Title: One Lonely Night Author: Missy! Theme: Helena Ravenclaw Prompt Word: Music
Helena had spent the entire day with her nose buried in a book in the library. The sky was growing dark, now. It was a wonderful way to spend a chilly January day. Helena felt a little guilty when she looked out the window and saw her peers headed into the castle after a long day of playing in the snow. Perhaps she was meant to be down there, throwing snowballs, or off running through the halls and giggling gossip with her fellow students. She'd never seen much of a point in doing those things. She could get anything and everything she ever wanted from the dusty pages of some tome or another.
It was time for her to get out of the library, to head back to her dormitory for the night, maybe to spend some time with actual human beings. Helena pulled herself up from her comfortable chair and headed out of the library to seek some company. Most of the students had retired for the evening to prepare for early morning classes the next day. Helena found the hallways to be empty as she headed up toward her mother's Tower.
But then something floated along the hallway and caught her attention. Something soft, and melodic. It was a lute, maybe. Or someone's voice using a perfect vowel. Something light and airy, something wonderful. She turned to head in another direction, following the sound. It was almost hypnotic.
Wandering slowly down the corridors in the direction of the music, Helena trailed her fingertips along the wall. Something about the sound made her want to draw closer. She wanted more of it. It was her new favorite song in the world, and she'd never heard it before. Something was drawing her to the room, like a moth to a flame.
The door to the room was open, casting a column of light across the hallway. The open door was across from a tapestry of a wizard trying to teach some trolls to dance the ballet, Helena noticed. She turned to look through the doorway and paused.
One of her fellow students, one from Salazar's house, was sitting in the room and making the music with a lute. His eyes were closed, and the music was radiating from him as if heat from a fire. For a moment Helena could do nothing but stand and watch. The last thing she wanted was to interrupt him.
As she heard the song winding to a close, she knew she had to flee. With excitement and fear in her heart, she turned and rushed back down the hallway. Her heart was pounding as she turned the corner just in time, hearing the tail end of a voice calling from the room, asking "is someone there?"
Helena knew she would never forget that song, or the one who played it.