After classes:

I met Lotty after the last class of the day. We went to the treehouse. We had decided to explore the tunnel, which we've been curious about ever since we found it.

"We go in the direction that leads away from the Forbidden Forest,"I said,"I don't think we should explore the other way."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking,"Lotty agreed.

"Maybe we should tell Ed we're going to explore it,"I said,"in case something happens, someone needs to know where we are."

"It's alright, I already told him,"Lotty said.

"You did?"I said.

"Yeah,"Lotty answered,"I saw him in the Great Hall on my way here. I asked him if he wanted to come, but he said he doesn't like the smell of Bundimuns."

"Understandable,"I said,"shall we go, then?"

The Forbidden Forest was just as eerie as usual. I had always thought that the moment you stepped one foot inside it, an angry Centaur would come up and kick you out; but no Centaurs came last time, and they probably wouldn't this time either.

We found the hole in the rotten planks where Lotty had fallen down. Using Anita's rope, we descended into the darkness. Lotty went first, and I followed. I could see the light from her wand glowing welcomingly.

"Lumos!"

Now both our wands were lit. There was still an awful stench, but no sign of the Bundimun. We set off along the tunnel in the chosen direction. It didn't go far before we arrived at a dead end.

"It can't just end like that,"I said,"what kind of tunnel doesn't lead anywhere?"

We examined the brick wall in front of us, and cast revealing spells.

I suddenly felt extremely unwell and disorientated. I sat on the ground. I ached all over, it felt like I'd rolled down a long, rocky hill. My head was pounding and I felt a strong sense of anxiety and impending doom; like something really bad had happened - or had already happened. Also I felt like something was - missing.

"Lotty! Are you alright?"I asked, bewildered.

"I don't know,"Lotty said,"I suddenly feel anxious for no reason. Let's get out of here!"

"Maybe there's an enchantment on this wall,"I said, as Lotty made her way back up the rope,"some kind of enchantment keeping people from discovering what's behind it, like the one in the Foxhole Chamber."

"Yes,"Lotty agreed,"maybe it wasn't a good idea exploring a tunnel under the Forbidden Forest."

We climbed out into the forest, and as we did so, we noticed it had gotten completely dark outside.

"Were we really down there that long?"I said.

"It was sunset when we went down, and while we were down there, the sun must have set,"Lotty suggested.

"I'm sure we were only down there for ten minutes at the most!"I said,"less than that!"

"Maybe we were longer than we thought,"Lotty said, though she sounded as doubtful as I felt.

We made our way back to the castle. It felt really late for some reason. We entered the grounds through a side door in the wall that we usually use when we're returning to the castle a little later than we're supposed to.

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As we went through the Great Hall, it looked deserted.

Lotty and I were about to part ways to go to our separate House-quarters, when, all of a sudden, Ed strolled out from the shadows, startling us.

"So,"he said, looking at us disapprovingly,"what have you been up to then?"

"What do you mean? You know what we were doing,"Lotty said.

"Spending the night in some tunnel,"Ed said.

"What do you mean 'spending the night'?"Lotty said what I was thinking.

"Keep your voice down,"Ed said, in a harsh whisper,"we're not supposed to be out here this late. I suggest you two go to bed right now - sharpish!"

"Ed, it's barely eight o'clock!"I said.

"Eight o'clock!?"Ed raised his voice for a moment,"you've got to be joking! Anyway, I'm off now! Going to get out of here before we all get into trouble."

Now feeling really puzzled, I quickly parted ways with Lotty - she ran towards the Grand Staircase, and I went down into the dungeons.

In the common room, I was greeted by Jared and Anita.

"Where have you been?"Jared demanded,"we looked for you! We tried summoning you! We were worried! Then Ed told us you'd gone down some tunnel."

"I didn't receive a summoning,"I said.

"But - we both summoned you! Anita did! I did!"Jared said,"we got Ed to do it too! We were planning on going to look for you, when Ed finally told us he'd seen you and Lotty coming up to the castle."

"You've just spoken to Ed?"I asked.

"Yes, he summoned us as soon as he saw you,"Jared answered,"it was his idea to keep a look out for you. We decided to wait for you in here, rather than risk getting into trouble out there with Ed. No point in all of us ending up in Detention for your antics! Why on earth are you and Lotty going off exploring tunnels without us?"

"Yeah!"Anita agreed.

"We thought it would be dangerous,"I said,"Lotty fell down it by accident a week ago."

"And you didn't tell us!"Jared objected,"where is this tunnel, anyway? You forgot to tell Ed where it was, by the way!"

"It's in the Forbidden Forest,"I said.

"The Forbidden Forest!"Anita exclaimed.

"You do realise that's completely off-limits!"Jared said.

"Yeah, well,"I said, wanting to change the subject,"how late is it, anyway?"

"It's eleven at night!"Jared informed me,"getting on for midnight!"

I stared at him in disbelief. It could not be that late!

"But we were only gone half an hour at most!"I exclaimed,"it can't be that time now! That would mean it's been four hours!"

This was incredibly mysterious and unsettling. I wanted to go back to Lotty to talk about it, but it was too late. It would have to wait until morning.

Next day:

I thought I'd never be able to sleep, considering the circumstances, but after writing in my diary, I was so exhausted, I just fell asleep without even realising it. I slept so heavily, that Priscilla had to wake me up when everyone was leaving the dormitory.

I was feeling somewhat groggy, going through the morning more out of habit than anything else. I remembered the unsettling events of last night, and wanted to go and find Lotty; but breakfast needed to be had, and then the morning classes.

On my way into the Great Hall, I bumped into Max Castellanos. When I say bumped into, I mean bumped into, in the literal sense.

"Sorry,"he said, then he saw who I was,"Miss Carrow!"he said,"are you alright?"

I looked at him as if he had gone mad.

"Why do you ask?"I asked him.

"Oh! Yes, of course,"Max answered, in a strange voice,"right,"then he walked off.

I watched him as he walked away,"you sure you're not sleep-walking, Castellanos?"I called after him.

"Nope!"he shouted back, and he didn't sound annoyed.

"What was that?"I suddenly noticed Jared standing next to me.

"What was what?"I asked.

"Was he trying to ask you out to the May Festival?"Jared said.

I had completely forgotten about the May Festival.

"Absolutely not!"I said, horrified.

"Anyone asked you yet?"Jared went on.

"No,"I said,"has anyone asked you?"

"You mean - have I asked anyone?"Jared said,"that is my secret to keep, I'm afraid..."

"Then why are you asking me?"I said,"that's my secret to keep too, in that case! Anyway - let's get breakfast."

I found Lotty when I could.

"It seems we were gone for four hours,"I told her,"something really weird happened in that tunnel."

"I don't like it at all,"Lotty said,"it's like when we examined that wall, we were pushed forwards through time!"

"I still feel terrible,"I said.

"Why?"Lotty asked.

"I feel like I've been running for miles and miles,"I explained,"I've felt so tired since yesterday. How are you?"

"I'm normal,"Lotty said,"nothing wrong with me - apart from being completely weirded out by that tunnel."

"Well, I feel like it drained some of the life out of me, as well as pushing us forwards through time,"I remarked, yawning,"I can barely stay awake this morning."

"I don't feel tired,"Lotty said, looking at me curiously,"you're just unfit, Cathy."

"I hope that's all it is,"I said.

This whole thing was really worrying. I remembered the memory issues I've been having for the past year. What if this wasn't us being pushed forwards through time? What if something happened during those four hours and we had forgotten it? Though if it was connected to the memory issues I've been having, then it doesn't exactly explain why Lotty didn't remember either... In any case, what if something happened down there and both our memories of it had been obliviated? Maybe the tunnel had an enchantment on it that obliviated the memories of those who entered it?