CHAPTER 11
The oak door of the hufflepuff common room swung shut behind them with a low, heavy thud that seemed to vibrate through the soles of their feet and die instantly in the damp earth of the corridor.
Outside, the basement hallway was cool, the air smelling of ancient limestone, old root cellars, and the sharp, clean scent of the morning highland air drifting down from the courtyard above.
This is a work of fan-created imagination, woven within the tapestry of the Harry Potter universe. The echoes of Hogwarts, its ancient stones, and its spells belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and the Wizarding World. We acknowledge with gratitude her publishers - Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and Scholastic in the United States - who first brought this magic to light. The original characters found within these pages - Dave, Mira, Rea, Miranda, and Meri - are the exclusive intellectual property of the author.