Chapter Eighteen: The Mysterious Room

Evelyn

...

   "Tonight is Mattheo's birthday!" Pansy exclaimed in disbelief, two days before the start of the new year.

   I peeked at her, my Advanced Potion-making book spread in front of me on the bed.

   December Twenty-ninth.

   "Don't tell me you forgot," she said with a pitiful expression.

   I did not even know. Let alone remembering it. "I did," so I confirmed, staring at nowhere.

   I would not go to his birthday if there was going to be any alcohol again. I was just recovering from Theo's birthday. I could do no more with the smell or with the pathetic drunken people.

   "Aren't you his girlfriend?" Pansy raised her eyebrows.

   "What is he planning to do?" I asked, ignoring her question.

   "Aren't you his girlfriend?!" she said with more force.

   I stared at her stubbornly.

   She pouted. "A party in the common room. Same as always."

   Pathetic as always.

   I was supposed to be there, as his girlfriend. And seeing that he was going to be drunk again, it was another chance for me to pull information __ this time, a worthy one __ out of his mouth.

   It was not going to end up like it did on Theo's birthday, I told myself. Because what did I find out the last time he was drunk? Nothing. Nothing other than his ridiculously similar life to mine, at least.

   I needed to give him a birthday present too, which I did not have. But the more important problem was that I did not want to be there. I was not going to that pathetic party.

   But then, I thought of something better: I could go to him when the party was over. And for the present __ The Calming Draught would befit him the best.

   "What are you gonna wear?" Pansy's question snapped me back into reality, her expression lighting up.

   "I am not coming."

   Her face dropped into one with both disappointment and confusion. "What?"

   "Did you forget how I hate parties?" I said sternly.

   She peered at me.

   Ignoring her heavy gaze on me, I raised off the bed, kneeling on the floor to reach for the narrow trunk hidden under my drawer.

   I pulled the invisible trunk out and opened its door blindly. When I pulled up the handle that was inside it, a shelf full of different potions appeared in front of me, with the height of half of mine.

   I ran my fingers over the potion bottles, checking the hand-written titles to find the one I was looking for. And my mind wondered about the missing potion again; my poison was in the hand of a Slytherin, wandering around the castle definitely with an ominous purpose. While I was trying to find a present for Mattheo.

   "What are you doing?" Pansy asked.

   "Adopting toads," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

   She made an odd, furious sound, which a lion would be probably likely to make.

   Here it is. I carefully grabbed the tiny bottle, filled with a light purple liquid, with the title "Calming Draught" written on it. I pushed the shelf back inside, shutting its door and pushing the narrow trunk back hidden under the drawer. "Do you know where Mattheo is?"

   I lifted my weight back on my feet again, striding towards the door, I bent down to put my shoes on.

   "He was with Theo." Pansy lay flat across her bed. "I don't know where they've gone."

   I sighed, my eyes rolling in annoyance. Not towards Pansy, but for the long-looking Mattheo-journey before me.

   "Where are you going?" Pansy asked.

   I stared at her, thinking how dumb she could be sometimes.

   Idiot, I just asked you where Mattheo is. I must be looking for him, obviously.

   I took a deep breath, trying to gain more patience. "Going to find Mattheo, by any chance,"

   I searched through the corridors stupidly. From the Astronomy Tower to the library I looked, nowhere could I find him.

   A long while passed __ at least it seemed like that __ until the gold light of dawn crept through the windows, painting orange over the cold, stony walls of the corridors. The sky was the colour of flames despite its coldness, warm despite the snow-covered grounds outside.

   I took a satisfied breath; the castle was empty of students, for they were all gone for the Christmas holidays.

   Holidays were my favorite times of all in Hogwarts; being free of the childish gossips between the students, the gawking, and the way they would back away whenever I passed them. Or perhaps, whenever any Slytherin passed them.

   They would back away when Mattheo passed them, too.

   I frowned, washing the thought away.

   I kept walking around the corridors, right to left, up to down, until I gave up. With a sigh, I walked across the deserted corridor, pleasantly empty of any living creature, finding my way back to the common room, my hand fidgeting with the potion bottle in my pocket.

   But then, when I passed a dark corridor on the seventh floor, a nearby odd voice made me stop, peeking around to find the location of the voice. Until I saw a mysterious wooden door appear out of nowhere, on the wall near where I stood.

   My frown appeared deep as I stood my feet to watch, when two figures stepped out of the door, pushing the door wide.

   But it was my eyes that widened.

   There they walked out, closed the door behind them, were Mattheo and Theodore, both looking pissed.

   I was frozen, staring at them when they turned towards me, stopping dead the moment they saw me.

   I watched the mysterious door fade into the stony wall, vanishing completely, leaving no clue that there was an enormous door just a moment ago. "What was that?" I spoke, my eyes shifting between Theo and Mattheo, both frozen, looking alarmed.

   Mattheo opened his mouth with difficulty, then closed it again, his jaw clenching. "I'll_" He trailed off. "Let's just_ Let's leave together, shall we?" He stepped forward, putting his hand on my shoulder gently, attempting to turn my direction opposite of the now vanished door.

   I slipped away from his hand. "Is that the answer to my question?" I raised my eyebrows.

   His jaw twitched. "You know what? I'll explain it to you on our way. Now let's go," he said.

   I was not going to get fooled this easily. But I walked with him, letting him guide me out of the corridor.

   If it was about manipulation, I was the one to manipulate.

   "A mysterious door vanishing and appearing out of nowhere. What an interesting news for the castle to gossip about," I said boldly, gaslighting him into giving me an answer.

   His head snapped in my direction. Alarmed, as I expected. "No__ What?" He frowned. "You're not gonna tell anyone, right?"

   I stuck my nose into the air. "No," I said, the word sounding empty as I wanted it to.

   Manipulation.

   His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell anyone what you saw." He raised his eyebrows, his words firm.

   I nodded.

   Wait until the night, when he is drunk.

   More manipulation.

   I pulled the tiny potion bottle out of my pocket, holding it in front of Mattheo as we walked through the corridors. "Happy birthday."

   He took the tiny bottle from my hand, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "What is it? __ Oh. Calming Draught, huh?" he said with a chuckle, reading my handwriting on the bottle.

   "It's mainly for calming shock, or sudden outbursts of emotion, like panic attacks or emotional shocks," I confirmed. "But it also helps with anger."

   He looked at me with his deep glare. "Am I that angry?"

   "When you are, you have no control over it."

   He chuckled. "That should be right."

   "I'm not going to be at the party," I went on. "That is why I gave your present sooner."

   He frowned, considering something. He looked like he wanted to ask "why?", but then he seemingly got his own answer. "Alright. I'll see you later, anyway." He smiled.

   He smiled. And it was not just any smile; it was not shallow. It was deep and meant to be.

   I think I was doing my job just well.