The Secret Twin: Chapter 20

I made my way across the school grounds, dashing past the frozen lake, which glinted like chunk of diamond in the afternoon sun. It was a week after I had returned from my disasterous trip to my childhood home, and I was running late for my favourite subject; Transfiguration. I waded through the sparkling, ankle deep snow, the cold seeping in through my smart leather shoes. My robe fluttered like the wings of a resting butterfly, it’s ends soaked through, but I didn’t care. I was not going to miss any more lessons. Glancing at my watch, I realised the time. Merlins beard! I thought in shock. It’s almost one thirty! Surely I’ll be late now. Anxiously, I ran toward the looming shape of the school. I had almost made it to the grand entry when a gravely voice spoke behind me. “Well, well, well.” I spun and saw a chiseled face with furrowed eyebrows and a muscular neck glaring back at me with two beady eyes. Yelping, I tripped back into a flower bed, dirt smearing my cloak as frozen roses crumpled underneath my weight, their crushed, frosted petals drifting out from underneath my cowering frame. The boy’s laugh was like steel grating against ice. He looked far older than me, maybe in his sixth or seventh year, with a strong build and rippling biceps bulging from his black Slytherin robes. Two equally intimidating students flanked him, their thick wands looking like tiny twigs in their large, calloused hands. They advanced toward me. “Leave me alone,” I demanded, my voice filled with filled with fake confidence. I had met enough bullies to know what this boy wanted, and I wasn’t going to give him the satifaction of seeing me crumple at his hands. He just smirked and continued prowling around me, like a panther stalking it’s prey. “What do you even want?” I tried again. This time, he lunged at me, but I sidestepped and shoved him away onto the ground. His two comrades yelled and ran after me, but I darted away out of their grasp. I sprinted through the undergrowth, trampling the snow underfoot. Eventually, they cornered me, devilish grins on their faces as I shrunk into the shadow of ancient oak. Their leader joined them. His face was livid. Specks of brilliant white dusted his clothes, standing out against the dark colours of his robe and he sported a nasty purple bruise from his head smacking against the ground. “Oh, you’re gonna get it now,” he growled, raising a balled up fist. He swung it toward me. At the last second, a scream was torn from my mouth, echoing across the pure white valleys. The shadows seemed to bend to my will, shielding me from the blow. They curled themselvs around the boy like coils of rope and lifted him into the fridged air. He thrashed and cried, but they tightened around him, blocking his desperate wails. As his friends wathched in horror, helpless, he rose higher into the sky. Just then, a gust of wind ripped him from the tendrils grasp. He tumbled to the ground with a sickening thud before scrambling to his feet. With one last glance of terror, he and his friends retreated toward the castle. As they left, the tension drained out of me and I reached for the tree trunk for support. What had just happened? Suddenly, a shrill voice sliced through my thoughts. “Miss Black?” There was Professor McGonigall, her expression more serious than usual, her emerald green robes swirling I gulped. “Meet me in Professor Dumbledore’s office.” she said. Her voice was grim. “Now.”