Chapter 12: The Mysterious Corridor
On her way to the West Towers, Claire was approached by a girl about her age with a petite face fair skin blue eyes and long blonde hair that was tied into braids in the front. She wore a yellow-lined robe and a yellow-and-black striped tie, meaning she was a Hufflepuff student.
"Hello, Claire Krystal," the girl said politely.
Claire flinched. "How do you know my name?"
"Does that surprise you?" the girl asked.
"Well, you are Penny Haywood, the most popular girl in our year," Claire pointed out. "While I'm…not so popular."
"I would disagree," the girl known as Penny stated. "Everyone is talking about you, the hero who stood up to the tyranny of Merula Snyde. Not to mention the rumors about your brother…"
Unsure of whether to take that as a compliment or not, Claire said, "Did you want something?"
"Yes," Penny nodded. "I wanted to show my appreciation for what you did in terms of stopping Merula from bullying Ben."
"Someone had to do something about it," Claire responded.
"Agreed, though I hope Professor Snape doesn't punish you for your bravery."
Thinking about Snape made Claire frown.
"If there's anything I can do for you, Claire, please let me know," Penny offered. "I know a lot of the gossip that goes around Hogwarts, and I'm pretty good at Potions if I do say so myself."
"Sure thing," Claire answered, smiling a little. "Thanks, Penny."
"Anytime," Penny smiled back, and walked away.
###
To Claire's disappointment, Merula was already with Snape by the time she reached the West Towers. They both gave her dirty looks as she came into their midst.
"Now that Miss Krystal is here, we can properly discuss her punishment," Snape remarked.
"I'm not sure why I had to be here, since I did nothing wrong," Merula claimed.
"Several student witnesses said you cast the first spell in the duel, Miss Snyde," Snape pointed out. "So you're not entirely innocent, either. But you, Miss Krystal, have fought in the school corridors, disrupted my class, and dueled on school grounds. Tell me why I should not expel you, which seems to be the most logical option at this point?"
Taking a deep breath, Claire said, "I was trying to stop Merula from bullying my friends, Professor Snape. Is that a crime?"
"No, but attacking a student with your wand is against school rules," Snape argued. "Therefore, twenty points will be taken from Ravenclaw."
"What?" Claire exclaimed. "That's so unfair!"
"At least you won't be getting expelled," Snape replied. "Since our Headmaster thinks expelling someone in this situation is unfair, though I don't understand the reasoning behind it."
"Professor Snape!"
Behind Snape, a menacing looking man appeared wearing a grey overcoat with a balding head of long oily grey hair and a long face that looked unshaved.
"What is it, Mr. Filch?" Snape asked, turning to face the man.
"You must come quickly," the man called Filch said in a throaty growl. "It's about…the vaults."
Claire noticed Snape seemed to flinch before he turned his attention back to her and Merula.
"Get back to your Common Rooms," Snape ordered. "Now!"
Shaken by his voice, Claire was unable to move as Snape followed Filch down the hallway while Merula had an unsettling grin on her face.
"They must be talking about the Cursed Vaults," Merula said out loud, though to no one in particular. "This is too good of an opportunity to miss."
Then she quickly followed after Snape and Filch, leaving Claire behind.
Why is Merula so interested in the Cursed Vaults? Claire wondered. I should probably follow her and see what's going on.
Further down the hallway, Snape and Filch went up a flight of stairs and into a corridor that was on the first landing behind a large wooden door. While Merula went in right after, Claire brought up the rear. Inside the dark corridor, Merula stood a little ways back from Snape and Filch who were conversing between themselves in front of another door while Claire snuck up behind her.
But Merula heard Claire's footsteps, despite how quiet they were, and whispered, "What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you the same question," Claire whispered back, and looked at Filch. "Who's that man taking to Snape?"
Groaning softly, Merula responded, "That's the caretaker, Mr. Filch. He tends to wander about the corridors and catch students who break any of the school rules along with his cat Mrs. Norris."
"Are they talking about the Cursed Vaults?"
"Maybe if you stopped talking, I would know."
Glaring at Merula, Claire closed her mouth and listened to Snape and Filch's conversation.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Snape asked Filch, who was holding a scrawny-looking cat with red eyes.
"Only Mrs. Norris and I saw the ice," Filch replied, stroking the cat with one hand.
"Then I shall inform Professor Dumbledore immediately," Snape replied. "It may have to do with the Krystal situation."
"Is it true the vaults have lots of treasure, prophecies, and artefacts in them?" Filch asked, with a curious gleam in his eye.
"You need not concern yourself with what's inside of them, Mr. Filch," Snape assured. "Just lock this door and keep it guarded."
"What's the 'Krystal situation'?" Claire asked.
Merula shrugged. "Who cares? Whatever's behind that door must have something to do with the Cursed Vaults."
"So you believe the Cursed Vaults are real, yet you always went on about how my brother was mad," Claire observed. "How much do you really know about them?"
"I shouldn't have to explain myself to an idiot, and especially not here," replied Merula and she left the corridor.
It was then that Claire noticed Filch was putting the cat down and decided to follow Merula's example by leaving the corridor as well.
###
Later that evening in the Great Hall, Claire met up with Rowan and discussed what happened in the corridor over dinner.
"Sounds like you had quite the adventure," Rowan remarked. "Though Snape taking twenty points from Ravenclaw doesn't sound great."
"But that's nothing compared to this 'Krystal situation' Snape was talking about," Claire said. "It probably has to do with my brother, and maybe the Cursed Vaults themselves. In either case, I need to get into that corridor."
"You mean we need to get into that corridor," Rowan corrected. "Let's sneak in there after curfew, once everyone's asleep."
Despite some hesitation, Claire nodded in agreement.
To be continued…
