Good and Lost

"Oh, oh, oh; hurry, Al!"

Courtney Lloyd tugged at her boyfriend's hand desperately as they sprinted down the corridor, glancing over her shoulder worriedly. She couldn't see Filch, but she could hear his labored breath and halting, stunted footsteps as he chased after them. He was so old now (students even made bets every year on when he was going to die, which she thought was just awful), but he could still manage to catch some students. Mrs. Norris had passed away, but Mrs. Higgins just had to be worse.

They turned one corner, and Court gratefully leapt up on a moving staircase, just barely making it as it turned and connected to another fifth-floor corridor. "Thank god," she muttered, wiping her hair out of her eyes and peering around nervously. If they didn't find a way back to their common rooms soon, Filch would find them. She could already hear his noises of outrage as he realized he'd let the snogging couple escape his grasp.

"Court, this way," Al whispered, grabbing her hand again and pulling her behind him as he took off down the left hallway. When she realized where they were going, a brilliant smile broke across her face.

"Albus Potter, you are a genius!" she beamed quietly, wishing she could kiss him again but knowing they had no time. The hallway they were heading down was very familiar, as it led to the Room of Requirement. They and their friends had spent countless hours imagining the best places they could and exploring the different rooms, delighting in the little surprises Hogwarts Castle had to offer. It was a very select group that knew about it (mostly just the Potter-Weasley clan), and Court was only lucky enough to be included because she was the girlfriend of Albus and good friend of Rose Weasley.

When they arrived at the entrance, Court's mind spun sporadically as she considered what to ask for. Filch's footsteps sounded louder by the second, and they needed to hurry. She glanced at Al, who nervously gestured for her to continue. Panicking, Court backed up and then paced in front of the door, mind still blank for a moment or two. Finally, as Filch's halting breath reached their ears, she squeezed her eyes shut and pleaded for a room that they couldn't be found in—a room that could get them good and lost for just a little while.

When Al let out a victorious yelp and yanked her forward, she sagged in relief. Filch's shadow could be seen just around the corner; the door just barely shut on time—Court could see the side of his big, ugly nose peaking around the corner.

Once they were both in the shadowy room, Court spun around to face Al and surged into his arms, giggling just a bit. The door wasn't soundproof, but she wanted him to know how grateful she was. He covered her face with a few kisses, grinning right back. They had a pretty good track record, and getting caught and punished at this stage would be downright embarrassing. Al was the only Slytherin of their year that hadn't gotten a detention this term, and he wanted to aim for the rest of the year.

"Thank god he didn't catch up," Court mumbled, pulling back to survey what kind of space the Room had given them.

"Moving staircases have never been such a blessing," Al responded dryly, mussing his hair as he, too stepped forward to glance around them. They were in a long sort of hallway with a few dim lights illuminating the way down. There was a wall at the end of the corridor, but two other hallways could be seen branching off from it. "This is a strange room," he added, taking a few steps down toward the end of the room.

"It's a bit creepy," Court said uneasily, shifting slightly so that Al was in front of her (she wasn't known for her bravery—she had been sorted into Hufflepuff, not Gryffindor). "Maybe we should go back out. Filch should be way ahead of this room by now."

"Hmm," Al said, eyes alight with mystery. It was hard for him to give up a good challenge, but one look at Court's puppy eyes had him sighing and turning an about-face to exit the room. What he saw made him stop cold, and Court gasp in shock.

The door was gone.

They were frozen for a few seconds, drinking in the fact that their way out had suddenly disappeared, and then Court and Al spun around, frantically looking for another door. Sometimes the Room of Requirement would put its exit in an odd place where people would be less likely to see the occupants leaving, but the door had never, not ever, just popped away. "Al!" Court cried anxiously when she reached the end of the hallway and saw nothing but the two other corridors, which both turned off in different direction rather quickly.

"Court, what did you ask for?" Al demanded, horrified.

"I—I don't know!" she stuttered, wringing her hands worriedly. "I just… I think something about us not being found, about getting good and lost," she finished, her voice trailing off until she was about as loud as mouse. Al slapped his hand across his hands, seemingly frustrated to the point of actual anger.

"So, what; now we're actually lost in the Room of Requirement?" he choked, pulling at his dark hair to calm himself down. He needed to keep it cool, for Court if nothing else. She was already trembling, and he didn't want her to start crying—she was hard to stop once she got going.

"I just… I dunno! I have no idea!" she huffed, glancing between the two corridors worriedly. "I bet… I bet one of the hallways leads to the door." Al paused, sighed, and then nodded.

"I guess we'll just have to go with it," he said gloomily, "I just… what if we can't find a way out?" he asked, too scared in that moment to think about staying strong for Court. She swallowed heavily and rested her hand on top of his, squeezing it twice and offering a shaky smile.

"I'm a Hufflepuff, Al. We're hard workers; I would never give up on finding a way out of here. For all we know, a door could right down that hallway, and we're standing here like wimps, worrying for nothing," she said encouragingly. Al took a deep breath and then pulled his girlfriend in for a hug, taking his sweet time in pulling away. A whiff of her shampoo—strawberry—made him smile even more.

"Alright," he said, confidence springing up once more, "let's go, then." Court took his hand and they turned to the left, seeming to read each other's mind as they stepped forward to take that path. It was less bright than the other hallway, but seemed shorter and sort of led back the way they'd come, which gave the couple a little hope.

Unfortunately, when they turned the corner and walked a few feet, it became abundantly clear that they were heading down the wrong corridor. It only got darker as they walked along, and eventually Court realized that the end of the hallway was nowhere in sight—everything was enveloped in complete darkness down the way.

"We need to turn back," Al finally whispered out of the blue, causing her to jump, blush slightly, and then agree furiously. They both started to back up, but were shocked to be shoved forward. Court nearly screamed as she fell and landed painfully on her knees. She wildly scrambled backwards to look around for the intruder, hand instinctively clenching around her wand and drawing it out of her robes.

She and Al were both surprised to find that no one was in sight. Hesitantly, they got to their knees and crawled forward. They both yelped when their hands hit against an invisible barrier that repelled their hands so violently it was as if they were being thrown back. Court and Al looked at each other, faces paling incredibly as they realized what this meant.

Silently, they got to their feet. Both had their wands out, so Court whispered, "Lumos," after Al did. They turned resolutely toward the impending darkness and the hand not occupied by their wands. Both took a deep breath and then stepped forward.

They lost count of how long they walked down that corridor; it must've been an hour, at least. It felt even longer than that. Their wands were the only thing to light their way—in fact, they could barely see two feet in front of them, even with the wands. When they finally see a tiny light ahead of them, both their hearts jump in relief.

"Do you think this is it?" Court asked, anxiously tugging at her hair as they subconsciously quickened their pace in order to get out of the darkness faster.

"I hope so," Al sighed, shivering at the idea that it wasn't just the door.

They walked a little longer, but eventually they just started jogging, and then full out running to get towards the light. It took them only a few moments, and then they were turning the corner and whooping victoriously as they entered a large, dome-like room with a door on the other end of the room. They turned to each other, smiling like madmen, and then threw their arms around each in celebration before throwing themselves into a passionate kiss. Court's heart was about to beat out of her chest, her relief was so great. "Thank god—!" Court began, wiping her hair out of her eyes as they pulled away from each other, only to be interrupted by a loud, long, mean growl.

This growl was not human, which was evident as soon as they heard it. Both students froze in their tracks and very carefully turned to face the direction the noise had come from. To their horror, a large, regal lion lay perched in the corner of the room, his lips pulled upwards in a threatening gesture, his eyes staring directly at them.

"Oh my god," Court whispered, her chest seizing dangerously. Her vision was slowly blurring, her chest caving in—she couldn't find all the air she needed to, and Al's quietness wasn't helping. This had to be a hallucination or a trick or—

"Courtney!" Al hissed, breaking her out of her panic. She stared at him, completely lost, for a few moments, and then her face morphed into an annoyed glare, because he knew she hated to be called out. "Court," he said, calmer this time, "Courtney, we need to back away slowly, okay?"

"I… okay," she whispered. They both nodded at each other and then turned slowly so their backs were toward the way they'd come. They continued to backtrack, and then they reached the end of the room and stopped. Court experimentally touched her fingers behind her, only to have them painfully forced away. "It's blocked," she whimpered.

Al closed his eyes, seemingly defeated, and then nodded. "Okay. Okay—let's do this, then. We can… we can just walk forward, okay?" Court was shaking her head, her heart beating furiously. She had always been terrified of large animals—couldn't even handle a regular cat or dog—and now there was an actual lion in front of her. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, trying to ignore the tears falling down her face, even though it broke his heart to see her cry, no matter what the cause.

The lion watched them with steadfast fierceness, causing Court's knees to buckle dangerously. "Al," she breathed, suddenly stopping in the middle of the room. "Al, I can't! I can't do it!" she cried, voice booming much too loudly across the walls of the room. He sent a panicked glance at the lion, who was slowly getting to his feet, the rumbling in its chest getting louder.

"Court—Courtney! Come on, babe—please, we have to go, we have to get away from it! Just go! If we get out of this room, it'll be behind you, okay?" he begged, nervously noting how the lion slowly moved toward them. Her gaze was focused on it too, her breath coming in short, sporadic spurts. Cursing, Al decided to just grab her hand and drag her along, trying to go slow so as not to spook the lion. Her legs were locked, though, and it was hard to keep her upright. She wouldn't break her gaze off the lion, even when Al begged her to just stare at their hands or his head or anything else.

"Al!" she finally screeched, terrified, when the lion took a quick step forward. At her noise, it roared and sprung forward. He spun around, wand in the air, but tripped over his own feet as he saw the lion racing the final feet toward them.

At seeing her boyfriend, the man she loved so very much, splayed out in front of a lion, about to die, something in Court snapped. With a scream, she jabbed her own wand in the direction of the huge beast and, without thinking, shouted, "Levicorpus!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, a sob falling from her lips as she sank to her knees. She could still hear the lion snarling and growling, but she didn't want to look, couldn't look. Even when Al gathered her in his arms and tugged her to her feet, Court avoided looking at the great, thrashing beast that must have been hanging from its feet. "Oh my god," she whispered shakily as they reached the door, snot gathering in her nose. She must've looked so unattractive, but it was very hard to care about at that point.

When she finally pulled herself together, Al gave her a gentle kiss and grinned, "You saved us, Court." She shrugged—it had been pure instinct, actions that were the result of adrenaline and terror.

"Whatever… let's just get out of here," she said tiredly. He agreed and they turned to the door. He let out a relieved little breath when his hand closed around the handle, and then he tugged it open and pulled his girlfriend… into another well-lit room.

"Damn it," he cursed, running a hand through his hair angrily. "Damn it!" He kicked at the ground—the fact that there were two doors to choose from definitely didn't help. Court groaned alongside him, kicking the door shut behind them as Al strode to the middle of the room.

"I guess I'll look down both of the doors, see if I see anything," she said glumly. Al ignored her, trying to calm himself. He'd always had a bit of a temper—the fact that they were in actual danger didn't help. Court sighed and approached the door on their right, nervously opening it and peering into the room on the other side. She let out a little sigh of relief to see it was just another corridor. "I think this one is okay, Al," she said brightly, then stepped into it to take a better look.

It was then that the door slammed shut on its own accord. Al let out a panicked yelp and raced toward the door, where he could hear Court's frantic shouts on the other side. He pounded against the wood, but it wouldn't give. Eventually, he tried casting a spell to unlock it, but it wouldn't budge. He cursed, and then yelled, "Just wait, Court! I'm going to get you out of here! Okay! Just wait!"

He frantically glanced around the room, searching for anything that could help… and that's when his gaze landed on a small, white statue of an eagle that sat next to the left door. He nervously approached it, the sound of Courtney's desperate attempts to get back to him wringing in his ears. He reached out to pick it up, when it blinked up at him, its gaze turning disapproving. He let out a yelp, causing Court to go slightly hysterical on her side of the door.

"No, I'm okay, Court! I'm alright!" he yelled, and then turned his attention back to the statue. "H-hello…?" he finally murmured, crouching down so he could see straight into its eyes.

The eagle blinked once more, and then opened its beak and said, "To get your girlfriend back, you must answer my riddle." Al swallowed nervously. He wasn't any sort of Ravenclaw. Indeed, he suspected that might be the House he would least likely be sorted into, but he wasn't stupid either. And this was the only way to get her back, as far as he could tell. His mouth was completely dry when he nodded his agreement.

The statue surveyed him, its beady eyes trailing up and down several times, before it finally said, "To save your girlfriend, you must solve my riddle. My riddle is:

If you throw me from the window,
I will leave a grieving wife.
Bring me back, but in the door, and
You'll see someone giving life.

What am I?"

Al's mind whirred in confusion. He repeated it to himself several times over, his heart in his stomach as he realized he had no idea what the eagle was talking about. He stared at it, then closed his eyes and repeated the riddle again, even slower this time.

He didn't… oh. His eyes snapped open as his brain worked zealously to help him understand. Grieving wife, meant a widow… which was related to the word 'window', and the difference between that… He gasped when he plugged the answer into the last half of the riddle, and comprehended that it fit perfectly. He turned to the eagle confidently.

"You are the letter 'n'," he replied firmly, ignoring the fierce fear that was seizing his heart. If he got this wrong, who knew what would happen…

"Correct," the eagle said. At the same time, both of the doors sprung open, leaving Court to tumble through and nearly land on her hands and knees. She let out a cry of joy and sprung on Al, wrapping her hands around his shoulders joyously.

"Albus," she shrieked, speckling kisses all across his face. "Oh, Al—I was so worried! What happened? Are you alright?" she asked anxiously. He nodded, sagging against Court in relief.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied shakily. "Let's just get out of here, yeah?" Court swallowed heavily and kissed him one more time before slipping her hand through his fingers.

"Good idea," she nodded, turning to the left door—the one she didn't have a change to look through. They were both nervous, both praying that nothing else was on the other side of that door.

Courtney held her breath as she turned the knob, and slowly pushed the door open…

They both let out whoops of joy as they landed on the beautiful stones of Hogwarts' corridors.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

This was written for the Harry Potter FanFiction School of Imagination and Creativity, Design and Technology Assessment 3.

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