The Welshman
by Hyena Cub
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death, especially later on.
Genre: Harry Potter

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CHAPTER 10: Secret Room

When Aldora led us out onto the pitch, and I got a good look upwards at the hundreds of people filling the stands, my guts filled with ice. I took a big breath, looking back down at the Slytherins instead, who were marching from the opposite side of the pitch. The Moors leered my way and I managed a smirk in return.

The referee for the broom sports was Arnell Eagleton, and also taught the first-year flying lessons. She was a woman of maybe forty years, with short, sand-blond hair and dark eyes. She was very much a no-nonsense woman, and didn't tolerate cheating in her Quidditch games. As we all met in the middle of the pitch, grasping our broomsticks, Eagleton looked us both over and nodded in approval. 'Captains, shake hands!'

The Slytherin captain was a fifth-year boy named Jake Anthony, who to be fair was a fairly decent one for being Slytherin. He seemed a bit grim and ruthless, but not slimy, like the Moors and their friends. He nodded with cold courtesy at Aldora as he shook her hand, and she returned the gesture.

'Good!' exclaimed Eagleton. 'Then mount your brooms!' As everyone got onto their broomsticks, I watched Eagleton walk over to the crate that contained all of the balls for the game, and opened it up. She took hold of the Quaffle, put her whistle in her mouth, and waited. My heart finally righted itself a second before the shrill sound of the whistle sounded in the stadium, and everyone kicked off hard from the ground.

'And the Quaffle is up!' called a very familiar voice, as Professor Eagleton hurled the Quaffle upwards. Acrturus was commenting, but I didn't dare look around to see where he was. Every nerve in my body sizzled as I took to the air, and to my astonishment, what Mr Jacey had said was true: I was no longer scared to death. I was up in the air doing what I loved, and it didn't matter if the whole world was looking at me.

Aldora snatched the Quaffle from under the nose of one of the Slytherin Chasers and took off towards the goalposts, pursued hotly by the Chaser and Cuthbert Moor. Gideon and I glared briefly at one another; he shook his bat in a threatening sort of way, I gave him a disgusted look, and then the Bludgers were released, and there was no more time for pleasantries.

I darted after one bludger, pursued hotly by Gideon Moor. I got there first, whacking the bludger so that it veered off away from Aldora, who still had the Quaffle. I grinned as she hurled the Quaffle to the right, to Rory Brennan, out of the grasp of the Slytherin Chaser who had been trying to grab it out of her hand.

Gideon let a rather rude swear word, and I grinned his way, zooming off after the other Bludger. There was a sharp crack, and then another, right on its heels; I looked up in time to see Sekhmet blasting the Bludger back towards the Beater that had hit it first at her. The stupid thing came pelting at me, but I couldn't get my bat up in time, and I had to roll right over on my broomstick to avoid it, my stomach swooping in alarm as I briefly hung upside down, the bludger missing my head by inches.

Righting myself hastily, I chased it, but this time, Gideon got there first, and I winced at the crack of the bat against the bludger, especially when it hit Rory Brennan in the shoulder, making him veer away from the goalposts.

'Ooh, that had to hurt!' called Arcturus's voice over the magical intercom. 'Chaser Rory Brennan takes a Bludger in the shoulder, hit by Gideon Moor, veers off to the side. Doesn't seem to be hurt, though! Aldora Hawkins passes the Quaffle to him – he pelts up the pitch! He goes for the goal…and he makes it! Slytherin Keeper Kevin Connolly fails to save the goal, and possession goes to Slytherin!'

I rather liked that Arcturus was there doing the commenting, so I didn't have to really watch everything to know what was going on. I could concentrate on those damned bludgers, which seemed somehow more vicious and fast now, in this game, than ever at practice.

The whole game was unlike any practice I'd ever had. People seemed to be flying all over the place, sometimes only a green or red blur in the sky. The bludgers were like cannonballs, hell-bent on knocking every single one of us off our brooms. Adrenaline throbbed through my body, putting my senses on super-alertness, every movement catching my eye, every sound clear and loud.

Gideon hit a bludger at Evin Quigley, which Sekhmet managed to deflect, and I cracked a Bludger at Cuthbert Moor, who had the Quaffle, but it was deflected by the other Slytherin Beater. I dove downward, after a bludger that was going after Aldora again, and hit it back up at Cuthbert, cheering savagely as it hit, nearly knocking him off his broom. He didn't drop the Quaffle, but he nearly stopped in midair, letting Rory Brennan grab the Quaffle from his grasp.

Cuthbert snarled in pain, chasing after Rory, and Gideon shot me a look of pure hate. But I was on the most incredible thrill-high; this was way better than practice! Too bad we couldn't have games much more often!

Slytherin's chasers weren't too bad. Even Cuthbert had some skill…not as much as Aldora and the others in my opinion, but some. Still, Gryffindor was thirty points ahead when Arcturus's voice made everyone began looking wildly around the pitch.

'I think that was the Snitch!' he called. 'Yes…yes, both Seekers have spotted it – and off they go!'

It was Slytherin's clue to begin playing more viciously than ever. A bludger hit by Gideon came within inches of splitting Evin's skull open, and the other Beater, some muscle-bound bloke I didn't know, hit the other bludger at Aldora so hard that Sekhmet only barely got to it in time.

Evin Quigley, dove suddenly, and my heart leapt; had he caught sight of the Snitch again? I dove, too, wanting to keep the bludgers away from him, hissing in alarm at the familiar whoosh of the metal cannonball nearby. I looked wildly around, bringing my bat up in a badly-controlled swing, hitting the bludger only enough to deflect it about ten degrees; but it was enough. The bludger soared off away from Evin, going after Carey Henderson instead.

As Arcturus excitedly reported the action, Evin Quigley turned in midair, nearly bowling over Slytherin's Seeker, and made a sudden, lunging grab with his arm. I held my breath until Quigley gave a mighty cheer of success, holding his fist above his head, and I laughed as I saw the tiny, silvery wings of the Snitch fluttering from either side of his fist.

'And Gryffindor wins!' came Arcturus's voice over the pitch. 'It's too bad, really, but win they did, and by one hundred and eighty points!' I laughed as Arcturus raised his voice to make himself heard over the cheers and boos of the crowd. 'Final score: two hundred to twenty!'

'HA!' I crowed, as the rest of the Gryffindor team flew jubilantly towards Evn, who was flying around the pitch in a sort of victory lap. Mr Eagleton was flying around after the Bludgers, so he could secure them back into the case, and I looked round to the Moor twins.

Gideon and Cuthbert were hovering about ten feet above us, not too far away, and were glaring hatefully, looking identically ugly. I grinned their way and raised my bat in salute, and Cuthbert had to stop his brother flying at me with his Beater's bat. Nothing so unusual there; they were gits in the air, too. Then Sekhmet grabbed my arm and yanked me towards the group hug congregating in the middle of the field. Laughing, I let her drag me into the midst.

You haven't lived until you've experienced an airborne group hug. I was hugging people, trying not to be knocked off my broom, trying not to drop my bat, and hoping fervently that Mr Eagleton managed to round up the bludgers before they pelted into our midst. But we all got down to the ground in one piece, and I laughed as I ran along with them towards the locker rooms. What a fantastic first game!

The seven of us chattered happily about the game as we crowded into the dressing room, putting away equipment, and in some cases, changing into normal clothing. Sekhmet and I grinned at each other, clicked our bats hard together, then tossed them into the equipment trunk.

'Fantastic catch, Evin!' said Aldora, a big grin on her face.

'Yeah, you were cool,' said Rory with a laugh.

'Hey I wouldn't be much without you lot,' said Evin modestly, though he was grinning in a pleased sort of way. He still had the Snitch in his hand.

'Hey, lemme see that, would you?' I said curiously. I'd actually never held one before.

'Sure,' said Evin mischievously, and tossed the Snitch my way. Of course the Snitch didn't just soar into my hands; Snitches were bewitched to evade capture as long as possible, and it darted out of my reach and began zooming around the room.

'Hey!' I said indignantly, as the team burst into laughter. I laughed too, and began chasing the stupid thing all over the locker room to the amusement of my teammates, who began cheering and egging me on. I jumped onto benches, lunging for it; I ran across the room after it and made several awkward turns trying to keep up with the stupid thing.

Finally I mounted my broom and went after it that way in the cramped locker room…that was easier than clumsily clomping about, but I still couldn't catch the miserable little Snitch! Panting, I landed, and demanded that Evin catch it for me. Grinning, he obliged, mounting his broom and catching the Snitch way too fast.

'Showoff,' I muttered, but I was still smiling. I was sure it looked pretty stupid, after all! And I vowed never to play Seeker. Ever. 'Thanks,' I said as Evin handed the little ball to me. I took the Snitch, peering at it in fascination, feeling its very slight weight between my fingers. Its wings beat against my fingers, feather-touches on my skin. I wondered how Evin could see the damned thing, much less catch it.

'Pretty cool, huh?' said Evin, and I laughed.

'Pretty cool,' I agreed, handing it back.

'Let's get back to the castle,' said Rory with a grin. 'A victory party!'

'Yeah!' I agreed, laughing. Gryffindor always had a party when they won a Quidditch or Creaothceann match. It was probably a tradition dating back to the beginning of Hogwarts. In fact my friends and I were usually the ones who snuck down into the kitchens for cakes and other food.

The team all surged out of the locker rooms, only to be met by a couple dozen Gryffindors all wanting to escort us back to the castle and get the party started. Faolan, Ke'Koa, and Peter were there also, and I joined them, laughing and talking about the game. I couldn't resist telling them about all my awesome moves…well, I thought they were awesome, anyway. And nailing Cuthbert with that bludger had just made the whole thing that much better. Talk about getting out my aggressions! It was incredibly satisfying.

Faolan and Ke'koa volunteered to go to the kitchens for food and drink while the rest of us headed for the marble staircase that led up to the first floor. Professor Blake came in right behind us, and I grinned at him, waving.

'Congratulations!' said Blake to us, grinning. 'Fantastic game…well done, all of you! Our new players have proven themselves quite nicely, haven't they?'

I beamed happily as the group gave a sound of general agreement, and Rory slung his arm around my shoulders. 'Yeah, we're brilliant,' he agreed with mock arrogance, and Professor Blake laughed.

'No one ever said skill on a broomstick ever had anything to do with brilliance,' he said with a wink, and I laughed, clapping Rory on the shoulder.

'Yeah, it doesn't actually mean you have brains!' I agreed. Rory tried to look outraged, but he was in way too good a mood to manage it, and I knew how he felt. Not even the Moors or Melville could ruin my mood!

'Well, go on,' said Blake, chuckling. 'Go on and celebrate; you've earned it.'

So we did.

The party lasted all evening, greatly annoying those students who were trying to get some homework done. Most of them gave up and joined the party, while the remainder shot us dirty looks and headed into the dorms. Ke'koa and Faolan had gotten loads of cakes and sweets and food from the kitchens, along with pitchers of pumpkin juice and lime fizzies and other sweet drinks. The party probably would have gone on all night, if Professor Blake hadn't finally come up and told us we had to pack it in for the night.

I was glad, to tell the truth. I was still elated, but I was also exhausted; being a Beater is wearying work! My arms ached and my muscles might never forgive me. Still in my Quidditch robes, I stumbled up to the boys' dorms and flopped onto my four-poster bed.

'Aren't you even going to undress?' asked Ke'koa, sounding amused.

'No,' I said flatly, muffled by my pillow.

Ke'koa laughed and went about getting into his pyjamas. I heard the other boys getting ready for bed, but I didn't last long enough to see the lights being turned out.

When I woke, it seemed to be Saturday morning, and I felt sore but happy – a leftover from the game. I looked down at my Quidditch robes, which were rumpled and wrinkled from having slept in them all night. I looked over at the other beds to see that only Dragomir was still asleep; the others seemed to have gone already to breakfast. Shrugging, I got up and got dressed, wearing some comfortable jeans and a bright red jumper.

When I got down into the common room, there was no sign of my friends, but there were a few people there, hanging out. I waved at them and got a few waves or smiles in return, then headed out through the portrait hole.

'Congratulations, Calen!' said the Fat Lady, and I turned around to grin at her.

'Thanks!'

'I hear it was quite a good match,' she said a little wistfully. 'Wish I could have seen it.'

I blinked, peering at the Fat Lady, and cocked my head curiously. 'You can't watch Quidditch at all?'

'Well,' she said, 'there's a painting on the fifth floor of a Quidditch match, but that's from 1789.'

'Oh.' I felt somehow very sad that the Fat Lady couldn't watch our Quidditch matches – surely there was a way to manage it! I wondered if there was a window that faced the pitch where one of the portraits could be moved so she could visit and watch…or even just bring her portrait down to the pitch! 'Well…thanks. I hope you get to see a game sometime.'

The Fat Lady chuckled, giving me a warm smile. 'Someday I'll see one again.'

The Fat Lady and portraits were on my mind as I headed downstairs; I had never really much thought about wizarding portraits. They were just…part of the territory when you went to Hogwarts, and I knew that they appeared sometimes when someone died. I wasn't sure what determined whether a person became a portrait on his death, and I never really stopped to think what exactly a portrait was. Were they sentient? Were they truly the essence of the people who had died? Surely their spirits weren't trapped, else they'd be ghosts. Did they have a spirit? A mind? Could they die?

I was thinking so deeply about portraits that I walked right into something soft that made a surprised grunting sound. Blinking, I stepped back and looked up to see Professor Forrester standing there, looking mildly amused. 'Er, sorry, sir,' I said. 'I was kinda lost in thought.'

'So I noticed,' said Professor Forrester. 'Congratulations on the match yesterday. I didn't get a chance to watch it, but I heard it was an exciting one.'

'Definitely!' I said. 'It was my first game…I love playing Quidditch. It's nothing like practice!'

'I imagine not,' said Forrester. 'I never played it, myself. I was more into caring for animals and the like, as you might have noticed.' He winked and I sort of chuckled. I agreed that being the teacher for Care of Magical Creatures sort of demanded a love of animals. 'Listen, Weasley, I've been meaning to ask you something, I was wondering if you might know.'

I was really getting hungry, and wanted to get down to the Great Hall so I could get some breakfast, but I was also really curious as to what a teacher might have to ask me about. Besides which it didn't seem entirely polite to tell a teacher 'no, I want to stuff my face first.' 'What's that, sir?'

'Well…you see I've heard in rumour about a…room. A room here in Hogwarts, that no one seems to know where it is.'

I blinked. I knew that rooms moved around a lot, and the staircases shifted around, and the like, but I didn't think there would be a room even the teachers didn't know about. But I was even more intrigued.

Professor Forrester continued. 'See, this room remains hidden…somewhere. And a person can only ever find it if they have great need for it. I know your family have gone to Hogwarts for several generations…I don't suppose you've ever heard of such a room?'

I hadn't…but it sounded incredibly interesting! 'No…I don't think I've ever heard of it,' I finally said, trying to think of all the rooms I have ever seen or heard of in Hogwarts. 'I mean there are secret passages and all…but I think Mr Hummel knows about all of those. Maybe he knows!'

But Forrester was shaking his head, looking very disappointed. 'No, I've asked him already, and I'd asked Professor Ryan before he died…and Professor Miller doesn't know, either. I don't even know if it exists; I just heard some of the students talking about it and was intrigued.'

I didn't blame him; I was intrigued by this room, too…if it existed. 'I suppose I could ask my parents,' I offered. 'They might know.'

'Would you?' asked Forrester, shaking his head a bit to get a wisp of his wild hair out of his face. 'I'd appreciate it, Weasley.'

'Sure, I can write to them tonight, see what they say. I know my father's grandfather is still alive…he might know something.'

Forrester gave me a grin, which made him look a little like some jungle savage, like Tarzan. 'Appreciate it. Well I'll let you get on to breakfast then. I imagine after yesterday's game you're more than ready for some food.' He grinned and moved on, leaving me with a lot more to think about than wizarding portraits.

Ten minutes later I was sitting at the Gryffindor table, scarfing down a delicious breakfast of biscuits and white gravy. Ke'koa and Faolan were there, but Arcturus had sat at the Slytherin table that morning as he sometimes did. I thought he might be sulking a bit about the Quidditch match. I thought Peter might be still in his dorms; he often slept in.

I told my friends about what Professor Forrester had asked me, wondering if either of them had ever heard of such a thing, but neither one had. Faolan was very interested as I knew he would be, and Ke'koa was really interested, too. 'A secret room?' he asked. 'That only appeared if someone really needs it? That's wicked! I wonder if it really exists.'

'You'd think something like that would be better known,' said Faolan. 'Unless…unless it's dangerous or something, anyway.'

'Or powerful!' said Ke'koa.

'Or both,' I added, the idea of this room becoming more and more attractive. 'I wonder what's in it that would only appear if you need it?'

'Maybe it was a wartime measure,' suggested Faolan. 'Maybe during the war with Voldemort?'

'Maybe,' I mused. 'It's kinda weird that Forrester was wondering about it, though. Said he'd heard some students talking about it, but they didn't know much more about it than when Forrester told me. You think anyone here knows where it is?'

'Doubtful, mate,' said Ke'koa. 'Not if even Mr Hummel doesn't know. He knows damn near every place in this castle.'

But did he? He didn't know about that passageway that Sekhmet showed us, I was almost sure of that. If there was a secret room, I would bet Hummel had no idea.

'What're we talking about?' asked a new voice.

I looked round to see my cousin walking towards us, looking half-awake. I laughed and scooted aside so that Peter could sit down, and he did, rubbing his eyes. 'Have some pumpkin juice,' I said. 'It's ice-cold – that'll wake you up.'

Peter took that advice and downed half a glass before blinking owlishly and rubbing his eyes again, looking for just a second like an overgrown baby, just waking up. Then his eyes opened a little more fully and looked like he might be beginning to function correctly.

Ke'oa told Peter about the secret room, and I half hoped that Peter would know what we were talking about it, but I was sorely disappointed. He was just as puzzled as the rest of us.

'No idea,' he said, getting himself a plate of eggs. 'But…Hogwarts, A History might know!'

Peter was more interested in history than most of us, and even researched things outside of class. (I liked history but not enough to pursue it outside the classroom!) He had this book called Hogwarts, A History, and it was all about the history of Hogwarts Castle…go figure. Still, he had a good idea! If it was in there….

'I'll ask Sekhmet, too,' I said. 'She knew about that one passageway.'

'She can help us wade through that huge, evil tome,' said Ke'koa with a grin, looking sideways at Peter.

'Hey,' said Peter, swallowing his mouthful so he could protest. 'It's a very interesting book! It's how I found out about that one passageway in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.'

'Well let's go have a look!' said Faolan, standing up and looking eager.

I laughed, grabbing his arm and tugging him back down onto the bench. 'Whoa, boy. Down Couldn't we eat, first?'

'Oh, I guess,' said Faolan, laughing, and sat down to wait patiently (mostly) for us to finish our breakfast. When everyone had finished, Faolan jumped up, grinned at us, and dashed for the door to the Entrance Hall. I laughed, shook my head, and waved for the others to go on ahead.

While the others headed for Gryffindor Tower, I looked down the table to find Sekhmet Stark, and finally spotted her at the opposite end of the table. But she looked like she was very much involved with her conversation with some first-year girl, so I let her be. We might not even find anything, anyway.

I caught up with my friends in the Gryffindor Common Room, where they'd waited for me. I explained that I had planned on getting Sekhmet in on the search, but that she was busy. 'She can't go in our dorms, anyway,' said Ke'koa.

I shrugged. 'I don't care. Not like anyone's gonna get naked or anything. No offence, you're my best mates, but we're not that close. Blokes just aren't my type, anyway.'

Faolan snorted laughter and Peter gave me a disgusted look. 'Forget blokes, you're my cousin!'

That broke everyone up and we didn't stop laughing until we were in the dorms. I had to agree, it was a pretty revolting thought; especially when I realized that some pureblood families, especially in the past, actually did that. They married their cousins to keep within the pureblood families. And there weren't as many then as there were now. That purity could mean so much to some people was astonishing to me.

'Okay,' said Peter, kneeling by his bunk and pulling out a large, heavy book. 'Here it is. The single most comprehensive record of the history of this school.'

Ke'koa and I exchanged an exasperated look. Peter didn't do it often, but sometimes he lapsed into an almost-English that only teachers seemed to be able to comprehend.

'The biggest, longest, most detailed book,' Peter translated before we could ask, and I laughed.

'Thank you.' I took the book from Peter and set it down on my bed, climbing up next to it and sitting crosslegged so that I could page through. The others sort of crowded around to read, Faolan at the top, since the freak could read upside down. Whoever heard of someone who could read upside down, anyway? He could read backwards and sideways, too.

'This book is huge,' he complained. 'We'll never get through it.'

'It won't take long,' said Peter, standing at my side and sort of looking over my shoulder. 'I know it quite well…we can just page past the stuff that won't help us. I just wanna see if I can catch any kind of mention of it, or maybe its creation, or if it's had any significance in any major events at the school. That's the sort of thing that'll be in here.'

It sounded right to me. I began flipping pages slowly, letting Peter skim the words, stopping here and there when he spotted something that might be what we were looking for. Page after page after page…it felt like I was doing some particularly difficult essay for someone like Professor Melville.

'This is getting us nowhere,' groaned Faolan an hour later; he was not often the most patient person in the world when it come to searching for answers. 'I'll bet this bloody room doesn't even exist!'

'I bet it does,' said Peter. 'We just have to find it.'

'Well I'm done for now,' said Peter. 'My brain's gone on strike. See it, Calen, over there? It's got a little picket sign and it's marching up and down your school trunk.'

I sputtered laughter and gave Faolan a very strange look. I had a really weird image in my mind of a disembodied brain, picketing on top of my trunk. 'You're weird. Just…weird.'

We took a break from the volume to go outside and expend some energy with wizard tag, until it was time for lunch. After we ate, Ke'koa and Peter went off to fly broomsticks for a while, and Faolan and I went to see Artemis at her gamekeeper's cottage. We hadn't had a lot of time lately to visit with her, and I had missed hearing her stories and exasperating her with some of my own stories of rule-breaking. (She never told, but boy, she'd given us some major tellings-off sometimes! It was fun to say we'd done mad stuff just for her reaction.)

'So!' said Artemis, after we'd knocked on the door and she'd opened it up. 'I was beginning to wonder if you weren't my mates anymore. Where're the others of your mad gang?'

I snorted as I stepped inside her hut. 'Mad, that's rich coming from you. Ke'koa and Faolan are flying their brooms, and Arcturus is brooding.'

'Sulking, you mean,' said Faolan with a grin. 'He doesn't like when Slytherin loses at Quidditch.'

Artemis laughed, walking over to the stove sitting against one wall, and putting on a pot of tea. 'I imagine not. Have some cakes.' She nodded to a covered platter in the middle of the table, from which the smell of chocolate.

We didn't need to be told twice. Faolan and I sat down at Artemis's table, which was kind of old, but very well kept, and I lunged for the cover on the platter. There sat a little pile of cakes, smothered in frosting. 'Mm!' I exclaimed, claiming one for myself and taking a bite. 'Fanks!' I said through my mouthful.

Faolan rolled his eyes, but Artemis was used to my lack of etiquette and said nothing. 'Well, boys, what have you been up to? Besides beating Slytherin soundly at Quidditch, that is.' She winked; I knew she'd been a Gryffindor before, and was still loyal to that house.

'Not a lot,' I said. 'Looking for new secret passages. Oh…Professor Forrester asked me about a weird room…some secret room?' The look on Artemis's face told me she already knew about that.

'Yeah, he asked me, too,' she said, coming over with the hot pot of tea in one hand and three cups swinging by their handles in her other. 'I've heard of a room like that in my years here but couldn't tell you where it was. I would've liked to know, though, when I went here! I had plenty of things I needed hidden. I had to find more creative ways of keeping them from the teachers' eyes!'

That was pretty funny, listening to a staff member talk about her own lawless days at Hogwarts. 'I don't think I ever brought an illegal item,' I said. 'Well, except the Extendable Ears,' I admitted in a low voice. They were not specifically banned, but anything bought at WWW was blanket-banned at Hogwarts, and had been since the store was first opened in Diagon Alley. 'But I wouldn't have minded a hiding place! So…this room becomes anything you want it to?'

'That's what I hear,' said Artemis. 'Anything at all. If you desperately need a toilet, you've got it. Or at least something you can use as one. Need a hiding place? You've got one. I imagine it could equip itself with just about anything a person needed…you can see why I'd want such a thing as a kid!'

No kidding! I stared at Artemis, astonished. If that was all true, then this room could be the single greatest thing we could find at Hogwarts!

'D'you think it really exists?' asked Faolan.

Artemis thought for a few moments, before speaking. 'Well, for certain I think it existed at one time. Whether it still does…well, that's anyone's guess.'

There didn't seem to be anymore to say about this mysterious room, so we started talking about Quidditch, then wizarding bands, and other things like that. Artemis told us of one of the past gamekeepers, who was famous in his time, named Rubus Hagrid. He was a half-giant wizard who'd helped to fight against Voldemort. I wondered how a person could possibly mate with a giant…but decided I didn't want to know.

'My predecessor took the job after Hagrid died,' said Artemis, looking amused. I remember he told me once that he'd had to reduce the size of most things in here, and get a new bed. The old one was far too big and rather worn…the table and chairs were huge. Apparently Hagrid was far larger than a normal man.'

'Aw, I woulda kept it all big,' said Faolan. 'That'd be kinda neat.'

'Maybe,' said Artemis, standing up and stretching. 'But inconvenient. All right boys, it's nearing suppertime, and the remaining tea's cold. I'll see you in the Great Hall.'

I hadn't realized we'd spent so much time talking! But Artemis was a lot of fun to talk to. Faolan and I headed across the chilly ground into the castle, where we met up with Peter and Ke'koa. They were both red-faced from the cold wind, and grinning. Apparently they'd enjoyed themselves.

Faolan and I told them what we'd learned about the secret room from Artemis, and both of them were extremely intrigued.

'Talk about useful!' exclaimed Ke'koa.

'I know,' said Faolan, his eyes bright. 'I can't wait to find it…we'll find it, won't we?' he said. 'If it takes us till seventh year!'

'There's a word for what you've got, mate,' said Peter, shaking his head. At Faolan's puzzled look, Peter said, 'Obsession.'

Faolan looked mildly insulted, and I chuckled. 'Aw go on. Nothing wrong with that. His obsession's helped us loads of times!'

'I didn't say it was a bad thing then, did I?'

That was true, he hadn't. And I had to admit, Faolan was right: what Artemis had told us was way too tempting. That day marked the beginning of the Quest for the Secret Room.