Chapter Four
Into the Woods
Over the next few weeks, Solana and Alistair translated the runes they found in the Slytherin dorm, but the words that they formed were in Old English, requiring yet more translation. But at last, they were able to read the message:
"Pass three times on the seventh floor, thy need will be met through a hidden door," said Solana. "Is there a hidden door on that floor?"
"How would we know?" asked Alistair. "It is hidden, after all."
"What's on the seventh floor?" Solana mused aloud. "Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers. The astronomy tower. Headmaster Irving's office…"
"There is that long corridor that doesn't go anywhere," Alistair suggested. "I thought it was just a tapestry gallery, but it does seem odd that there's nothing else there."
"But there isn't anything hidden behind those tapestries," said Solana. "I've checked them before."
"Maybe the door doesn't appear until you do something. That must be what the 'pass three times' bit is for," said Alistair.
"Let's try it," Solana said excitedly.
Alistair nodded. "Lead on."
They went to the seventh-floor corridor lined with tapestries, and noticed that there was a conspicuously blank section of wall across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. "This must be the place."
Solana and Alistair paced back and forth three times in front of the blank space, but nothing happened
"Wait, the message said that 'thy need will be met through a hidden door'," said Solana. "That must be it. We have to need something for the door to appear. Think about the scrolls. We need to find the Lost Scrolls of Merlin—repeat it over and over in your mind."
They tried again, keeping their goal clear in their minds. On the third pass, a door materialized in the wall. Solana and Alistair quickly rushed inside, but there didn't appear to be any scrolls in this room. Several bookshelves lined the walls, and a large short-legged table sat in the middle of the chamber, with a big piece of parchment spread open across its surface. Placed on one corner of the table was a tea tray piled with a selection of assorted cheeses. Solana was baffled, but Alistair just laughed. "You know, I did start thinking about cheese on that last pass."
"Why would you think about cheese at a time like this?" Solana demanded.
Alistair considered this question while he chewed a piece of Gouda. "You say that like there's a wrong time to think about cheese."
Solana examined the parchment spread out over the table and saw that it was a map—but of where? "Hogwarts!" she realized. "This is a map of Hogwarts and the surrounding area."
"No it isn't," said Alistair. "Look, the castle's all wrong. And where's the Quidditch pitch?"
"Clearly this map was made before the pitch was built. Maybe even before Quidditch was invented," Solana theorized. "And like any other building, they must have added more and more to the school over time."
Alistair traced over the map, his finger not quite touching the old parchment. "This is where Hogsmeade Village is now. So this map was made even before Hogsmeade was founded. How long ago was that?"
"Centuries. Merlin may well have drawn this map," Solana guessed.
"But we asked for Merlin's Scrolls, not Merlin's Map."
Their eyes widened with realization at the same time. "No. We asked for a way to find the scrolls," said Solana. They examined the map more closely. There, in the drawing of a tall stone tower deep within the forbidden forest, was a large ornate chest marked "X".
"Professor Duncan!" Solana exclaimed. They burst into the Defense professor's office, huffing and puffing from running all the way. "We know where Merlin's scrolls are!"
"You do?" Duncan asked.
"We found out that Merlin was a Slytherin so we went to the Slytherin dormitories, where we found a clue written in ancient runes that led us to this very strange room on the seventh floor, and inside we found a map leading to a tower in the forest—"
"And it gave me cheese," Alistair added. "Magic cheese! I brought you some, sir."
Duncan blinked at him. "I'm not sure I follow you."
Solana and Alistair repeated the story, explaining more clearly how they had come across their discovery. Then they showed him the map. Duncan looked very impressed.
"I should apologize, Ms. Amell. Despite your obvious enthusiasm, I doubted your ability to find the scrolls. But you've exceeded anything I could have expected," said Duncan. "The map looks authentic. Though the only way to know for sure would be to follow it and see if it truly leads to the scrolls."
"So when are we going?" Solana asked eagerly.
Duncan chuckled warmly. "I suppose the students who made this discovery should be the first to see the scrolls. This weekend, then. But the forest is treacherous enough, and we don't know what sort of defenses this forest tower may possess. If I order you to run, or hide, you must do so, even if it seems that I'm in danger. I don't want any heroics from either of you."
Solana and Alistair nodded solemnly in agreement.
They were up bright and early on the following Saturday, dressed warmly and wearing boots. It was the end of spring and so the weather had been a bit warmer recently, but the morning chill was still biting. They met Duncan at the forest's edge and proceeded together through the trees.
The forest was dark even as the sun rose into the sky. There didn't seem to be any birds, but rustlings in the brush indicated that there were some things that did live in the forest. When it wasn't the brush itself rustling, of course. Some of the trees in the forbidden forest could walk, and thorned vines slithered like serpents across their path. Alistair nearly tripped over these vines right into the mouth of a carnivorous Ambling Bramble, but Duncan quickly caught him and put him back on his feet.
"Phew! That was a close one," said Alistair. "Thanks."
"If this map is accurate, we should be within a mile or so of the tower," said Duncan. He got out his wand and lay it flat on his palm. "Point me!"
The wand spun around, aiming its tip north.
"This way, to the south-west," said Duncan. "We should—"
Something suddenly leapt out of the bushes at them. It looked like a normal cat, except it had a long tufted tail like a lion. It was fawn-coloured and spattered with something red that Solana hoped wasn't blood. The cat blinked at them in surprise, clearly not expecting to stumble across them.
"Be careful," said Alistair. "That's a Kneazle. They're domestic animals, but they can be really aggressive if they decide that they don't like you."
Solana dropped into a crouch and held out her hand. The Kneazle cautiously approached, then let out a strange noise somewhere between a meow and a barkof all things before happily nuzzling Solana's fingers.
"See, everything's alright, we're not going to hurt you," Solana said gently. She petted the Kneazle's flank and felt prominent ribs and hips beneath its fur. "Oh, poor thing. You've had a horrible time, haven't you? Well, once we're done here, how about I take you back to the castle and find something for you to eat, hmm?"
The Kneazle let out another meow-bark and started rubbing itself against Solana's legs. Then it suddenly spun around and hissed at something coming from the darkness. They could see light in the shadows and hear the crunching of boots over twigs.
"Silence," Duncan said urgently. He waved his wand, causing Solana to feel a sensation oddly like an egg had been cracked over her head and was dripping slowly over her body. She saw Alistair turn transparent, as though he were made out of glass. She and the Kneazle were transparent, too. Duncan pushed Alistair until he was kneeling beside Solana. "Don't move or speak unless I say so."
A group of men in hooded black cloaks emerged from the brush some distance away. "Blasted cat!" one spat, clutching his cheek. "I'll skin him alive!"
"Quit your whining and just heal it already," said another.
"Can't, Kneazle scratches resist healing, you idiot," the first snarled. He spotted Duncan and lowered his hand, revealing several deep cuts on his face. "Hey, who are you?"
"I should ask you the same," said Duncan. "This is the property of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. How did you get past the wards?"
"What's that you've got there?" one of the men asked, gesturing at the map with his wand. "Accio parchment!"
The map jerked out of Duncan's hand and flew to the cloaked man, who carelessly unfurled it to read its contents. "A map? What's it for?"
"Generally, for plotting the route between one location to another," said Duncan.
"Oho, so we've got a smart one, eh? You one of the professors at Hogwarts, then? Look! It's a treasure map! It's in a chest in a tower!"
"Since you're so well-versed in maps, Professor, I guess we'll just have to take you along so you can help us find our treasure," the leader of the group said with an unpleasant smile. "We'll need someone to test any booby traps, after all."
"Duncan!" Alistair cried.
The men whirled towards them. "What was that?"
"They're Disillusioned," snapped the leader. "You lot find them! We'll continue to the tower!"
Solana leapt up and fired a Dazzling Hex to distract the cloaked men. She then grabbed Alistair and dragged him away, the Kneazle following close behind. Because of their near invisibility, most of the curses used by the cloaked men went wide, but they could not use any spells of their own without revealing their position. As it was, their pursuers could see the branches they pushed out of the way and hear their gasping breaths and running footsteps.
Things went from bad to worse when they stumbled into a small creek and became covered in mud, which made them quite visible again. They were quickly surrounded.
"Heh. Never should have left school, kiddies."
A dark shadow suddenly passed overhead. A loud roar seemed to shake the very air. Everyone looked up at the sky in horror.
"Dragon!"
