The second morning of detention had the color of the lake's depths. The thin light filtering into the Slytherin dormitory was always tinged with green. Light passing through the water's surface cast wavering shadows on the stone walls. The other students were still asleep. Rhythmic breathing. The swell of blankets. In that silence, Aurelia opened her eyes. She reached toward the pillow. Her fingertips found nothing but the cold touch of stone. (……My diary.) She slowly pushed herself up. She lifted the pillow. She checked under the bed. She scanned the floor. She searched through the blankets. Nothing. She had definitely placed it here last night. She had fallen asleep after confirming the feel of the leather spine. It was gone. Aurelia rose quietly and walked the room from end to end. Her belongings. Inside her bag. Pockets of her uniform. Corners of the floor. The top of the window frame. Nothing. The student in the next bed stirred. Their eyes met. "Did you see my diary?" She spoke in a low, quiet voice. The student shook their head. They looked away. She asked another student the same thing. That student also shook their head. No one would meet her eyes. (……I see.) Aurelia stood in the center of the room, recalling what she had written in her diary. ——I'm scared. I feel like I won't be able to stop this emotion anymore. She had written that. But there was more. She had written about the herbology garden. About when Professor Snape's fingertips drew near. "I could see that the professor has been carrying something alone in the depths of his eyes for a very long time"——she had written sentences like that. The pit of her stomach went cold. Not emotion. This was recognition. (Lynnea is involved.) It was intuition. There was no evidence. But she was certain. Right now, there was nothing she could do. During detention, she couldn't even leave the dormitory. If she went around asking her dormmates, that alone would become new gossip. The shadow in the corner of the room deepened slightly. The lines between the stones in the wall seemed to grow a little deeper. Aurelia clenched her fist. She crushed the emotion. One by one, carefully. Outside the window, the black lake rippled. --- The next day, before noon, she went down to the common room. The bulletin board was beside the stone wall. Usually it displayed announcements of events and dormitory rules. Today, a single different piece of paper was posted. Aurelia stopped. The surface of the paper was covered with cut-out letters pasted together. Different handwriting, different sizes. Like a patchwork. ——I'm scared. I feel like I won't be able to stop this emotion anymore. In the depths of the professor's eyes……I could see that he has been carrying something alone for a very long time. He became quiet in front of that man. Because she knew the original, she could tell. Those were separate sentences. The part from "In the depths of the professor's eyes……" onward was words from a different page where she had written about the herbology garden. Cut out, connected, and twisted into a completely different meaning. Voices came from around her. "No way……Professor Snape?" "Figures. That exiled girl is crazy." "Isn't it gross? The professor is 38 years old." Laughter mixed in. The atmosphere of the common room shifted to the color of mockery. Aurelia stared at the bulletin board without moving. She wouldn't let her emotions move. The Obscurus would respond. She absolutely could not let it move now. "[gentle]Are you alright……? How terrible, that someone would do such a thing." A voice came. When she turned, purple hair swayed. Lynnea was looking at her with a worried expression. Golden eyes held a soft light. Aurelia looked into the depths of those eyes. There was satisfaction there. Flames danced. Behind the perfect smile shaped like concern. (You did this.) She was certain. But she wouldn't say it. Even if she did, there was no proof. If she showed anger here, it would only become more evidence of the "dangerous transfer student who can't control her emotions." And the Obscurus would respond. "[cold]……Thank you." She answered briefly. Lynnea's smile wavered for just a moment. Perhaps her reaction was different from what had been expected. That was enough. --- In the evening, she was called to the corridor. Or rather, precisely——a small slip of paper had been inserted through the gap in her dormitory door. Potions Research Chamber. After sunset. That was all it said. She recognized the handwriting. She descended the stone steps toward the dungeons. The smell of potions stung her nose. The scent of damp stone. The flickering light of torches. The usual corridor. The door to the research chamber was closed. She knocked. There was no answer. But the door opened. When she entered, it was darker than usual. Only half the torches were lit. The glass bottles of specimens on the shelves floated as mere outlines in the darkness. Snape stood with his back to the window. He wasn't facing her. His black robes seemed ready to dissolve into the darkness of the room. "[cold]From now on, do not approach me outside of my classes. All private contact with me is forbidden." He spoke without turning around. Aurelia stopped near the door. She didn't ask why. There was no need to. Since this morning, rumors had spread throughout the dormitory. Romantic feelings toward Professor Snape. Student and teacher. Scandal. If this reached Headmaster Dumbledore's ears, what would become of Snape's position? The career he had built over years, his standing at Hogwarts, all of it threatened by these rumors now. So this was the right decision. Her head understood it all. She bit her lip. (I understand.) The moment she thought that, the back of her eyes grew hot. No matter how hard she tried to crush it, it wasn't fast enough. A single tear traced down her cheek. Snape turned around. When she saw his face——in that instant, Snape's expression changed. For just one second. For barely one second, the iron mask slipped. Something began to seep out from beneath it. Then it was gone. "[serious]Leave." His voice was low and quiet. Aurelia bowed. She opened the door. She stepped into the corridor. Just before the door closed, she glanced back. Snape had placed his right hand gently on the edge of the desk. His fingers quietly gripped the stone edge. The door closed. That was when it happened. The torches in the corridor all went out at once. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh——one after another. The flames were sucked away and extinguished, and the stone corridor became pitch black. An older student who happened to be passing through let out a startled cry and pressed their hand against the wall. "[whispers]……I'm sorry." In the darkness, Aurelia whispered softly. The older student took a while to steady their breathing, then carefully made their way through the darkness and disappeared. Aurelia was left alone. Her emotion had moved. It had leaked again. She clenched her fist hard. Her nails dug into her palm. She gritted her teeth. She crushed it. All of it, carefully, one by one. The torches slowly began to light again. --- It was deep night. She couldn't sleep. She lay in bed, but only watched the wavering shadows on the ceiling. The same words repeated in her mind. She had been driven out of her previous school. Here too, she was isolated. The one person she had begun to trust had rejected her. No, she thought. That wasn't rejection. That person had said it to protect her. She understood. She understood it all. But it hurt. Even when you understood, pain was still pain. Aurelia got out of bed. She quietly opened the dormitory door. No one was awake. She climbed seven flights of stairs to the Astronomy Tower. Stone steps continued upward. The spacing between torches grew wider, and it became darker the higher she went. She walked without making a sound. It was past the time when students were restricted from entering, but that didn't matter now. She reached the top of the tower. The October night wind struck her entire body. Cold. Painfully cold. Scottish autumn held a real bite. Her breath turned white immediately. She placed her hand on the stone railing. There was a small sound. Sizzle. The stone where her palm touched turned black and crumbled. Fine as sand, silent. Aurelia shifted her hand slightly. Again, sizzle. It crumbled again. (……This is bad.) She looked at her fingertips. From her pale fingers, a thin black mist leaked out like smoke. So faint it was barely visible, but it was definitely leaking. It wasn't stopping. The Obscurus was approaching its limit. Aurelia pulled her hand away from the railing and clasped both hands together in front of her chest. Her knuckles turned white from the force. She looked up at the sky. The night sky spreading above Hogwarts was endless. Not a single cloud. The October stars visible from Scotland were numerous. Stars that wouldn't be visible from southern cities——she could see them all from here. If she loved, she would destroy. If she drew near, she would wound. Her very existence was not permitted to stand beside anyone. That thought stimulated the Obscurus, and the mist from her fingertips grew slightly thicker. The stone of the railing crumbled a little more. She moved only her lips, without sound. ——I'm so tired. The moment she finished saying those words, the black mist expanded once, greatly. It dissolved into the night wind and vanished. The fractured surface of the stone was pale and dry. Aurelia remained looking up at the stars, unmoving. She couldn't grip the railing. She kept both hands clasped in front of her chest, simply standing there. The mist continued to leak. Thin, quiet, without stopping. If she kept suppressing it like this, what would happen? She already knew.