he tapped the tome before standing up. "Let's get out of here, then."
Margaret nodded.
"You wanted to repay the favour? Carry my books."
She nodded again.
"So, did you find anything interesting in there?" he asked nonchalantly. "Or is that a secret?"
"It is a secret but no, nothing interesting. I think. Nothing that could help Anne."
Sebastian sighed.

Walking cautiously, the Slytherin, clearly worried, waited for the girl to follow; unbothered, Margaret walked straight out of the Restricted Section with an armful of books as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do, under the boy's baffled gaze, who soon followed, bewildered.
"How did we do that, twice no less?" he wondered out loud.
"Simple is best."
"I'll remember that. Do you..." Sebastian was interrupted by Margaret who simply curtsied and walked away after having dropped the books on an empty trolley.
"Wait..!" half whispered the boy, too late. "She's fast..."

Walking briskly towards the courtyard in need of fresh air, Margaret pondered her next course of action, she hoped she would stumble upon Professor Fig but knew it was unlikely; she would have to navigate the bustling castle again to reach his office and she would be stuck having a lengthy chat with him, he would look at her and ask questions, with those sad eyes of his, as if he was looking at a wounded animal.

Entering the thankfully still empty courtyard, the girl glanced towards the Transfiguration classroom before saddling her broom and taking off, enjoying the rain caressing her skin.
Slowing her ascent above the nearby roofs, she looked around the valley and flew towards the owlery without a second thought.
She gripped her broom, grinning, trying to fly slowly so the rain wouldn't interfere too much, vivid pictures of fluffy owls filled her head.

Welcoming Margaret inside the owlery was a single sculpted wooden owl on the handrail of the spiral staircase, along with the fetid smell of bird droppings. She was excited, despite the smell, to meet the owls. Putting on a clothespin on her nose, she climbed the stairs, giddy.
Unbeknownst to her, the Owlery was a fairly popular spot among the students, but today was her lucky day: it was her and the birds.
The floor was covered in hay, droppings and bones. Rat bones.
She shivered, chasing the thoughts out of her head as she waved her wand to clean up the mess, looking for a place to sit down. Looking up, she pulled an thick umbrella from her bag to protect her from any accident.
Smiling, she looked at the owls in their alcoves, some stared back, she waved at them, whispering polite greetings.
Tap, tap, tap
She cringed at the sounds of approaching steps but didn't bother moving.

"Margaret?" asked a familiar voice.
"Good morn- Afternoon, Ominis." she answered.
"I never expected to find you here, it's too... Smelly." he said, grimacing.
"I have a clothespin, and I really wanted to bother the owls. They're lovely."
"They are..." he smiled gently "Are you here to send a letter, or are you waiting on one, like me?"
"No one writes me... Anymore." she said staring at her hands as she fidgeted "And I don't expect my letters to be welcome either... No, I just wanted to see the owls."
"I...See..."
"It's a miracle, he's cured." she answered bluntly.
Ominis laughed (rather loudly)
"Are you that fond of owls or do you not have one?" he asked, offering his finger to a nearby owl.
"Both. My mother is deathly afraid of them. I don't know the full story but she has scars around her eyes..."
"No wonder she's afraid of them." Ominis shivered.
"It's such a shame." she chuckled, as a daring owl approached her "They're like flying cats. I love them..." she added, whispering. "Almost like you, with how you sleep everywhere." she chuckled again.
Ominis cleared his throat, embarrased.

"I'm... Sorry about the other day."
"What are you talking about?"
"The Cruciatus curse, and your aunt..." she stared at her hands again "I said I was on your side, that I wanted to steer him away from it all but I ended up using it myself. I... Know I was right but still, I promised."
"You're a good person." smiled Ominis.
"NO I'M NOT!" she screamed in her mind, she nodded. "I... Assume you had a bad experience with them?"
"Yes. My family. They wanted me to cast them, I didn't want to." he answered, looking grim.
"Did you?"
Ominis opened his mouth but didn't speak.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask." interrupted the girl. "One of the first spells I was taught was the Killing curse." she said.
"My great-great-gr... Patriarch took me hunting soon after my magic finally manifested... He shot a deer with a bow and told me to finish it and bring it back. It was a test, he probably expected the result."
"What did you do..?" asked Ominis, trembling.
"I did it. The deer was bleeding out, agonizing, I couldn't watch it in such pain..."
"I'm sorry."
"My Killing curse doesn't kill— and reading about horcruxes earlier I'm glad it doesn't; the deer was unconscious, I did my best to remove the arrow and heal it with dittany. I walked back empty handed, he smiled at me and we walked back home."
"Looks like not every Pureblood family is crazy."
"We had deer for supper."
"Oh no..." he thought, feeling teary eyed as he walked towards the girl staring at her hands.
"He told me to eat. He said my mercy and bright soul were worth preserving, he said I wasn't meant for this world, that I couldn't afford such kindness, he hugged me and apologized. He told me to keep that flame burning no matter what..."
"I... Don't know what to say..."
"Somehow I still feel guilty. He did it all, and he was right about everything, he agrees with me that it's unfair but I don't want to believe him." she stood up and reached for an owl, the bird pushed its head against her, asking for her caresses.
"Sometimes I'm filled with hatred so pure and violent I feel like I'm going to explode, I feel like I'm slipping, but I will never lose faith in the inherent good of all things..." added Margaret, resisting the urge to kiss the bird.
"I'm sorry, I keep talking, you don't care about this."
"You're wrong, I do." Ominis' hand hovered above her shoulder, he decided against touching it. "Thank you for sharing it."
The thought that one of her first spells was the Killing curse chilled him to the bone, but it somehow reinforced his trust, he felt as if he pierced through the stony exterior of this strange statue and finally found the warmth of the girl hiding inside: graceful, full of love; he felt his face flushing and turned away.
"You said you were waiting for a letter?" she asked, pointing at an owl flying in.
"Yes, from a healer, for Anne."
"The rain must have stopped." said the Gryffindor, looking outside.
"Of course he can't help us..." grumbled Ominis. "Is your friend not with you today?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.
"I don't have any." she retorted.
"Sebastian did tell me about this..." he thought.
"Your classmate?"
"Which one?"
"Brown hair, big eyes."
"No."
There was the statue again, she was suddenly shutting him down again.

The two of them played with the owls for a while, in silence, until Margaret suddenly and quietly left, having never found the opportunity to send her letter to Professor Fig.
She walked down the hill, taking deep breaths and enjoying the distinctive smell left in the air.
"Ah, Margaret, wonderful, I was looking for you! How are you today?" asked Professor Fig, beaming.
"Miserable." she smiled gently.
Unsure whether the girl was joking or not he stood there, mouth half open; the girl interrupted him by presenting the letter.
"I found something earlier, I wrote it down." she said. "Have a nice day." she jumped on her broom and flew away.
She wanted to walk to the beach but she really didn't want to see anyone else today, or ever.
At least she was lucky enough to stumble onto her mentor.

The hatred, the disgust, she felt it boiling in her heart, she felt an explosive wrath deep inside her bones, wanting to burst out, ripping her open.
She dove into the lake to wash it away.