The light flickered and she glanced to the small lamp lighting her lone table in the library. The oil was almost gone. It was getting late anyway. She sighed and stood, closing her book gently. It wasn't unusual for her to stay hours after the library closed; Madame Pince never noticed, and she was always gentle with the books. She gathered her things and stood quietly, brushing a strand of frizzy, brown-red hair behind an ear. She straightened her glasses and left the library, taking her Mermish translation book with her.

The castle was quiet at night, but that wasn't unusual either. Many nights she had walked the empty hallways and corridors. The empty, silent castle almost felt like a friend to her now, after five years living here. Almost. She had no friends.

She heard footsteps and leaned against the wall. Light from a lantern illuminated the corridor and Filch stepped into her vision. She relaxed herself into the shadows and watched him pass. His cat glanced in her direction and stopped a moment, trying to see deeper into the darkness, but then she looked away, trotting after her master. She waited for their footsteps to fade before continuing on her way. Her own steps made no sound on the marble floors as she walked up staircase after staircase, approaching Ravenclaw tower. She reached a tall, blue door with a bronze eagle knocker that sprang to life as she reached the top step.

"Why can't light illuminate the darkness?" it spoke.

"Darkness is light's equal and opposite. To illuminate it is to make it light, and when it is light, it is no longer itself. Furthermore, by illuminating one spot of darkness, the light casts a new shadow in which darkness lurks. In short, light cannot illuminate, or truly destroy, that which it propagates." She promptly replied. She never had an issue answering its riddles,

"Well put." The eagle became still and the door swung open to reveal the common room. Many tall bookshelves lined the walls. She brushed her fingers along their spines at she made her way to the stairway leading to the girls dormitory and her room. Up the spiral staircase, she counted each stair, as usual. There were exactly thirty-four stairs from the common room up to her dorm, and the bathroom was only twelve more steps up. She could, and had walked up and down this staircase with her eyes closed, her hand sliding gently up the polished, wooden railing.

She quietly opened the door to her room and shut it softly. She glanced around the room at the three beds nearest the door. Her roommates slept peacefully, their chests rising and falling with each small breath they took. She watched them for a moment then stepped carefully over to her own bed in the corner of the room, under the window. The other girls had left this bed un-chosen last, likely due to the draft, but she didn't mind it at all. She was out of the way here. She put down her book bag and took out her Mermish book, placing it on her nightstand for the morning. She stripped off her clothes and quickly dressed in her flannel pajamas. Her hand brushed something silkier in her trunk as she put away her clothes, and she pulled out a pale yellow nightgown with a price tag still on it. Jenna must have bought it for her and packed it in her trunk while she wasn't paying attention. The cloth slid pleasantly over her fingers but she put it back in the trunk underneath her other things, tucking it away. She was more comfortable in her flannel. Flannel was less noticeable.

She unbraided her hair and brushed it out, setting her glasses on top of her book. The pulled back the blankets and climbed under the covers. Closing her eyes she drifted off to a thankfully dreamless sleep.

She woke suddenly and sat up. The other girls were still asleep. The sunlight had only just started peeking through the window, making its slow crawl down the wall. She got out of bed and gathered her clothes, book, and other things for the day. She tip-toed past the other girls in their beds and quietly opened and shut the door then took the twelve steps up to the girl's bathroom.

She set down her things and laid out her clothes for the day in a neat pile next to her shoes. She removed her flannel letting it fall to the floor and stepped in the shower. She turned the heat on as high as it could go and tilted her head forward stepping into the steaming water. The temperature would scald almost anyone else, and made her skin turn pink. It had taken a long time for her body to get used to water that hot, but any cooler and she didn't feel clean afterwards. She ran her hands over her arms and body, long used to the stiff ridges that criss-crossed her skin. Her eyes caught one thin line running down the outside of her arm from her elbow, stopping a few inches from her wrist. She stared at it for a moment, remembering it was the final one she had received long ago. She shook her head. There were things to do. She finished in the shower, dried off, and dressed herself in a long sleeve gray turtle-neck and a long, dark brown skirt. She moved to the mirror, checking the collar of her shirt, making sure it came to her jaw. She put on her glasses and then set about taming her hair, brushing it then braiding it back. The pieces around her face fell from the braid, as usual; too short to be pulled back with the rest.

She made her way down the forty-six stairs to the common room. People were milling about now. Some half-awake, others cheerfully talking about this and that, getting ready for their day. One of her room mates was awake, beaming across the room at the sixth year boy she currently fancied. Adjusting the book bag on her shoulder, she made her way across the common room. No one looked at her. No one saw her pass through or leave. She walked down the staircase leading to the rest of the castle and made her way into the great hall. She chose a seat back, away from the faculty table near the giant blue and bronze banner that hung on the stone wall. Food popped up on the plates and dishes near her, the house elves out doing themselves once again. She picked up a piece of toast and opened the book, immersing herself in the Mermish language again. Another week or two and she'd be fluent. Then she'd pick up a book on Gobledegook. Or she might send a letter to Jenna asking for another Riddle book, or a new puzzle. She'd solved the last tavern puzzle weeks ago, and had been reworking the iron pieces so often she could solve it in half a minute now, and that was only because it took time to inch the pieces back and forth precisely so.

She started on some strawberries in the bowl to her left thinking the matter over. Jenna would be happy to send her a few books or puzzles, but she didn't want to bother her either. No matter what Jenna said about it not inconveniencing her, she couldn't help not wanting to get in the way. It had been ingrained in her to stay out from underfoot. And she was still too uncomfortable to ask Paul for anything. He was a kind man, but it had taken her long enough to get used to Jenna's motherly presence, let alone an actual fatherly figure. Even after five years of living with them, she still jumped after hearing a door slam shut, and cringed away when they tried to touch her or hold her. She was glad they were as patient as they were kind. She was trying.

Breakfast ended and classes began. The day went by as usual; Potions, Herbology then lunch, Double Tranfigurations, and finally Arithmancy. Professor Vector had been discussing Numerology for the past two weeks. The other students were having trouble memorizing the symbols and meanings and she was a little frustrated by it. She had memorized them the night Professor Vector had introduced them to the class. But she sat patiently in the class, taking careful notes, determined to take in everything she could. Every extra bit of information another piece in the puzzle of her life.

At the end of class Vector passed back the last homework. She got an O, as usual. She packed up her things, pushing her glasses back up her nose and wiping her hands clean of the ink splotches she had acquired during class. It was time for dinner, but she didn't feel like putting up with all the noise and people, so she headed for the Owlry instead. She watched the owls come and go for a while, thinking, then pulled out a blank parchment and quill and began to write a letter.

Jenna,

I was wondering if you could send me a new puzzle or book.

She paused, her quill hovering over the paper. She thought it might be too short, but she couldn't think of anything else to add without it feeling forced. Jenna kept telling her not to force things, so she just looked for a school owl. One helpfully offered out a leg and she moved to roll up her letter and attach it when she noticed she hadn't signed her name yet. She laid the paper out flat again and signed it.

Thanks,

Raina

She watched the owl fly away idly, disappearing into the night.