Rumors had picked up within the first few weeks returning from Christmas break concerning the whereabouts of Beatrix Dark. No one really knew what happened. Most were betting on a fight between the Dark twins, but there were whispers going around that Bellatrix had actually killed her elder twin. Why? Because Bella was psychotic and had a bad temper. What more reason did one need? There was also the mystery as to why the Slytherin sixth year had stayed hidden in the girls' dormitory all the time. The gossip from the other houses was that she was plotting how to cover it up; Slytherin girls who shared the dorm knew better. They could hear her quietly sobbing every night. Whatever had happened, Bellatrix hadn't said a word about the incident.

Recently, she had taken to strolling around the castle and grounds late after dinner. The normal fierce spark in her eyes seemed to have died out and all that was left of the former resident psycho was a hollow shell. However much she tried to hide the empty eyes with mascara or cover up her thinning body with interesting outfits, the truth was that Bellatrix was haunted by something. In fact, "haunting" was exactly what she was doing on the fourth floor that Tuesday evening.

Her wanderings tonight had taken her all the way up to the Ravenclaw tower, a place where she used to meet her sister or now estranged best friend Peyton Wentworth whenever she needed to talk about something that was truly upsetting her. She had stood outside the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room for a good half an hour until one of the girls, unsettled by Bella's looming presence, had told her to piss off. Without so much as a word, the Slytherin girl sauntered off and found herself among the studious denizens in the library. Through that maze, she had aimlessly meandered until something convinced her that she would not find her mirroring persona among the students. Thus, she left.

She had not gone too far when she lost the mood to find something to distract her. Instead, Bella had taken a disturbing interest in a crack on the wall of the fourth floor. A muted sigh escaped her and she moved a few inches to the left to stare out the window at the grounds. Her wand was safely tucked away in her boot as always, but she had lost the will to duel and hex people. No one would believe her so she simply didn't say it out loud.