Chapter Twelve

Spooks and Spells

Leu was reading in bed by the time Noah floated through the door, the sound of a pile of books hitting the floor made Leu look up. Noah grimaced, opening the door to gather them up.

"Sorry, you'd think I'd remember that the books can't go through doors," Noah muttered.

"It's about time you got back. It's well after curfew, you know," Leu pointed out.

"I had to get my interview done for Professor Scribe," Noah explained, setting the books on the table and pulling out a chair. "Besides, I didn't think you'd care if I was late, considering I'm only a ghost and all."
"Why would you say something like that?" Leu asked with a frown. "You know, you really haven't been yourself lately. I don't suppose you're fighting with Myrtle? Is she invading people's showers again?"

"No. Well… yes, she is, but that's not it. I'm just rather lonely is all, and perhaps a bit scared," Noah admitted. Leu put down his book.

"Why would a ghost be scared of anything? Well, except water, of course, but that's not something you can help. This isn't something related to that, is it?" Leu asked. Noah shook his head. "Then what?"

"I just don't want to be alone," Noah said.

"I don't see how you can be alone in this castle," Leu said at last. "Especially not with that ruckus downstairs. There are more ghosts here than anywhere in the country, you know. Not to mention how many human friends you have… not just me, either. Keir likes you too, and Mum, and everyone, really."

"In a few years you'll graduate and move on… even the staff here will eventually move on, replaced by others that don't know me. Now that I know I can't even count on Myrtle being here, I really don't know what to do," Noah murmured.

"Why can't you count on Myrtle?" Leu asked with a frown. "I don't see how why you can't. I doubt she'd ever get so angry or upset enough to leave you."

"Not like that," Noah said with a sigh. "There are two sorts of ghosts, you know. Those condemned to their existence by their own actions, and those of us who just had a bit of bad luck, and because of our mental state at the time of our deaths couldn't leave this world properly. If Myrtle ever gets over what caused her to go crying in the bathroom in the first place, I think… chances are… that she'll finally be ready to ascend."

"But that's a good thing, isn't it?" Leu asked slowly.

"How would I know? I've never done it," Noah snapped, but then calmed down almost immediately. "What do you suppose it's like? Is it just another place, like heaven and hell, or is it like sleeping and never waking up? Or maybe you just sort of fade, and your soul just gets absorbed into a collective cosmos of thoughts?"

"If you don't know, I certainly don't. I would like to say that there are times when I feel my parents around me still," Leu admitted, lying down and looking up at the ceiling. "Sometimes I smell my mother's perfume when there isn't anywhere the scent could be coming from… or I feel my father behind me, cheering me on. My adopted mother thinks that heaven and hell is a personal thing one takes with them when they pass on, but that people are generally good in nature, despite what it seems like at times. Either way, I know my parents are watching me because I feel them too often to believe different. I do miss them, though."

"I miss my parents too, and my sister," Noah admitted, Leu nodding in understanding. But that understanding met with little comfort, for Noah was still feeling quite lonely when he finished his homework and went to bed.

Downstairs, the after-party party was getting into full swing. A few professors still wandered through; although the majority had either retired to their rooms or were busy making sure all of the guests were out of the castle. Of course, John Carnegie was still there, busy cleaning up after the annual pie fight at the end of the ball, while Mrs. Norris followed behind him as if inspecting his work to make certain it was satisfactory.

It was about the time when Peeves was reduced to throwing left-over cream puffs through the heads of some of the ghost patrons that Zack emerged with a pair of small glasses in hand, offering one of them to John.

"'T'isn't scotch, I hope," John said mischievously, glancing at the clock to see it was safely after his normal shift before accepting the drink.

"I wouldn't do that to you. It's Inis Whiskey," Zack said with a chuckle.

"I'd settle for a scotch right now. What I wouldn't do for one last scotch," the Fat Friar said wistfully, fiddling with his ghostly hands with anticipation as he waited for the two mortals in the middle of the room to drink them.

"Isn't that how you got in that predicament in th'first place?" John teased him.

"Actually, it was the angelica potion I was experimenting with to cure hangovers," the Friar said. "I was trying to take Carmelite Water to the next level and it backfired somewhat. I had a heart attack."

"But then it surely did cure the hangover, didn't it? If a wee bit dramatically," John winked.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, I think I'll find I'll find better company for the evening," the Friar said indignantly. "And that'll be three Our Fathers and Hail Mary's from you, and I think you'll probably need more, since you'll overdue for a confessional."

"More than likely," John said with extreme amusement as the Friar hovered towards the other side of the room to seek Lady Charlotte. "Just what I needed, tae seek penance from a God forsaken Friar!"

"Well, at least he's come to terms with his sins," Zack chuckled.

"As I have come to terms with mine, thank you very much…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to imply I was talking about you, John. I meant that some of the other ghosts make up for the docile ones," Zack explained. "And all of the ones who have the strongest angst have been on edge lately… all of them except my priority patient, that is," he said, glancing over where Icarus Ravenclaw hovered near the Bloody Baron, the two of them talking calmly with glasses in their hands. Icarus then glanced over at them curiously.

"It sounds like a blessing, considering how wound up they are. They've been like tha for months now, since the end of last year, as a matter o' fact. Tae long fer it t'be Caprica's influence," John mused. "The Professor thinks it might have been all the security changes, but fer some reason I can't put my finger on, I've been feelin' like there's more to it than that."

"So do I, but maybe for different reasons," Zack said, but didn't have a chance to say more before Icarus hovered over.

"Isn't a bit late for the two of you to be out? Mortals do need their rest, you know," Icarus chided them.

"We'd be getting more rest if all of you went to bed so that John could put the Great Hall back in order and I can stop having to babysit all of you," Zack suggested.

"I'm a Hogwarts Professor, Zachhius. I certainly don't need a babysitter," Icarus said indignantly.

"And what about the rest of 'em, Professor?" John interrupted before Zack could disagree. "Surely you c'n see that the Headmaster would want the good doctor to make sure things stayed civil. Everyone knows that Caprica's parties tend to get out of hand on occasion."

"Hm, well, I suppose you have a point," Icarus decided.

"That said, Professor, I still wouldn't mind a bit of sleep a'fore tomorrow's events, myself," John said.

"Let me see what I can do," Icarus offered. "After all, you do need your rest, and I wouldn't have either of you shirking your duties to the Headmaster to do it. He has enough to worry about right now…"

"Like the gargoyles?" Zack fished.

"I meant the Olympics, of course," Icarus said, tsking at him before hovering towards the tables to start hinting to the other ghosts to return to their regular haunts.

"He's behaving suspiciously normal, if you don't mind me saying so, Doctor," John said, shaking his head at Icarus.

"Yes, I noticed that myself," Zack agreed, folding his arms. "I wonder why none of the ghost psychology books have never covered what to do about them acting too normal?" John chuckled softly at that, and then began putting the tables back to order.

The next morning, bright and early, Thomas Craw exited the tent and strode through the main pavilion, unsurprised that no one else was awake yet. He frowned when he got to the entrance and saw a hunk of stone in the way, but then noticed it was the back of a large stone snake.

"What are you doing here? Never mind, slither aside, Sashassin. I have an appointment to keep," Thomas said grumpily, and the gargoyle slowly moved to the side. Nearly tripping over the disturbed ground that the gargoyle had left, Thomas muttered under his breath, stopping only long enough to get a potion-laced breakfast tea from the Pannage's booth before taking the brisk walk over the tracks and around the lake.

Leu raced past him in the halls, sliding down the corridor and up to the main staircase, but then stopped short, for he had to wait for the staircase to change.

"See what rushing gets you?" Thomas grunted when he caught up to the boy.

"I don't want to be late," Leu explained.

"They aren't going to start without me, are they?" Thomas pointed out, stepping up the moment the stairs settled, Leu following closely behind.

The two of them arrived in the old art room, which had been cleared to make space for a secondary gym. Aurelius, Andrew, Maurice, Jennifer and Severus were all there, doing some basic warm-ups. Leu hurried over to Severus and held the box of licorice out solemnly.

"Almost forgot your tribute this year, did you?" Severus said expressionlessly, but Jennifer and Andrew changed a private smile behind him.

"I couldn't get to the booths yesterday because of the curfew," Leu explained solemnly. Severus gestured, and Leu quickly fell into line beside Andrew.

"I assume you know why we're here right now," Thomas said, striding towards the front. "Severus, did you come up with some temporal spells to test this thing?"

"A couple of them, although I can't readily guess if they are the same magnitude as the Erase spell," Severus admitted, "especially since I had to choose some that were reversible in case something went wrong."

"In other words, we're learning a spell that may or may not work and testing it with spells that may or may not be good to test with in hopes that this new spell will work… assuming, of course, that we know in advance that someone is trying to cast at us in the first place," Aurelius summarized dryly.

"That's what I've always liked about you, brother, you're such an optimist," Andrew teased.

"The point he's trying to make is that you're not to rely on it… well, not that it matters in your case, Andrew, since you only have your own death to worry about," Thomas said bluntly. "Those of us with generations below us would be better off just getting the hell out of any situation where the Erase spell can be used against us."

"Agreed," Severus said, and Jennifer nodded as well.

"You realize, of course, you're putting your family at risk any time you attend these games, don't you?" Thomas added seriously. "Crowds are security risks, after all…"

"I've already restricted wands and potions past the gates, Dad. No one can enter the school with them unless they're a student, a member of staff, or a licensed Auror or Enforcer, and the students aren't allowed to bring them during any event they're not participating or aiding in," Jennifer said.

"Good. But I suggest you humor me and cast this protection spell on yourselves before any event you attend anyway," Thomas said expressionlessly.

"I believe you were about to explain what it does?" Severus prompted before Jennifer was able to comment.

"It's an altered version of the earthbound spell; the one that keeps you from Disapparating temporarily. This version, however, not only binds you physically to your spot, but on all other levels as well, mentally, spiritually… and hopefully temporally," Thomas said.

"We've been testing it with the Time Turner I borrowed from Father," Aurelius continued when he noticed his mother's furrowed brows and the thoughts behind them. "At the very least, we know it can stop that method of time transportation. Of course, that doesn't guarantee it protects us from anything else…"

"Spare us the second lecture, just come over here so that I can test it," Severus said, pulling his wand out and stepping onto a large mat the size of a sparring ring.

Aurelius walked over and immediately pointed his wand at his own feet, then swept upwards to include the rest of himself. Preparing a simple block spell in case something went wrong, Aurelius took a defensive stance.

As his father's face grew dark and he heard him mumble in words he didn't understand, Aurelius began to have second thoughts about whether or not the binding would hold. The nervousness didn't leave him until his Father's spell slid past him without any effect.

"That seemed to work rather well, Severus. What did you throw at him?" Jennifer asked curiously.

"An aging spell," Severus admitted.

"What?" Aurelius said, stunned. "I thought you said you picked reversible spells!"

"For the most part, I have, but it really wouldn't have hurt you to look a few years older, would it?" Severus said innocently. Jennifer laughed softly until Severus flicked his eyes over at her.

"Don't you dare throw that thing at me," Jennifer said flatly, earning a smirk in response.

"The fact that such a spell didn't go through is a good sign. What else you got in time displacement?" Thomas asked.

"Is there truly any point to testing further? We'd get no closer to proving it works than if we started throwing cleaning spells at one another," Jennifer complained.

Leu tried to follow the conversation of what spell to try next, but after a while of hearing spells that he never heard of before, it was rather hard not to get bored. It was about the time he began hoping they'd simply call off the whole thing and go to lunch that he heard his name called and was asked to line up, then as a group they began to practice the spell repeatedly. Thomas barked at every little mistake that he saw, complained about how slow they were, and a couple of times pointed out his bad footing and even once (and less gracefully accepted) Jennifer's footing. Beside him, Maurice practiced each movement so precise that Leu soon attempted to copy him, hoping that no one would notice.

It was just as Leu was beginning to get comfortable with the movements that he noticed a wispy figure in the mirror. Startled, he focused in on it until he recognized Icarus Ravenclaw, who had been watching them from the doorway with a somber expression.

"Leu, you're not paying attention again," Thomas snapped.

"You can hardly blame him, Father. It is getting close to lunchtime, after all, and the events are to start soon after," Maurice quickly defended.

"Maurice was a point, Thomas, and I believe they have the basics down," Severus added.

"All right, fine, although I would like to see them casting a bit faster than that," Thomas admitted, but gestured a dismissal. Maurice quickly grabbed Leu and pulled him out of the room before his father could change his mind.

"I'll keep drilling them as time permits," Severus offered. "However, I still believe that a charmed item is the best solution."

"Yes, how are you coming with that?" Thomas asked.

"We've a long way to go, Dad. For the record, understanding the rules to Ancient Magic outside of a linear time scale is not for the faint of heart," Jennifer said.

"Nor is understanding the properties of organics versus inorganics when it comes to item making," Severus retorted. "We are spending what time we can on it, but I have been running on a twenty-six hour day as it is."

"It'll probably be months before we have any sort of working prototype," Jennifer agreed with a sigh.

"Then maybe you should stay closer to the school this Yule, especially considering security is tighter here and if we're all together it'll be easier to watch one another's backs anyway. Besides, I doubt all of your guests will want to go home, and I'm sure you would have a much shorter holiday than usual in any case this year," Thomas said.

"True on both points," Severus quickly agreed, Jennifer frowning in irritation. "With everything going on here at the school, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving it for a week anyway, Jennifer. I think it'd be more feasible to simply arrange for our family events to take place here."

"Already had words on the subject, have we?" Thomas grunted, looking between them.

"Well, I'm not going to argue with both of you, I know better than that," Jennifer said, despite the fact her tone betrayed how much she wanted to do just that. "Even so, I hope it's not hard on the children by staying… I hope Leu will understand."

"If he gets bored in the castle, send him out to my tent. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm sure Maurice and any of his friends that are staying can keep him entertained," Thomas said unconcernedly. "Besides, since I was planning on staying here anyway, I'll see more of Quintin this way."

"I've rented out a tent lot over the holidays as well," Aurelius put in. "I was planning to cover for Harry on security so he could go home. Ginger is coming too, of course."

"Oh, very well! If everyone else is staying here, I'm certainly not going home," Jennifer said. "I had better grab a sandwich and start setting up for the track preliminaries."

"Well, I'm going to go see what sort of fare the goblin vendors are offering on the Pitch," Andrew said.

"I'll go too," Aurelius said.

"Same, it'll give me a chance to touch base with Maurice before his event," Thomas agreed.

"I need to take care of some things, then I'll meet you there," Severus said. He nodded to them and strode out of the room, the other three walking towards the Quidditch Pitch to await the beginning of the games.