Chapter 5: An Owl as Dark as Night

An Owl as Dark as Night 

Neve slept, and Fi felt more alone then she knew was possible. She had written to her siblings, telling them of recent events, but leaving out Neve’s coma. Fi hadn’t even told her family of her telepathic powers. Yet, this morning, Fi had decided that she would tell her family everything. She doubted they would believe her anyway. Fi wrote,

Just as Fi was about to slip her letter into the envelope, Kael stepped up behind her and plucked it from her hands. “Kael! Give that back.” Fi exclaimed. Kael, six inches taller than Fi, simply held it above his head. He read it, and then looked over at Fi, a shocked expression on his face. “You and Neve and telepathic!? What the- Fi!? Why didn’t you tell me this?” Fi simply shook her head. Feeling a migraine approaching, she pinched the bridge of her nose. Fi heard steps behind her, and then the presence of someone at her back. Dimitri’s voice echoed, “Tell you what?” Kael passed Fi’s letter to Dimitri over her head. Dimitri held it. He looked at Fi as if to say, “Can I read this?” Fi nodded. She watched Dimitri as his eyes moved over the paper. She saw his expression shift into shock when he realized what it meant. Dimitri handed the letter back to Fi. “What? Why… Why didn’t you guys tell us?” Fi shook her head again, “I dunno.” She sighed, looking at the letter. Fi ripped it in half, crumpled it, and tossed it into the wastebasket across the room. “They don’t need to know anyway.” She muttered, referring to her family. Dimitri had already gone to a desk across the room, reading History of Magic: Dark Arts Through the Ages. Kael had left, no doubt mad that Fi and Neve had kept a secret from him. Fi fetched another piece of parchment. She gripped her quill, a raven’s feather black as night. Fi wrote another letter to her family, 

Fi passed her envelope, sealed with Gryffindor’s crest, to her owl, Adrian. “Adrian” means “Dark One” fitting because her owl was the color of black ink, except for his eyes, which were bright gold. “Adrian,” she whispered to him, “take it home.” Adrian leapt out the window, instantly blending in with the night sky. For a moment, his shape precluded the light of the moon, making a gorgeous silhouette of Adrian, his wings outstretched and his head held high. Fi decided to visit the library- she wanted to see if they had the new book in the fiction series, Dragons of Icantar, which was one of Fi’s favorite series. 

Fi had walked halfway to the library when a shrill piercing noise resounded in her head. Fi cried out and collapsed onto the floor. Then everything went dark. 

Fi awoke in the infirmary, very confused. She remembered the ringing last night, but nothing more. A nurse stood by Fi’s bed. Fi reached out and snatched her arm. The nurse jumped, surprised, but eased when she saw who had grabbed her. “My, my, girlie! You scared me.” 

“What happened?”

“Well, Tanya heard you scream, and she fetched your friends- what are their names…”

“Dimitri and Kael?”
“Yes! Well, anyway, they brought you here. Madame Pomfrey checked you out; there’s nothing wrong. We’re not sure what happened- what did happen, dearie?”

“I don’t know myself. I heard a ringing in my ears, then, blacked out.” 

The nurse gave Fi a reassuring smile, “That’s alright. You’re good to go as soon as you feel up to it, by the way.” The nurse leaned close to Fi and whispered, “But I would stay awhile- they’ll let you out of class.” She gave Fi a playful conspirator’s wink. Fi, however, did not notice. 

“Where’s Neve?” She asked the nurse.

“Who?”

“The girl that’s been here a few weeks- the comatose one. She’s a Hufflepuff, brunette, about the same size as me.”

“Oh! Her. Why, she woke up late last night. She left a few minutes before you came in. Though, I should have known you were friends- she was back this morning, asking about you.” 

“She’s okay then?” Fi’s heart swelled.

“Right as rain.”

Fi laughed merrily, throwing the covers of her bed off. She grabbed the pile of clothes next to her bed, though she had no idea how they had gotten there- none of her friends would be able to get into the Gryffindor dorm. Maybe Allie had brought them. Fi dashed off to the bathroom and changed quickly. As she was running out of the infirmary (despite the fact that she was feeling nauseous and dizzy) the nurse yelled, “Wait!” 

Fi stopped, “What is it?”
“Your friend won’t be in class. They have her the rest of the week off.”

Fi bit her lip- either she could stay in the infirmary or go to class. She was considering her options when the nurse said, “Personally, I think you should have the day off.” She passed Fi a slip of paper- an excuse from class. Fi thanked the nurse profusely, and left to find Neve.