"West?" Jade stared at her friend in horror. If it had been anyone else, she would have thought they were joking. But the expression on Alana's tear-streaked face was too earnest for her to question the statement's reality even for a second. "She...she's really gone?"

"Really. It wasn't as though we could do anything about it. Someone reported sounds of a scuffle in her dormitory, so we went up to check. There was just her wand on the bed, broken in half. We put two and two together, but the only other thing we found was traces of Peruvian Darkness Powder." Madame Savana seemed apologetic in delivering this news.

Jade tried to speak, but her mouth just hung open. She hadn't been as close to West as she should have been, but having her gone made her realize exactly how much she would have liked to be closer friends. And now she would never get the chance. Gone! She buried her face in her hands and started to cry.

"Don't cry!" Abigail's thin voice sounded flustered. "Oh, I do so hate it when people cry." Her cool, ethereal hand brushed Jade's shoulder.

Alana perched on the edge of the bed and wrapped her arm around Jade. "Jadey, don't be upset. I know it's sad, but there's nothing we can do about it. The headmaster's arranging a ceremony in a week or so, but we can't change it. We can't get West back."

Jade stopped crying and sat up. Those papers...they had to be somewhere. She could ask Abigail for help, and there was always more research. She knew spells, she had Alana on her side...

"Yes." Everyone stared at her. "Yes, there is something we can do. I know a way we can get West back, but we have to act fast. I know it's midnight, but there's no time to lose. We have to find those papers."

Alana looked confused, furrowing her eyebrows in deep concentration. "What papers?"

Jade shook the sheets off of her legs and began the process of getting out of bed and putting her robes back on. "When I was in the library...before I passed out I mean...I found some girl's student journal. Elissa James, or something like that. It was recounting the events right up until now back in 1901, but just as I was about to find out what was really going on, I found out that someone had torn out the final pages. I bet if we can find those pages, they'll tell us how to rescue West and what's really going on here." She slid on first one boot, and then another.

"But it's midnight. Won't we get in trouble?" Alana looked worried as Jade laced her boot.

"Well, maybe we will now, but our friend is too important to not save. So what if we lose a few house points? A good friend is worth it." Jade stood up and hooked an arm with Alana. "Now let's go save our friend!"