Hi everyone! I'm back from my holiday in Australia and I'll try to update the next two or three chapters really quickly to make up for lost time.
Jessica Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Chapter Nine
The Midnight Duel
Jessica never thought she could really hate someone until she met Draco Malfoy. Still, first year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with him mush. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room which made them all groan. Flying lessons would start on Thursday – and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.
"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."
Jessica was surprised, Harry seemed to doubt himself all the time.
"You won't make a fool of yourself," she said.
"Yeah, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk." Added Ron.
Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories which always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one though: the way Seamus told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Ron would tell anyone that would listen about the time when he'd almost hit a hang-glider on Charlie's old broom. Even Jessica had fond memories of flying through the woods near her house. She loved the feeling of dodging the trees as she soared through the air, the wind whipping back her hair.
"Hermione, look! Flying lessons are this Thursday, aren't you excited?"said Jessica as Hermione arrived by the notice board.
"Excited is one word, terrified is another, I've never flown. I'm muggle-born, remember?" said Hermione.
"Come on, it's really easy, you'll catch on fast."
"I don't know it seems awfully complicated..."
"It's really not, I just wish we didn't have to have our lessons with the Slytherins."
At breakfast on Thursday, Hermione began to give everyone flying tips she'd read out of a library book Jessica had helped her find called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville hung onto her every word, he seemed desperate for anything to help him keep hold of his broomstick as he was very clumsy with both feet on the ground and Jessica shuddered to think what would happen when he was in the air. However Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.
A barn owl bought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which was filled with white smoke.
"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh..." his face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "... you've forgotten something."
Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who had been passing by the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand. Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They looked ready to fight him, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.
"What's going on?"
"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."
Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.
"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.
At three-thirty that afternoon, Jessica, Hermione and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps into the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their feet under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground.
Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like hawk.
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."
Jessica looked down at her broom. It was very old and battered.
"Stick your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch from up the front, "and say "Up!""
"UP!" everyone shouted.
Jessica's broom quivered a little and rose a foot off the ground, but it one of the few that had risen. Neville's hadn't moved at all, and Hermione's had simply rolled on the ground. Harry's however had shot right to his hand.
"Up." Repeated Jessica and her broom moved the rest of the distance to her hand.
Madam Hooch showed them how to correctly mount their brooms without slipping off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Jessica was very happy when Madam Hooch told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle – three – two –"
But Neville, nervous, jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.
"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle – twelve feet – twenty feet. Jessica saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and –
WHAM – a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay face down on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily towards the forbidden forest and out of sight. Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.
"Broken wrist," she muttered. "Come on, boy – it's all right, up you get."
She turned to the rest of the class.
"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say "Quidditch". Come on, dear"
Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.
No sooner were they out of earshot, than Malfoy burst into laughter.
"Did you see his face, the great lump?"
The other Slytherins joined in.
Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.
"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl, "Never thought you'd like fat little cry babies, Parvati."
"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass, "it's that stupid thing Longbottom's Gran sent him."
The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.
"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.
Malfoy smiled nastily.
"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect – how about – up a tree?"
"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well – hovering level with the topmost branch of an oak he called,
"Come and get it, Potter!"
Harry grabbed his broom.
"No!" shouted Hermione.
"Madam Hooch told us not to move – you'll get everyone into trouble," said Jessica.
Harry ignored them. He mounted the broom and kicked against the ground and up, up he soared, his robes whipped around him in the wind. He pulled up even higher people were screaming and gasping, Ron let out an admiring whoop. Harry turned his broomstick to face Malfoy in mid-air. Malfoy looked stunned.
"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"
"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but sounding worried. Harry shot towards Malfoy like a javelin and a few people clapped.
"He's going to get in big trouble or hurt if he doesn't come down," said Jessica to Hermione.
"I know! Do you have any idea how many points he'll lose for us?"
"Harry! It's not worth it! Just come back down!" yelled Jessica.
Harry ignored her.
"No Crabbe and Goyle to save you up here, Malfoy," called Harry.
Frustrated, Jessica called again, "just leave him Harry!"
When her words again had no affect on Harry, she got onto her own broomstick and kicked off the ground. She shot upwards and was engulfed by the familiar joyful sensation that came with flying as her hair was whipped out of her face by the wind. She drew level with Harry and Malfoy.
"Called for some backup, have you Potter? Can't you stand facing me alone?" sneered Malfoy.
"Actually, I'm here to get Harry and you back on the ground before anyone else gets hurt!" said Jessica, "besides, you aren't supposed to be up here anyway."
"Sorry Jessica, but I'm not going down until I get that Remembrall back!"
"Catch it if you can then!" shouted Malfoy, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back towards the ground.
Jessica saw, almost in slow motion, the ball rise into the air and then start to fall. Harry went into a steep dive to try to catch it. I must be crazy thought Jessica as she shot after him, trying to make sure she could catch him if it all went wrong. Weaving around him during his dive, Jessica became worried as he approached the ground. Jessica pulled up but quickly swooped back to the ground to dismount. When she looked back at Harry, he was toppling onto the ground, with the Remembrall safely clutched in his fist.
"HARRY POTTER!"
Professor McGonagall was running towards them. Harry stood up, trembling.
"Never – in all my time at Hogwarts –"
Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously "–how dare you – might have broken your neck – "
"It wasn't his fault Professor –"
"Be quiet Miss Patil –"
"But Malfoy –"
"That's enough, Mr Weasley. Miss Lupin, I'll speak to you later. Potter, follow me, now."
Jessica caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle's triumphant faces as Harry left in McGonagall's wake as she strode to the castle.
Jessica's stomach dropped. Was Harry about to be expelled? Would she be too?
"Jessica, you really shouldn't have done that," said Hermione
"I know, now I'll probably be expelled. Well, I could've been killed, that's probably worse."
Hermione giggled, "I suppose it is. Look! Here comes Madam Hooch, I wonder if she knows you, Harry and Draco were flying."
Madam Hooch walked back to the front of class once again.
"Settle down. Now, I'm sure you all heard me earlier when I clearly instructed that no one was to move while I was gone. However three of you seem to not have heard me, as I was informed by Professor McGonagall. But she told me that she would deal with those three herself, so we will just have to continue normally." She said. So they spent the rest of the lesson hovering, landing and eventually actually flying on their broomsticks. Jessica couldn't focus. She was too worried about being expelled.
After the flying lesson Jessica was just as nervous, Harry still wasn't back, had he been expelled? Was she going to be next? As she walked slowly back towards the castle with Hermione, these thoughts engulfed her. No sooner than she had stepped into the entrance hall, Professor McGonagall's voice hit her ears.
"Miss Lupin, may I see you for a moment?"
Jessica walked over to where she was waiting.
"Yes Professor?"
"Follow me if you please." She said as she began to stride off with Jessica following her. They arrived in a classroom empty apart from Harry and a burly fifth year boy who looked very pleased with himself.
"Wood, this is Jessica Lupin. Jessica, this is Oliver Wood, the captain if the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
"Err, hi," said Jessica, wondering why she was being introduced to Oliver.
"We've had a discussion between the three of us here, and it sounds like you are a rather good flyer," said Oliver, "so how would you and Harry like to be seekers for the Gryffindor team?"
"But isn't there only one seeker in Quidditch?" asked Jessica.
"Yes, but because your first years, we're going to give you half the games each."
"Well then, I'd love to."
"Great, do you have a broom?"
"Yeah, I've got a Cleansweep Seven." Said Jessica
"Great, what about you Harry?"
Sounding slightly embarrassed, Harry said, "no, I don't have one."
"OK then. We'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor – a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."
"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match against Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..."
Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry and Jessica.
"I want to hear that you two are training hard, or I may change my mind about punishing you."
Then she suddenly smiled and looked to Harry.
"Your father would have been proud," she said, "he was an excellent Quidditch player himself."
"You're kidding."
It was dinner time. Jessica had just finished telling Hermione what had happened when she had gone off with McGonagall. Hermione hadn't touched her food throughout the story, and seemed to have forgotten about it.
"Seekers?" she said. "But first years aren't even allowed broomsticks. You two must be the youngest players in about –"
"– a century," said Jessica excitedly, "Wood told me. We start training next week. But don't tell anyone, because Wood wants to keep it a secret."
Fred and George now entered the hall, spotted Jessica and hurried over.
"Congratulations," said Fred quietly, "Wood told us – we're on the team too –"
"– Beaters," said George, "We're going to win that cup this year. You and Harry must be really good, Wood was practically skipping when we saw him just now."
"Anyway, have to go welcome Harry to the team too, don't we?"
"See you around Jessica."
"OK, see you guys" and off they went.
"Aren't they just hilarious?" said Jessica as the twins moved over to Harry.
"Yes, but they are a bit immature, they're always losing points for Gryffindor."
"I know, especially when we have to go along and try to regain the points before they lose even more."
Hermione and Jessica began to finally eat their food when they noticed Malfoy taking to Harry and Ron, so they did a little eavesdropping.
"– braver now you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles and scowled.
"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"
"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around, "I'm his second, who's yours?"
Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.
"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room, that's always unlocked."
Jessica turned back to Hermione.
"I can't believe they're going to sneak out!" she said.
"I know, we'd better made sure they don't."
They both went to sort out Ron and Harry
"Excuse me," said Hermione, interrupting their conversation.
"Can't a person eat in this place?" said Ron.
Jessica ignored him and spoke to Harry.
"We couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying –"
"Bet you could," Ron muttered.
" – and you mustn't go wandering around school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if your caught, and you're bound to be.It's really very selfish of you."
"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.
"Goodbye," said Ron.
Offended, Jessica and Hermione walked away.
"They wouldn't listen!"
"Well, we'll just have to wait for them tonight and make sure they listen."
All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Jessica thought as she lay awake in bed, hearing her roommates fall asleep one by one. She checked the off in her head as they slipped into their dreams; Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown and Fay Dunbar.
"Quarter past eleven," she whispered to Hermione, "We'd better go."
They pulled on their dressing gowns and crept down into the common room to wait for Harry and Ron. They each picked a chair, and watched the staircase that came from the boy's dormitories. Finally, at half past eleven, Harry and Ron walked into the common room.
"I can't believe you're going to do this Harry," said Jessica, flicking on a lamp.
"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"
"I almost told you brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy – he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."
"Come on," Harry said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole. But Hermione and Jessica weren't giving up that easily. They followed Ron through the portrait hole.
"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells," hissed Hermione.
"Go away."
"All right, but we warned you, you just remember that when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so –" began Jessica, turning back to the portrait to get back in, but she couldn't. The Fat Lady had gone on a night-time stroll and they were locked out of Gryffindor tower.
"Now what are we going to do?" she said.
"That's your problem," said Ron, "We've got to go, we're going to be late."
They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Jessica and Hermione caught up with them.
"We're coming with you," said Hermione.
"You are not."
"D'you think we're going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch us? If he finds all four of us I'll tell him the truth, that we were trying to stop you and Jessica can back me up."
"You've got some nerve –" said Ron loudly.
"Shut up! Both of you!" said Harry sharply, "I heard something."
It was a sort of snuffling.
"Mrs Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.
It wasn't Mrs Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake when they crept nearer.
"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the password to get in to bed."
"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig Snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." said Jessica.
"How's your arm?" asked Harry.
"Fine," said Neville, showing them his arm, "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."
"Good – well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later –"
"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been twice already."
Ron looked at his watch and glared furiously at Jessica, Hermione and Neville.
"If any of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I learn that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about and use it on you."
Hermione opened her mouth, probably to tell him exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.
They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Jessica expected to see Filch or Mrs Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tip toed into the trophy room. Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy shelves glittered where the moonlight caught them. Cup, shields plates and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. The minutes crept by.
"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.
Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry began to raise his wand when someone began to speak – and it wasn't Malfoy.
"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."
It was Filch speaking to Mrs Norris. Horror-struck, Jessica froze until Harry waved his hand right in front of her face, snapping her to her senses. They scurried silently towards the door away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped around the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.
"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."
"This way!" Harry mouthed and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run – he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist and the pair of them toppled into a suit of armour. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.
"RUN!" Harry yelled and the five of them sprinted down the gallery, nit looking back to see whether Filch was following – they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, and Jessica behind him losing any track of where they were going – they had ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.
"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the wall. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering
"I – told – you," Hermione gasped, clutching the stitch in her chest, "I – told – you."
"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."
"Malfoy tricked you," Jessica said to Harry. "You do realise that don't you? Malfoy was never going to show up – Filch knew someone would be in the trophy room, he must've been tipped off by Malfoy."
"Let's go," said Harry.
It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.
It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.
"Shut up, Peeves – please – you'll get us thrown out."
Peeves cackled.
"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty you'll get caught."
"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."
"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."
"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves – this was a big mistake.
"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"
Ducking under Peeves they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door – and it was locked.
"This is it!" Ron moanws, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"
They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could towards Peeves' shouts.
"Move over," said Jessica. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock and whispered, "Alohomora!"
The lock clicked and the door swung open – they piled through it, shut it quickly and pressed their ears against it, listening.
"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."
"Say 'please'."
"Don't mess me about, Peeves, now where did they go?"
"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying sing-song voice.
"All right – please."
"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.
"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered, "I think we'll be OK – get off, Neville! What?"
Harry had turned around, and so did Jessica – they saw exactly what. For a moment Jessica was sure she'd walked into a nightmare – this was too much on top of everything that had happened so far. They weren't in a room, as she had supposed. There were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden. They were looking into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog which filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs. It was standing quite still on what looked like a trap door in the floor, all six eyes staring at them, and Jessica knew the only reason they weren't dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking those thunderous growls meant.
Harry grabbed the door handle to open the door and Jessica knew what he was thinking – between Filch and death, she would choose Filch. They fell backwards – Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared – all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.
"Where on earth have you been?" she asked, looking at their dressing gowns hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.
"Never mind that – pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling into armchairs.
It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed looked like he'd never speak again.
"What do you think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally, "If any dog needs exercise, that one does.
Hermione regained her breath, "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"
"The floor?"Harry suggested. Ï wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with the heads."
"No, not the floor," said Jessica, "it was standing on a trapdoor. It's guarding something."
Hermione stood up.
"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could have all been killed – or worse, expelled. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."
Jessica followed her up, leaving the boys in the common room.
"I hope that was either sarcasm, or we now have an inside joke." Said Jessica light-heartedly as they entered the dormitory.
"A bit of both really, but the boys will never know will they?" smiled Hermione.
As Jessica climbed into bed, she had so much on her mind. What was the dog guarding? Hogwarts was surely the safest place to hide something, besides Gringotts. Jessica thought she and her friends may have just found where the mystery contents of vault seven hundred and thirteen were.
