Mioha's detention the next day was not in the evening, but instead lasted the entire day, despite it being a holiday.
She had to scrape out old cauldrons covered in Merlin-knows-what.
Professor Snape was there to ensure she didn't clean them by magic, and that was how she spent her day.

She didn't even eat dinner, she just fell exhausted into bed and stayed there until the next morning.

The next problem was, that Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall seemed to be absent a lot of the time, constantly needing to go to the ministry and showing them Hogwarts' defenses against Sirius Black. And added to that, the Head of Gryffindor seemed very convinced, that Sirius Black had killed the Potters.

Mioha spent a lot of time with her friends, trying to cheer up Harry, and solve the fight between the boys and Hermione, since it was Hermione's fault the Firebolt had been confiscated.

But Ron and Hermione were both as stubborn as a goat, neither wanting to make the first step. Added to that, Hermione was busy working on her homework-mountain, getting less sleep than ever.

So one evening, Mioha was sitting atop of the Astronomy tower with Esma and the barn owl Hedwig.

"It's a beautiful evening, right girls?",
Mioha said happily, snuggling into her new Weasley sweater, which she wore under her cloak.
Esma and Hedwig cawed approvingly.

Mioha watched the sun set, and at some point both birds hopped off the railing and soared up on the December wind, their wings spread out wide.

I wonder why Hogwarts is so full of magic, she thought as she laid a hand on the railing, feeling it hum with energy.

She had always thought that the magic flowing through Hogwarts were the defense shields she was feeling.
But now another thought came to her mind.

What if the castle was alive? Like, had an actual conscience?

Not having anything else to do, Mioha decided to test her theory.

She sat down on the cold floor and crossed her legs, thinking:
I hope I don't get a bladder infection.

Mioha closed her eyes and let her magic reach out to the castle, carefully exploring the old building.

She felt that every wall, every inch of Hogwarts was filled with magic. It flowed through the building, creating countless strands of energy which ran from top to bottom, from left to right.
Mioha could sense rooms she hadn't known existed. There was a room that changed its shape constantly, there were several tunnels leading out of Hogwarts, and beneath the castle, was the Labyrinth.

It was enormous.

Corridors, wide and narrow, straight or curved ran under the school, so far you could easily get lost in it. The Labyrinth had innumerable rooms, some filled with food, others with plants, some could be used as places to sleep and others were larger than the Great Hall.
Through all of these places, strands of magic flowed, and they all connected at one spot.

The heart of Hogwarts.

It was beating and pulsating as if were an actual organ and the castle were a living creature.

The heart was miles beneath the ground, a ball of pure energy that twisted and pumped, keeping Hogwarts alive.

While Mioha was admiring this, she suddenly felt another mind touch hers. Startled, she pulled back, retracting her magic.

But the other presence was still there, and after she calmed down, she realized who it was.

Or actually what it was.

It was Hogwarts.

The castle didn't communicate with words, but instead with emotions and pictures, and it had found it interesting, that a teenager as young as Mioha was capable of such strong magic to explore the castle the way she did.

It wasn't angry, she could understand that, merely curious.

And it knew she was not human, it knew all secrets of the residents in Hogwarts.

It knew that Peter Pettigrew was here.

Mioha tried to ask it if she could get some information on the rat, but the castle declined.
All secrets were kept safely, none were the castle's to give.

Respecting that, Mioha continued to explore the castle's conscience.

It expanded beyond the building, Hogwarts knew everything that happened on its grounds.

Mioha could sense the hippogriffs the way the castle did, suddenly knew where the different unicorn herds were grazing right now, could feel the many creatures living in the Forbidden Forest, Sirius Black among them.

And she felt honored to have made that experience.

Expressing her gratitude, Mioha started to retract her magic and return to her body.

When she opened her eyes, she noticed three things.

It was night.

It was cold.

And Professor Snape stood before her, his arms crossed impatiently.

"Ms. Mioha", he drawled, "have you returned to the world of the living?"

Mioha couldn't answer, she was so cold. Her lips had turned blue and her fingers numb.

Trying to speak, Mioha started coughing heavily when the cold air irritated her dry throat.

Suddenly, she didn't feel so good.

Bones cracking, the teenager uncrossed her numb legs and pulled herself up, having to hold onto the railing when her legs didn't carry her.

She almost collapsed, dizziness overwhelming her, when suddenly a strong hand on her arm steadied her.
Mioha fuzzily noticed Esma sitting on Professor Snape's shoulder.

She must have gotten him, she thought dazedly.

"Ms. Mioha, you must be the strangest Slytherin I have ever had in my house", Professor Snape ranted as he supported her on their way down the Astronomy tower.

Mioha couldn't really tell where they were going, her mind seemed to have reduced its attention to the simplest things.

Right foot, left foot, right foot, torch, left foot.

Mioha knew Professor Snape was talking to her, probably angry that he had to drag her to whereever they were going, but she couldn't understand any of it.

The blood was rushing in her ears, through her body, making her feel very hot. And the longer she walked, the hotter she got. Soon she was drenched in sweat, barely noticing where she was.

At some point, Mioha felt how she was being laid down on something soft.

A woman was speaking, her voice distorted. Mioha could only pick up scraps of a conversation.

"-fever-"

"-hours-"

"-blackbird-"

Then she passed out.

Once again, Mioha had caused a lot of drama.

She sighed and mentally slapped herself.
The teenager knew she had to be in the Hospital Wing, probably down with a fever.

Her throat felt dry and she ached all over her body. Added to that, she felt immensely tired, the relieving darkness just an eyelash away.

But she forced herself to stay awake.

Mioha slowly opened her eyes, squinting in the bright morning light. The sun was shining directly into her face.
She groaned as she tried to get up, feeling exhausted and weak.

Somebody was walking towards her.

"Ms. Mioha, you seem to like coming here", the matron scolded her and helped her sit up.

"Ugh."
She felt awful.

Her head started pounding and she could feel something cool being pressed into her hand.

"Drink this", Madam Pomfrey said gently, as if knowing how bad she felt.

Mioha's hand was shaking so bad, she almost spilled the vial's content over her sheets.

She carefully took a sip, feeling the cool liquid soothe her dry throat and reduce the aches.

Madam Pomfrey took the vial from her when she finished.
She didn't ask any questions, just helped the Slytherin lay back down and pulled the curtains closed.
Mioha fell asleep instantaneously.

The next time she woke, Mioha felt almost normal again. Her throat was still a bit sore, but she was not uncomfortably hot anymore.

Opening her eyes, she noticed it was dark.
The curtains around her bed were shut.

Carefully getting herself into a seating position, still feeling a bit achy, Mioha slowly pulled the curtains back.

Light flooded the Hospital Wing, it was morning.

Had she only slept a few minutes or an entire day?

Mioha's mind felt a bit fuzzy as she tried to recall the last thing she remembered.

Professor Snape had brought her here.

That was nice of him.

Esma had gotten him.

That was nice too.

And she had had a conversation, without words but using emotions, with the castle.

That was weird.

Mioha rubbed her eyes, then looked around.

She was alone.

Was she allowed to leave?

Mioha swung her legs across her bed, carefully setting her bare feet onto the cold floor.

She was, once again, wearing a white gown.

Mhm.

Mioha leaned forward, then used her arms to push herself off the bed.

Swaying slightly, she felt the dizziness return.

But at least she was standing.

Mioha pressed a hand against the wall, strongly noticing the magic in it now that she knew it was there.

She was about to take another step, when a sharp voice stopped her: "Don't you dare take another step, young lady!"

Madam Pomfrey appeared, eyes blazing and her hands on her hips.
"You had a high fever that has kept you unconscious for four days! You will stay here until I say otherwise!"

Mioha quickly took a step back and sat down on the bed.

Madam Pomfrey can be as scary as Professor Snape, she noted tiredly.

The matron handed her several vials which she had to drink, different kinds of healing potions, but Mioha felt too tired to identify them.

"Now", Madam Pomfrey said and took the vials from her.
She fixed Mioha with her gaze, the Slytherin shifting restlessly.
"Why on earth did Professor Snape find you sleeping on the Astronomy tower? In winter, no less!"

Mioha looked down uncomfortably.
She couldn't think of a plausible excuse, though any excuse might have sounded more realistic than the thruth.

She sighed.

Her mind was too kaputt to think of anything else.

"I was not sleeping", Mioha said honestly with a raspy voice.

Madam Pomfrey raised an eyebrow, so she continued.
"I was having a conversation."

The matron looked like she wanted to laugh, but refrained from doing so to not upset her patient.
"And who were you talking to?", she inquired disbelievingly.

"Hogwarts."
Madam Pomfrey stayed silent.

"Rest, Ms. Mioha, you still have a slight fewer", the older witch finally said and left, taking the vials with her.
I am not crazy, am I?, Mioha thought and leaned back into her pillow.