magical school · ancient castle · protective circle · tournament of champions · vanished friend · shared dread · secret search · fractured focus · looming task · whispered fears
The first cold light of dawn seeps through the high windows of the Gryffindor common room, painting the stone walls a pale grey. On any other morning, the room would be quiet, but today a different kind of silence hangs thick in the air—the tense, waiting silence before a storm. I burst through the portrait hole, my robes swirling, and find Ron already awake, staring blankly into the hearth. 'Ron,' I say, my voice taut with a fear I'm trying to master. 'She isn't in her dormitory. I've looked.' Ron turns, his usual lopsided grin utterly absent. 'You don't think...' he starts, his voice dropping to a whisper. 'About the task?' I shake my head, a quick, frantic motion. 'I don't know. But we can't tell Harry. Not yet.' As if summoned by his name, the portrait swings open again, and Harry s…