Hogwarts Alternate Ending

“All students under seventeen must evacuate Hogwarts now!” The Ravenclaw Head Girl shouts. Her eyes are red-rimmed and her hands are trembling, yet her voice remains as clear and strong as ever. “Seventeen-year-olds, you may choose to stay and fight or evacuate with the rest of us.” I see a steely determination in her eyes, and her hand goes to her wand pocket. She’s going to stay.

I’m only in second-year, which means I have to go. Now.

But. . .

Hogwarts. Oh my Rowena Ravenclaw, Hogwarts has been salvation for me. Freedom. From the depths of wizard poverty to the beauty of eating like kings, sleeping in feather-stuffed beds, learning about the most enchanting of subjects.

I can’t go back.

My father told me once, “If you have the chance, Beth, take it. It’s your life. You’re not bound by what others tell you you are. You don’t have to crumble into our legacy. We. . . we messed up. But you have a chance to do
Then, in one swift, fluid motion, I hoist my whole body over and remove my hands from the banister railing to the bottom step. And here I dangle.

I steal a glance down, dismayed to find the staircase I need all the way across the chamber. I don’t know when it will move again, and by then I may get too tired of hanging to carry on. I look back up, watch the rest of the black-booted feet disappear into a narrow hallway, and return my gaze to my hands. They’ve started to shake slightly.

Before long, my breathing grows heavier, and my arms start to feel like they have lead weights strapped to them. My hands are really trembling now, slick with sweat. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.

Then suddenly from below me I hear an eerie grinding noise and look over my shoulder. Two staircases are changing position. They twist and rotate until one of the staircases lies twenty feet below me. In the right position, but way too far to