The hallways and corridors have fallen silent again outside of the chatter of students and professors. The haunting sounds of the stolen voices and ceaseless music have ended–much to the relief of everyone within the castle. Since Sunday, we have been taunted by the sounds of either a constant ticking, haunting pipe organ, or the stolen voices of our classmates and professors. This article will lay out what we know and how things played out over the past week…as well as the outcomes that we are aware of, for now.
The timeline goes like this. Saturday, the night of the Halloween Bash, was the first sign that something had gone horribly wrong. There were the faint sounds of the pipe organ and a low ticking. The pipe organ had appeared in the fifth story of the clocktower and it had already claimed its first victim, based on the blood that several people had witnessed on the floor. It was already in a defensive mood, blasting hot steam and trumpeting loud notes of music if anyone should get too close. Professor Van der Brough had her voice stolen that night when she touched the organ. We also learned that it was preying upon people for their voices to add to its collection and range. It began to lure some of our younger year students to it, to the point of needing to be physically pulled away by our professors.
On Sunday, the music grew in volume and strange additional pipes began to appear, seeming to grow out of the walls of the Castle. One of our ghosts, Benjamin Wood flew through the organ in an attempt to get a better look at it. First years once again heard the lure of the pipe organ, as it began to mimic the voices of their loved ones. On Sunday, Professor Blightly found her own voice stolen by the pipe organ-though the circumstances are still unknown.
On Monday, the Defence Against the Dark Arts class that is normally led by Professor Vikander was hijacked by the pipe organ (and thus the castle), forcing the students out of the classroom and turning the doors to work against its inhabitants, sending the students, somehow through the door and into the clocktower. It had taken its second victim, this time a student, at some point in the day. The pipe organ used her voice to lure its third victim, another first-year student and her best friend. At the same time, according to the information that we gleaned over the past week, the pipe organ used a door to take Headmistress O’Keeffe. The disastrous Defence Against the Dark Arts class ended with several other voices snatched away with a splattering of blood. From that point on, the music was nonstop. The doors began to play tricks and the stolen voices were used against our friends and professors, trying to lure others to meet their doom.
On Tuesday, the pipe organ struck again. According to my sources within the Professor circle, they were in a staff meeting when the pipe organ attacked. The Professors split up and some went to the great hall to organise the students there, whilst others went to rescue students who had once more been lured into the clocktower. From that point until Thursday night, the Great Hall became our refuge. We ate and slept in the room while the Professors, Head Students, and Prefects took turns guarding those who were sleeping. Even there, though, we were not safe. The music never ended–getting inside our minds. Wednesday and Thursday was filled with more of the same. Attacks made by the pipe organ. And two more people, a Professor and a member of the Ministry of Magic’s Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, were taken sometime in the night on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. In total, six people were taken by the pipe organ and sixteen voices were taken.
This all leads us up to the events of Halloween Night.
At the end of Care of Magical Creatures, the paintings in the long gallery began banging on the portraits and the pipes began dripping blood. The class ended quickly as a sense of urgency filled the air. Everyone needed to get back to the Great Hall, the final stand. Older years began placing shields wherever they felt would be vulnerable to an attack. Younger years began preparing as well. Teamwork was key and time was needed. The pipes began to try to spew blood on the students trying to steal voices that it did not already own. Leaks appeared and through the teamwork of professors and students, that tactic was overcome. The next wave of attack came from the floor. The blood began to seep under a doorway and a geyser of blood erupted from the Headmistress’ podium. Through quick thinking and some rather creative spells, our Professors stopped up that leak.
Then all was still again.
The stillness was the scariest part because people began to slowly fall asleep, and once they had, vines opened up the floor and took them.
This is where things got weird. [Editor’s Note: You mean, weirder.]
Each group woke up in front of a maze that tested their skills and abilities, ultimately leading them to a tree with crystal green apples embedded into it. From the branches, however, hung other fruit- our six missing people. Different groups did different things to try to save them from the reports that I had collected, but none of them seemed to work. Apples were gathered and once that happened, people were drawn back into a deep slumber only to be awoken in the set up for the Halloween Bash. The crystal green apples had been transformed into brilliant red apples, each one with a name of a person who’s voice had been stolen. It was discovered that upon eating the apple, their voice would be restored. Time passed–no one is sure how much–and with each apple that was eaten, the pipe organ would angrily start to play interrupted by the crashes of the pipes falling to the floor, loud enough to be heard wherever we were. Words were said about the pipe organ that we cannot print here–but it allowed the students a glimpse into the humanity of our Professors.
Suddenly, the floor seemed to vanish and it was the same situation as Monday in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Everyone was together- in the clocktower. The pipe organ was pulsing and angrily playing. Those who had been trapped in the dream world pounded down the now-familiar path. And the same sense of urgency filled everyone.
This had to end now.
Upper years and Professors alike began casting spells against the pipe organ and one by one, those who had been taken fell out of the gears. Until finally the pipe organ cracked open, revealing the final (and possibly first victim) Professor Vikander.
It is still unknown what caused the creation of the pipe organ to start with. Let alone what it wanted, besides our voices. Those are still a mystery and we can only hope that those answers will be revealed in future.
But for now, we must be content to reflect upon what we have learned. This entire situation really drove home what Professor Vikander has been preaching since he got here. We have to be on our guard. We have to be at the top of our game. And we have to be ready for anything at any time. Like it or not, this is the world that we live in. Older students can attest to this, anything can go sideways without any warning, and we have to be able to keep a level head (which, Healer Phoenix mentioned that she was rather proud at how level headed we were all week). So, let’s enjoy the peace and the silence that has now descended upon the castle, replacing the dreaded music of the night. And reflect upon what we did wrong and what we could improve on for next time. Because there will always be a next time–and who knows, it might be one that will be deadly.