Gillygate - 8. Secret Hideaway

"I can't believe you." Kiena was part scandalized but also impressed as we left her History of Magic classroom and headed to lunch.

"You can't believe the beater for the Gryffindor Quidditch team beat my ass?" I was blushing as I said it. The look she gave me was now also mixed with outrage.

We had a weird sense of humour. Occasionally I liked to shock her like that, toss out an inappropriate comment like a grenade. After entering the Great Hall we sat with some fellow Hufflepuff acquaintances and chatted. A tawny owl flew in to deliver one of them some late mail. I was almost finished with my plate - a turkey leg and green beans covered in gravy - when I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard my friends go quiet. I turned to see Rod smiling at me with just a hint of a smirk.

"Hello," he said to the others and they awkwardly greeted him back. He looked back to me "Hey, mind if I show you something now?"

Kiena's eyes widened and dropped to the table. I just nodded and wiped my hands on a napkin before getting up and following him out.

"Where are we going?" I asked him as we paced a corridor.

Rod was wearing his red-gold Quidditch uniform, hair damp from practice. He slowed to a stop as the students ahead turned the corner. Then he proceeded to look around us in a very suspicious way. When the coast was clear he nudged me with his elbow then faced the wall.

"I want to show you something I found. It will make it easier."

I stared at him before turning to face the bare wall as well. No paintings here, just pale stone. Absolutely nothing to look at- hang on. From beside me Rod had closed his eyes in concentration. I stepped back as the wall chipped and changed, patterns forming in the ripples and morphing into brass. With a grumble and sizzling a wide door manifested itself.

Rod opened his eyes with a big grin.

"The Room of Requirement?" I breathed. "I've heard about it… but I've never used it before."

"I tried it out as soon as I heard about it in my fourth year. Since then I've used it loads of times. Even made it turn into a sex dungeon."

"You did not!"

"Come on." He opened it with a brass knocker.

I looked around the deserted walkway before following him through. The door closed and I looked around in astonishment. This space was enormous. There were giant piles of junk in the distance. Before us the floor was absolutely filthy. Covered in soot and most of the rubbish was blackened, like someone had set off a fire long ago.

"I needed a place to hide my Adam and Newt philtres from Mr Scrivens." Rod stated while pacing forward, I followed him tentatively. "So I thought: 'I need a place to hide something.' And I found here, the place where all things are hidden. There's probably dangerous stuff here too so don't go randomly touching things."

"You don't have to tell me…" I was looking out in all directions. A gramophone nearby was skipping its record on a continuous loop. I spotted a globe the size of a car. Piles of wood and metal junk, much of it burned. We passed an opening and I looked down a makeshift walkway to see it dominated by thick, dark vines. A miniature jungle. "Blimey! That's Devil's Snare."

"Really? I figured I should keep my distance." Rod spoke casually, leading me confidently onwards.

A flock of birds flew from a nearby junk pile, disturbed by our presence.

"This place is its own habitat." I swiped at overhanging cobwebs.

"It's just through here. I haven't moved it."

We came into a round clearing. In the center, atop a table and stone vase sat a locked safe.

"It's as big as a washing machine." I commented.

"What's a washing machine?"

"Well you're obviously from a wizarding family. Pure blood, I take it?"

"Yep." He turned to assure me "But I have nothing against muggle-borns. I'm not like those Slytherins."

"Right. Well, what's inside the safe?"

Rod pointed his dark wand "Cistem Aperio." Gold light leapt out and the safe flung open.

The inside was empty aside from a rusted, hand-held lamp. The glass was cracked, it appeared unlikely to be workable.

"It's a portkey." Rod answered before I could ask.

"It works?" I turned to see him nod while sucking his lip "I thought Hogwarts would have some sort of protective enchantment preventing them from working inside the castle."

"Me too. Whoever made it must have been an incredibly powerful wizard. Especially considering how old it is. Well… you'll see what I mean in a second. Do you trust me?"

"I have a lot of trust issues as of late."

"Understandable." He gave a shrug then held out his hand anyway.

I stared into his chocolate-coloured eyes, a moment's deliberation before taking him by the hand. Rod gripped the lantern and suddenly the room swirled. I was hooked from my navel, swirling and stretching through space before hitting floorboards. I gasped and coughed dust, raising my head to see Rod lying beside me and the lantern sitting in the middle of the room. We got to our hands and knees before standing.

"We did it… we're outside the castle."

It was cloudless outside and bright midday, we were in a different timezone. The two of us were standing in a one-room cabin. There was a big bed in the corner, a desk and chair, a single wardrobe. Otherwise it was empty apart from a single portrait of a balding, dark-haired wizard in tufty clothes. He had suspicious eyes, like someone who was avoided by others and preferred to keep to himself regardless. I stepped over to the dark-haired man.

"Hello? Are you a portrait of the wizard who lived here?"

"He doesn't speak." Rod told me. "Just watches. Kind of creepy, actually."

He was frowning, secretive and distrustful. Apart from his breathing and subtle readjustments the portrait remained still. It was centered in a dull gold frame with no label. I turned to the door, our footsteps creaked in this old cabin. I turned a metal knob, stepped out the rustic timber work. I gasped in wonder.

We were surrounded by endless acres of yellow farmland. Tall grass dried out like straw in the sun, flatlands stretching to the far-out countryside. I stepped off the wooden porch and away to take it all in. The air smelt fresh, I could hear distant cicadas. When I turned to look at the cabin there was a hanging sign labelled 'Gillygate'.

"Reckon we can come here whenever we like. Practice dueling, do our studying, sleep over. I could bring my broomstick through." Rod was leaning back against the cabin with his arms crossed.

"Wow." I turned back to stare out at the distance. It was like a world to ourselves.

"Reckon we can tell a few other people about this place, but not too many. Make it a secret little club."

"And there's really no one else here?" I turned again to ask.

"Not for miles and miles."

I laughed, pulled out my wand and pointed it straight up "Periculum!" A red bolt shot high into the air before exploding into sparks. I laughed again.

o0O0o

spellman's syllabry

Cistem Aperio - Box Blasting Charm.

Periculum - Red Sparks/Fireworks/Flare.