The holiday ended very soon. Hogwarts
returned to its normal track, with the ugly piggish face of Amycus Carrow and
Alecto Carrow’s equally malicious face. All these reappeared in front of
Virginia as though her eyes and nerve had been cursed again.

  In
this holiday, people have their gains and losses.

  Harry
Potter gained access to the true Sword of Gryffindor. His best friend Ron
Weasley was back to help him. And he has known the tale of the Deathly Hallows.

  Voldemort
gained information he needed, information about that unconquerable Elder Wand,
but he lost “the Boy Who Lived” again within only a few milliseconds.

  Xenophilius
Lovegood, his daughter taken away by the Death Eaters, tried to catch Harry
Potter for them in order to get her daughter back, but he failed drastically.

  Virginia
mastered the Patronus Charm, gained a huge shock and lost it again very soon,
and as for that she wasn’t regretful at all.

  Ravenclaw
students were crowding in the Common Room. Most talked about the scene on the
train when Luna Lovegood was taken by the Death Eaters. They knew that was
because of her father’s Quibblers and its support-Harry-Potter messages.

  They
discuss Harry Potter’s name under their breath as though the mere name infuses
power into them. But everyone was cursing You-Know-Who in the heart. No one
dares saying out aloud. Most people just cursed the Death Eaters during their
conversations.

  Virginia
looked up at the vaulted window. It was all dark, but the light was rather bright
inside the room. She could still see the snows falling outside.

  She
missed the Astronomy Tower but couldn’t go there at this time. She went
upstairs to the eighth floor where the headmaster’s office and the Room of
Requirement lie. Of course the latter was her destination.

  This
action, strictly speaking, was not wise, even a bit stupid. The holiday was
such an ideal opportunity to come here, but she didn’t. Now that the holiday
has ended there are much more eyes at Hogwarts, she starts doing dangerous
things nevertheless. This sounds really a little silly.

  But
Virginia thought differently. She liked the environment during holiday when she
could concentrate on her study and improve her efficiency. Thinking about her
Patronus, she believed herself to be wise indeed, for she would never be able
to allow it fly in the sky except during holiday.

  And
now she admits that she wishes to escape the grave sense brought by the
students. The castle soon turned from the relaxed studying environment back to
the nervous and tense atmosphere. This makes her wish to go away.

  At
the eighth floor she gave herself the Disillusionment Charm again out of habit.
Compared to the Carrows, Virginia was more frightened about headmaster Severus
Snape. If the former make you feel disgustion and hatred, then the latter makes
you oppressed, grave, unable to draw breathes.

  She
wished to find a place for quiet deliberation, but stangely after three times
of walk the door failed to appear. She tried several times and reorganized her
words, but the door was still not there. She even tried the hiding place she
went in before but it was of no use.

  She
stopped dead and realized abruptly – There are people inside!

  Who
might that be?

  Virginia
opened her valve of memory suddenly. The Room of Requirement isn’t actually a
mystery. Draco Malfoy had been inside. The members of Dumbledore’s Army were
also in there as well. Even several Death Eaters went out from that room
throught the Vanishing Cabinet.

  And
this year, the hiding room will be burnt. Oh why she just thought of it! It
would be burnt by the follower of Draco Malfoy, using an evil fire which
belongs to very dark magic. And the Horcrux Ravenclaw’s diadem was destroyed at
the same time.

  Harry
Potter will come back, of course she knows that. But she only just noticed what
that would mean.

  Virginia
lay against the wall and waited patiently. Finally a door opened and three
people emerged. The first one was Neville Longbottom.

  These
Harry Potter’s close helpers appear completely different from her imagination.
She felt a bit depressed, for when she was reading the series, she percieved
them as kids, but now these “kids” are all adults, taller and older than her.
She is still a little girl.

  And
then came Ginny Weasley, who is very beautiful, quite unlike the one in the
movies. Virginia thought she knew why Harry Potter cannot resist the temptation
while leaving the eighth floor. She does not plan to come again recently. She
has to go back and think carefully about all these.

  Back
in the dorm she took out her quills and parchment and started writing about
everythng she remembers or not. She wrote down her memory as completely as she
could. She didn’t know when she fell asleep.

  She
was waken up by her clock. She wished to go back to sleep but knew she can’t,
for the first lesson is Professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration. She finished as
quickly as she could but was still late. McGonagall let her sit down and didn’t
punish her. She exhaled deeply and vowed not to stay up late at night any more.
Then she suddenly become speechless. That parchment! That parchment she wrote
on yesterday was still on her bed! She forgot it completely this morning. What
a silly mistake!

  Virginia
rushed back to the dorm first thing after class. She knows that her dorm won’t
have others in, but she still warns herself to be careful. During class just
now she lost concentration for a long while. Professor McGonagall watched her
several times.

  This
Transfiguration class teaches the Converting Spell. It is a basic one, and they
were asked to turn one thing into another, similar thing. This was much too
easy for Virginia, so she would not have any failure even without
concentration, but this time she finished much more quickly than before. Well,
this was an unexpected accident for the always careful Virginia.

  She
noticed her neglect at once and raised her head, only to meet McGonagall’s
thinking eyes. She quickly pretended a never-too-late-to-mend ecstatic
expression. McGonagall went to her and nodded, saying to the whole class, “Very
good! This is the first time we transfigure living creatures. Ms. Winchester is
the first one to finish, and performed rather excellently. Five points to
Ravenclaw!”

  Then
she looked at Virginia and said, “You are brilliant, Ms. Winchester. Keep on
working hard.”

  It
was not until the end of the class that she realized her mistake. Apart from
her, nobody in the class succeeded at converting it. This time she really
saught the limelight.

  She
felt a bit uneasy, but the parchment in her dorm is more enticing, so she
hurried away quickly. But just as she was going out, Professor McGonagall
stopped her, “Ms. Winchester, please stay behind for a while.”

  Well,
she felt nervous now. But an accidental performance isn’t that serious, blind
cats can also catch mice occasionally, it isn’t something to be surprised
about.

  “Ms.
Winchester, do you feel confortable at Hogwarts?” Professor McGonagall asked
kindly.

  “Not
bad, Professor.” Virginia answered, “I like here; it is fantastic.”

  “I’m
glad to hear that. If you, er, ever encounter some problem, you are always
welcome to find me.” She said, “both in study and during daily life, you
understand? Ms. Winchester.”

  “Yes,
I think I understand. Thanks, Professor.”

  Virginia
went out and rushed back. Luch? She has no mood to have lunch. In fact, she
doesn’t want to eat anything now.

  The
hook was still creating difficulty for her. It sang slowly, “What’s the most
powerful thing in the world?”

  Oh
the convoluted philosophical question. Virginia thought for a while and said
loudly, “Faith! Faith is always the most powerful in the world!”

  “In
a sense, your answer is exceptional.” The door opened, and Virginia rushed
windlike upstairs. The few people in the Common Room even failed to find out
who that was.

  Oh!
Very good! When she took hold of the parchment she felt quite relieved. Today
there’s finally something not that terrible! She folded it carefully and thrust
it into the donkey-skin pouch in front of her.

  Then
she fell down onto her bed. She had no strength left at all. Fortunately it’s
History of Magic in the afternoon, and she can have a sleep during that time.
Now her condition is only too bad to go on indeed.