𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭

Chapter 10 : The fall of a Headmaster and his student

The moon was up and the whole gryffindor dormitory was asleep. Getting out of bed Neville stealthily walked towards the makeshift bed on the floor Ron was asleep on . Shaking his shoulders , he whispered, "Ron , Get up . We have to go. It's already midnight"

Ron's eyes opened to slits as he said groggily, "What?"

" Astronomy tower , remember ?"

The slit eyes slowly started to close again when Neville reluctantly said with a very low whisper , scared of anyone else hearing, " Pansy ! Remember what she said today ?"

As soon as Ron heard Pansy, he was up with wide awake eyes. Getting up and pulling a startled Neville outside. Without looking back he said ," Why are you walking so slow ? Hurry ! What if we are late ?!"

Neville : ….....…

' Who was it sleeping like a dead man just now? Can you tell ?'

But these words weren't uttered and kept inside Neville's overly kind and considerate heart, like they always did .

Walking side by side , they soon reached the astronomy tower . Alit by moonlight , the space was empty and without the signs of anyone coming or going. Confused , Ron said, " Where are they ? How come anyone isn't here yet ?"

Looking around for sometime and finding none, Neville softly suggested, "Why don't we look around? "

With that , they started to suspiciously look around, searching every nook and corner . Neville, having searched around the entire upper deck , shifted his sight to the small space covered in darkness below the wooden deck under his feet . When Ron informed, walking out, " I'll check the stairs if someone's there."

With a hesitant gaze he looked around in the darkness , wanting to find any clue visually than personally going down. But not a single thing prevailed there other than darkness . Finding no other option he cautiously slipped down.

Setting himself in the darkness , he moved forward in the blackness. It was then that a swift wind passed by him.

Wind ? This is an enclosed space , there should be no wind .

He tremblingly moved to turn around but froze when he felt a cold breath on his back. His mouth opened to scream. But before he could , his body was forcibly pushed down and a spell hit him. He very clearly felt the sting on his nape as his limbs spread apart like a stick figure and bound in place. It was a body-binding spell.

His body shook in the fear of unknown danger as he felt the now unconcealed steps of someone walking around him to stand close to his face. He wanted to close his eyes but even they were completely frozen. He could only watch as a pair of hazel-green eyes glowed, slowly coming closer to him.

The terror was too great and overwhelming for a soft marshmallow like Neville as his wide eyes rolled back and he promptly fainted with fright.

Some time went by and when Neville opened his eyes again, the first thing he felt was the soft cloth his head was buried in and the firm softness under his head.

Groggily sitting up, he innocently rubbed his eyes and yawned as a soothing voice said in the background , " Still sleepy? Why don't you sleep more ? I will wake you up" before gently drawing him back down again.

With the reassurance , Neville again buried his head against the soft cloth and began to drift away. As he was about to fall asleep again, the same voice whispered again with a giggle, "Were you tired all day?"