Chapter Four
Simon paced back and forth outside the Prefect bathrooms anxiously.
It was a quarter to nine and Derek was cutting it dangerously close to curfew time. Where was he? Simon had asked Derek to meet him at eight o'clock but he still hadn't showed. He was considering marching up to Ravenclaw Tower and using his Prefect privileges to somehow gain entrance when he saw a flicker of movement in the shadows. A moment later, Derek appeared by his side. He was still wearing his school robes, though his Ravenclaw tie was askew and he seemed out of breath.
Simon let out a sigh of relief and thinly-veiled annoyance. "Finally. Where've you been? I've been waiting here for almost an hour."
Derek shrugged. "Sorry. Had a meeting with a teacher."
Simon's voice dropped to a whisper. "Davidoff again?"
Derek's eyes darted back and forth as though he expected eavesdroppers to come darting out from behind the tapestries and suits of armour lining the stone walls. Slowly, he nodded.
"I still think we need to tell Dad about this."
"No." Derek's voice was firm. "We can't get him involved. Davidoff's got more power in this school than the rest of the teachers combined. One word to Professor St. Cloud and he could have Dad fired. Then where would we be?"
Simon nodded. "Yeah. You're right. I just don't like this. I'm worried for you, bro."
Derek smiled faintly. "Don't be. I know what I'm doing. And Davidoff got sloppy today. I caught another one of his test subjects going in as I left his office."
"Really?" Simon perked up instantly. This was the first progress they'd had in discovering what Davidoff was up to since Derek's first meeting with the Potions Master. "Who is it?"
Derek hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "I don't think you know her."
Simon frowned. "Derek, maybe I should handle this. You focus on getting info from Davidoff himself; let me talk to his recruits."
Derek shook his head. "Trust me. I can handle this."
Simon wanted to argue but Derek yawned suddenly, raking his hair back from his face. Simon hadn't noticed before, but his brother looked tired. Really tired. He wondered how long it had been since Derek had gotten a full night of sleep.
"You okay?" he asked now. "You look dead on your feet. Wait – it's not tonight, is it? I thought– "
"No," Derek interrupted. "It's not tonight. Three nights from now."
Simon nodded. "Right. Good. You'd better get some sleep then. Just… talk to me first before you do anything stupid or reckless, okay?"
Derek grunted his assent. With a parting tap on the shoulder he disappeared back into the shadows and was gone. Simon sighed. No matter how much Derek looked out for him, it still always seemed like he constantly had to watch his brother's back.
If only Derek was as paranoid about his own safety as he is about mine, he thought gloomily. Then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess…
xx
Chloe awoke the following morning with a pounding headache.
She dressed for breakfast sluggishly, her mind struggling to break through the dense fog that seemed to have clouded her thoughts overnight. Her remedial potions lesson with Professor Davidoff seemed like a dream. Had he really given her a mysterious potion before their lesson? Had she really seen Derek Souza exiting Davidoff's office at a suspiciously late hour? Even her chat with Rae beforehand seemed to have a dreamlike quality to it. She remembered the phoenix Rae had drawn, its tail-feathers caught alight in flames of gold and orange, but the words of their conversation escaped her…
"Chloe? Earth to Chloooo-ee!" Miranda waved her hand in front of Chloe's face, jerking her out of her daze.
"S-sorry," Chloe said with a hesitant smile. "What were you saying?"
Miranda shook her head, indicating that it didn't matter. Rae, who was sitting on the edge of her bed tugging her shoes on, looked over curiously. "You okay?" she mouthed.
Chloe nodded, but her thoughts were still churning. Even as the Gryffindor girls made their way down to breakfast, chattering away as per usual, Chloe found that she couldn't concentrate on the conversation.
Something is different, she thought anxiously. Something is wrong. Something is terribly, terribly wrong.
Her heart pounded in her chest but her mind was still moving too slowly. It wasn't until they reached the tall oak doors to the Great Hall that she realised what was it was that made her heart thump so. She gasped in shock, one hand reaching for the stone wall to steady herself.
"Chloe?" Kari asked. "What's wrong?"
"W-Where… where're all the ghosts?" she whispered, hardly able to believe the sight in front of her.
The Great Hall, like the Hogwarts grounds, was usually packed so full of ghosts in the morning that she could never get to the Gryffindor table without passing through a few. They never seemed to mind or even notice, but everyone walked through them as though they weren't even there and Chloe did the same.
Today, they really weren't there. And yet the students and teachers seemed to be acting as though nothing was different.
"What are you talking about, Chloe?" Rae asked with a frown. "Look, there's Nearly-Headless Nick, right there."
Chloe saw the Gryffindor ghost gliding across the back of the hall in deep conversation with the Grey Lady and shook her head.
"N-No, I don't mean the ones that talk. I mean the others. Where's the rest?"
The girls stared at her with identical blank faces.
"Chloe," Beth said slowly. "All the ghosts talk. You know that – you're always speaking with them. There are no others."
Chloe let out a quiet cry and felt her knees give way; she fell to the floor, her hands grappling for support, searching for anything to help keep her grounded in reality. This couldn't be happening…
"Chloe? Chloe!" She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and heard the rustle of silk skirts. Professor Winterbourne. She looked up, wanting to reassure her favourite teacher that everything was fine, but she caught another glimpse of the empty Great Hall behind her and the room began to spin.
"They're gone," she murmured to herself, still reaching out with her hands as though she could pull the spirits back from wherever they had disappeared to. "Gone. Gone, gone, gone…"
"She's in hysterics," Professor Winterbourne was saying loudly. "Somebody fetch Madam Levine, now!"
A hand reached up to push her flailing arm back to her side and then everything went black and she was falling… falling… falling…
xx
She woke up in a hospital bed with the fussy matron Madam Levine at her side.
The Hospital Wing was one of Chloe's least favourite parts of the castle, yet she had the uncanny ability to end up in one of these beds every few weeks due to her klutziness. Madam Levine checked her temperature and gave her a potion for dizziness before informing her that she'd fainted due to a mild panic attack earlier that morning.
"It's not uncommon for fifth-years and seventh-years to overwork themselves at this time of year," Madam Levine explained as she made the bed beside Chloe's. "Stress, that's what brought this on. I want you to stay in this bed for the duration of today. I'll send an owl around the school to explain your absence to your teachers. What you need is a day off."
Chloe tried to stutter a protest, but Madam Levine was a stubborn woman and she refused to allow Chloe to leave the room. "You're staying here until tonight and that's final," she insisted.
Which left Chloe with hours to spare… hours in which she had nothing to do but think of the terrible discovery she had made as she walked into the Great Hall earlier that morning. For the past five years she'd assumed that everybody saw the swarms of ghosts that haunted the school's halls, and she'd never questioned why only a select few of the ghosts had ever spoken to her or acknowledged the living students in their midst. Chloe was a quiet girl and now that she thought about it, she'd never had any reason to discuss the ghosts around them before. Like the moving staircases and the talking paintings she'd just taken them in her stride. She should have realised that not everything in Hogwarts could be trusted.
What had caused the sudden change? Had her abilities left her? She reached up to clutch at the ruby pendant she always wore as a good luck charm. It calmed her. She took deep breaths and tried to think it through clearly.
She clearly had a special sight and it had to have something to do with her power. Could the potion that Professor Davidoff gave her have affected her sight somehow? But no, that was impossible. He didn't know. Nobody knew…
Chloe's aunt had told her very little about her unique abilities before she'd disappeared from her life forever – only that her family was cursed with power over the dead. But Chloe's power was different. Chloe's power was unique.
Too strong, her aunt had said. We tried to save you from the family curse. We did everything we could. There was a man – he said he'd help us. He promised that he could cure you and like fools your mother and I believed him. But he only made things worse… dreadfully worse… your power is unique. It's too strong. Tell nobody of it. Nobody must know…
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the fear in her aunt's voice. Fear not for her, but of her.
She wasn't sure how long she lay there, trying and failing to think of anything but the family curse, but eventually the clearing of a throat lifted her from her thoughts. Her eyes flew open and she jumped into a sitting position, dragging the bed sheets up to her chest as she did so.
It was Derek Souza. He was looming over her bed, arms crossed, staring down at her with that same curious expression she'd seen the last time they'd crossed paths. His dark hair hung lank and flat across his green eyes, partly shading his face. But there was something different about him today, something in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. She glanced around. The chair beside her bed was empty and Madam Levine was nowhere in sight. For some reason she was uncomfortably aware of the embarrassingly thin regulation Hospital Wing nightgown she was wearing.
"W-What are you doing here?" Chloe asked, inwardly wincing as she realised how rude she sounded.
If Derek was affronted he didn't show it. He took a step forward, still openly staring at her. Chloe felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She felt like she was being examined without knowing why.
"It was Davidoff, wasn't it?" Derek said abruptly. Despite the blunt words, his voice was low and quiet. "He did something to you."
"I-I-I don't you what y-y-y-"
"Slow down," Derek said impatiently. "Davidoff gave you something, didn't he? A potion?"
Chloe's mind was racing. How did he know? She bit her lip, not knowing what to say.
"Listen, I don't care what you are or what he's offering," Derek said brusquely. "But you can't trust him."
"W-What I am?"
Derek made a noise low in his throat like a growl and leaned forward, his hands curling around the bars of her bed.
"Save the denials. I'm not interested. I'm just here to warn you. Whatever Davidoff's promised you, it's a lie. You can't trust a word he says."
Chloe's mind was reeling. Just a few minutes – or hours – ago she'd decided to put Professor Davidoff and the mysterious potion he'd given her out of her mind and now Derek Souza of all people was accusing him of… what, exactly? Had Professor Davidoff poisoned her? No, poison didn't make you see things – or stop seeing them.
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Chloe slowly. "I had a remedial Potions lesson with Professor Davidoff yesterday. He asked if I would be willing to try a new potion he'd been brewing and I accepted. But that potion had nothing to do with what happened this morning."
Derek shook his head. "You're lying."
"I'm not."
Derek took a step back and raked a hand through his hair in frustration. Chloe couldn't help but stare at him as he'd been staring at her just a moment before. His eyes unnerved her. They seemed to see right through her skin. And she could see that he didn't believe a word she had said. Yet there was definitely something different about him today. If only she could figure out what it was…
"Look, you're not the only student Davidoff's brewing potions for," Derek said in that same low, quiet rumble. "He's working on a cure for me, too. And there're other students. Kids like us with something to hide. He's collecting us, toying with us. Whatever he's told you, it's not true. By all means, nod along with what he tells you, pretend to drink the potions he gives you, but don't let him reel you in."
Chloe stared. It was the most she – or probably anyone else in the entire school, save Simon – had ever heard Derek Souza speak. He looked almost wild now, his eyes gleaming, his forehead beaded with sweat. He tore his eyes away from hers and she realised what it was that was so different about him today.
She'd walked past him in hallways and seen him numerous times over the past five years eating in the Great Hall or poring over books in the library. He'd always been intimidating and expressionless and like most students she'd instinctively avoided catching his eye. But now, for the first time in five years, Derek Souza looked frightened.
She couldn't help it. She leaned forward, reaching out towards him with one hand. She wasn't sure why – she barely knew the guy and he certainly wasn't being friendly – but she knew that Derek Souza was in trouble.
"A-are you okay?" she asked.
Derek looked up and seeing her hand inches away from his face he jerked back, eying her hand warily as if she were pointing a wand at him. She dropped her hand back to the bed, feeling foolish.
"I told you, I'm just warning you," Derek said again, avoiding her question. "That's it. Take it or leave it. But if you're going to keep accepting potions from Davidoff, stay away from my brother."
"Wh-what?" Chloe spluttered, her cheeks reddening as she thought of Simon. What did he have to do with this?
"You heard me." Derek fixed her with a steely glare. "If you're willing to swallow Davidoff's lies and do as he says, stay the hell away from Simon. That's a warning."
Chloe knew she should feel scared. But instead, rage washed over her. She'd reached out to him and for what? For him to throw it back in her face and threaten her? She wouldn't stand for that.
"Does your brother know you're here?" she asked and for once she didn't waver over the words. Her anger gave her strength. "How d'you think he'll react if I tell him you came in here and tried to scare me away from him?"
Derek looked away, scratching absently at his arm. "Go ahead. Simon's not stupid. He'd know there's more going on. And then he'll figure out what you are himself." He eyed her speculatively again. "Whatever you are, if you've caught Davidoff's interest, it's nothing good."
There were those words again. Whatever you are. As if she was a thing. A monster. He said he didn't care, but the flicker of curiosity in Derek's eyes betrayed his interest. This time, she didn't bother to correct him. It was probably safer to let Derek believe that she truly was something dangerous. And a little voice in the back of her head whispered that he was right to fear her. She wasn't like normal girls. She wasn't even like normal witches. Her Aunt Lauren's last words to her had made that very clear.
"You've been meeting with Professor Davidoff in secret as well, haven't you, Derek?" she said now. "Which means you're some kind of monster too." She drew back the covers and slid from the hospital bed to stand in front of him, locking her arms across her chest defensively. Although he still towered above her and she still had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes, she felt better standing up to him on two feet. "Well, from one monster to another, you don't scare me. So run along."
He narrowed his eyes. For the first time since he'd threatened her, she really did feel scared.
And then he glanced towards the Hospital Wing doors, eyes widening slightly. He shook his head and stepped back, as if in retreat.
"Can't say I didn't warn you," he muttered.
A second later the doors swung open. A blonde head peered around the door.
"Chloe!" Simon emerged fully, carrying with him a plate laden with food. He must have come straight from the Great Hall. Chloe felt a rush of gratitude towards him even as the confusion set in even further. Derek had skipped dinner to speak with her?
Simon stopped in his tracks as he noticed Derek. "Oh. Derek? What are you doing here? Did you hurt yourself?"
Derek shoved his hands into the pockets of his Ravenclaw robes and mumbled something unintelligible. Without so much as a goodbye he side-stepped Simon and stalked out the door before either of them could say another word.
Simon frowned after his brother and in that frown Chloe thought she caught a glimpse of the same fear she'd seen in Derek's eyes. She shivered. Now that Derek was gone and with him, the rush of anger-fed adrenaline, she suddenly realised how cold it was. She wished she was still curled up in bed, dead to the world.
"Hey," Simon said, wrenching his eyes away from the door as if just remembering why he had come. He lifted the plate in his hand. "I saw that you weren't at the Gryffindor table so I brought you some dinner. Figured you'd be here. I heard what happened at breakfast. You okay?"
Chloe nodded, a blush rising to her cheeks as she remembered Rae's words from the previous night. You know he's had his eye on you for weeks now.
"Thank you," she said with a genuine smile. "This is really sweet."
Simon grinned, as he settled into the chair beside her bed. She sat on the bed next to him and began to eat.
"You know why Derek was here?" Simon asked, glancing back at the doors one last time as though he was torn between keeping her company and going after his brother.
She shook her head. "No idea," she said. It wasn't really a lie. She really didn't know why he'd felt the need to confront her.
But I'm going to find out.
A/N: Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed! I love hearing your theories and feedback. As always, I'll send a sneak preview to everyone who reviews this chapter. :)