❦ 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀𝐇 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐓 ❦

She has stopped Vesper from walking while they were supposed to be heading to their Houses' common rooms. "You can't tell them," she whispers, desperate.

Vesper looks up and down at her sister. They never got along amazingly well, but there was always a mutual understanding. Now it seems that their parents have brainwashed Vesper, because Jannah is sure she sees slight disapproval in her sister's eyes.

"I can't lie to them," Vesper hisses back. "They'll find out by the first break! And even if I don't tell them, you think Maurice will manage to shut his mouth?"

"With some serious threats, he will," Jannah assures. She hates how much she cares. On the other side, this is her family. She has no idea how big the consequences of being sorted into Slytherin are, and she doesn't want to risk finding out.

Vesper's eyes narrow at that, as if that exact sentence proved the Sorting Hat's choice. "I won't tell them unless they ask."

"But they'll definitely ask!" She throws her hands into the air. "Please. Don't tell them."

"Again," her sister begins, through her teeth, "you will never be able to hide it. It's no use."

"At least let me prepare for telling them. Give me a few days— weeks."

A tiny frown grows on her face before, finally, she sighs out, "Fine. I'll try to talk around it. But I can't promise anything."

"Thank you." Her hands make a beg sign.

Shaking her head, Vesper exhales another time. "Good night. Don't get lost trying to find your way to the common room."

Right. Her new friends didn't notice Jannah stopped walking to talk to her sister. And she has no idea where this common room is supposed to be.

The thought to go to the head of the school has crossed her mind. To ask if she could change Houses. Then she realized it wouldn't make any sense. She doesn't even want to leave Slytherin.

Now she might have to go there anyway, with no clue where the common room is.

She actually has no clue where the head of the school might be, either.

As she turns, her eyes fall on the many moving paintings. It's intriguing, but not the first thing on her mind right now. There must be a teacher around somewhere. One that can help her.

She peeks through many windows and knocks on many doors, but no result shows until she reaches a locked door. Muffled noises sound from inside, footsteps and paper, and then the door jumps open.

"Yes?"

"I got lost talking to someone and now I don't know where my common room is. I'm..." she looks down at the green tie, realizing it's obvious, "a Slytherin. Would you be able to help me, please?"

He looks very familiar. Once he opens his mouth to speak again, Jannah knows: it's the man they bumped into at the station.

The father of the boy who appears to be called Thomas, and who is also a friend of Minho's. 'Great guy', according to him.

"Of course," he says, voice ten times less bothered than at the station. "I'm sorry for what happened at the station, with your family. My son and I were in a hurry and I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," she assures. Minho's words come to mind, 'remain the teachers' friend'. "We were rushing, too. So what subject do you teach?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts. Is that a subject you like?"

A shrug. "It's fine, I guess. I mostly like Transfiguration and Potions. Charms can be pretty cool as well."

"Decent point," the teacher replies, leading her down the moving stairs. "Well, this year will be interesting. Fourth years' D.A.D.A. classes include the illegal curses, which I'm supposed to demonstrate... somehow."

"The three unforgivable ones?"

"Exactly."

Avada Kedavra, the spell leading to immediate death. Imperio, the spell allowing you to make the victim do anything you want. And Crucio, the spell causing unimaginable pain.

"Demonstrating it on animals would already go too far, wouldn't it?" The teacher wonders out loud.

"Depends on the animal."

Almost looking intrigued, he turns to look at her. "Which ones would you say deserve something like that?"

"Not deserve, but I think there is a difference between a dog and an ant or fly. Perhaps a spider, too," Jannah explains. She carefully watches her steps on the stairs, neglecting his piercing gaze.

"Somewhere, you might have a point, but I think I will just use a plant, spoon, and another plant. Don't want it to become too much for the students."

"Reasonable." She nods. "May I ask what to call you?"

"Professor–or mister, whatever–Romanov would be preferred. What is your name again?"

"Jannah." She doesn't add her last name on purpose. Not only because she's not proud of it, but also because no last name will ever beat Romanov. It's the coolest last name she has ever heard. "How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts for?"

She's not being too clingy, is she? She's just genuinely interested in this man. Maybe it's the way every movement he makes seems perfectly controlled, or the fact he knows exactly what to say every time. He talks neatly but not old-fashioned, something not a lot of teachers manage.

"Hm... a year or fourteen, I think."

"So the age of the boy you were with. Is he your son?" A tad of hesitation mixes into her voice once she realizes his private life might go a little too far.

"He is, yes. Now that you mention it— I started working at Hogwarts when he was at the age of one. That was decent enough for my wife to take care of him while I worked for money. Unfortunately, not long after, I had to quit, due to illnesses getting to her, and I picked it up a few years ago again."

"Ah, okay. I hope she's doing alright."

She has so many questions. All her parents talk about is their achievements. Reached this, won that. This is one of the few adults that seems open to a real conversation. Not even an important situation, just a nice one.

"Well..." it fades into the sigh. "Not really. The last time she was conscious is multiple years ago. But anyway— I don't want to bother you with it."

"I'll gladly listen," she replies anyway. "Your son's name is Thomas, am I right?"

"Mhm."

"Do have other kids? I'm sorry for asking. I... I just like hearing about other families." Ones that are nicer than hers.

"No, I don't," he tells her. "Just my son, my wife, and I. Though it's mostly my son and I now."

Even while her heart aches, she isn't sure what to say to this. "Do you have, like, tips on how to maintain a nice relationship with parents? I don't know what's it like between you and Thomas, of course, but maybe because you're going through all of this together, you've grown close. And I'm not exactly close to my parents."

He hums, rubbing his chin. "Lots of talking, sharing, and understanding."

"They refuse to."

"Oh. Then I, to be honest, would have no idea," Mr. Romanov admits. "Good thing we've arrived."

She stops walking when he does, caught by surprise. The walk felt very short, which it probably hasn't been.

Noticing her surroundings, they must be in some kind of dungeons. The bare stretch of wall in front of her must be the entrance to the common room.

The wall unravels into a passage as soon as she steps close. Greenish glows make their way to her vision.

"It's located below the Great Lake."

Her head snaps towards the man. "What?"

He chuckles. "If you're lucky, you see the creatures floating by now and then."

"Cool," she whispers, without intending to. "Okay, goodbye, then. I will get my schedule tomorrow, so... see you whenever I get D.A.D.A."

Another small laugh leaves him. "Good night."

His footsteps fade away the further they both walk. It doesn't take too long for Jannah to arrive in the common room, a breathtaking sight.

Even though the dark curtains are closed, the glow of the lake shines through. And if that doesn't do it, it'll be the candles, chandeliers, and green lamps. Many chairs, sofas, and tables are spread around the place, in green or black. Skulls have been placed on cupboards..

It's all beautiful and mysterious in the most perfect way.

"Yo." The voice almost makes her jump.

It's Minho, sitting on one of the sofas in front of a mantelpiece, which is decorated with a big, stone snake.

"Oh, hi. Sorry, I got caught up—"

"Don't bother." He gets off the sofa. "I'll give you a tour around before you walk into the wrong room."

"No," Harriet pops up from the other sofa, the jewelry in her hair swinging. "I was going to do it."

Minho rolls his eyes. "We'll do it together. Let's go."

They enter a small room. A statue of two mermaids meets Jannah's gaze, one she'd love to admire for longer, had it not been for Minho pulling her to the staircase on the right.

After walking down the stairs, they meet an indoor waterfall.

"What the hell," she now murmurs. "This is too cool. Is every common room like this?"

"This cool? Definitely not. Gryffindor's common room is boring. Ravenclaw's decent, but it doesn't have a waterfall. Hufflepuff is also a no. And theirs aren't located below a freaking lake."

Frowning, she looks over at the Asian. "How do you know what they all look like?"

"Well," he flexes his arms, "I've got my ways."

"Little pervert," Harriet comments.

"Pervert? Who says I do dirty things?"

"You. You literally just confirmed it without having to say it."

"You're just jealous."

"You're just jealous," she mimics in a high-pitched voice. "Let's go, Jannah."

She pulls Jannah around the waterfall. On her right, she sees a noticeboard. Some basic information for new students is written on there, like how the password changes every fortnight.

Before she gets the chance to read the full thing, Harriet tells the blank wall, "Serpent," and it opens another passage.

The girl spins around in the room that has the same vibes as the main Slytherin dungeons, then takes Jannah by the arm again. "To the left, we have the boys' dorms. And on the right, ours! We both have two entrances."

She points at hallways on either sides of them. Both of them have two doors, meaning that the dorms circle back around.

"The doors have numbers for the years. We have number four, obviously." Harriet points at a silver plaque. "The seventh year dorms are higher up and bigger, but it'll take a while before we have to care about that."

The two girls enter another one of the greenish rooms, except this one is filled with many beds. A big green carpet in the center shows off Slytherin's badge. The beds all have green hangings. Next to each of them is a nightstand, and below them space to put stuff down.

"Scale from Janson Kraft to Thomas Romanov, how nice does it look?"

"Thomas Romanov plus Minho Lee," Jannah tells Harriet.

They burst out giggling, clinging to each other.