Chapter Eleven- Impatient Peeves

The library was hushed; only a few students were seated at desks or milling about. Kitty, Shana, and Crystal had come to study for their History exams. The test was an oral exam given by Professor Binns, which almost no one was prepared for; Kitty, though, didn't really need to study, having paid attention during classes as the only one awake at them, but Shana and Crystal were frantically trying to catch up.

"This Ulric guy is just making life difficult…" Shana grumbled, putting down her book and retrieving a small mirror, applying a thin layer of pink, sparkling lip-gloss.

"Ulric the Oddball you mean?" Kitty asked.

"Whatever," Shana groaned.

Madam Pince looked up and an echo of shushing filled the room, the enchantment silencing everyone in the room quickly. Some of the others nearby quickly moved to their table and shoved their books hurriedly in front of their faces as though reading studiously. Crystal kept her nose down in her book. The dark-haired woman looked around the room once more before returning to her work, placing library books on magical racks that would stack them and place them in their proper spots.

All of a sudden, there was a loud creek. The entire room looked around, searching for the source of the sound. A shelf of books that reached all the way up to the ceiling began to tilt, slowly. Madam Pince quickly flicked out her wand, but it was too late. The shelf began to fall and hit another shelf, creating a domino effect. Students in the aisles started running for the door. Due to the enchantment, they looked like they were screaming, but no sound came out. It was more frightening and confusing than the scene would have been with noise. The only sounds were the crashing of the shelves and students' feet hitting the floor.

Kitty and her two friends stood to make their own exit when a head suddenly popped out of the table they had been sitting at. Orange eyes gleamed at the girls and a loud cackle began to fill the room, getting louder and louder to the point where everyone had to cover their ears. Even with their fingers in their ears, the cackle resounded loud in their minds, as though bouncing off the walls of their skull.

"You stop this right now, Peeves!" Madam Pince cried out, ending his terrible racket but also the enchantment. Now everyone really was screaming.

"You must tell them to make the trick, little firsty girl, or I will continue to haunt you!" Peeves called out teasingly, looking directly at Kitty before he jumped into the air to the ceiling and began to speed towards her like a diver to a pool.

Kitty and her friends took off running, Shana letting out a strangled cry that sounded like a birdcall. They streaked from the room and ran down the hall toward the Grand Staircase. As they ran, Peeves' cackle followed them, so they ran harder, gasping for air and their muscles burning.

"Stop!" Crystal cried out and the other two girls paused looking back at her.

"What?! We're going to get attacked by Peeves if we don't keep running!" Shana growled at their roommate.

"No…" Crystal panted, "The cackling…has stopped," she groaned, bending over to place her hands on her legs to gulp air in deeply.

Shana began to advance toward Crystal as though to drag her along, but Kitty grabbed her arm shaking her head, it was too dangerous to move before they knew where Peeves was. After taking a huffy breath, Shana turned away from the other two and crossed her arms. Kitty looked all around her, and it was true that the noise had stopped, but it was a rather eerie silence. The enchanted paintings surrounding them were neither making a sound nor even moving. That was when Kitty saw the orange eyes glowing from one of the large paintings on the wall of a nobleman; she knew him to be Horace's father from his stories.

"Run!" Kitty called out again, and the cackling immediately resumed.

Shana gave each of the others a death glare, as though telling them she had known this would happen and they had gotten her into this mess. Crystal groaned and almost began to cry, but started to run just slightly behind the other two, more physically fit girls.

"Well caught, little miss firsty," Peeves's voice almost sounded reverent for a moment, but then the cackling began to grow in volume again.

Kitty had to tune out all noise, paying attention to only what was in front of her. Still, she chanced a peek behind her to see Crystal falling behind, and slowed allowing Shana to run past. She didn't stop and kept running, turning around a corner and away. Kitty sprinted back to Crystal, despite all her instincts demanding her to run the opposite way.

"Come on, we have to keep running or he'll catch us!" Kitty encouraged the winded Crystal.

"I'm trying!" Crystal huffed, desperately trying to keep up with Kitty as they ran up the stairs.

Suddenly, out of the wall next to them Peeves popped his head out and threw a painting at Crystal. She ducked just in time to avoid being hit. The girls continued rushing up the steps until...

Whomp!

"Ouch!" Kitty and Crystal landed on the ground, just as the two boys they had run into.

"Fred! George! What are you two doing here?" Kitty puffed, both surprised and winded, but forgetting her former issue.

"We heard about what happened at the library, some kid named Lee ran into us and almost fainted, when we were coming to get you from your study session," Fred explained, "He said it seemed like Peeves is trying to send us a message."

"That he is," Kitty grabbed both of the twins' arms and took off again.

"Peeves came at us, so we had to run." Crystal panted in apology.

"Don't worry, little firsty girls. The boys will know their tricks better now!" Peeves cackled and it raised the hairs on Kitty's arms.

"Turn left!" George shouted as they got to a fork in the stairs but he pulled the girls to the right, Fred turning right even before the exclamation had left George's lips.

Everyone turned right, except for Peeves.

"Nice one, good way of confusing someone," Fred praised his brother.

They heard the cackling even louder now, as though Peeves had doubled his efforts. He appeared again, but this time the four students had to stop in their tracks as he popped out right in front of them.

"Thought you could trick me did you? Me of all tricksters?" there was an almost menacing glint to his eyes now.

Kitty saw it then, a small movement, nearly impossible to see because the person making it was nearly invisible himself. Horace flew in and along with him was the Bloody Baron. Their ghost friend had come through for them again.

"That's enough Peeves, I've brought the Baron," Horace called out in a voice much more confident than he was feeling.

Peeves immediately wilted, bowing before his master, or however it was he viewed the Baron. Kitty was proud of Horace for standing up to Peeves, since he had always been so afraid of the poltergeist. She hadn't even known the ghost had seen them all being attacked by Peeves. He nodded and bowed like the nobleman he was to his living companions.

"You have caused incredible chaos for the librarian today, Peeves," the Baron's voice sounded large and confident, but at the same time, incredibly sad.

Looking at the Bloody Baron was a lot like looking at depression itself. Despite the fact that he seemed incredibly respected, his eyes never lost the sadness lurking deep within. Even when he himself played pranks, there was still a sadness lurking underneath the gladness of trickery. Kitty wondered at his story, looking into those deep, dark eyes.

She saw something, a forest, a beautiful young girl. There was a task he needed to complete; he was begging now. There was nothing else to do…Suddenly, there was blood blurring her vision.

The Baron again called out, "Enough!" but he was looking at Kitty now, yet only she seemed to notice as Peeves bowed apologizing again.

"I shall not bother the Madam librarian for some time again, I assure you, Sir Baron," he sniveled.

"See that you do not," the sad ghost replied, but with a curious look in Kitty's direction before floating off through a wall.

Peeves looked ominously at the boys, "I want my trick," he almost hissed, and then he was gone.

Horace floated over quickly to his friends. Crystal had recovered her breath now but was shaking with fear. She took Kitty's hand to find comfort. Shana was long gone, and probably back in the Gryffindor Common Room right now, maybe not even waiting for them.

"I apologize that I could not bring the Baron more quickly; he was rather in a foul mood today, having already heard complaints from the librarian who had sent a patronus messenger to entreat his help as well," Horace hung his head in sincere apology.

"You brought him just in time," the twins announced in unison.

"Thank you so much Horace; we didn't even know someone would be coming to save us," Kitty almost reached to comfort the ghost but thought better of it.

"T-t-thanks…" Crystal stuttered, still frightened.

"It was my pleasure, my lady; I have been wanting to call Peeves out since I first delivered the Bloody Baron to save these three from trouble," Horace said, giving Crystal a regal bow before speaking to the others, "I think it best you take this young lady to her rooms now, so she may feel safe again."

"Yes, thank you again, Horace," Kitty smiled at her friend who returned it tenfold.

The trio quickly helped Crystal, getting to the fat lady within minutes and hurrying inside to the common room. Kitty quickly said her goodbyes to the twins before helping Crystal up the winding steps to the Girls' Dormitories. She was happier than ever that their room was on the first landing. When Crystal and Kitty entered the room, they found Shana there already asleep, sleeping as soundly as a dog after eating.