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Astra woke up with a start. Just a dream, just a dream. She shook her head, noticing wetness on her eyelids and cheeks. Been so long since I've had one... I wonder why... Her nightmares used to be very common but were now few and far between. Maybe. Well, they used to be few and far between but now they were common? No, she's only had one.

The point is they hadn't been showing up lately, and this one was new. Usually her family was subject to torture, or she was being attacked and couldn't fight back, but tonight she had been in pain. Not excruciating pain but an annoying tickle, almost, on the surface of her skin. She had been talking to someone, someone tall and faceless and in a long brown coat. But the person kept walking away from her.

Then she saw faces, faces of her housemates and of people she'd met and come to know. She saw Cassi and Sylvia mostly, and she tried to tell them... something. It was the same thing she was trying to tell the tall person. What was I saying? But they all kept walking away, not hearing her.

And then the pain starting hurting worse and worse and worse, fire in her veins before she screamed and woke up.

Suddenly, Astra realizes that she's not in her bed or her room... or even her house anymore. She's lying on the cold stone floor of... the dungeons? Was I... sleepwalking? That's not right. I've never even talked in my sleep. She got up quickly, too quickly. She swayed a moment, dizzy.

Then she heard footsteps. Astra's heart raced and her eyes widened as she scrambled into the shadows, pulling her head down and covering it with her hood. Yes, she sleeps with her hoodie on. She stretched the oversized material over her bare legs and waited, breathing slowly and shallowly.

This was not the first time she was out at night, but it was the first time she feared getting caught. Please don't be a prefect.

Paige had feared there had been someone or something down in the dungeons. She had never been there before, but that's where the nightmares had taken place. Her curiosity overcame her, she just needed to explore. The dripping of the leaking roof echoed the caves as Paige continued to creep around corners, through crevices, and over long, winding pathways. Please don't get caught, please don't get caught! she said, over and over again in her head, closing her eyes and crossing her bony fingers behind her back. Consequences occurred if students were caught out of bed after hours, and Paige had never been that type of student to do that... in fact she wasn't that student to break any rules, but the school depended on her.

She was confronted by a large wooden door, the type you would see at the entrance to an old, run-down castle you would find in a medieval movie. She gave the door a small shove - nothing. She ran back; about ten metres, and positioned herself directly in front of the door. On your marks, get set... Paige loved running, and she had always been top of her grade back at home. It was the wind gushing against her face that she loved the most - she felt free, like nobody could stop her. "Go," she yelled, possibly a little too loud, before darting towards the door, and sending it flying back. Bang! The doors hit the wall, sending a few bricks to chip off and clatter on the floor. "Who's there?" a deep, raspy voice came from around the corner. Paige ran faster than ever before and hid behind two large wooden boxes which contained tiny glass vials and liquids of all colours.

Astra saw a figure dressed in the school robes dash by, preceded by a large "bang." The person was very quick. They were small and their robes seemed to billow out as they ran. Astra thought the figure looked rather girl-ish, like herself, but then again who knew in this darkness?

"Who's there?" Astra found herself calling out in a low tone. Her voice was raspy from sleep and adrenaline, and probably the fact that she drank far too little water in a day. The figure seemed spooked and they hid behind two crates by the far wall.

Probably not a prefect then, Astra deduced, heaving a sigh of relief. She hesitantly got up from her crouched position. Goosebumps rose on her legs as they were exposed to the cold dungeon air. She cleared her throat. "I won't tell," she whispered, her voice carrying far in the echoey hall. She didn't dare make a move towards this person. I really should be getting back to my room.

That was unlikely to happen, however, because now that she was in the dungeons, her wanderlust had hold and she longed to explore. A minor inconvenience that seemed to be a chronic condition for the eleven year old.

She spoke again to the other person. "I won't tell if you won't. Deal?" Astra held her breath in anticipation for the answer. She hopes with everything in her that the person would agree, that they wouldn't speak a word of this chance meeting to anyone else. "I swear," she added, for good measure. It's a good thing I'm not wearing any Slytherin stuff. Well, it wouldn't exactly matter in the dark though.

A tight crossed her mind in the tense silence. I wonder if I sound like a Slytherin. Likes if there's a voice quality we have that makes us distinct. I mean, Huffles all sound pretty nice, except that one really chaotic one. Professor Baird's son, I think... Realizing the peril of her situation again, she focused in, waiting for the response.

Paige felt a gust of warm air flow over her, and she felt comforted. Could she trust this person though? She decided to be brave and step into the ray of light a small, rusted lantern was producing from the corner of the room. This gave Paige a clear view of who she was dealing with - another student... possibly a year younger than her. The sweat stopped dripping down Paige's forehead, and her hairs relaxed once more. It was strange though; what was a first year student doing down in the dungeons? Paige's curiousity wanted to know why, but she decided to keep her mouth shut. The same question could be rebounded back onto her, and she would have no answer.

Paige looked around to ensure this wasn't a trap setup by a prefect, and must've caught the young girl's attention. Afterall, Paige was lurking around rather suspiciously.

All of a sudden, a loud screeching noise echoed the dungeons, causing bats to swarm and cockroaches scurrying to a new room through the tiny cracks in the stone walls. The girl's eyes widened as she stared at the door which began to mysteriously close. Nobody was in sight. Paige ran, attempting to push the door open, but it was far too heavy for her small arms.

@Paige Mallary


A girl with brown hair and round glasses stepped out of the shadows. She looked Astra over suspiciously, then glanced around the dungeons. She had mistrust written all over her face. Astra had a good feeling that this girl would keep quiet about their encounter, for it seemed she had ended up in the dungeons on purpose.

Astra started back towards the dungeon doors, a tired feeling overtaking her brain just as spontaneously as her wanderlust had. I guess this is what the Muggles call ADHD, right? Like where your brain is all over the place? she thought as a yawn escaped her mouth.

All of a sudden, said doors began to close seemingly of their own accord. It took Astra's scattered mind far too long to figure out what was happening, and by the time she realized those doors would be very hard to open once shut, they had already slammed closed.

The other girl was at the doors, pushing against them with her whole body. Of course, this wasn't doing anything. The girl was about the same size as Astra. And even though Astra possessed a fair amount of strength for her size, she was no match for those doors.

Astra walked up beside the other girl. She seemed to be in a panic, trying to get the doors open. Astra tested her weight against it. No dice. She tapped the door quietly. They were thick and solid. Astra placed a hand on the shoulder of the struggling girl.

Although Muggle school had not taught her much about her mind, the experiences she had there had taught her to be cool under pressure. She placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Hey," Astra said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone. She wasn't that good with emotions and comfort. "Hey, I've got an idea. If we could find a good enough lever, we could pry the door apart. Unless you know a spell that could get it open?"

Paige jumped. She hadn't seen or heard the strange girl approaching her, so it startled her. "I am very sorry, I never meant for this to happen, I only came down here because--" She had almost leaked her secret. Paige tried to come up with a random topic to take the girl's mind off the previous sentence, but none popped into her head. "Uh-- I'm Paige... Paige Mallary. And you are?" she quickly spluttered out. She looked down at her fingers for a moment longer; perhaps she had said it too quietly? Never mind that, they had bigger priorities than introductions.

Paige began searching far and wide for anything that may be the key to escaping the dark, ancient dungeon. Afterall, standing on top of bones wasn't something a twelve year old girl would wish for. If only she knew a spell that could unlock doors, but no - there was none she could think of. Paige continued looking behind crates and under crevices before turning back to the girl who was still standing at the doors - staring directly at Paige. Couldn't she at least help instead of standing there? Paige thought to herself, rolling her eyes as she turned back to face the cold, stone wall.

"I am very sorry, I never meant for this to happen, I only came down here because--" the girl said. Astra's head tilted as she waited for the girl to continue. She seemed nervous, like she was hiding something. "Uh-- I'm Paige... Paige Mallary. And you are?" Paige stared down at her hands.

"I'm Astra," the Slytherin responded. She decided to leave her last name out because, well, she just couldn't be bothered. She wasn't sure if she'd be remembered from the Sorting, but the prejudices against her house also played a factor in this partial mask of identity.

Astra yawned and rubbed her eyes. Paige began to search, walking up to crates and planks shoved in the shadows. Astra stayed rooted in one spot, scanning the room with vague interest. If only I could remember that light spell... she thought.

Paige sent her a dirty look. Astra shook out of her stupor, realizing she hadn't been very helpful so far. In fact, she was almost asleep standing there!

She scoured the corners of the dungeon, in the shadows, cautious and hesitant. Who knew what may be down here?

Her fingers brushed against something cool and smooth. At first, Astra recoiled, but she soon realized this was a pipe. It made a screeching noise as she dragged it across the floor. Heavy... Must be solid. "Paige! I've found something!" she called to the other girl, letting the metal pole clatter to the ground.

It was indeed mostly solid, and almost as tall as Astra herself. "This'll have amazing leverage," she mused. "It might just work."

Paige shot her head up. The girl, who Paige had just found out many seconds ago that her name was Astra, was waving her left arm in the air and carrying a large metal pole in her right. Paige ran over and snatched the pole out before realising her actions were a bit rude. Perhaps a kind gesture or sentence would make her appear more friendly. "You are a genius!" Paige shouted. Why was she acting like this? What happened to that shy, innocent girl she was a few hours ago?

The two girls stood in silence for a moments longer before Paige darted towards the door, still clenching the metal pole. She searched around for something to put the pole in - perhaps a hole. It didn't take long to find one, afterall, the pole was about the thickness of a large tennis ball. Paige lowered her head to the gap and glanced into it, searching for bronze cogs or anything that could give any sign of a hint to opening the doors. It was pitch black; darker than the night sky. She reached her hand in. That was part B or the plan. Paige grabbed hold of something small inside and knew that ought to fit the pole.

Paige reached her arm out, the other still inside the hole. She hinted to Astra to pass her the pole, but she mustn't have been paying attention as Paige stood there for five minutes longer as Astra gazed into the atmosphere again. "Do you mind passing me the pole?" Paige said, rather impatiently.

"You are a genius!" Paige said as she grabbed the pole from Astra. She dragged it to the door and began examining the lock.

"I-I don't think it's locked," Astra started, coming up behind the other girl. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Paige heard her. The girl dropped the pole and reached inside the large lock, stretching her arm far into it.

Astra picked up the pole, in a slight daze. This was all very bizarre, and Paige was acting so frantic. Couldn't they just stop for a moment and discuss their options. Now that Astra had the opportunity, she noticed Paige's robes bore the Ravenclaw crest. Her mind must be going a mile a minute, the Slytherin thought tiredly, another yawn threatening to come out of her mouth. Is sleepwalking really this tiring?

She snapped back to earth when Paige's annoyed voice said, "Do you mind passing me the pole?"

"Course, sorry," Astra mumbled. A tad bossy, in't she? She placed the pole in Paige's outstretched hand. "So the door's locked? Or is this an opening mechanism?" It seemed strange that the door would lock automatically when closed, but one could never be sure in a school of magic.