I do not own Harry Potter books or Merlin or Rise of the Guardians or Frozen.

Chapter 11: Slugulus Eructo

1992, First Day of Spring

Jack hid behind a wall and pulled a hood over his hair, hoping he could hide in the shadows. He was nearly caught by a hag this time as she chose the same tunnel he was in. They had been planning this escape for months. If they were discovered, they would have to wait another year to try again. Mother was asleep like this only one day each year. This was the only time when she couldn't track them. They had only this one day to get as far away as they could to stay out of her reach.

The hag passed right by him and he let out his breath. He waited to ensure the coast was clear and sent a signal to his sister so she would join him. A minute later, she was by his side, dressed in a dark cloak as well and they set out.

They had spent many winters memorizing the tunnels, drawing their escape route and planning. They thought they had found a possible way out and it was time to test it.

They made their way through the dark tunnels in silence and without a light to guide them. They didn't dare say a word, knowing well how treacherous cave echoes could be but all plans were already laid out and nothing else needed to be said. They had about an hour before their absence was discovered and the hags raised the alarm. They couldn't risk anything going wrong.

They reached the furthest point in the tunnel where about ten feet above them was an opening in the rock where the tiniest bit of light streamed through.

Jack's heart pounded fast as hope built up in him. They were so close.

'Please, if anyone is listening, please, help us. Please, let this be the way out.'

He unraveled the rope he had wrapped around his shoulder and threw it at a jagged part of a rock. He's been training this move for weeks, knowing they would have to climb.

The rope slid down and fell on the ground with a quiet plop. He had to try again. He was going to keep at it as many times as it took.

After several unsuccessful tries, the rope finally caught the rock and he carefully pulled it until it was wrapped securely. Elsa smiled and jumped up but he gave her a warning look. It wasn't time for celebration just yet. They were far from safe.

He climbed the rope first and then helped her get up. Then, he wrapped it around himself again, careful to not leave any evidence showing which way they went. Finally, they proceeded through a narrow tunnel.

The opening was getting smaller the further they went but also the light was getting brighter, so they trudged on with lifted spirits. First, they had to bend down, then, walk on all fours, until the tunnel became too small even for that.

Jack looked ahead of him and tried to judge the width of the opening. The light ahead was blinding. He had never seen anything this bright. And he could smell that the air was different, not the musty scent of the earth and rock he was accustomed to. This had to be it. He plopped on his belly and started to crawl, Elsa followed close behind.

He reached the end of the tunnel and squinted, struggling to see anything. The brightness was too great. He couldn't see. He closed his eyes and tried to feel his way around with his hands. Carefully, he squeezed himself through the mouth of the tunnel, thanking the gods for not waiting any more years before making this trek. If he was even a bit older, he wouldn't have fit through it.

Jack stood up and had to put a hand above his eyes to shield them from the light assaulting from above.

"Is that what Sun is?" his sister asked, standing up beside him.

His vision was starting to come back and he saw sights he never could have imagined. A strong gust of wind ruffled his hair as if welcoming him.

"We're outside," he breathed, trying to take in everything around them. "We must be."

They stood there for a moment, staring at the brand new world. It was full of color and textures, new smells and sounds. He didn't know what any of the things he saw were called but his heart swelled in appreciation. The world outside was beautiful and full of life.

"We're not safe yet," he remembered and grabbed his sister's hand. "Let's go."

And they ran forward, ready to see the world.

Present day

Ginny woke up and yawned widely. Finally, it was Saturday. She hoped to watch Gryffindor Quidditch team practice in the morning. She got dressed and ran out of the Gryffindor tower, invigorated by the thought of seeing Harry play.

When she got outside though, she saw Gryffindor team come back inside the castle with frowns on their faces. She asked one of them if the practice was over already and it turned out that it was cancelled. She didn't see Harry anywhere and her spirits deflated. She was really looking forward to seeing some action. She had no other plans for this weekend.

Colin sat on the stairs with a frown and she asked him what happened.

"All I wanted was to take a picture. It was interesting, that's all. And they got all angry at me and pushed me aside. You don't see someone coughing up slugs every day, you know? It probably wasn't pleasant but I'm sure he would find it funny later. And wouldn't a picture be a great keepsake of a funny moment like that? I would've wanted a picture if it was me. Why don't they get it?"

"Who was coughing up slugs?"

"Your brother, Ron. I think that broken wand of his malfunctioned when he tried to jinx someone."

Ginny shook her head in disbelief. "That's what he gets for trying to jinx people and also for being too much of a coward to ask mom for a new wand."

Colin sighed and blew invisible dust off his camera.

"I was hoping to get a few pictures of the Quidditch practice but it's just Slytherins on the field now. I don't like them. They keep making fun of me because my parents aren't wizards."

"Don't worry, Colin," Ginny patted his arm. "You'll get your chance to see Quidditch later. And those Slytherins are jerks. Just call me if they ever give you trouble. Gryffindors stick up for each other. Now, let's get to breakfast. I'm starving."

Colin's frown lifted a little and she offered him a hand to help him get up. He followed her to the Great Hall with the usual bounce in his step and she felt glad that she was able to make him feel better. It was really unfair how Slytherins treated Muggleborns. Colin had as much right to attend Hogwarts as any other student.

When they got to the Great hall, they found Merlin and Jack already seated.

"You're back quickly, Colin," Merlin said. "I thought practice would be longer than that. We were hoping to catch some of it after breakfast."

"Practice was cancelled," Colin answered grumpily and sat down with Ginny. "How did you all do on your Potions essay?"

"I aced it." Merlin chuckled. "Snape looked really unhappy that he couldn't fail it. I think, Jack, you got a good grade too, right?"

Jack nodded but uncharacteristically remained quiet, picked at his food, barely touching anything and seemed uninterested in their conversation. She wondered what bothered him but wasn't sure how to ask it.

She realized that she was not close enough to any of these boys to feel comfortable asking about their troubles. She preferred their company over the Chatties but she couldn't call any of them her friends. It was a depressing thought. What would it take to become friends with someone?

"What about you, Colin?" Merlin continued.

"Not so great." Colin bit down his bread angrily. "Apparently, I missed the whole point and wrote off topic. Snape hates me just like all the Slytherin kids do."

"Let me look over it next time. I'll let you know if you're on the right track," Merlin offered and Ginny thought it was very nice of him. She guessed that was what friends did for each other. Friends.

"How did you do with Snape, Ginny?" Merlin asked and she felt a sting of panic, realizing that his cerulean blue eyes were on her.

He had pretty eyes but not as pretty as Harry's. Harry's eyes were so beautifully green. They were fascinating. She would love it if she felt brave enough to look into those eyes straight up and… Oh, no. Why was she thinking about Harry now?

"I did okay," she answered quickly and hoped that her cheeks did not betray her.

If they did, Merlin did not comment and she felt thankful that boys were not as nosy as girls. The Chatties would have picked up on her little daydreaming immediately and would have surely teased her about it.

Jack suddenly got up and called over their heads, "Hey, Luna."

A short blond girl wearing a Ravenclaw uniform walked up to them and all of their eyes turned to her.

"Have you seen Elsa?" Jack asked her. "I haven't seen her come down yet."

"She said she wasn't hungry," Luna answered, looking at Jack as if she didn't really see him but was in the middle of a conversation with someone else. "But she didn't stay in the dorm. Honestly, she was acting so strange, I'm worried about her. I think her ears must be infested with Wrackspurts."

Jack frowned and looked worried. "What's that?"

"They're these little invisible creatures that fly into your ears and make your brain go fuzzy. If you find her, tell her to think happy thoughts. That will dispell them."

Then, she smiled and walked awa, leaving Jack scratching his head.

Ginny waited until the girl left and tried to suppress a laugh.

"That girl is loony," she commented, shaking her head in disbelief. "Don't worry. Your sister is fine. It sounds like one of those made up stories The Quibbler keeps producing. Mum says it's full of rubbish."

Jack didn't seem reassured but remained standing, looking after Luna and switching his weight from one leg to the other.

"She's probably in the library. I'll see you later," Jack said and left them.

Ginny wondered if Jack believed her. That Luna girl made him worry for no reason. It was a wonder how a loony girl like that got into Ravenclaw which was supposed to be full of brilliant witches.

"Merlin, would you help me find that potion you spoke about that would make my pictures move?" Colin asked.

"Sure, we could work on that today."

Ginny wanted to ask them if she could join but held back. Colin asked Merlin for help. Not her. She didn't feel invited. She wasn't part of their group of friends. They allowed her to sit with them at the table probably just to be nice. It stung to realize that she didn't have her own group of friends. She had no one.

"But first," Merlin continued. "I need to find Harry for something. If practice was cancelled, I'm surprised he's not here yet."

"Oh, he took Ron to that big guy, the gamekeeper. Because Ron was coughing up slugs. It was disgusting but also fascinating. They were huge and slimy." Merlin winced at the description but Colin did not stop. "I wanted to take a picture but they wouldn't let me. Did you know there is a jinx that can do that? Apparently, Ron did and he tried to jinx some Slytherin, I don't know why, but Ron's wand is broken. Did you notice? And so his jinx backfired. The Slytherins were laughing. I wonder how long he's going to be coughing up slugs. How long do jinxes normally last?"

Ginny suddenly felt nauseated. She couldn't eat while thinking about slugs so she excused herself and left to the dorm.

Chatties were thankfully not back yet and she sat down on her bed, blissfully alone. Back home, there was always someone in the house, it was never quiet but at least she had her own room. At Hogwarts, she shared a room with three other girls so she loved these brief moments of privacy.

After a while though, the blissful silence in the room lost its appeal. She didn't want to be alone. It was Saturday. She should be doing something fun, something with friends. Her roommates were nice but she didn't have anything in common with them. She liked sports, they liked fashion. She liked rock bands like Weird Sisters, they liked boy bands. Maybe she would fit in better with the boys but was afraid that they wouldn't want to hang out with a girl. Especially, a girl like her. She wasn't interesting enough.

She pulled out her diary, longing to talk to someone. A piece of paper was better than nobody.

Hi Tom.

Hi Ginny. I'm happy you're writing to me.

Ginny smiled a little.

I'm happy to have someone to write to.

What brings you to my pages today? Do you have something to get off your chest?

Ginny sighed. She had so much to get off her chest.

I just wanted to talk to someone. Sometimes it feels like you're the only person I can talk to.

I'm happy to talk to you, Ginny. That's what friends are for.

Thank you, Tom.

So, tell me. Did anything interesting happen today?

I was supposed to watch my team practice Quidditch but the practice was cancelled and so I'm left with nothing to do.

Oh, no. So you didn't get to watch Harry play?

Yeah.

We'll find you something to do, Ginny. Now, how about we talk about you? I want to know more about you, my dear friend.

Minerva sat at the staff table during breakfast and tried to keep up a conversation with Pomona Sprout. Her friend was going on about some new bulbs she just planted and Minerva had a hard time staying focused. Her mind kept drifting off to the previous day's conversation with the twins.

These children! She couldn't stand this. Yet again, she tried her hardest to get the twins to open up about their past, and just when she thought that they would finally divulge their secrets, they just clumped up, shut down completely, said nothing.

She had been trying for months to gain their trust and couldn't imagine what it was that she was doing wrong. Sometimes, she wished she could use Veritaserum on them to get this frustrating silence over with. It would be easy for a couple of drops of the truth potion to "accidentally" find its way to their drinks, not that she'd thought about it or anything. No, she wouldn't do that.

Since the twins wouldn't say anything, she made them promise that they wouldn't run away and if they had any other concerns, they were to come to her immediately. She assured them that her door would always be open for them. They agreed obediently and left her to her frustrated thoughts. But their promise didn't guarantee that they wouldn't do anything dangerous.

Once a runaway, always a runaway - she feared this logic would apply in their case no matter what they promised her.

She tried to calm down but she was indeed at the end of her rope. She was desperate.

It didn't escape her notice that Elsa never came down for breakfast. Jack sat with his friends for a short time, but now, he got up, hardly having eaten anything. Were the twins up to something already? She couldn't sit and do nothing.

Minerva excused herself from the table and got up. She followed the boy a safe distance away and watched him enter the library. Were they planning their escape in there?

She tried to act casual and greeted Irma Pince who sat at her desk as usual. She never liked this librarian. The woman was unhealthily obsessed with books. More obsessed with the books than her role in this school. But as she did with all fellow staff members, Minerva treated her with courtesy.

While feigning interest in a boring-looking volume Irma was reading, Minerva kept glancing at Jack who was looking through aisles and saw him finally go into one.

When she finished the small talk with Irma, she quietly approached the section of the library she saw her young troublemaker disappear in, and overheard the twins talk.

"You can get started from this shelf, while I work on the one above," Elsa directed.

"All of them? That's like a million books," Jack complained.

"It's our only hope. So, stop wasting time. You want to help or not?"

Jack grumbled something but said nothing else. Minerva sighed and quietly walked away.

Whatever they were doing, it wasn't running away. At least, not today. This didn't mean they wouldn't try a week from now or even tomorrow. She couldn't possibly follow them all day and night. What could she do?