𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦-𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘮
𝘩𝘰𝘨𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘧
𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘳𝘺                     

"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO SHUT UP?"

Tiara Leigh Brighton sharply turned on her heel in order to face the Gryffindor boy behind her that was talking non-stop. Her eyes were narrowed and her hands were in tight fists beside her waist, her breath slowing its pace and becoming heavier.

"Oh no, you did. But that doesn't mean I'll listen." James Potter retorted , crossing his arms with a raise of his eyebrows.

"WELL-" Before Tiara could shoot a response back, a hand was placed on her right shoulder. Jillian Violet Norwood put a somewhat gentle grasp on her friend's shoulder, signaling for the Gryffindor to let it go. Jill suppresses her amused smile to make sure no one else caught her enjoying the moment prior to tugging on Tiara's tense shoulder.

Tiara reluctantly obeyed her gesture, sticking out her tongue to James before turning her back on him. James mimicked her expression as soon as he was out of her sight, earning a snicker from Sirius and Remus who were walking beside him.

The 5 of them were currently walking back from visiting their friend Peter Pettigrew in the Hospital Wing. Just the other day, the poor boy was caught in the middle of a so-called "harmless prank". When Sirius fired the engorgio skullus hex at Severus Snape during Breakfast, the Slytherin dodged it by holding up an empty silver metal platter. The spell rebounded and hit Peter, causing the innocent boy's head to rapidly swell up. They took him to the hospital wing immediately, and Madam Pomfrey insisted that Peter stayed there for at least a few more days. Of course, the other marauders felt bad - and it was only fair that the group went and visited consistently.

The group walked down the flight of steps leading down to the main floor in an awkward and hushed atmosphere, tension built up from the argument between Tiara and James.

"This year has been so... boring." Sirius blurts, breaking the silence. "Nothing fun has happened yet"

"I could really use a holiday." James seconds, nodding his head along with Sirius' statements.

"I would gladly go on a holiday - preferably somewhere tropical and far, far away from you." Tiara hisses, turning around once more to look daggers at James. Her face relaxed as she glanced towards Remus and Sirius, "You guys could join me, though." She added, a bright smile forming, stretching from ear to ear. The sneaky girl knew exactly what she was doing; how much the statement would get on James' nerves.

"Oh yeah?" The boy exclaimed, his eyes flicking around in a flustered manner. "Well, Jill and I will go somewhere and have much more fun. And, I won't have to be around you either." James ran up to the Ravenclaw and linked arms with her, Jill only reacting with a roll of her eyes and the corner of her mouth curling upwards in amusement.

"I've always wanted to sail the world and explore the ocean. But, you know, I'd probably go alone." Jill spoke up, eying James' arm that was hooked around her own.

James unlinked his arms from the Ravenclaw and dramatically placed one on his chest, his face mimicking a hurt expression. "I see how it is." He lowered his hand and tilted his nose to the air, "Then I'll-"

A series of clicks sounded from the blank wall to their right, interrupting the dark-haired boy from his bluff. The plain stone wall slowly morphed into an iron door; dark metal bars curled into intricate designs and engraved themselves on the dark wood of the new door.

"What did you do?" Tiara whispered harshly in a scolding tone, eyeing James in a threatening manner.

He furrowed his eyebrows and threw his arms up in frustration, "I didn't do anything!!"

Remus and Jill exchanged a suspicious look before Remus moved his glance to the large iron door that appeared. The boy walked over to it and gently ran his hand across the cold bars, a frown taking over his features while he admired the details.

"What is that?" Sirius abruptly asked, breaking the silence between the awed group.

"A door," James stated flatly, still looking blankly at the mysterious door.

"He means what kind of door, you tosser," Tiara said, cocking her head to the side and glaring at the boy.

"Well, I don't know what kind of door it is! Do you?!" James returned. Tiara backed down and stayed silent, averting her eyes to the ground. "That's what I thought." He added, earning an eye roll from the Gryffindor girl.

Jill stood like a statue as she stared hard at this new door, occasionally squinting at it. Clearly, her mind was racing, yet she was struggling to come up with an answer as to what that door might be.

"Do you know what it is?" Sirius questioned, aggressively tapping Jill's shoulder with his index finger.

The Ravenclaw took a breath to snap herself out of her thoughts and pushed her hair back behind her ears as she turned to look at Sirius. "No..." She said hesitantly.

"But you know, like, everything." He stated, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Sirius then pointed at the large bookbag held on her left arm and shook his finger at it, "Can you look for it in those things?"

"Yes, I'll look for it in my book." She replied, rolling her eyes and flipping the book open. She picked up a large book out of her bag, lifted her knee, and propped the hardcover onto it to prevent her from dropping it. 'Hogwarts, A History' the cover read. Jill flipped to the very back and ran her finger along the lines of the index, specifically in the 'd' section in search of the word 'door'.

Jill lifted her head and raised her gaze to meet Remus' slightly worried one. "There's nothing."

Silence lingered throughout the group, each individual pondering over the sudden appearance of the iron door.

"I'm going in." James declared. Everyone turned their head briskly to stare at him, some not believing him, while the others were confused as to why the boy thought entering a strange door was a good idea.

"Really?" Tiara asked skeptically, looking at the boy who stood proudly with his gaze fixed on the iron entryway.

"Yes," James reassured.  

An invisible force tugged at the corners of Sirius' lips as an amused smirk made its way onto his face. He stepped over to stand next to James. "Me too, mate."

Jill and Remus shared a similar expression of concern as they watched the exchange between their peers, both aware that nothing good would come from  going through that door.

"Um, then I'm coming as well," Tiara added, not wanting to be left out and miss the opportunity for an adventure. (Besides, James would most likely make fun of her if she didn't - and she knew this.)   

Remus sighed. "I better go to make sure they all come out alive." He whispered to Jill with a light chuckle and a smirk. Jill responded with uncomfortable laughter, her eyes widened as she looked upon the group.

"This is not a good idea." Jill blurted. "I'll stay here and... keep watch. It's nearly curfew anyway." The Ravenclaw was right; after all, it was thirty minutes short of curfew. What the group thought they were going to accomplish in under thirty minutes surely baffled Jill, but she was used to their nonsense by now.

Remus gave her an acknowledging nod before returning his attention to James. The boy fixed his glasses and marched up to the door, pulling at its large handles just a bit. James then yanked it open just enough to slip inside, which he did. Sirius, Remus, and Tiara all followed him through the entryway and into the unknown atmosphere, leaving Jill in the corridor.

As the door slammed shut behind them, Tiara stumbled forward and bumped into Sirius, causing them both to fall over. "EW!" She shrieked as she lifted her hand off the ground and examined it. Her pale hand was now covered in dirt- and oh, how she hates that feeling. She used Sirius as a boost to push herself up - pushing him back down in the process - and wiped her hand aggressively on her pleated skirt. "Nooo!" She whined, noticing the dirt all down her front. She continued wiping down her clothes in an attempt to clean them off but abruptly stopped as she heard someone burst into laughter.

She slowly tilted her head up from the view of her clothes only to see James cackling a few feet away. She narrowed her eyes and strutted over to the boy and slapped him right in the arm.  

"Hey!" He exclaimed, clutching his arm. Tiara spun on her heel, purposely swinging her hair so it would hit James (which it did), and walked back over to Sirius and actually helped him up.

Both of them opened their mouth as if they were about to say something, but before any of the two had a chance to continue their argument, Sirius called out, "Where are we?" 

Tiara and James closed their mouths and looked around to examine their surroundings. Thin trees as tall as cathedrals surrounded them, vivid green vines crawling up the trunks. The moist air was still, only a light breeze blowing every so often. It was silent, apart from the distant sound of waves crashing and muffled yells sounding from a few miles away. The moon was barely visible through the vast canopy of leaves, but it shone just enough to illuminate the ground below. The soft chirps of insects came from the tropical bushes around the teens, reminding them of the silence between them.

Remus tilted his head thoughtfully, "I don't know..."       

◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸

Jill flipped yet another page in her book as she leaned against the wall next to the mysterious doors. The brown haired girl brought a hand up to her eyes and swept aside pieces of hair that were stubbornly refusing to stay tucked away in her messy bun. Keeping her head tilted down the entire day in order to read stretched the bun's hold on her scalp, causing the hairstyle to undo. As she finished the first chapter of the book, Jill steadily closed the hardcover shut and started to examine the door's details more closely. The door handles were large, the ends of them swirling into spirals. Tiny, iron flowers of the same color dotted the entire door, as well as shimmering vines that climbed up the door. Every few glances, Jill would spot a twinkle of light, almost like a star shining in the night sky.

As Jill continued to study the door, she stole a glance out the window found at the end of the corridor. The outside sky had turned pitch-black, the night sky fully developed. If she didn't return to her dorm soon, the girl would likely earn at least a month of detention for being out after hours. At this startling awareness, Jill started to worry, knowing she would receive a howler if her parents learned that she had obtained her very first detention in her 5 years of Hogwarts. The bookworm began to pace up and down the hallway as she waited for her friends to return, her hand up to her mouth as she chewed her fingernails anxiously.

Suddenly, she heard the echo of footsteps rounding around the corner of the corridor.

"No, no, no! Out of all the levels of this blasted castle, Filch just had to check this one!" She whispered to herself, shaking her hands vigorously as she panicked. She was going to be found, and she had nowhere else to go. Jill wasn't fast enough to run away from the stranger approaching the hallway, and there were no other classrooms or doors to be seen - except for the one towering before her...

She knew it would be risky, but the last thing she wanted was for her parents to be informed that their daughter was assigned her first detention for being out after hours. She just needed a place to hide...

The Ravenclaw tore the door open and hopped into the blackness. She stole one last glance at the hallway before slamming the door shut behind her.

Jill's eyes widened in realization as she saw a familiar head of blonde hair bobbing down the hallway prior to closing the door; but these shiny locks of hair belonged to no Hogwarts professor. It was indeed one of her closest friends, Rose Bailey.

Jill stood where she was, astonished by what had happened. She turned around to try and open the doors again and return to Hogwarts, but they had disappeared - the entrance now nonexistent. The bookworm spun on her heel as she stared out into the darkness. She tried to force her eyes to adjust to the black room, but there was nothing to adjust to. The absence of light was absolute, not even a gleam of light to guide her. Jill started to panic, stretching her arms out and slowly shuffling ahead of her, careful not to run into anything.

"Hello?" Jill yelled out, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice. "Is anyone there? Tia, Remus?" The bookworm was surprised by the lack of noise; she was expecting - at the very least - an echo of her question to bounce off the walls, But not even her own voice could be heard through the stillness of the strange chamber. Her hands slowly drifted down to her skirt's pockets, her fingers reaching for the base of her wand. As she searched the patch, her hand grasped onto the beech wand and yanked it out of the fabric. Jill wrapped both her hands around the base of the wand, closing her eyes in hopes of washing away her anxiety.

"Lumos." She whispered under her breath. Jill reopened her eyes only to confirm that the simple incantation didn't appear to work. "Lumos... Lumos!" This time, she yelled at her wand, her hands starting to tremble at her magic becoming nonexistent.

Jill let out a deep breath, expecting her panic level to lower. But, her anxiety was starting to get the best of her. She had read multiple books on how to deal with sudden and extreme fear when her friend, Rose, suffered from anxiety attacks. Thinking back to the many nights of helping Rose with techniques and reading over books, Jill remembered the one method that was most reliable for herself.

The bookworm slowly lowered herself onto the floor and tucked her knees into her chest, her bag still wrapped awkwardly around her shoulder. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily, allowing her muscles to relax and arms to lower onto her legs. Surprisingly enough, the technique worked almost instantly; it soothed the girl and replaced her fear with a sheer trace of reassurance. As she calmed herself, she glanced up from her knees up into the darkness.

At first, she thought her desires were getting the best of her when she noticed the blackness begin to fade. But as she brought herself to her feet, she realized that she wasn't hallucinating.

The black atmosphere surrounding the girl was gradually lightening as more details of an environment started to appear. Trees that towered over Jill slowly materialized; large, thick vines climbed the trunks of the trees and bushels of flowers edged the path before her. Steadily, the darkness faded and was restored by this new, strange domain. The bookworm wrapped her arms around her chest as she watched the forest unravel before her. She pulled her bag closer to her hips and waited for the darkness to disappear completely.

Finally, Jill stood in the fully developed forest, her jaw dropping in astonishment at the past few moments she had witnessed. Her hands became clenched fists as she tightly grasped onto the strap of her leather satchel; the girl gripped onto the bag to such a degree, her knuckles turned white. Jill couldn't do anything except listen to the faint chirping of birds and the somewhat calming - but misplaced - sound of the ocean; the Ravenclaw was frozen in fear from her situation. She placed a hand onto her forehead as she realized Tiara and the Marauders were also lost in the forest; even worse, the troublemakers were probably off exploring the depths of the terrain, likely doing something catastrophically stupid.

So, she reached into her bag, pulled out her wand, and attempted yet another simple charm to see if magic worked in the anomalous woodland. Jill pointed her wand at a tiny stick near her foot and started to mumble under her breath.

"Accio!"

The twig hovered above the ground and flew towards her face, whacking the bridge of her nose. Jill winced in pain and rubbed in between her eyes as she watched the stick fall back to the ground.

"Well, I guess magic works." She murmured to herself, lifting her hand off her nose to notice a smudge of blood on her fingertips. "A lot stronger, though..." Before the curious girl could dwell on the idea any longer, her ears pricked up at the sound of voices being heard alongside the repetition of waves. Jill raised her head in anticipation and started to proceed towards the general direction of the conversation, the dirt trail fortunately directing her to the discussion. But, her hand was still clutching onto her wand, in case the voices didn't belong to her friends.

As she trudged past the dirt and vines, the forest began to thin, and the mud she walked upon was slowly being replaced with gravel and sand. Soon enough, Jill stepped into the bright sunlight and brought a hand up to her forehead; she shaded her eyes so she could figure out where she was and find the mysterious voices that led her there. The Ravenclaw swung her head right and left, but all she could discern was the sand lining the tropical forest, stretching as far as the eye could see. Minor waves lapped the beach and were creating the consoling sound of the tide, but there were no people. No footprints. Nothing.

However, Jill's peripheral vision caught sight of movement to the right of the beach, where the sand formed into a corner rounding around the palm trees. Jill stole one more glance into the forest, pushed her hair out of her face, and progressed towards the area where she noticed the flicker of movement. Sand surrounded her feet as she trudged across the beach, but the girl didn't care; she knew this was her only option to acquire a closer examination of her surroundings. Steadily, Jill crossed the beach and turned the corner, marching under the shade of the palm trees.

Instantly, the Ravenclaw's eyes widened as she slowly lifted her head to fully admire her glorious discovery. Towering above her was a large, wooden ship, illuminated by the moonlight with it's sails drawn and tied against the three masts. The bow was so lean and extensive, it stretched out just far enough for the wood to skim the tops of the canopy. A chain was dropped alongside the ship, the tether leading into the depths of the water.  The faint memory of the sailing book Rose had given Jill for her birthday came flooding back to her; the volume had explained everything you needed to know about sailing the world. One of the chapters of the book had described the different parts of a ship, and the uses of them. Jill inferred that the chain leading into the ocean was likely the anchor holding the ship in place; without it, the boat would float away with the current and get crushed into pieces alongside the rough waves. Jill's eyes started to wander up along the ship as she took a few steps closer to the strangely large vessel; that's when she figured out what the motion was of which she had previously spotted.

A flag was tied to the top of the highest mast, and the wind was causing it to fly back and forth through the sky. The background of the banner was black with a white skull plastered in the middle. Two, long bones were shaped like an 'x' behind the skull, creating the symbol of crossbones. Jill had never seen a flag with such a peculiar design; the drawing was quite threatening, and not at all appealing. The bookworm started to feel a knot in her stomach begin to form, her gut tensing in fear.

Jill didn't know if she could trust the crew who sailed the boat, and she didn't want to take the risk of meeting them in person. But, she knew how to determine if they were friend or foe without even interacting with them. The girl reached into her auburn bag and pulled out the book she was reading back in the Hogwarts castle. She threw it open and started to flip through the pages, passing the chapters directed on the topic of port and starboard, and the sections of a vessel. Finally, she had made it to the spot she wanted, Jill placing her hands on both sides of the book and studying the pictures and captions. The page was covered in rectangles filled with vibrant shades of red, yellow, and blue. Each rectangle had a small paragraph written below them, explaining what the figure represented. The top of page had one large word written above the drawings, simply reading 'Flags '. Nearly all the flags were filled with intense colors, allowing sailors and other passengers to read the flags clearly even from the farthest of distances. 

As Jill skimmed through the captions, her finger stopped on the last one she studied. The drawing of the flag was located in the bottom right corner of the page. The backcloth of the flag was the only one with the shade of black, and perfectly matched the one hanging from the ship. The caption below had the shortest description on the whole page, the explanation pronouncing the flag with only a mere few sentences.

"The Jolly Roger," Jill read aloud, bringing her hand up to her forehead in worry. "Is the most dangerous flag one can see while sailing. The flag is always drawn when pirates are prevailing into war. If someone has spotted this flag, it's advised to sail away as quickly as possible. But, if the pirates spot you or your ship, your only option is to surrender," Jill paused at the sight of the final words in the paragraph. "This is your best and only chance of survival." Jill gulped dramatically, and placed her hand over her mouth to stop her jaw from dropping. The girl closed her eyes and swung her head up to face the top of the ship once more, the banner of skull and crossbones flapping through the wind.

"Blimey, it just had to be pirates, didn't it?" The Ravenclaw muttered, slamming her book shut abruptly as she opened her eyes to stare at the black-and-white flag. She shuddered at the very thought of her or her friends walking the plank, water filling their lungs as they plunged through the ice-cold water. She had read about the treacherous crimes pirates have committed, but they had always happened to fictional characters, not herself. The bookworm shoved her book back into her leather shoulder bag, and clipped it shut. She grasped onto her wand even harder, worried someone - or something - would pop out of the bushes at any given moment. The girl took a few steps backwards, praying that if she was quiet enough, the crew of pirates aboard the ship wouldn't hear her.

Then, without warning, a strong force behind her seized her waist and threw a cloth over her head, blinding her vision unexpectedly. Jill let out a high-pitched scream, but it was slightly muffled due to the bag covering her face. She kicked through the air as she was hoisted above the ground, yelling and fighting in protest with the arms wrapped around her.

"Get off!" She yelled, her hands turning into fists as she tried to punch the person carrying her. As she protested, her finger curled around her wand and reminded her of the one and only weapon that would help her escape. However, before she could gain a sense of direction of where to hit her abductor, a loud 'bang' rattled throughout her eardrums as a stiff, rock-hard object struck her across the head. Jill's arms fell to her side and her hands unfolded, the beech wand slowly falling out of her fingers' grasp and landing on the warm sand below her. Her eyes began to flutter from behind the bag, but gradually closed as she lost consciousness...

◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸
 

Rose Victoria Bailey stepped down the empty hall, staying light on her feet as she quickened her pace. She rubbed her brown eyes with one hand to wake herself from her sleepy state; she didn't mean to fall asleep in the library, but she couldn't help it. The girl combed her fingers through her honey blonde hair - tousled from her nap - as it bounced atop her shoulders.

Shivers were sent down Rose's spine and goosebumps surfaced her pale skin as she came in contact with the chilly air. The Hufflepuff would normally have found the dim light soothing, but unease flooded her senses at the thought of walking alone at night. The eerie quiet of the hallways amplified the echo of her footsteps throughout the large corridor as she approached the end of it. 

Rose turned the corner and continued onward, a large yawn taking over her features. She blinked, her vision settling on a vast iron door that was held open by a brown-haired girl. Her face twisted with confusion as she noticed her friend Jill standing at the foot of the unfamiliar entryway, fear written all over the Ravenclaw's face. Rose's face soon matched that frightened expression as she watched Jill slip inside and slam the door shut, flinching at the echo it created.

"Wait, Jill..." concern dripped from Rose's whisper, though she knew no one could hear. She ran over to the door and examined its unfamiliar appearance. She reached her hand down to the iron knob slowly, but drew it back in hesitation with a slight shake of her head. She knew she shouldn't go in, not alone anyway.

The girl moved away from the door and began walking away, taking a few glances behind her shoulder before she turned the corner. She kept on walking - contemplating prior events - until the passageway split into two.

Instead of taking the usual path to the Hufflepuff common room, she turned towards the opposite path that led to the Gryffindor tower in search for Tiara.

Rose scurried down the corridor, reassuring herself and taking her strides in determination. She took a turn that would have led her to the grand staircase tower, but stopped in her tracks once she heard a loud giggle (followed by a series of 'shushing' noises) behind her.

The Hufflepuff girl backtracked and followed the source of the noise. A loud 'thud' sounded from around the corner, causing Rose's eyebrows to knit together. She carefully walked over and peeked around the corner, only to find five familiar faces.

Three taller boys - two brunettes and one blonde - stood dressed in emerald green robes, all with amused expressions. A dark-haired Ravenclaw girl sat against the wall with her eyes wide and a hand clasped over her mouth to stop herself from bursting out in laughter. Another brunette Slytherin boy kneeled over the girl, just a bit of concern written on his face as he asked if she was okay.

"Brynn?" Rose stepped out from behind the corner and spoke softly to the group.

"ROSE!" The girl on the ground said in an attempt to whisper shout - but instead yelled out to her Hufflepuff friend.

Rose quickly put a finger to her lips and rushed over to kneel next to Brynn. "What are you all- why are you on the ground?" She looked at the Ravenclaw girl in confusion.

"I was on Rabastan's shoulders and I jumped off." She returned in a matter-of-fact tone, gesturing to the Slytherin boy who was also on the ground with them.

"Why'd you do that?"

"I thought they would catch me. They didn't." Brynn pointed to the other three boys, but quickly drew her hand back and covered her mouth as she began to giggle.

Rose hesitantly parted her lips to say something, but closed them. She didn't need a further explanation from the girl. Rabastan let out a slight chuckle as he stood up and reached for Brynn's arms to help her up as well.

"We were walking in front of them. I don't know why she thought we would've caught her." Barty Crouch Jr. whispered to Rose as she stood upright, making her stifle a laugh. The Hufflepuff smoothed out her skirt and once again opened her mouth so she could explain herself.

"What brings you here, Bailey? It's a little late for you, isn't it?" Evan Rosier spoke up cooly, his arms crossed as he looked down upon the girl in disapproval. Rose looked daggers at him - a rare expression for her to display - and exhaled sharply.

"I was on my way to the Gryffindor common room, but I heard you guys." She paused and glanced at each one of her peers, almost as if contemplating something. She sighed reluctantly. "I think I need your help."

Brynn silently gasped in excitement and made eye contact with Barty, who just nodded his head slowly.

Regulus Black raised an eyebrow at Rose once their eyes locked, suggesting for her to go on.

"Well, I saw Jill go through this large door - one that I've never seen before - and once she went inside, it disappeared..."

"That's... so COOL!" Brynn exclaimed. Rose looked at her, but returned her focus to the boys without saying anything else.

"I know Jill was with the marauders earlier, so I'm assuming they went in as well... Jill wouldn't just go in by herself." She rambled.

The four Slytherins exchanged peculiar glances. "Sounds like your seeing things," Regulus said with a smirk before walking up next to Rose. "Maybe you should go to bed." He said, putting an arm around her and starting to walk with her towards the direction she came from.

Rose rolled her eyes and shrugged Regulus' arm off her. She turned back around to the rest of the group, "I know what I saw. I'm not-" She shook her head and sighed, "Can you guys just come with me? I'll show you." The Slytherin Boys shrugged and decided to follow the Hufflepuff.

"Can I go on your shoulders again?!"

"Fine. Don't jump this time."

~ ~ ~

"The door was right here!' Rose ran her hand down the blank, stone wall that previously accommodated the mysterious Iron door.

"Listen, Rose." Rabastan started. "I've never seen a door here-"

"Me neither" Barty cut in.

Rabastan gave him an annoyed look but continued, "Maybe we should just go."

Rose looked between them all with pleading eyes. She ripped her glance from her peers and focused on the blank wall in front of her. Her gaze was filled with regret as she stared at the wall, recollecting the events from earlier and beginning to think the boys were right. She raised a hand to her mouth and slightly began picking at her nails. Maybe I am seeing things. I'm tired, anyway...

The Hufflepuff tore her hand from her mouth and whipped around to face her friends again. "Okay, okay." She sighed, avoiding eye contact with any of the Slytherins. "Let's-" Rose stopped herself when she spotted Brynn approaching the wall curiously.

Brynn knocked on the surface - quite loudly - and put her ear against it. She listened for a few seconds before calling out, "Helloooo?"

Evan rolled his eyes and waved his hand up and down the stone wall. "That's a wall, Brynn. There's no door."

The brunette locked eyes with the blonde and crossed her arms. She tried to give him a stern look but it quickly faded into a grin as she spoke. "But I want there to be a door." 

A loud clicking noise turned the heads of all six of the fifteen-year-olds. The abrupt noise made Rose jump, but Brynn simply smiled and tried to hold in her laughter at the boy's reactions. Both Evan and Barty's mouths were slightly hanging open while Rabastan and Regulus watched the door form with widened eyes. Dark wood which contrasted from the light stone gradually appeared, and iron bars twisted into intricate designs topped the wood. Large iron handles rested in the middle of the doors, glistening from the dim light as if begging to be pulled open. 

"Well, I guess Bailey was right."

◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸

"Is that really all the exploring we are going to do? We've only been out for about a half hour." James complained as he trailed behind Tiara, the Gryffindor girl annoyed by his constant talking.

"Only half an hour? You do still remember Jill is waiting for us back at Hogwarts, right?" Tiara exclaimed as she turned her head, her ice-cold glare meeting James' eyes. His expression was filled with glee, the boy quite happy that he was completing his mission of irritating Tiara. James lifted his shoulders and waved his hands down, ignoring her haste to find the magical doors.

"Relax, Jill has probably left already." James shrugged, the boy unusually calm for the situation they were in. "Remus told me that it was 9:30 when we walked through the doors, and curfew ends at 10:00. Do you really think she would stick around and risk getting in trouble?" As Tiara opened her mouth in protest, a long-haired boy following the two teenagers joined the conversation.

"Y'know, he has a point. She only cares about Remus and you," Sirius agreed, frustratingly whacking a branch out of his way as he gestured towards Tiara "Of course, she won't be able to resist my charm for much longer." He added, smirking at Tiara's slap to the face and James' snickers.

"It's been a year, how have you not given up on her yet?" The Gryffindor girl inquired, smiling slightly as she continued stomping through the vines and mud Remus was leading them through; the boy was guiding the group because he was the one person who remembered the area of the doors - honestly, he's the only one responsible enough to keep track of their steps.

"Oh, don't worry, she's just playing hard to get-"

Before Sirius could finish his far-fetched statement, a yell from up ahead interrupted his sentence. The children abruptly halted their arguing, and their attention was quickly directed towards the path ahead of them.

"Guys, you need to get down here. Now." Remus called out from the end of the path. The teenagers exchanged a few worried glances, then sprinted past the trees towards their distressed friend. As they ran past the branches and towering timber, they approached Remus. His head was buried in his hands and he was groaning in frustration with the empty spot before him. The doors they had walked through had vanished from existence.

There was a slight imprint in the mud of where the entrance previously stood, but there was no other evidence that the doorway was ever there. Tiara, James, and Sirius stood there in silence, their jaws dropped open in astonishment.

"Wha-what happened to the doors?!"

James was the first to break the silence; his yell rattled throughout the forest and caused the birds sitting in the canopy above to fly away in disturbance.

"Don't ask me." Remus snapped from behind the palms of his hands, the boy still rubbing his eyes in impatience. "It wasn't my idea to go explore some random jungle!" The Gryffindor's head flew out of his hands, allowing him to send a glare towards James. James rested a hand on his chest and opened his mouth both dramatically and hurtfully.

"I didn't force anyone to come with me! Besides, Tiara thought it was a good idea, too." He exclaimed, pointing a finger at the Gryffindor girl to his right side. Tiara squinted at James and crossed her arms in annoyance with him and his unfair accusations.

"The only reason I agreed with your terrible idea was because you said I was a coward. And you know I'm not going to stand being called a coward!" Tiara growled menacingly as she pulled her wand out from her robes; she took a few steps closer to the troublemaker and raised her wand threateningly. But, before she could cause any more disturbance, Remus stepped in front of her, separating her and James.

"Tia, put the wand down." Remus whispered, his hands up warily as he tried to calm down the furious Gryffindor. The girl peered behind Remus' shoulder to glower at a smirking James; he had also drawn his mahogany wand, but didn't seem nearly as upset. Tiara slowly lowered her wand and tucked it into her skirts pocket. However, Remus decided to stay frozen in his spot in case James had other ideas.

While the stress grew between the three teenagers, Sirius leaned on a large, old tree; the base was thick enough to hold three fully grown adults. The boy watched the drama unfold in delight, but was also careful not to get roped into the uncomfortable situation. Of course, he could only hold his tongue for so long.

"Can't we just all agree it's both your faults?" Sirius droned almost dully, pointing to the teenagers standing on opposite sides of Remus. Quite abruptly, much of the attention was directed towards the naive boy, and many scowls were sent around the group; Tiara was narrowing her eyes especially at James, the girl still extremely infuriated with him.

"Look, now is not a great time to turn on each other, seeing as we're stuck here." Remus stated, his hands still held up stiffly in fear of a duel commending between his two stubborn friends. "So, why don't we try and figure out where we are? I hear waves coming from the right of us, and if we find a beach, maybe we'll have a better chance of survival." Everyone soon stared down at the ground once Remus finished his thought. It was terrifying to ponder on the fact that they could possibly die on the mysterious - but potentially dangerous - island. The four children didn't know what to do in this type of situation, seeing as they never learned how to survive on an island during their potions lessons.

James glanced up at his friends to check and see if they were willing to argue with Remus. However, everyone continued to stand in the awkward silence, puzzling over what their next tactic would be. Instead of directing his eyes back to the ground, though, James ran a hand through his hair and trudged towards the direction Remus had heard the waves of a beach. Tiara, Sirius, and Remus watched with intense curiosity, their heads turning along with the boy's every move. Before James disappeared behind the thick brush of thorns, bushes, and flowers, he stopped and revolved his stance to face his friends.

"Well, aren't you lot coming?" He asked questionably, presenting the trail before him with a dramatic wave of his hand. Tiara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, glancing at Remus and Sirius before stomping past James in annoyance with his smug smile.

"Don't forget that we're here because of you." She stated sharply, pointing a finger into James' chest prior to her hike towards the sound of a beach. At her revelation, James' leer merely grew as he ensued Tiara, with Sirius and Remus hastily following. The girl pushed through the luxuriant thicket of leaves with extreme effort, a cold sweat starting to drip from her forehead as the moon and stars shone onto the forest below. Even though the sun had set for many hours now, the humid and sticky air was much warmer than the air quality in England. The crescent moon was at its highest peak for the night, and the small slit of buttermilk yellow glowed alongside the shimmer of stars. Unfortunately, it was hard to know for sure what time of night it was at the moment; Remus' watch had stopped clicking away as soon as they stepped onto the dirt of the island...

"Is this really as fast as you can go?" James called out from behind, the sound of a crashing shore growing by the second. Tiara stopped in her tracks and lowered her arms. She swiveled on her heel and narrowed her eyes at the three boys before her; she then bestowed the plentiful forest to James with the flick of her arm, her eyes closed in agitation.

"Be my guest." She said with discontent, her jaw clenched shut. Tiara opened her eyes to glare at at a delighted James who continued the job of pushing through the forest. But, only after a few steps along the dirt way, James tumbled through the forest, his momentum causing him to lose balance and practically plunge into the sand of the newly-found beach.

"What the-" were James' final words before falling onto the comforting warmth of the seashore. Tiara and Sirius burst out into a fit of laughter as they watched James lose his footing.

"Well, I guess we found the beach." Tiara managed to choke out in between her gasps for breath. The three teenagers jogged out onto the beach and approached a defensive James. He quickly rose off the ground and swept off the remaining sand that had stuck to his trousers.

"That-," James started angrily, pointing at an innocent-looking Tiara, "You knew that was going to happen!" James was obviously trying to criticize the girls actions, but it was very difficult for anyone to take him seriously, seeing that there were grains of sand stuck in his messy hair. Tiara tried her best to hide a satisfied smile as she lifted her shoulders up and down, but Sirius continued to chuckle. "This isn't funny! I nearly killed myself when my head hit the ground!" Tiara rolled her eyes at this statement, the girl remembering the moment quite clearly.

"Please, all you did was trip." She sighed, crossing her arms at James' glower and straight face.

"No, I fell and I almost passed out!" James exclaimed, gesturing to a certain area of sand a few yards away. Tiara rolled her eyes yet again and placed her hands on her hips.

"Really?"

"Did I stutter?!"

The two teenagers quarreled like children, and Sirius watched with extreme amusement; it wouldn't have been surprising if he had pulled out a bag of popcorn to eat as he conveyed his entertainment. As the obdurate students continued to argue about which one was right, Remus approached his confidants at a fast pace.

"Would you two stop, just this once?" Remus begged, rubbing his eyes in annoyance as Tiara and James both halted their conversation mid-sentence. "Thank you. Now, I searched the beach, but I couldn't find anyone. There's no footprints or boats down there," Remus raised his arm and pointed all the way down the beach, his footsteps leading to the rounding corner, "I didn't even see any animals- would you pay attention?!" Sirius had been tracing a drawing in the sand with his foot, focusing on the ground instead of his friend.

"Huh?" Sirius asked, lifting his head to meet Remus' gaze. Remus slapped his forehead in frustration (again) and slowly lifted his head out of his hands.

"Did you hear a word I said?" Remus questioned, rolling his eyes at Sirius' long pause.

"Of course I did! You were talking about the beach and..." Sirius started, thankful that he had remembered a single detail of Remus' speech; but he soon trailed off as his memory reached a foggy end. Remus let out a sigh of annoyance as Sirius shrugged his shoulders and dropped onto sand.

"I think the first thing we should do is send a signal for help. Jill had brought it up once after reading a survival guide-" Remus confirmed, but he was interrupted by an inspired Tiara; she shuffled across the sand to the beginning of the crashing shore of the salty ocean. The waves had washed up many items; there was broken glass, spare rope, driftwood, and rocks. Lots of rocks. She kneeled down and picked one of them up, turning it over in her left hand before nodding to herself and gathering more.

"I always knew she would go crazy." James whispered to Sirius. As his friend snickered at the comment, Tiara lifted her head towards James and narrowed her eyes in anger.

"You idiot," Tiara snapped, now carrying multiple rocks in her arms and dropping them onto the sand before James, Sirius, and Remus, "I'm collecting rocks for a reason y'know."

"Well, then why are you doing... this." James exclaimed curiously, waving his hands in a circular motion down at Tiara. She was now placing the rocks in curving lines, gently dropping the various shaped and colored rocks onto the sand. The Gryffindor girl rolled her eyes in impatience and looked up at James once more. The looping strand of stones now formed a large 'S', the letter boldly standing out against the bland beige color of the beach.

"I'm going to spell out SOS." Tiara explained, gesturing towards her design. Though she tried her best to describe her idea, James only appeared to become more confused.

"What's that?" James asked, scratching his head uncertainly.

"Well, in the muggle world, SOS is how you signal an emergency. For example, when you're stuck on an island with an idiot of a boy, you should probably start calling for help." She smirked, eyeing a furious James.

"First of all," James voiced, holding out his index finger to showcase his first thought, "It isn't entirely my fault that we're here; you agreed with me, y'know." Before Tiara could interject, James resumed his ramble and lifted another finger. "And secondly, this idea is stupid. How is someone going to see our message on a boat?!"

"There are other ways to travel than sailing. Muggles have airplanes." Tiara explicated harshly, placing her hand onto her hips boldly after she stood to face James.

"What the bloody hell is an airplane?!" James yelled, even more enraged with the girl's gibberish
explanations. "Look, I think we should make a raft. Then we can get off this bloody island and get back to Hogwarts." Tiara glared at the boy as he expressed his opinions.

"We don't even know which direction Hogwarts is." Tiara flatly stated, flipping her hair behind her shoulders as James crossed his arms in exasperation.

"C'mon Moony, help me out here." James groaned, lifting his arms to present a proud and satisfied Tiara. Remus rolled his eyes and took a few steps closer to the pair of teenagers.

"No, Tia's right. We wouldn't last 10 minutes out in the sea with a boat made out of driftwood. Besides, we don't even know where we are now. How would we know which way to sail?" Remus confirmed, raising a hand up to his chin thoughtfully as James let out a breath of annoyance.

"See, I told you." Tiara bragged, lifting her eyebrows childishly at James' crossed arms.

"Moony, I thought we were on the same side. How dare you betray me?!" James declared hurtfully; but, Remus simply replied with a sigh of surrender and rubbed his eyebrows as he walked away to exit the argument. Tiara quickly started to laugh at James' frustration, displeasing the already angered boy and causing another fight to erupt between them. As the two stubborn children complained about one another, Remus strode over to an extremely entertained Sirius.

"Do you have any ideas for how to get out of here?" Remus queried hesitantly, slightly worried about his friend's wild propositions. Sirius replied with a subtle smirk and rolled up his sleeves competitively.

"I was wondering when someone was going to ask!" Sirius chuckled as he reached into the right pocket of his robes and pulled out his wand. Remus arched an eyebrow alarmingly and opened his mouth in protest. But, before he could speak, Sirius was aiming his wand at the night sky above them and started to pronounce an incantation.

"Periculum!" He yelled. Large, red sparks flew out of the thin tip of the wand and shot up into the starry sky, erupting into bright, fiery fireworks.

"No!" Remus objected loudly, but it was too late; the spell was complete and the consequences were ready to come tumbling forth. Tiara and James' argument seized to a sudden halt as they stared at the lit-up sky. The sound of the explosions took a few seconds to quiet, but soon enough, the silence set in. Tiara, James, and Remus' gaze quickly landed onto their content friend.

"Wha-... Why would you do that?!" Tiara whispered harshly, causing Sirius to place a hand on his chest after setting his wand back into his pocket.

"What do you mean? Now everyone who's on the island knows where we are." Sirius retorted, thinking he was the smartest man in the world to concoct such a brilliant idea.

"Exactly. Now everyone knows our location." Remus groaned, running his hands through his hair before burying his head into them. Soon after his explanation, Sirius' proud expression morphed into a look of realization and he placed a hand onto his chin. Before he could say anything, a rustle projected from the bushes in the forest, the leaves scratching each other due to the movement behind them. The group's attention immediately landed on the forest as they all froze in fear. Sirius glanced at his friends as they all slowly backed away from the trees, wary of what was about to pounce at them.

"Ah, I see the problem now." Sirius muttered.

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A / N

AH OMG I FINALLY UPDATED. i hope these 8400 words are enough to make up for how long it took 😃 OKAY WHAT DID U GUYS THINK i promise this is gonna be good hahaha. okay okay the next chapter will be out sooner 😉

ALSO WRITTEN BY alohamora04 !!!!!