It's easy to laugh at others, much harder to laugh at ourselves. But it's more rewarding. it lightens out lives. It brightens others' lives. It built self-confidence and self-worth. It endears us to others. And life is too short to take it too seriously.

- Unknown

It took me another week to fully master the invisibility spell. I usually managed to grasp spells quite quickly, but this one had been a struggle. At last, though, I could perform it decently. I wondered why I had never gotten around to learning it before, as it was quite a handy spell. A simple "Revelio" could undo it, but then they'd have to notice first.

As soon as I deemed my skills adequate, I started keeping a closer eye on Draco. We hadn't talked at all in the past few days, as I barely saw him. He didn't show up for patrol and even skipped a class. I forced myself not to worry. I had to draw the line at some point.

"I'm headed to the library to finish that Potions essay", I told Daphne and Tracey as we walked out of the Charms classroom. It was a lie, as I had finished that essay ages ago, but I had to. I had noticed Draco's gesture to Crabbe and Goyle, so I knew what he was up to. It was time to find out what he didn't want to tell me.

"See you at supper", Tracey shrugged.

I made sure I blended into the mass of students as I walked out, following Draco and the two goons. I quickly slipped into a storage room to perform the spell and take off my shoes. Although the spell made me invisible, it didn't mask sound and performing a Silencio spell on a person was way too risky, especially if that person was yourself.

I checked the hallway and slipped out when no one was around. Sure they couldn't see me, but a door opening and closing without a person in proximity was suspicious, even at Hogwarts.

Since I knew where they were headed, I had quickly caught up with them. Luckily the Charms classroom was already on the third floor, meaning that I had to take half the amount of stairs I endured last time. In a few minutes, we reached the peculiar empty wall that would soon turn into a door.

I had to act quickly, I had to slip in with Draco, without making a sound. The best thing about the invisibility spell was that it didn't matter if I touched him, he wouldn't feel it. The disillusionment charm only disguises the target in its surroundings, still touchable, but the invisibility spell just made me ... gone. Unfortunately it didn't allow me to pass through walls, which would have been exceptionally useful.

It was weird. I could feel everything, such as the ground beneath my feet, but when I looked down, there was nothing. I could touch things, like the wand in my hand, yet someone could punch straight through me and I wouldn't feel a thing. I loved magic.

I approached them slowly, but they seemed to not be in a hurry.

"Go ahead, no one is around", Draco said, scanning the hallway. It was weird to stand there and see him looking right through me. Just now I noticed the flasks in Crabbe and Goyle's hands. They both shrugged and drank whatever liquid was inside.

I had never seen the effect of a Polyjuice Potion before, but immediately as I saw what was happening, Granger's words rang in my head. That one is Polyjuice Potion, a potion that allows the drinker to assume the form of someone else. It's terribly tricky to make. How had Draco gotten his hands on that potion?

In mere moments, Crabbe and Goyle had turned into two young Slytherin girls and I had to hold my breath not to chuckle at the sight. But soon, Draco started pacing in front of the door again and I knew I had to focus.

The lines appeared again, slowly turning into a door. I got as close as I could, merely a couple feet away from Draco and made sure my breaths were inaudible. Draco opened the door and I forced myself to get even closer, acting as his shadow. I had to get in there with him. He opened the door and entered the room, and so did I.

I felt a rush of euphoria as I managed to squeeze into the room unnoticed before he closed the door. I didn't dare to walk away yet, afraid to make any noise, so I just stood still, analysing his every move. He was closer to me than he had been in almost two weeks and it hurt. I really missed him, but I knew that I had to be strong. I had to be selfish for a while.

But his hand didn't leave the door knob. He just stood there for a while, not moving, his lean fingers wrapped around the metal. I didn't dare to breath. Did he notice something? Was he suspicious?

But then he let go and walked into the room.

I waited a good while before I followed him, allowing myself to breathe again. I analysed the room we were in. It was quite a mess, with random pieces of furniture and little nick-nacks everywhere. It sort of looked like a very large version of Borgin and Burkes, but I couldn't even see where the room ended.

Draco seemed very interested in a particular piece of furniture, covered by a veil. As soon as I saw the piece, I recalled a memory from the day of my leave to Hogwarts this year. Maybe it was because this room reminded me of Borgin and Burkes, but the memory of seeing Draco in that shop on September first, standing next to a similar sized object, covered by a similar veil, was very clear in my head. How had he gotten that thing in here? Surely the Room of Requirement couldn't just teleport objects from one place to another.

I only understood when he pulled off the piece of fabric. In front of him stood a large black cabinet with an intricate design on the front. I had seen one before, possibly this one, on one of the last days of school last year. I was walking around the castle with Draco, somewhere on the first floor, when I saw it. When Draco noticed my gaze, he told me about an incident with Montague a few weeks prior, where the Weasley twins had shoved him into one, causing quite the drama, since the cabinet was broken. I hadn't paid much attention to it, but I was sure that this was the same object.

What was Draco doing with a Vanishing Cabinet?

I had read about those objects before. They were used often in the previous Wizarding War. It was much like a passageway between two places. There was one at Borgin and Burkes. It didn't take long for me to connect the dots. Draco was repairing the cabinet, so there was a passageway between Hogwarts and Borgin and Burkes. The only remaining question was: a passageway for what?

Taking his task into account, it could still be anything; a weapon, a special potion, other Death Eaters, the Dark Lord or anything that could help him commit the murder he was asked to commit. Or maybe, maybe it was just a way for him to get out of here after he had killed Dumbledore. Apparating within Hogwarts was not possible, so this would be a very clever way of transport.

"Harmonia Nectere Passus", I heard his soft voice, echoing through the eerily quiet room. I walked a little closer, making sure not to make a sound.

I noticed the object in his hand and I couldn't help but smile. It was an apple, a green one. He opened the cabinet and placed the apple inside of it. He closed it again and muttered the same words, his wand directed at the cabinet.

When he opened the cabinet, I saw a flash of a smile on his face, something I hadn't seen in a month. His silver eyes glistened and I felt warm inside. I couldn't let myself get pulled back to him so easily because of a bloody smile. Not this time.

I couldn't see what made him smile, but I didn't dare to come closer. It was too quiet in this room. He closed the cabinet again. He muttered the same words, Harmonia Nectere Passus. I forced myself to memorise the words so I could look them up in a spellbook later.

Draco opened the cabinet again, but there was no smile this time. There was a soft curse, followed by a long sigh. He was struggling, clearly. If he would just let me help, maybe he wouldn't have to. But I was done offering something he didn't want.

I spent almost two hours in that room, in the same spot, not making a sound. Luckily, Draco gave up on trying before supper, as I was slowly starting to get hungry and a rumbling stomach would sound like a whale's call in this dead quiet room.

I don't think Draco succeeded as he didn't look very happy when he pulled the veil over the cabinet. I wanted so badly to help him, to do research and to fix this with him, but he didn't want me to. He didn't want me.

I held my breath again as I followed him towards the exit. I had to sneak out the same way I had snuck in. It had gone well the first time, but I didn't know what would happen if Draco would leave this place with me in it. Could I just wait it out and leave later, or would I be stuck here until he returned? I didn't want to take the chance, so I just decided to go with the previous technique. I held my breath and shadowed him, longing to touch him, almost being able to feel him so close to me.

Maybe I could. Maybe I could put my hand on his, he wouldn't feel it anyway. But I couldn't. He had made his choice to do this without me, so I had to go on without him too.

And then his hand lingered on the doorknob again, like he had done when coming in. I was about to come up with a million reasons why that could be, as he spoke, so very softly.

"Close the door behind you, Ellie", he said. "Quite clever, using the Invisibility Charm, but I've gotten good at noticing your winter berries over time."