Five days to full moon

  The fear of the coming full moon hung over Arcanmere like a storm that refused to break. Even the castle walls, usually alive with flickering torches and warm magic, felt colder than usual. Students whispered in the corridors about the escaped prisoner, Aarav Blackthorne, and teachers avoided speaking about the matter openly. It was the first time in thirty years that Azkaban had ever reported a break-out, and the mere news made the youngest students sleep with their wands under their pillows.

  Daniel, Tom and Scarlett knew something larger was unfolding—something connected to Daniel’s mark, to the curse, to the shadows that stalked them in the Restricted Area, and now to this mysterious prisoner.

  The trio had promised each other they would no longer ignore the warnings. There were too many coincidences. Too many signs.

  They needed answers.

  And the only place they would find them… was in the ancient records.

  The Forgotten Archives

  The sun had barely risen when the trio slipped silently into the old Archives Room on the east wing of the castle. It was a place even Headmaster Albus Christ rarely visited—a dusty chamber where time itself seemed to move slower.

  The door groaned as Daniel pushed it open.

  Tom whispered, “This place looks like it’s older than the whole school.”

  Scarlett looked around carefully. Piles of scrolls lay stacked like old bones. Ink bottles had dried centuries ago. The air was filled with a thick smell of parchment and something bitter.

  “Look for anything about the Moon-Marked,” Daniel instructed quietly. “Old case files, curses, anything.”

  Scarlett nodded. “Split up. We’ll find more if we don’t stick together.”

  Daniel moved to the far right corner where cabinets were chained shut. Tom searched the tall shelves filled with books sealed with wax. Scarlett walked deeper into the dust-coated rows.

  A strange silence wrapped the archives.

  Not peaceful.

  But watchful.

  Almost as if the room itself was holding its breath.

  Scarlett Finds the First Clue

  Scarlett ran her fingers along a shelf labeled “Curses of the Eastern Realm.” Most books were thick, bound in dark leather. But one book was thinner, hidden behind others as if someone had shoved it away.

  She pulled it out.

  A faint spiral symbol glowed on its cover.

  The Mark of Lunaris.

  Her heart skipped.

  “Guys… I think I found something,” she whispered.

  Tom and Daniel rushed to her.

  She opened the book slowly. Its pages crackled like old leaves. Written inside was something that made her breath freeze.

  A drawing of a symbol that looked exactly like Daniel’s curse mark.

  Daniel leaned closer. “That’s mine…”

  No one spoke for a moment.

  Scarlett turned the page. It described something called the Moon-Marked Ritual—an ancient curse cast on chosen individuals by a dark wizard named Umbragon, meant to bind their souls to the moon.

  A sudden gust of cold air blew through the shelves.

  “Did you feel that?” Tom whispered.

  Scarlett closed the book quickly. Something didn’t feel right.

  Something was watching.

  A Shifting Shadow

  Daniel froze.

  “Don’t move,” he whispered.

  Behind the shelves, a black shape slid across the wall—thin, elongated, and silent. It clung to the stone like living ink.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Tom breathed out, “It’s here again…”

  Scarlett pulled out her wand. “Lumos.”

  The shadow jerked backward, shrinking like it had been burned by the light.

  Daniel stepped in front of his friends. “Why is it following us?”

  The shadow trembled. For a moment it took the faint shape of a humanoid figure, then split in two and darted into the cracks of the wall before disappearing completely.

  Scarlett swallowed. “It must have followed us from the Restricted Area.”

  Tom shook his head. “Or maybe it’s following Daniel.”

  Daniel didn’t deny it.

  But there was no time to panic. They had to keep searching.

  The Hidden Room

  When they continued searching, Scarlett noticed something strange on the far wall. A stone brick had scratch marks, like someone tried to scrape something off it.

  She pressed it.

  The wall clicked.

  A small gap opened, revealing a hidden passage.

  Daniel exhaled. “Scarlett… you genius.”

  Tom grinned nervously. “Or we just stepped into something we’ll regret.”

  The passage was narrow and dark. They walked inside, following the faint blue glow from Daniel’s mark. The air smelled of damp stone and old magic.

  The passage led to a small square room filled with scrolls scattered everywhere.

  Only one scroll was placed neatly in the center on a stone pedestal.

  Scarlett walked forward and unrolled it.

  What she read made her knees go weak.

  The Hidden Page

  “It’s a prophecy,” Scarlett whispered shakily.

  Daniel and Tom moved closer.

  Scarlett read aloud:

  “When the moon returns to its perfect circle,

  the Marked One shall face the Lake of Death.

  The shadow will chase,

  the prisoner will rise,

  and the curse shall claim the one chosen by Lunaris.”

  Tom whispered, “The prisoner… Aarav Blackthorne?”

  Scarlett continued reading.

  “Only the trinity of loyal hearts may break the cycle.

  But if the Marked One falls,

  the moon shall bleed

  and Arcanmere shall drown in darkness.”

  Daniel felt a chill run all the way down his spine.

  Scarlett’s hands trembled. “This is… about you, Daniel.”

  The room suddenly turned dark as the torches burned out one by one.

  Footsteps echoed behind them.

  The Shadow Strikes

  “Daniel—move!” Tom shouted.

  The shadow reappeared, bigger than before, stretching from floor to ceiling like a giant cloak made of darkness. Its edges rippled like smoke. It lunged toward Daniel.

  Tom pulled him back. “Run!”

  The trio sprinted out of the hidden room, slamming the stone door behind them. But the shadow seeped out through the cracks like liquid night.

  It followed them again.

  Scarlett fired a spell. “Lumos Maxima!”

  A burst of light lit the entire passage. The shadow hissed and coiled backward, melting into the floor before disappearing.

  “Why is it after us?” Tom panted.

  Scarlett said, “No. It’s after Daniel… and after that prophecy.”

  Daniel looked at his glowing mark. “And we still don’t know who wants me dead.”

  Tom placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. Even if a shadow, a curse and an escaped prisoner want to kill you.”

  Daniel tried to smile but failed.

  The Prisoner’s Connection

  Back in the archives, they found old criminal records dumped in a wooden crate. Tom pulled out the file labeled:

  Aarav Blackthorne – Azkaban Prisoner #1149

  Scarlett opened it.

  Aarav’s face stared back at them. Dark eyes. Long black hair. A crescent scar across his forehead.

  Daniel whispered, “He looks familiar…”

  Scarlett read the details:

  Convicted for practicing forbidden lunar magic

  Attempted to break the Moon-Marked cycle

  Last seen near the Death Lake thirty years ago

  Imprisoned after summoning a lunar shadow

  Served under Lord Umbragon

  Scarlett’s breath caught.

  “He… he served under Umbragon. That means he knows everything about the Moon-Marked.”

  Tom added, “And now he’s escaped. Which means he isn’t done.”

  Daniel clenched his fists. “Is he coming for me?”

  Scarlett closed the file. “We need to talk to Headmaster Albus Christ. He must know something he hasn’t told us.”

  Tom nodded. “But he’s hiding things too. You saw how he reacted when we mentioned the curse.”

  Daniel stepped back, thinking hard.

  “Then we find the truth ourselves.”

  The Moon Approaches

  They walked back into the corridor. The windows on the right wall showed the sky—dark clouds rolling slowly over the moon.

  Except…

  Tom stopped walking.

  “Why does the moon look brighter tonight?”

  Scarlett swallowed. “It’s growing.

  The full moon is only five days away.”

  Daniel’s mark burned painfully.

  Scarlett turned pale. “Daniel… the curse reacts to the moon. That means your time is running out.”

  Tom muttered, “We need answers fast. And we need to finish that Polyjuice Potion so we can slip into the Restricted Section again.”

  Scarlett nodded. “And we need to stay away from the shadows.”

  Daniel frowned.

  “What if the shadow… isn’t the enemy? What if it’s trying to warn us?”

  Scarlett shook her head. “Daniel, it tried to attack you.”

  Tom exhaled. “At this point everything is dangerous.”

  The Night Screams

  As they stepped out of the Archives, a horrifying scream echoed through the castle. Not human. Not animal.

  A long, shrill cry that seemed to come from the walls themselves.

  Daniel froze.

  Tom’s face drained of color.

  Scarlett whispered, “Please tell me that wasn’t…”

  Another scream echoed—closer this time.

  Students rushed out of their dorms, terrified. Professors ran toward the corridor. The torches flickered violently.

  Then Mrs. Elizabeth appeared, breathless, her face white.

  “Everyone return to your dorms immediately! Something has entered the castle!”

  Daniel whispered, “The shadow…?”

  Scarlett grabbed his arm. “Or Aarav Blackthorne.”

  The moonlight from the window turned unnaturally bright.

  Daniel’s mark pulsed like a heartbeat.

  The scream echoed once more.

  The castle trembled.

  The full moon was coming.

  And they were running out of time.