Calira Shacklevolt stormed out of the Great Hall, fuming. Her face was cherry red, from both embarrassment and rage. She walked up the stairs and through a few corridors until she found the place she sought. Cali drew her wand and muttered “Alohomora.” She smiled when the door opened, revealing a small passage. Cali stepped through and closed the for behind her, relaxing as the silence began to calm her. 

She walked for about five minutes until arriving in a small room with a wooden floor and stone walls. The only furniture was a little table with two chairs, and a small oil lamp. Cali sat down at the table, setting her wand down in front of her. She let out a long sigh, putting her head in her hands. Cali hated being humiliated, and this morning was one of her worst embarrassments yet. She looked around the room, smiling slightly. Cali always found complete silence to be relaxing, unlike most people. 

Suddenly, Cali stiffened. She heard a voice, coming from down the corridor. She grabbed her wand and stood up, creeping towards the corridor that she’d come through  not long ago. Yes, there was someone in the corridor. “Hello?” Cali crept into the corridor, wand raised. 

The voice stopped momentarily. “What?” 

Cali frowned. The person had no idea she was here. “Lumos,” she muttered, light seeping from her wand tip. Cali raised it to her face as she crept down the corridor. “Hello?” she asked again. 

“Hello?” The voice responded. It was closer. Cali could hear footsteps coming towards her. She stopped, waiting for the person to reveal themself. Slowly, the light revealed a small Hufflepuff girl with brown pigtails and tawny eyes. She looked to be barely five feet tall. Cali smiled at the girl, lowering her hands. 

“Hi, sweetie. What’s your name?” The girl looked over at Cali and smiled tentatively. 

“I’m Willow,” the girl whispered, not meeting Cali’s eyes. 

She smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Willow. I’m Calira,” Cali winked at the girl “but you can call me Cali.” Willow smiled. Cali leaned down to get on Willow’s level. “What are you doing in here, Willow?” Cali tried to keep her face as open and kind as possible. 

Willow shrugged. “I found the door and I wanted to see what was in here.” She smiled. “What are you doing in here?”

Cali’s mouth quirked to the side. “Well, I like to come in here sometimes to be alone. I like the quiet,” she added. Willow nodded. Cali looked around the corridor, beginning to shiver. Why is it so cold in here all of a sudden? Cali wondered. She noticed Willow grasping her arms together. “Willow, why don’t you leave, okay? It’s getting a little chilly, huh?” Willow nodded. Cali smiled, shooing the sweet girl away. Willow skipped through the corridor, humming to herself. A faint smile played on Cali’s lips. Her shivering became worse, so Cali began to walk back through the corridor, the same way Willow had gone. The temperature continued to drop, forcing Cali to move faster. Teeth chattering, Cali turned the corner. And screamed. 

Willow was stuck to the wall, face looking to be contorted with terror. She was covered in a sticky mass of darkness, her skin so pale one might think she had never seen the sun. But that wasn’t the worst of it. 

Half of the skin on her face was gone, revealing her insides. Willow’s body looked as if it had been rotting there for a very long time, though this wasn’t the case. Cali covered her mouth with her hand, her breathing becoming uncontrollably fast. 

The darkness that covered Willow was moving, like it was a living being. She stumbled backward into the wall. Willow was dead. The mass of darkness had eaten her. Cali watched the darkness as it began to creep towards her, like grimy fingers that wished to claw her up and eat her. Cali ran towards the door, throwing it open and  racing out. She slammed the door shut and locked it, breathing heavily. Cali bolted outside, only to run into Jinx. 

“Oh, hey! Perfect timing.” Jinx grabbed Cali’s arm and dragged her up to Jinx’s “beauty salon.” Cali just went along, not able to speak. Jinx gave her strange looks, but said nothing. “Okay, here you go.” Jinx plopped an insane amount of clothes into Cali’s hands. “There’s your new wardrobe. And this,” Jinx grabbed a small leather bag “is full of makeup. Use it wisely,” she added with a wink. Cali just stared at the clothes, lost in thought. Oh, that’s right. She had asked Jinx to design Cali a wardrobe that would make her more noticeable, so that Jace would hopefully see her and fall in love. But all these desires felt as if they’d been seeped out of her by that darkness. She turned to Jinx. 

“Um, I don’t need this anymore.” 

Jinx arched a brow. “Fine. I’ll throw these in a box in case you change your mind. But either way, I expect payment.” Jinx snatched the clothes and makeup bag and shoved Calira out of the room. 

Cali stumbled away with only one goal: find Zelie. She ran into the Great Hall, hoping to see her sister there. Cali’s heart began to sink. Where could she be? Cali knew Zelie wouldn’t take kindly to her trying to speak with her, but she had to try. Cali’s mind was racing. 

What was that darkness, and what did it want?