Louisiana found herself wandering toward a part of the castle she rarely visited but for the occasional trek to Astronomy. The Tower Patch wasn’t somewhere she’d ever properly explored before. Climbing the winding steps, the brunette finally emerged at the top and paused, taking it all in.

It was beautiful.

The view stretched wide over the grounds, the air crisp, the sky endless above. Maybe that was why Professor Burbage liked it up here. It had to be the view.

…could ghosts enjoy views?

Could she become a ghost one day and just haunt Hogwarts forever? How did that even work? Her thoughts spiraled before she caught herself. Wait...what was she thinking about? Oh! Right. The view.

This was part of her new term resolution, like a New Year’s resolution, but better. And this one wasn’t going to fail. It was already going perfectly… mostly. The goal was simple: explore more of the castle. Granted, this was the first new place she’d actually visited since term started, but that still counted as progress. Not a terrible start…right?

As Lulu wandered farther into the Tower Patch, she noticed a beautiful fountain to her left. Beside it stood a plaque dedicated to former Headmistress Truebridge, she read it out loud for more meaning.

“Rest in peace old friend, beloved wife, renowned stargazer, and special professor. Always in our hearts.”

Next to it, another plaque she read aloud:

“In Memory of E.M. Forrester, a brilliant space scientist, educator, and Slytherin Head of House. He will be missed.”

Louisiana read both inscriptions carefully. A small sadness softened her expression. She hadn’t known either of them but somehow that didn’t feel like a reason to stay silent.

“Well…I don’t know who y’all are,” she began, her Southern Louisiana accent warm and unmistakable, “but I am very sorry I never got to meet what seems like an amazing Headmistress. Heck yeah, girl boss.” She nodded firmly to herself before glancing at the second plaque. “And I’m very sorry I didn’t get to meet you, Professor Forrester. I bet you were very cool and weird and like super smart.” Her face remained gently solemn, but her voice rang hopeful, cheerful, far louder than she intended. The words echoed off the stone walls of the tower. Lu really needed to learn how to be quieter.

Unfortunately, subtlety had never been her strong suit.