Chapter Twelve

That night, Holly snuck out of her dorm and walked to a certain corridor on the seventh floor. Once she got to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, she paced back and forth three times. When a door appeared, she ducked inside. She set the black quill on a stand and started running tests.

With a complicated series of swishes from her wand, Holly created an exact copy of the quill. She took the original and locked it in a lead case near the door. Then she turned to the copy. Gingerly picking it up, she wrote "This is a test of copy forty-seven. I am the Holly. This is a test. This is a test of copy forty-seven. I am the Holly. This is a test." The sentences appeared in dark red blood. Holly sat back, massaging her hand. So far, the copy worked just as well as the original. She tore the sheet in half and lit the first half on fire. The blood turned green and smoked profusely. Holly frowned.

"That's not good," She muttered. Turning to a blackboard behind her, she put a tally under the "Blood Magic" side. "Forty-six out of forty-seven times. Definitely not good."

She walked over to one of the walls and tapped on it. "I need a passageway from here to Ivy's dorm and back to here. And I'd like here to stay the same until I say so."

A tunnel opened in front of her. Holly climbed in and started walking. A few minutes later, she was bending over her twin's sleeping form.

"Ivy. Ivy!" Holly shook her sister. "Ivy, I need you!"

"Holly, whatsa matter?" Ivy groaned. "I thought you were working on that quill."

"I am. I just need a test subject. Come on!"

Ivy sat up slowly. "Test subject for what?"

"To see if it's actually draíochta fola or not."

Ivy fell back to her bed. "You know it doesn't work on me. Go away."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Fine I'm going to go get Harry, then. I'm sure North and Dumbledore would absolutely love that."

Ivy groaned and rolled onto her stomach. "Just make sure I don't hear about it!" She stuffed her face into her pillow.

Holly walked down the staircase and turned to go up to the boys' dormitory. She walked in and searched the doors for the one that said H. Potter. She opened the door and snuck over to Harry's bed.

"Harry." She shook him. "Harry! I need your help. This is important!"

Harry opened his eyes and stared up at her groggily. "Holly? What're you doin' here? Aren't you in Ravenclaw?"

Holly brushed that aside. "That's not important. Now, will you help me or not?"

Harry sat up, fumbling for his glasses. "What do you need me to do?"

Holly handed him his glasses. "You know that quill Ivy got for me? I'm running a few tests and I need some help. I'll explain more when we get there, alright?"

Harry nodded, slipping into his robe. "Let's go, then."

Holly led him out to the stairway, then stopped.

"I need you to let Master Harry Potter pass," she addressed the stairs. "I can personally vouch for his virtue and intentions."

The stairs shuddered, but stayed still. Holly took Harry's hand and pulled him up the stairs. "Come on!"

They made it to Ivy's room and through the tunnel without any problems. When Holly jumped out of the tunnel, she was surprised to see Ivy sitting there, waiting for them.

"What?" Ivy said, raising her eyebrows. "I'm here to make sure you don't go above and beyond what you need to do. You're just testing to see if the blood on the parchment can be used in draíochta fola and then breaking it off, got it?"

"Draíochta fola?" Harry asked, coming up behind Holly.

Holly turned. "Yeah. Blood magic. It's outlawed nowadays, but a long time ago, witches and wizards could get a bit of blood from a person, usually one that they hated, do a special ritual, and they'd have a ton of power over them. They could make them sick, super strong, brilliant, you know. If the two were to duel, the victim would be almost powerless while they would be supernaturally powerful. Those with a strong will could even make their victims their slaves."

"It's a much more powerful form of voodoo, or the Imperious Curse," Ivy supplied.

Holly nodded. "Except limitless. Unless they released you or someone was to destroy whatever they put the blood on, or kill the master, there was no getting out of it."

"So, what does that have to do with us?" Harry asked.

"Well, you see, I'm worried that Umbridge's quills can be used to get blood for blood magic," Holly explained. "If so, you, Ivy, and Jack and anyone else who has had detention with her will be in serious trouble."

"Let's do this then!" Harry exclaimed. "What can I do?"

Holly walked over to the door and opened the lead box. "I need you to write something with this."

Harry gulped. "Okay. Anything?"

Holly nodded. "Anything you want. And could you write it a few times?"

Harry sat down and reached for the quill. "Let's get it done."

Holly passed the quill to him and sat in another chair.

After a few minutes, Harry looked up. "Okay, I'm done. Now what?"

Holly picked up the parchment and blew on it. "Now, if you could go sit by Ivy, I'll do the rest."

She walked to the center of the room, where a chalk pentagram was drawn. "Now, the moon isn't completely full tonight, but it's full enough to work." She pulled a cord and a hidden window opened. "You guys get some sleep. The next part takes a very, very long time."

"Just like Old Entish," Ivy muttered, snuggled deeper into her armchair.

Harry looked from Holly to Ivy, then copied Ivy and fell back to sleep.

Once Ivy was sure Harry was asleep, she nodded to Holly, who then turned to the walls.

"Alright, you lot. I need one of my old dresses, a basin of spring water, and some fairy dust."

The walls groaned and creaked.

"There's a spring right under the kitchens. Get it from there." Holly said, exasperated. "Besides, it doesn't count as a food. In this instance, it counts as an ingredient for a spell."

A few minutes later, an emerald green dress, a stone basin filled with clear water, and a leather pouch materialized in front of her.

"Thanks very much. Now, separate yourself into two rooms so I can go change."

A fifth wall grew from the floor obligingly, splitting the room in half. Once it reached the ceiling, a door materialized in the middle.

"Perfect." Holly picked up the dress and walked into the other room.

A few minutes later, she returned, pajamas folded neatly and tucked under her arm, her slippers in her hands.

"Alright. You can go back to one room now." As the wall in the middle of the room vanished, she tossed her pajamas and slippers to Ivy. "Here. Hold these for me, okay?" Ivy stuck out her tongue and proceeded to tie the pajamas in knots.

As Holly set a brazier in the middle of the pentagram, the walls again groaned and creaked.

"I'm not working you too hard! All you've done for the past few centuries is sit vacant, waiting for students to need somewhere to hide something. Stop complaining!" Holly rolled her eyes, positioning the flame so it was in the exact center. "You're such a baby!"

Ignoring the responding noises from the walls, she proceeded to fill a pitcher with some of the spring water, then she washed her arms, face, and neck with the rest. "Ivy, is he still asleep?"

Ivy leaned over and stared at Harry. "Yep. But why did you tell him to go to sleep? Preparations only take five minutes."

Holly nodded. "I know. But didn't you see how tired he was? I thought that if we gave him twenty minutes to sleep, he would appreciate it."

"That's nice of you." Ivy grinned. "You know, the first time we did this, you kept Sal up all that night and the night before, too."

Holly shrugged. "I thought it would help."

Ivy laughed. "Well, I'd have to disagree. I'd say that it just made it harder for him to follow our commands."

"Well, that isn't our purpose this time." Holly grinned as she remembered that fiasco. "This is for Harry."

Ivy stood and stretched. "You need help?"

Holly shook her head. "Once I've started the chant, will you wake him? He'll probably want to see this."

Ivy nodded. "Got it."

Holly picked up the parchment and walked to the brazier. She nodded to Ivy and began.

"De réir fuil ordú mé dhuit…"

"Harry!" Ivy hissed. "Wake up! She's started!"

"…De réir fola a rialú mé dhuit,

Trí fola Labhraím leat.

Thou Art cheangal dom…"

"What's she saying?" Harry whispered, not taking his eyes off Holly.

"…Faoin banna, a sheirbheáil dom,

Mar gheall ar seo banna, a leanúint dom..."

"Ummm…" Ivy tried to remember. "Something about how you're bound to her through your blood and you now have to serve and follow her. Very straightforward in a prophecy sort of way. You know."

"Trí thy fola, a thuiscint dom.

Comhlacht, aigne, croí, anam!

Harry James Potter!"

Holly lit the parchment and held it as it burned. The blood flashed gold, and Harry felt a shiver run through him, his mind and body going numb.

Once the parchment was burned, Holly scuffed out the pentagram.

"Let's see how it worked!" She clapped her hands. "Harry Potter! Ordú mé dod chorp a sneeze!"

Harry felt an enormous sneeze building up. He tried to hold it in, but Holly cocked an eyebrow and it came flying out.

"AAACCCHHHOOOOO!"

Ivy clapped. "It worked! Awesome."

Harry rubbed his nose. "So, now what?"

Holly frowned. "Now we work out a way to keep blood magic from working on you again. Seas ar láimh ag an tábla."

Harry walked over to the table.

"Now, there are two ways to go about this. If I keep you under this blood control for a little longer, at least till the full moon is over, Umbridge won't be able to control you. The other way is to lift this and make you immune to blood control."

"The second one would be our best option," Ivy added. "The only problem is that for the spell to work properly, you have to do it at the new moon."

"If we do it now, it will hold against one blood enchantment," Holly explained when she saw Harry was about to speak. "But if Umbridge uses all the parchments she's collected, then you'll be as defenseless as if tonight never happened."

"So, you're saying that you're going to keep me under your control till the next new moon?" Harry asked, getting angry.

Holly raised her eyebrows. "No. You can choose what you want to do. There's no reason to get mad."

"Well, I don't like the idea of being under anyone's control." Harry stated.

"We know!" Ivy cut in. "We feel the same way! But think! Would you rather be under Holly's control, or Umbridge's?"

Harry thought about it, then nodded. "Fine. Let's keep this…enchantment on me till the next full moon."

"Alright then! Just two more things, Harry." Holly started cleaning up. "One: you can't tell anyone about this. Not yet, anyway. And two: go to bed."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Ivy draped her arm across his shoulders and led him out the door. "C'mon. You've just been dismissed by the queen."


The next morning at breakfast, an owl dropped a note at Holly's plate.

"Oooh! What's it say?" Ivy tried to grab it from her sister. "Who's it from?"

Holly smiled. "Dumbledore. He wants to speak with me as soon as I'm done with breakfast."

"I'm not invited?" Ivy pouted. "How rude!"

"Well, you weren't exactly there with her when she left the message," Jack pointed out.

Ivy stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up!"

Holly grinned even wider and stood. "I might as well go now. See you later, you guys."

She walked out of the Great Hall and up to the third floor and stopped in front of the gargoyle.

"Hello, Dom! I've got the password, today!" She said cheerfully. "Acid pops!"

Dom moved aside and Holly walked up the stairs. Once she reached the office door, she knocked and waited.

Dumbledore opened the door and smiled. "Come in, Holly."

Holly stepped in and followed the Headmaster as he made his way over to his desk. "Now, how can I help you? Your note said you had to speak to me about something important. Godric said it was something about Harry?"

Holly nodded. "Yeah. You see, the toa – Professor Umbridge has been using a cruel and unusual punishment as a form of detention on three of the students here, namely Ivy, Jack Frost, and Harry Potter. Ivy and Jack have filled their detentions, but Harry has to go tonight. I was wondering if Ivy or I could take his place."

Dumbledore laced his fingers together and leaned forward. "What is Professor Umbridge having them do for detention?"

"They are writing lines using quills that draw on their blood for ink." Holly pulled the offending object from her bag and set it on the desk. "I had Ivy get one for me Wednesday night. I've been running tests on it and I have bad news. Not only have they been made to cause the user as much pain as possible, and to leave scars as quickly as possible, the blood can also be used in draíochta fola." She placed one of her test parchments on the table beside the quill.

Dumbledore picked up the quill and parchment and studied them both for a moment. Then he sighed. "Blood magic has been banned for centuries. If Dolores Umbridge is using these quills for that purpose, then she will be doing so with as much secrecy as possible." He stared down at the quill and parchment and shook his head.

Holly nodded, sitting down in the chair on her side of the desk. "I know. That's one of the reasons why I want to take Harry's place."

Dumbledore looked up at Holly. "What do you propose to do?"

Holly stood up and started pacing. "I assume you know that in earlier centuries, punishments were quite…harsh." When Dumbledore nodded, she continued. "You also know that when someone wasn't able to bear the punishment, if they would die because of it, someone close to them could step in and take the punishment for them? That is what I am proposing. Let me take Harry's place and complete his punishment for him."

Dumbledore stared up at the portraits on the wall thoughtfully. "I understand. But won't we need the punisher to agree? I don't see Dolores Umbridge acquiescing."

Holly frowned. "As Headmaster of this institution, you can agree to it and she would have no say." Her lips quirked into a smile for a brief second. "That's what my father would have done." She stood. "I tested my theory on Harry last night. Don't worry, I won't make him do anything that would put him in danger. In fact, I probably won't use my control over him at all. He'll be safe. At the next new moon, I'll lift my control and make it so draíochta fola will never work on him again."

"You shouldn't test your theories on other students." Dumbledore frowned. "You should have asked me for help."

Holly shrugged. "You weren't here. Besides, if I told him to do anything in the next two weeks, it would probably be to pick his nose or stand up in History of Magic and ask that horrid ghost you have as a teacher if he can't make that class more interesting."

"Then if you wouldn't mind fetching Harry and Ivy, we'll ask them what he thinks about your plan." Dumbledore sighed.

Holly saluted smartly and marched out of the room.

Dumbledore groaned. "Why did I ever ask North to send those three to help?"


Holly ran through the school, looking for Ivy and Harry. She stopped at the greenhouses and smiled when she saw it was filled with students with red and gold ties and Gryffindor badges on their robes.

"'Scuze me." She tapped one of the closer students on the shoulder. "Are Ivy and Harry in this class?"

The girl smiled. "Yeah. They're over there, with Hermione, Ron, Neville and that Hufflepuff, Jack Frost."

"Thanks a bunch!" Holly grinned. Instead of walking over to Ivy and the rest of her friends, she went to talk to Professor Sprout.

"Miss Faolán, Mister Potter!" Professor Sprout called out. "You are to go to the Headmaster's office immediately!" The two Gryffindors looked up, a bit confused. Once Ivy saw Holly, though, she grinned and cleaned up all her stuff. Then, when Harry was taking too long to clean his area up, she started helping him. Finally, they made it out of the greenhouse, where Holly was waiting.

"So, why does Dumbledore want to see us?" Ivy poked her sister.

Holly swatted at Ivy. "It's about Harry's detention with Umbridge tonight."

Harry frowned. "You told him what's been happening?"

"What's wrong with that?" Ivy asked. "If a teacher is doing something illegal, then shouldn't a higher power be told?"

Before Harry could answer, Holly continued. "Anyway, Dumbledore wants to ask you, Harry, if it'd be alright if Ivy or I take your place for tonight's detention."

Harry stared at the redhead. "Wait, what?"

"If you want, you don't have to go to detention," Holly said slowly. "Ivy or I would take your place."

"You'd take his place." Ivy corrected. "I've got detention with Snape tonight."

"I forgot about that," Holly scrunched up her nose. "Alright, if you decide to let me, I'd take your place."

"Why?" Harry asked.

Holly shrugged. "Besides the fact that I'm your friend, I want to steal those parchments from the toad so she won't be able to use them against anyone."

Ivy nodded helpfully. "It's a good idea, Harry!"

"Acid Pops," Holly said to Dom, then she turned back to the others. "Of course it is. But, Harry, the choice is ultimately yours."

The twins let Harry think about it as they walked up the stairs to the Headmaster's office. When they got to the door, Holly knocked once, then opened it and stepped inside.

"I've got Ivy and Harry," she said to Dumbledore, who was staring out the window behind his desk.

Dumbledore turned to face the trio. "Hello, Harry, Ivy. I assume Holly has told you why you are here?"

The two teens nodded.

"Good." Dumbledore smiled. "Well, Harry, would you like to skip detention tonight or not?"

Harry looked over at Holly. "I think I would rather go through with it than have Holly take my place."

Ivy started to speak, but Holly caught her arm and shook her head.

"That's fine, Harry," Holly said quietly. "If you need help, just ask."

With that, she nodded to Dumbledore and a few of the paintings on the wall and dragged her sister out of the room.

Once they were out of the door, Ivy gave a sigh of frustration. "Why, Holly?"

Her sister shrugged and started walking down the stairs. "Because if Harry thinks he needs to go to this last detention, then he should go to this last detention. The outcome will be the same either way. But I don't think we should use our firework setup quite yet. We need to come up with something else."

Ivy grinned evilly. "Do you think we should go see what Sal stashed in his secret room?"

Holly laughed. "Sure, why not? And let's get Jack, too. He'd probably be bored out of his mind otherwise."

After pulling Jack into the abandoned girl's bathroom ("Do we have to go in there?"), opening the secret entrance, and walking past the giant snake skin (Holly and Ivy shared a surprised look at that), the finally entered their brother's secret room.

"Wow! So, this was your brother's room?" Jack said, looking around the Great Hall sized room.

"Well, it wasn't quite as big when we were kids." Holly said, stepping over some rubble. "And it wasn't underground."

"Mom and Dad wouldn't have allowed it," Ivy agreed. "That enormous statue wasn't here, either."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Holly asked, kicking at the base of it. "If he wanted others to see how great he was, why put the statue down here?"

"And the giant snake skeleton?" Jack poked at it with his staff.

Holly and Ivy walked over. "Well, he did have an affinity for snakes." Holly said.

"Yeah, but Holly, that's a basilisk. He wouldn't have been that crazy, would he?" Ivy started walking around the bones. "This is huge!"

Holly frowned. "I think we should remember that Sal wasn't always the little boy we remember him as. He kind of took that whole pureblood thing a bit too far, don't you think? But at least he didn't try to become immortal, like one certain descendant of his."

"Okay, so who exactly is your brother?" Jack asked.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Honestly Jack. Our brother is Salazar Slytherin. Didn't you realize that?"

Jack frowned. "The evil Founder? He's your brother?"

"It's a long story." Ivy sighed. "But he wasn't evil, exactly. He just kind of misunderstood how getting magic works."

"How does getting magic work?" Jack turned to Holly, who was examining the skeleton.

Holly turned and leaned against one of the rib bones. "Well, a long time ago, there was a race of people called the Tuatha de Danann. They ruled over Ireland for quite some time, but eventually were conquered and driven underground. Some of them stayed and became the Sidhe, but some left and intermarried with peoples around the world. All witches and wizards, muggleborn, halfblood, or pureblood, have a bit of Tuatha de Danann blood in them. So do people with red hair." She stopped and Ivy motioned for her to continue. "Anyway, these descendants all have magic sleeping in their blood and bones and hair and stuff. Witches and wizards are those who, as kids or babies, had their magic awakened by a magic user. Make sense?"

"Sure," Jack frosted the skeleton lightly. "But what about people like Filch? Squids?"

"Squibs," Holly corrected. "We aren't exactly sure what happened with them. It might have been the fear of their parents or some huge cataclysmic event or something else that kept their magic turned off. Or maybe they just weren't born with magic."

"And what about me? I didn't have any magical powers when I was alive. How am I able to do it now?"

"Well, you're now a winter spirit. You're basically a being of magic. Hanging out with us these past few months has definitely helped, though." Ivy laughed.

Holly nodded. "Guardians and other immortal beings, like the Groundhog and Ivy and me, have much more magic in them and surrounding them than most witches and wizards do. That's partly why people can't see us unless they believe."

Ivy started walking toward the left side of the room. "Let's get going! Weren't there a bunch of little rooms off of this one?"

Holly pushed herself off the skeleton and followed Ivy. "Yeah. Most of them were storage closet sized, right? C'mon, Jack."


So, I had an intense bout of writer's block for a while, then when I started studying for finals, it all went away and I was able to finish this. Good luck to all test takers out there!