Distorted Perception

  The Dracorus common room was unusually quiet.

  Not peaceful quiet.

  Waiting quiet.

  The tall green-tinted windows let in the pale evening light, stretching long shadows across the stone floor. A few students whispered over parchment, preparing for exams. Someone’s quill scratched too loudly in the silence.

  Daniel wasn’t reading.

  He had the book open. Page forty-three. Same page for the last fifteen minutes.

  His eyes moved across the words.

  Nothing stayed.

  Every time he blinked, he saw the storage room.

  The creature. The blur. Scarlett’s voice. Light’s frightened face.

  And Tom running.

  He hadn’t seen Tom since.

  Daniel closed the book slowly.

  “Stop thinking,” he muttered to himself.

  That didn’t help.

  Across the room, Frederick glanced up.

  “You look like you swallowed a Bludger,” he said.

  “I’m fine.”

  Frederick snorted. “No one who says ‘I’m fine’ is fine.”

  Daniel forced a thin smile and stood up. “I’m going to the courtyard.”

  “After curfew bell, you’ll lose more points,” Frederick warned.

  “I won’t.”

  He stepped out before anyone could ask more questions.

  The corridor outside Dracorus was colder than usual.

  Or maybe it just felt that way.

  Daniel walked quickly, hands in pockets, thoughts racing. Tom wasn’t the type to disappear. He wasn’t dramatic. He wasn’t reckless.

  He was steady.

  Which made this worse.

  Daniel replayed what Light had said earlier:

  “Tom saw something.”

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  But what?

  "Who knows?"

  And why did he run?

  He turned the corner near the eastern stairwell and nearly collided with someone.

  “Watch it—”

  It was Light.

  Light looked exhausted. Not dramatic. Just… tired.

  “You’re looking for him too?” Light asked quietly.

  Daniel didn’t answer.

  Light leaned against the wall. “He came to Nihilara tower this afternoon.”

  Daniel frowned. “Why?”

  “He thought Scarlett would know something.”

  That made sense. Nihilara students always had access to older records and weird historical references.

  “And?”

  Light hesitated. “Scarlett wasn’t there. She was in class.”

  “So where is Tom now?”

  “That’s the problem.”

  Daniel’s chest tightened slightly.

  Light continued, “He said he needed air. Said the corridors were ‘wrong’.”

  “Wrong how?”

  “He didn’t explain.”

  Of course he didn’t.

  Daniel didn’t wait.

  He headed toward the inner courtyard.

  If Tom said he needed air, he’d go somewhere open.

  The courtyard lamps had just been lit. A thin mist hovered near the stone benches. The fountain in the center trickled softly.

  And there he was.

  Tom sat on the edge of the fountain, staring at the water like it was telling him something.

  Daniel slowed his steps.

  “You could’ve told someone,” he said.

  Tom didn’t look up. “I didn’t get lost.”

  “Light said you were wandering.”

  “I wasn’t wandering.”

  Daniel stepped closer. “Then what were you doing?”

  Tom finally looked at him.

  His expression wasn’t fear.

  It was confusion.

  “You ever feel like a hallway is longer than it should be?” Tom asked.

  Daniel blinked. “What?”

  “Or stairs feel steeper than yesterday?”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  Tom shook his head. “After the storage room… the castle feels different.”

  Daniel stiffened.

  “Different how?”

  Tom hesitated. Then spoke carefully.

  “Like it’s… adjusting.”

  Daniel’s stomach tightened.

  “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “I know.”

  They sat in silence for a moment.

  The fountain water rippled gently.

  Then Tom spoke again.

  “I didn’t run because of the creature.”

  Daniel’s jaw tightened slightly.

  “Then why?”

  Tom picked at the stone edge.

  “When you started speaking… I couldn’t understand it. But it didn’t sound foreign.”

  Daniel said nothing.

  Tom continued, slower.

  “It sounded familiar. Like something I’ve heard before.”

  “That’s not possible.”

  “I know.”

  Silence again.

  Then Tom added, almost reluctantly:

  “And the creature wasn’t afraid.”

  Daniel’s heart skipped.

  “It was… wating."

  “For what?”

  Tom looked at him directly now.

  “For you to finish.”

  The words hung between them.

  No thunder. No dramatic wind. No glowing eyes.

  Just quiet discomfort.

  Daniel looked away first.

  “That doesn’t mean anything,” he said.

  “I know,” Tom repeated.

  But neither of them believed it.

  Footsteps approached from the far archway.

  Scarlett emerged from the corridor leading toward Nihilara grounds.

  She stopped when she saw them.

  “You two vanished without saying anything,” she said sharply. “Do you know how that looks during exam week?”

  Tom stood. “I just needed air.”

  Scarlett crossed her arms. “You could have taken it without disappearing.”

  Daniel noticed something.

  She wasn’t angry.

  She was worried.

  Scarlett’s gaze shifted to Daniel.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  She gave him a look that clearly meant she didn’t believe that.

  “Head Boy is already watching everyone after last night,” she added. “If anyone loses more points before exams—”

  “We won’t,” Tom said.

  Scarlett studied him for a second longer.

  Then she spoke quieter.

  “The creature wasn’t random.”

  Neither boy answered.

  Scarlett continued, “Nihilara archives mention something similar once. Not exact. But close.”

  Daniel looked up. “What?”

  She hesitated.

  “Creatures that respond to sound patterns. Not words. Patterns.”

  Tom frowned. “Like commands?”

  “Not exactly. More like… resonance.”

  Daniel felt something shift inside his chest.

  Scarlett continued quickly, as if regretting speaking too much.

  “But that doesn’t mean anything. It could’ve just reacted to noise.”

  Tom gave a small nod.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  But again, none of them fully believed it.

  The courtyard bell rang.

  Curfew warning.

  Scarlett straightened. “Back to your common rooms. Before we lose points again.”

  She turned toward the Nihilara archway.

  Daniel and Tom walked toward the Dracorus side.

  Halfway there, Tom slowed.

  “Daniel.”

  “What?”

  “If something feels off again…”

  Daniel looked at him.

  “Don’t wait,” Tom said. “Just tell me.”

  Daniel gave a small nod.

  “I will.”

  It was simple.

  Honest.

  Not dramatic.

  But heavier than it should’ve been.

  That night, in the Dracorus dormitory, the room was dark except for faint moonlight.

  Tom fell asleep quickly.

  Daniel didn’t.

  He stared at the ceiling.

  The castle is adjusting.

  The creature was waiting.

  Resonance.

  None of it made sense.

  After a while, he turned on his side.

  And that’s when he noticed something small.

  Very small.

  Tom’s bed curtains were slightly open.

  And the shadow cast by the bedpost…

  Didn’t match the shape of the post.

  Daniel blinked.

  It corrected itself instantly.

  Normal again.

  He held his breath.

  Maybe he imagined it.

  Maybe he was just tired.

  He slowly closed his eyes.

  But just before sleep took him—

  He heard something faint.

  Not outside.

  Not in the corridor.

  Inside the room.

  A soft sound.

  Like someone exhaling.

  Right beside Tom’s bed.

  And when Daniel opened his eyes—

  The shadow near Tom’s bedpost was not touching the floor.

  It was standing.

  And it was facing him.