I apologize for the long wait! I was gone all week long, for one thing. And my wonderful editing staff is currently down, so I was biting my nails over this chapter. I deeply apologize again if there are a lot of mistakes! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
XX
The months in between October and December seem too short for me. We are alerted only a week after the first task that the second one will be on the first of December. To me it seems that they are already pressuring us to figure out the future task. But what is there to do to prepare besides worry and wait? I do a lot of both.
Lessons get harder and harder every day. It seems the professors are determined to stuff our brains as full as possible before the winter break. In Transfiguration we continue to study the animal-human transformations, all of us becoming increasingly wary about the whole thing. Professor Haas has shown us the spell it takes to transform, but she has yet to teach it to us, deeming us not yet ready for such important information. Arithmacy is where the biggest work load lays, Professor Huggins assigning at least a foot essay each night, otherwise at least fifty individual problems. Muggle Studies, despite being the easiest class I've taken, goes into many of the things I haven't already learned about muggles, when otherwise I knew just about everything Professor Woldells taught the class. Now we're learning things such as the mythological Muggle figures and the Muggle world's basic knowledge of the wizarding world; before that, I'd always thought that Muggles were oblivious but just made up fairy tales. Now, apparently, the wizards were unable to wipe the memory of individuals completely clean before the Muggle had time to write down what they saw.
I look forward to Christmas break, mainly because I will be staying at Hogwarts. Christmas at Hogwarts is always a very rare and wonderful thing. Just relaxing in a place meant for studying has some sort of effect on me. Al, Lorcan, Lily and Hugo are usually my only company over the Holidays. This year, much to my chagrin, almost everyone is staying for the break. Just because of the stupid ball. Christmas almost seems less appealing after hearing this news.
Scorpius and I grow ever more distant over the two months. I rarely see him anywhere except for in classes; it's as if I'm not even living with him anymore. This doesn't bother me, really. I should be happy that we can finally be true enemies. I had been terrified that he would eventually be my downfall after what I saw in the mirror. He really was my true desire, and he knew that. Keeping my distance is the best thing I could do. But I can't help but feel that Scorpius keeping his distance from me might be because he's planning something….
Thankfully, Al remains supportive, despite not once bringing up the first task. Many people make fun of me, mostly Slytherins, and Al at least defends me. If that's all the recognition that he even cares about it, I'll take it.
Pamela and I don't bring up the subject of Scorpius often, since there really isn't much to talk about in the first place. She still looks at Evan Longbottom with longing eyes; I still tell her that it will happen eventually. It seems the wizarding world around us is fading to simple social problems, yet growing ever stronger in the preparation for setting us up for our career. Since I'll be working as an Unspeakable, I'm sure, magic should be my main priority in my last year at Hogwarts. But oddly, it's not.
Lorcan is the only one I really allow myself time to be with. His carefree face always makes me cheerful and alleviates stress I'm feeling. When most of the time my only company is a quill and parchment, it's nice to have a living, breathing figure with me, even if we only exchange a few words.
XX
It's simply amazing to me how little time runs by between the two tasks. All I really want is for Christmas break to come and leave me in a peaceful blanket of snow. Usually the white powder is always calming; this year, despite the heavy blanket of it, I feel no calmer when it settles. It's all just white noise in my ears and eyes. It seems the closer I get to the first, the more everything turns to white noise.
And now the task is only a week away.
"Oh, Rose!" Margery calls to me on the way out of the Great Hall. I recognize her breathless voice, even though her features blend in with the very walls. Lorcan and I both turn and smile at her. Or, at least I do. Lorcan just stares airily into her forehead.
"Hi, Marge," I say. It has always been her preferred nickname, although I always thought that her full name was prettier.
"Um…," she begins. She's staring at Lorcan with fascination, like most girls do. He is probably one of the most handsome boys in the school, although I never really notice it myself. "Uh—the Professor—Professor Haas—wanted me to tell the champions to meet in her classroom at six tonight."
"Why didn't you call my name when you ran up here?" Lorcan asks unexpectedly. I laugh a little, but stop once I see the horrified expression on Marge's face. Obviously she didn't think it was funny.
"I—I didn't see you." Those four words, and she's off. Her muddy brown hair immediately blends in with the crowd. It must be nice, being able to go invisible at a moment's notice. Even though I get an invisibility cloak for one week a month (shared between Hugo, Lily, Al, and me, courtesy of Uncle Harry), it's hard to disguise my fire-red hair in a crowd.
"She's an odd girl," Lorcan says.
"You're an odd boy," I say jokingly.
"Yes, well, we figured that out long ago." He waves his hand brusquely. "But I always thought she was very normal."
"She's just intimidated," I say, "because you're so incredibly good looking."
"Well, sure," he says, "but that's no reason to run off."
We arrive at the tallest tower in the castle. Professor Zenobia and six other students are waiting for us, including Scorpius, silvery in the moonlight cascading directly into the stone circle. The night is cool and calming. Most student quit astronomy in their fifth year, but I found it almost intoxicating to be out in the night, led by starlight and the illuminating telescopes. It was more of a relaxation class than a true study session, although the star charts were frequent and tedious.
Lorcan and I pair up at a telescope. I point it directly at the moon, studying the craters (as is our assignment) and the waxing cycle it's currently in. It's full tonight, gloriously silver and beautiful in the sky.
"Oh dear," Lorcan says suddenly, "I think Hagrid's back from his 'mission.'"
I look down onto the silvery grass, and sure enough there is Hagrid's hut, the lights gleaming and the chimney pouring smoke. Though I was not nearly as close to Hagrid as my mother and father had been, I still found him good company, and had gone to visit him the previous Saturday to talk to him about the task. He was one of the few people who could make me cheer up in a matter of minutes. He told me he was going on a mission to collect a few things for the second task; clearly he was back.
"We should go see him after we meet with Professor Haas," I say. Maybe he'll give a hint as to what I'm facing, if Professor Haas doesn't beat him to it.
"Look what he's doing!" Lorcan says loudly. I swing the telescope to his looming figure, hovering over the lake, and both Lorcan and I squeeze to look through the lens at what Hagrid may be doing.
"It looks like he's putting something in the lake," I say. And it does. He's holding something small in his hands, all of it silhouetted against the bright moonlight, placing it carefully into the water. It might just be a kelpie he's decided to take under his wing. It wouldn't be the first time.
"Ooh, I do hope it's another kelpie," Lorcan says, as if reading my mind. I seem to remember the little water-dweller as anything but pleasant.
"Let's hope it isn't."
"Well, we can ask him about it when we see him tonight."
"Oh, I've just remembered!" I say excitedly. "I have the invisibility cloak this week! We can use it to get down there after dark."
"Lovely! I love using that cloak," Lorcan says, sounding as excited as I feel.
We continue recording the moon's state and craters. One of us will occasionally sneak glances at Hagrid, who begins to speak into the water, his bushy beard trembling as his lips move. Whatever it is that's in that lake, I hope we find out tonight.
Lorcan and I head to the Transfiguration classroom after Astrology. Scorpius is late, of course, but Anna is there, sitting on one of the desks looking shyly around. She smiles at Lorcan when we enter; of course, ignoring me entirely.
"Good late-day to you two!" Professor Haas says from behind her desk. She looks slightly flustered, as if she'd been running around the castle recently.
"Good evening," I say back, Lorcan nodding his head in agreement next to me.
"I wish we could start without Scorpius," she says. "I'm so anxious to tell all of you I can hardly stand it."
As if on cue, the doors open again and in lumbers Scorpius, looking as if he'd just woken up and accidently wandered in. "Hello," he says. Like Anna, he ignores me.
"Late," Professor Haas says happily, "or right on time, in your language."
Lorcan and I laugh, but everyone else remains somber. "Some people forgot to take their Cheering Charms this morning," I whisper to Lorcan. He laughs throatily.
"Well, let's get to it then." Professor Haas stands and pulls out from under her desk, of all things, a fish bowl. "So far in Transfiguration you've learned about human-animal transformations. If you did your homework right, you would know that there is more than one way to turn into an animal. Well, more than two, actually. An Animangus can turn at will, without a wand, and becomes an animal best reflecting his or her physical appearance."
For a moment, I remember the story of Peter Pettigrew, who looked like a rat, acted like a rat, and turned into a rat. When I was little, I thought it was a story. It was only later that I learned it was real.
"The spell you will learn this year turns you into an animal reflecting your inner character, yata yata, you know these things. Well, I'm about to make you remember a spell you learned in fifth year, I think. It will turn you into any animal of your choosing for an hour at maximum. This spell is perfect for the second task, where you will be asked to turn into—"
The Professor stops suddenly, points her cherry-wood wand at her head, flashes a brilliant smile, and then promptly turns into—
"A goldfish?" Scorpius asks, as outraged as I'm sure we all feel. "We have to turn into a goldfish for this task? I think I might drop out."
The small fish swims around merrily in her glass bowl, doing a little show-flip for us, at which Scorpius scoffs. He points his wand at the bowl, silently sending a spell that causes the Professor to magically appear back where she stood, soaking wet and grinning like a mad woman.
"Thank you, Scorpius," she smiles. "It is ever so fun to be a fish."
I laugh, but I'm the only one. Everyone else looks partly paralyzed.
"Oh, come on!" the Professor says. "You don't have to turn into a goldfish, for heaven's sake. You can turn into any water-breathing animal you want. All you have to do is survive in the lake for an hour, long enough to find a single flower."
"Just a flower? What's the point in that?" Anna asks. I agree.
"It's a very special flower. It will reveal the solution to the fourth task, which is by far the most challenging."
"So, I can turn into a freshwater salmon?" Lorcan asks. I laugh, but he is quite serious.
"Anything you wish," the Professor says. "Rose could turn into an Asian Arowana, Anna a Bottlenose Dolphin. And in Scorpius's case, he could turn into a Red Devil Piranha."
We all laugh hysterically. Even Scorpius grins, and sensing that the meeting is over, leaves promptly. Probably to go research fish breeds.
"The lake has magical properties," Professor Haas says as Lorcan and I turn to leave, "so it doesn't matter if the fish is salt or freshwater. The lake supports them both."
Lorcan and I stroll down the empty hallways, our footsteps echoing against the walls. The castle is eerily silent. Better for our mission, I suppose. We make our way up to the Head Dorm quickly. When we arrive at the portrait, I hear Lorcan let out a small 'oh'.
"Didn't you used to be horribly ugly?" Lorcan asks the portrait lady blatantly. She smiles evilly down at him.
"I am still ugly, dear," she says. "I will only be beautiful when my inner struggles are resolved."
She is still horribly ugly, but not as much as before. The excess hair has vanished from her face for the most part, leaving it soft and shiny. Her mole returned, though, and it has now sprouted a small hair that is visible from a distance.
"Secret, dear?" she says. I don't even have to think to know my answer.
"Moles repulse me," I say. She smiles and swings forward. It's as if she feeds on even the smallest of secrets, I swear.
Lorcan waits down in the common room while I run up to get the cloak. The material is cool between my fingers, and it will offer no protection against the outside air. I am reaching for my coat when a cool voice, cooler than even the material of invisibility, floats into the room.
"Sneaking out?" Scorpius asks. He is standing in the doorway, clashing thoroughly with the bright gold and red of the room, looking thoroughly nonchalant. I fume at just the sight of him.
"None of your business," I say. He smirks evilly. He probably has a plan, or he wouldn't be up here.
"Well, it will be my business when you sneak off grounds and I have to report you," he says. "You might lose your headship if you're lucky."
"I could throttle you right now," I say between clenched teeth. I feel like ripping him to shreds, he is so infuriating. Despite welcoming the revulsion between us, opposed to the polite silences, it doesn't stop me from wanting him to die.
"Please do," he says kindly. "It would save me from having to look at your repugnant face."
I glare daggers at him. His hands are tucked into his jeans, back against the doorframe, as if he threatens people daily. "What do you want?"
"I want to know about this task as much as you do."
"Well, I can't help you there."
"Oh, but you can."
"What can I do?"
"You can take me down to Hagrid's with you. I'm sure he'll reveal some lovely information to share." I flinch at his words. He knows, and must have overheard us in Astronomy class.
"Yeah, well you can't come."
"Okay, then I'll just report that you've left grounds with the freak downstairs."
I sigh desperately. There is no hope of getting out of this. I want to talk to Hagrid badly, but I can't do it without Scorpius reporting foul play.
"Don't you dare be rude," I threaten. He smirks and waits for me to grab my coat before following me downstairs.
"We have an addition to the team," I say to Lorcan. He's sitting on the couch, and look up, his eyes falling on Scorpius.
"Okay," Lorcan says. I just want to hug him; he looks as if he was expecting it. I smile brightly at him, throw the cloak around us both and head for the portrait hole. I grudgingly allow Scorpius to join us under the cloak as we near the front doors of the castle. I know for a fact that this will be pure torture.
The walk alone is almost unbearable. Being so used to being around Lorcan, I hardly notice him beside me. But Scorpius is a whole different thing. He smells so fresh and clean, it's so amazing I can't even describe it. His breath comes in warm white swirls of air. It tickles the back of my neck, sending tingles up my spine. How can I stay mad at him when I am so enamored with the emotions he's evoking?
Hagrid's hut is lit. I can hear Fang barking as we approach, and before we even take to the steps, the door opens. Over the years, Hagrid has grown older. There is now a fair share of silver hairs in his bushy hair and beard, his eyes wrinkled, his hands rougher, his coat floppier. Age, if anything, has made him tougher. There has always been something indescribably kind in Hagrid's eyes, but there's also something that says he's seen things, horrible things, that have scarred him.
"Wha' you lot doin' here?" he asks. We've just thrown off the cloak, Hagrid eyeing Scorpius warily, Fang lolling about at our feet.
"Just come to say hi to our favorite professor," I say cheerily. I try a smile, but Hagrid frowns.
"No' that you'd come to any o' my classes, you." His voice is sad. I stopped taking Care of Magical Creatures in my fifth year. "Your parents were the same."
"We love your classes, Hagrid! We had to think of our future, and none of us were interested in being game keeper." I smile sheepishly as Lorcan adds, "I still take your class."
"Thanks for the help," I whisper in his ear.
"An' what's with the Malfoy?" Hagrid asks. I'm grateful for the subject change, but this is fine ground to tread, too.
"We, uh, decided to—"
"We wanted to know about the first task," Scorpius cuts in. I'm about to hit him, but stop when I see Hagrid's face break out in a huge grin.
"'Bout time someone asked!" And with that he pulls us, not into the warm cabin, but out to the freezing lake. He takes us to the spot Lorcan and I saw him crouching earlier. I am wary, if anything.
"So, you'll tell us, then?" Scorpius asks. He looks pleased with himself.
"Wha'?" Hagrid looks around at us. "Oh, no, no, o' course not."
He didn't seem like he meant it, though. At the edge of the lake he tapped three times in the water. Ripples echoed in the water, going out further and further, and right when the first ripple reached the very far edge of the lake, a disturbance in the water made us all jump.
In the water, right where Hagrid had tapped, was a mermaid. I had seen the mermaids in the lake before, only a few times, poking the Giant Squid with long spears. The mermaids I'd seen were scaly and green, quite ugly, with long tentacles for hair and wide, alien-like eyes. The mermaid before us was nothing close to the ugly creatures of Hogwart's. She had long white hair that fanned out in the water and seemed to continue to the tip of her protruding tail. Her tail, slim and silver, reflected white in the moonlight. Her eyes were gray, old and weary, but they were beautiful. She was beautiful.
"She won' look like this, come the time when you lot'll jump in the lake," Hagrid said. His eyes were glued, not to the mermaid, but to the opposite side of the lake. "She'll be pretty as can be."
I thought she was already pretty, though I didn't say it. Weren't we supposed to be looking for a flower, not a mermaid?
Scorpius asked exactly that. I stared at the opposite side of the lake, trying to see what Hagrid was looking for, but only saw wave's wash silver up on the pebble shore. The mermaid, most likely annoyed at the lack of attention, immersed herself under the water again. Hagrid stood up with us, walking us back towards his hut.
"You be lookin' for a flower," he said, a grin on his face. "She's a beautiful flower, too."
The mischievous smile remained on his face as he invited us in for tea and rock cakes. Scorpius, unknowing of Hagrid's cooking, took one and bit into it. Lorcan and I both snorted into our tea when he chipped a tooth, and Hagrid claimed his pink umbrella wand wasn't working when he set the temperature.
Hagrid, Lorcan and I laughed pleasantly with each other, but Scorpius remained solemn. I was glad. Maybe he'd learn his lesson. It seemed he had come to the conclusion that it was stupid for him to come.
Something told me that it wasn't bad idea that we came.
XX
Reviews are welcome!
Chloe