So...Where Are the Dragons?

[Ulysses Viteri]

Hours after the Sorting Ceremony, Ulysses Viteri was wandering around the castle's corridors in search of the extraordinary. At least extraordinary for him, as many of the other students seemed to be used to stairs that move without any notice or portraits whose illustrations move and talk. In this new world everything seemed possible but Uli was convinced that limits existed for magic as well. He had to learn more things if he wanted to be a worthy representative of the house of the intelligent but although moving armors and ghosts were quite intriguing, Ulysses was determined to dig into more advanced stuff.

One of the books he had bought had a chapter dedicated to dragons. While the ravenclaw hadn't read what was written about the fire-breathing creatures, the book's illustrations of them were enough to make him want to see some from up close. The castle seemed to have everything, why not dragons? They could have been safeguarded somewhere secluded from the areas where lessons were taking place.

His search lasted half an hour. Fruitless and without any signs of the winged serpents. Perhaps they were kept outside. Ulysses had noticed the grounds' vastness from the tower of the common room. The lake and the forest extending as far his eyes could see, were landmarks that he was intending to visit soon. Upon reconsidering it, dragons were more possible to be found out of the castle's walls. The boy had decided to get outside and continue his search but first, he wanted to check the corridors of the third floor. Only a few windows were letting sunlight in, revealing the airborne dust particles. Ulysses tried to open several doors but they were all locked. He was holding in his right hand his newly bought wand but had no idea how to use it. He tapped it on several locks, he even muttered incantations like 'abracadabra' but the doors still didn't budge. His free hand reached for the knob of the last door. He turned it and felt the locking mechanism retracting. Uli was about to push the door open but footsteps announced the presence of someone else behind him.

 

[Ashlei Kim]

Ashlei Kim found herself listening to her mother, even when the woman was not around. She was walking for the pure hell of it again. She had not even been at Hogwarts a day, and she was already disappointed. At home, her mother would call her fat, and tell her to walk around the house. One look in the mirror ended in her roaming around the school. She wanted to know where the library was for future reference. She was going to need the place once class started, and she did not want to spend precious time looking for it. She had passed several upperclassmen, but she had not asked them for the directions to the library. She found that it would be more interesting if she found it on her own. She walked quietly. She looked around the corridor, and she felt that it was majestic. This school in reality was so much better than the one she dreamed about. She was glad that she was finally here!

As Ashlei walked she saw a boy trying to open doors. She laughed at the sight of his wand. He looked like a first year too! They had not even had a class yet, and he was already trying to use magic. It was amusing. She skipped over to him. They weren't even supposed to have their wands out! Professors could get the wrong idea and give them detention. She wanted to make sure she did not get one of those ever. "Did you lose something? Are you a first year too?" she asked. She leaned forward slightly with her hands behind her back. The boy's hand was on the door knob. it was unlocked by the looks of it. She suddenly was filled with curiosity. She had to know what this boy was doing now. "Can I come with you?" she asked politely. She did not want to bother the boy if he was trying to find a quiet place to relax. Most first years would be thinking about home at times like this, but Ashlei was the complete opposite. She did not even want to think about going back home!

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

The footsteps belonged to a girl, seemingly of the same age. Ulysses couldn't remember if she was in the bunch waiting last night to be sorted in the Great Hall. He was too nervous back then for something that proved to be so painless. Although he hadn't fully comprehend the Sorting Hat's decision, so far he liked the house he was sorted into. The common room was so hospitable that felt like he was always staying there. Now several floors away from it, he had to explain why he was trying to force his way through locked doors. "Yes, actually. This place is so unreal that I have lost my mind." he replied when he was asked if he had lost something. His impression that she was a first year was confirmed seconds later. "I am. I'm also a Ravenclaw." he shared his new identity, not sure if it mattered anyway. "My name is Ulysses and of course you can come." he said, glad that he had already someone joining his quest of getting to know this place.

Uli turned back at the door and pushed it open. A musty smell was released from the newly discovered dark corridor. Ulysses took a step inside and lingered there until his eyesight adjusted to the dimness. The corridor stretched into blackness. Row of torches were going along the walls as far as he could see but they were unlit. "Hmm. It doesn't look like this place is getting visitors pretty often." he mused and with another step forwards, flames flashed into existence in a wash of red and yellow sparks on the first set of torches. "I love this place!" he exclaimed and his voice was carried on in an echo. His next couple of steps created a chain reaction. More torches lit up and revealed a part of the corridor. The place seemed to have surrendered to cobwebs but this wasn't to prevent him from searching on. Perhaps there he could find the dragons he so much wanted to see. "You going to stick around?" he asked the girl now that this new area didn't look so welcoming.

 

[Ashlei Kim]

Ashlei felt like she had asked a lot of questions. But, the boy did not seem to mind. It took her a moment to process his response, but then she laughed. She had not heard a lot of jokes at home. Her mother ran a strict house, and she only laughed during business. "I guess I should help you find it then. You are going to need it to learn magic!" she giggled softly. She clapped her hands together when he said that he was a first year and a Ravenclaw. "I am too! Do you like it? I do. I think the Sorting Hat does his job very well!" she told the boy. She was glad she had a new home. And, she was sure Ravenclaw was going to help her become a great witch. Ulysses. That was a nice name. She had not heard it before, but it was nice. "I am Ashlei." she introduced herself.

Ashlei stood behind Ulysses as he opened the door. She followed her peer as he took steps inside. Why was this place so dark? Where did it lead? Questions flew through her mind as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She yelped when the torches suddenly lit by themselves. She then sighed. "I wish I could say likewise." she said. She looked around skeptically. This place did not look so good. However, that did not mean she was going to leave. It would be hypocritical of her to ask to join him and then leave, and Ashlei did not like wasting her words. "We should see what we have walked into, no?" she smirked and walked ahead of Ulysses. She quickly got used to the sound of the torches lighting up. "What do you think is down here? You think it could be another way to the Dungeons?" she asked. The cobwebs were not helping her nervousness. It was rare that she got nervous like this, but it was also rare for her to go on adventures like this.

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

The girl proved to be a fellow Ravenclaw and also likeable so Ulysses genuinely had no problem to have her around while exploring this tenebrous corridor. "So far, yes. The view is stunning. I think we are at the highest part of the castle." he nodded and mentioned what he liked the most from their house's common room. "I thought we were going to be wearing hats all the time. Like witches in fairytales." he chuckled relieved. It had turned out that there was just one Hat and they had to wear it just briefly to be sorted. He was still trying to separate in his head what was real about magic in the wizardry world and what was misinterpreted by muggles. At least the stereotype of having to wear pointy hats was dismissed already. I didn't seem to be something mandatory.

After introducing herself, Ashlei took several bold steps ahead of him. More torches responded to her action with flames, casting quavering shadows on the walls. Ulysses smirked as well and followed her. He really enjoyed the mysterious atmosphere of this corridor. It felt like they were intruding an undiscovered part of the castle. At least the thin layer of dust that had settled on every surface, was suggesting that this place wasn't visited, or cleaned recently. Uli didn't know what to answer to her next question. He didn't want to say something about dragons. He was supposed to make people like him and make friends, not to drive them away and make them think he was a lunatic. He thought he should be less hearty with his flush of imagination. "Don't really know." Ulysses replied genuinely but didn't add anything about what he would like to find. However, Ashlei's reference to the Dungeons goaded his fantasy. "Dungeons? The school has Dungeons?" he repeated and his celery, green eyes flashed with exuberance. Now the dragons had definitely came back in his head. The word dungeons was closely related with dragons to him, after a famous roleplaying game that muggles were playing. "What they keep in the dungeons?" he asked curiously as they walked further down the corridor. Few seconds later he stopped as he caught a glimpse of a movement to his right, hidden in the shadows. It was followed by a creak that made his heart race. "Do armors move too?" he wondered with wide eyes when the unannounced company proved to be an armor, which greeted him with a military salutation. Ulysses already knew about the crazy portraits, exchanging owners but this animated armor was much more entertaining. He poked the metal breastplate with his wand and he examined the helmet's visor, under the scant light of the nearby torch. "Do you reckon someone's inside?" he asked and contemplated whether to remove the helmet or not.

 

[Doriana Strati]

Like a lion patrolling its terittory, Doriana Strati was out of her bed early on her first morning at school. Everything she was told about this castle, from her older cousins were true. Her curious nature was tempting her to explore and find out on her own what secrets were out there to be discovered. The first morning light was filtered through the stained glass of the arced windows when she started walking around the corridors. There were towers to be climbed and dungeons to be searched but first and foremost, she had to find out what was located between the seventh floor, where Gryffindors common room was located, and the ground floor. She managed to find a few of the rooms where her classes were going to take place like Charms and Transfiguration. She was really looking forward to her classes to begin and make use of her new wand.

Doriana grew bored quickly as nothing excited was found during her tour at the different levels of the castle. She wasn't sure what she was really expecting to discover but moving staircases and talking portraits were nothing extraordinary for the young witch. Believing that the third floor had nothing else to impress her, she was ready to return back to the grand staircase and move on to the second floor. The sound of footsteps alerted her to react quickly and impulsively. She opened the first door she found in front of her and closed it behind her. What was she afraid of? She was advised by her cousin Perseas to be really careful when she was wandering around the castle. Some of the professors were really nosy and suspicious, especially if your last name was Stratis and you were aimlessly wandering around dark corridors.

The girl pressed her ear against the door and she could hear the footsteps stopping behind the door. Breathless she heard in the darkness the knob slowly turning and then the talking of a boy and a girl. This was her opportunity to hide and she started running away from the door. Flames sprang on the torches as she did so and helped her navigate the long corridor. At its end she could go either to the left or to the right. She chose to go left and wait around the corner as the torches were extinguished in succession and the corridor was plunged again into darkness. Silent and against the wall, she tried to detect any sound that could reveal to her whether the strangers had left or they were still at the other end of the corridor. Her heart sunk when the door creaked and the voices grew louder as the strangers entered the corridor.

Flames roared again on the torches and as the light was getting brighter from the other side of the corridor, she knew they were coming closer. A brave peak from around the corner and had a better look of the pair. Just two students and possibly classmates as they looked like of the same age as her. Doriana relaxed slightly now that the fear of prefects following her had just vanished. Her gray eyes carefully examined the girl and the boy from the shadows and noticed they were just exploring around like her. Maybe she could join their little squad and brace up. It was easier to act brave around others than when you were on your own. However, Doriana considered of making the best of still being undetected. An innocent prank never hurt anyone. She flourished her wand she had yet to use. She had exhibited novice wandless magic as most wizards and witches of younger age but she had never used a wand. Well, maybe once but it was her father's wand and she had used it without his knowledge.

"Lumos." She whispered the charm she had cast with her father's wand months ago. On its tip, a small orb of light glowed for a moment but slowly fizzled out. It was enough however, to send a flash of light from her darker part of the corridor. To make sure that the two of them would notice her gleam of light, she cast another charm. "Lumos." She breathed and the light orb flared up. This time it didn't fizzle out. It remained at the end of her wand brighter than before. "Oh no!" She said under her breath and effortlessly flicked her wand several times to extinguish the light. Panicked she hid the wand behind her back to block as much light as possible. Backing away, she searched around her for an escape route. There were many doors but which one she should choose? She decided there was no time to be picky about it and randomly opened one. She immediately closed it behind her and leaned her body against it. It was then that the light decided to blink a few times and die. Doriana was left in the dark, before she had the chance to see what else was there with her in this new room.

Out of Character:

I hope you don't mind me joining

 

[Ashlei Kim]

Ashlei smiled and giggled. "That is silly! It would be a fashion disaster if we wore hats all the time." This boy spoke of things that were fairytales. She had a feeling that he was muggle born. His blood did not change how she looked at him, but it helped her prepare for more ridiculous assumptions about magic. Fairytales were just that, fairytales. They were based on some truth, but the rest was the imagination of muggles. Her mother taught her that muggles were nothing but trouble, but Ashlei refused to believe that. All magical folk were not good, so how could all muggles be bad? They were all human, right? She found her mother's teachings to be irrational and subjective.

Ashlei began to regret coming into this place. She had a feeling that students weren't supposed to be here. But, if they weren't, then why was the door unlocked? Even though she was nervous, she was curious about what this corridor contained. Ashlei nodded. Slytherin is in the Dungeons, but they don't actually sleep in cells." she told him kindly. She sometimes became irritated when people did not know much of anything, but she could understand that this was a new place for him, if he was a muggle born. If he was not, she would cut him no slack. How could he be so ill informed? Ashlei saw a glare on her glasses. Her heart began to race. Was there someone her? She grabbed Ulysses shoulder and stood behind him. "A light came from over there!" she pointed to ahead of them. They were nearing a fork. Ashlei made sure to stay behind her male peer. If something bad was going to happen, it was going to happen to him first. It would give her more reaction time. She saw another light from the left side of the fork. She gently pushed the boy in that direction. "Go see what it is..." she said quietly. Her heart kept beating faster and faster. She was extremely worried.

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

As Ahslei said, there were a lot of places in the castle that he had to visit. It made him wonder how long would have taken to build the whole school. And it wasn't the whole process of construction but also the enchantments placed around the premises, like the enchantments that should have been used to make this armor move. "Wicked! Sounds interesting enough to visit." he commented about the promising dungeons and took a step back from the armor. From the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of what Ashlei indicated. It was a glow that vanished as quickly as it appeared. Nailed by terror and adrenaline, Ulysses tried to breath again. His heart started pounding fiercely in his chest when light illuminated the fork before them. This time around, the light didn't disappear but instead it grew dim as if its source moved deeper to the left of the junction, and eventually it faded away.

Uli wasn't sure if he wanted to continue exploring anymore and investigate this strange light. People were abducted by strange light and muggles were attributing lights like this to aliens. The Ravenclaw recoiled when Ashlei grabbed his shoulder and prompted him to check this peculiar phenomenon on his own. He hadn't realized that his companion was afraid while he was scared himself. His reluctant steps caused the floorboards creak beneath the carpet but as the flames were popping up on the torches, he was mustering the courage to reach the fork. Unfortunately, the torches ended there and the corridors to his right and left were pitch black. No signs of the light. However, on a console table there was a candlestick. With shaking hands, Ulysses picked it up and borrowed fire from the closest torch.

"Erm, are you coming?" he asked Ashlei but his eyes were alarmingly fixed on the blackness he had to enter. With both hands extended, one holding his wand and the other the candlestick, he proceeded to the left in search for the strange light. He walked past doors which he avoided to try and open them. He walked the left wing all the way to find out that it ended in a dead-end. Only an empty portrait hanging crooked on the wall. "Nothing here." he whispered and turned around to see if Ashlei was still with him and hadn't ran away. "Whatever it was, it got into one of these doors." he pointed at the six doors, three at each side. Now that he had gone this far, he wasn't intending to stop. The worse he could think of was a ghost but there were plenty of them at the Sorting Ceremony and looked harmless to him. He tiptoed to the first door to his right and with a finger gesture encouraged his fellow Ravenclaw to follow him quietly. He paused at the door and tried to hear anything coming from behind it. It was dead silent. Ulysses took a deep breath, nodded at Ashlei and forcefully opened the door.