Hidden Wings - Part I

Hogwarts

Mioha's detention the next day was not in the evening, but instead lasted the entire day, despite it being a holiday.
She had to scrape out old cauldrons covered in Merlin-knows-what.
Professor Snape was there to ensure she didn't clean them by magic, and that was how she spent her day.

She didn't even eat dinner, she just fell exhausted into bed and stayed there until the next morning.

The next problem was, that Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall seemed to be absent a lot of the time, constantly needing to go to the ministry and showing them Hogwarts' defenses against Sirius Black. And added to that, the Head of Gryffindor seemed very convinced, that Sirius Black had killed the Potters.

Mioha spent a lot of time with her friends, trying to cheer up Harry, and solve the fight between the boys and Hermione, since it was Hermione's fault the Firebolt had been confiscated.

But Ron and Hermione were both as stubborn as a goat, neither wanting to make the first step. Added to that, Hermione was busy working on her homework-mountain, getting less sleep than ever.

So one evening, Mioha was sitting atop of the Astronomy tower with Esma and the barn owl Hedwig.

"It's a beautiful evening, right girls?",
Mioha said happily, snuggling into her new Weasley sweater, which she wore under her cloak.
Esma and Hedwig cawed approvingly.

Mioha watched the sun set, and at some point both birds hopped off the railing and soared up on the December wind, their wings spread out wide.

I wonder why Hogwarts is so full of magic, she thought as she laid a hand on the railing, feeling it hum with energy.

She had always thought that the magic flowing through Hogwarts were the defense shields she was feeling.
But now another thought came to her mind.

What if the castle was alive? Like, had an actual conscience?

Not having anything else to do, Mioha decided to test her theory.

She sat down on the cold floor and crossed her legs, thinking:
I hope I don't get a bladder infection.

Mioha closed her eyes and let her magic reach out to the castle, carefully exploring the old building.

She felt that every wall, every inch of Hogwarts was filled with magic. It flowed through the building, creating countless strands of energy which ran from top to bottom, from left to right.
Mioha could sense rooms she hadn't known existed. There was a room that changed its shape constantly, there were several tunnels leading out of Hogwarts, and beneath the castle, was the Labyrinth.

It was enormous.

Corridors, wide and narrow, straight or curved ran under the school, so far you could easily get lost in it. The Labyrinth had innumerable rooms, some filled with food, others with plants, some could be used as places to sleep and others were larger than the Great Hall.
Through all of these places, strands of magic flowed, and they all connected at one spot.

The heart of Hogwarts.

It was beating and pulsating as if were an actual organ and the castle were a living creature.

The heart was miles beneath the ground, a ball of pure energy that twisted and pumped, keeping Hogwarts alive.

While Mioha was admiring this, she suddenly felt another mind touch hers. Startled, she pulled back, retracting her magic.

But the other presence was still there, and after she calmed down, she realized who it was.

Or actually what it was.