Fourteen
Competitive Natures
Getting back into a routine that following Monday was so difficult that Severus found himself wondering how poorly both the students and the staff would perform. In fact, he began to regret his decision of going along with the scheme. It was only after his third cup of coffee that he finally wandered into the study, glancing at the top sheet on his desk, which displayed Hermione's galleon estimates for that first weekend.
Severus sat down in stunned silence. Of course, these were the numbers before expenses, he firmly reminded himself, then glanced over several of the other sheets and jotted down some numbers only to stare at the total he had come up with. Perhaps it was worth the pain, he reluctantly admitted, leaving his desk long enough to take Quintin downstairs. After all, if that was how many galleons they had banked after just one weekend, the end total would be more than enough to fund any number of improvements to the school for several years to come. Moreover, if they were careful not to get so far behind in funding again, there would never be a reason to do anything of this scale more than once.
Even the passing thought of repeating the experience brought a grimace to his face… especially after he unwisely peered into a hospital wing packed with students either complaining of aches and bruises from trying out that weekend or from strain or sprains acquired that very morning before classes. Making a note to insist that Bellamy have less strenuous workouts and practices on school days, Severus reluctantly returned to his office for a full day's work.
Jennifer had her own challenges thanks to the games. Even though most of her students did their homework, it was quite obvious that they all skimmed through their reading, forcing her to backtrack over several simple points that they should have known before they even started their labs. On top of that, Ginny's list of needed balms would have been daunting under normal circumstances; but with her tight security schedule, she found that she often had to brew potions during all of her less strenuous classes. That in turn had led to a rather disagreeable comment by Severus during her Items class about how one of the potions she had bubbling behind her should never be left unattended. She immediately found herself ordering him to take care of them since, as she heatedly pointed out, he seemed more interested in the potions than what she was trying to teach.
Obediently and without comment, Severus went to the back of the room to mind the potions, leaving Jennifer flustered and instantly regretting her outburst as she tried to turn her attention back to her other students and their items projects. He even stayed well into her sixth year Potions until she finally grew impatient and dismissed him. Several of the students gasped in surprise when she told him he could go, but the Headmaster simply sneered at her and left, leaving her flustered again.
Severus frowned when he noted the time, realizing that she had put up with him longer than he had thought she would have. The door to the Headmaster's Study was open, so he wasn't too surprised to see that Minerva was already comfortably seated with a cup of tea in hand, apparently unconcerned about waiting.
"Sorry that I was detained, Minerva. I had a detention to finish," Severus explained as he stepped inside and closed the doors.
"Charles Willowby?" Minerva guessed curiously.
"My own detention, actually. Sandwiches?" Severus offered.
"I hope you don't expect me to let you get out of explaining that," Minerva admonished him, pretending the plate of sandwiches wasn't there.
"Jennifer and I are sitting in each other's classes to brush up on each other's specialties, so I'm taking precautionary measures to prepare for what will inevitably happen when Jennifer pushes her luck too far in my classroom. Biscuit?" he offered, but Minerva was too busy laughing to answer, helping herself to one of the sandwiches. "I suppose you're wondering why I wanted to see you today."
"Either way, I'm already finding the visit entertaining," Minerva said, but grew curious again when he sat down in the chair next to her rather than at the desk. "Is this a personal call?" she asked, noticing the gesture at once.
"Partly. Really, it's all the same thing anymore," Severus admitted in resignation but then quickly waved off her attempt to question it. "Actually, what I wanted to talk to you about was something I recalled the other day… something that happened just before Dumbledore left for his 'afternoon tea' with Merlin."
"The year Jennifer was Obliviated," Minerva murmured. "That was such a nightmare."
"Very much so, although that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about. It was something Dumbledore said just before he left… he told me to have you teach me how to play chess. At the time, I replied that I knew how to play, but now I'm not so certain that is what he meant," Severus admitted.
"Oh?" Minerva said, sipping her tea with a thin smile. "Might I ask why you believe so now when you obviously didn't then? And what made you think of it?"
"It has to do with something Thomas Craw said to me, believe it or not. He used chess as a metaphorical example to convince me that I'm going to have to delegate more if I want to gain better control over the mayhem going on in the school. A very common metaphor, really, and yet I found myself wondering about that suggestion all those years ago," Severus explained. "Any system that would help me keep track of everything going on would be a blessing at this point."
"And if it were a simple remark, Severus?" Minerva asked. Severus mulled it over thoughtfully.
"Then I would at least be tempted to ask you what you would do in my current situation," Severus said at last.
"Learn how to play chess, I suppose," Minerva said with a wry smile. "Why don't you bring out Dumbledore's old chessboard from wherever you have it collecting dust at and I'll show you some of its secrets?" she suggested.
"Some? Not all?" Severus asked, squinting suspiciously.
"No, the rest are for your Deputy Headmaster to know," Minerva said, the smile never leaving her face. Instantly intrigued, Severus began unlocking cabinets to find it.
Leu and Noah hurried out of Charms as vexed as the rest of their classmates, hurrying towards the main stairwell.
"I can't believe she kept the entire class over to finish our homework just because some students didn't get it done over the weekend," Noah exclaimed with irritation.
"You were the only one who had it done, Noah," Leu sighed. "Even I missed some of the reading. Let's face it, she had good reason to make sure we had tomorrow's work was done, but that does mean we're running quite late."
"Still, you should probably get something to eat, you know," Noah pointed out.
"I'll grab something off the student table. Besides, I still need to change and get my boots before we go down to the pitch," Leu explained.
"I think you're crazy wanting to try out for Wizard Hurling," Noah said. "You're going to break your neck."
"Would you rather I have done the underwater obstacle course instead?" Leu challenged him as they walked to their room. Copper croaked a cheerful greeting.
"No, of course not, that's dangerous too. Surely not all the sports are dangerous… how about competing in Wizard Chess or something?" Noah suggested as Leu grabbed his equipment and put Copper in his coat pocket.
"You sure do worry a lot for a ghost. First Myrtle, now me…"
"Who says I'm worried about Myrtle?" Noah asked defensively, following him back out of the room.
"Well, you have been thinking a lot of her lately…"
"She's my girlfriend. I'm supposed to think a lot of her. Besides, you're one to talk as much time as you've been spending around girls lately…" Noah began and then stopped short when they saw a girl standing at the bottom of the stairs as if waiting for someone. When she stepped over to them, it became obvious that she had been waiting for Leu. Noah let out a sound of pure exasperation.
"Oh, hello, Diana. We're in a bit of a hurry… do you want to walk to the pitch with us?" Leu asked.
"No. I want you to compete in the obstacle course," Diana said seriously.
"I can't now, Diana. Prelims are over, even if I had chose not to act as assistant. Besides, I'd rather do this," Leu explained, managing to get by her so he could start down the hall. Diana followed close behind.
"Then you'll compete in the water sprint," Diana said firmly.
"That isn't until spring, Diana, and I'll probably sign up for assistant then as well. Besides, it wouldn't be fair…"
"You're wrong! You're not better than anyone else! I am better than you! How dare you insult me by not letting me prove it!" she shouted so furiously that Leu stumbled back to get away from her. Copper tried to wriggle out of his pocket so she could croak a challenge.
"Now you've done it. You've gotten Copper all worked up," Noah complained. "You had better leave us alone before she comes at you and gets frog slime in your hair… or worse, before I'm tempted to come into your room when you're asleep tonight and scare the living daylights out of you!"
"I'm not afraid of either of you," Diana said evenly. "And I will settle you for insulting me. Soon," she added darkly, then turned and walked away.
"She may not be afraid of us, but she scares the death out of me," Noah admitted. "Granted, all girls are weird, but she pushes the limit. I'm not sure if she could even be considered human… but definitely a girl."
"Do you know, I'm starting to think that you're afraid of girls in general," Leu teased.
"And with good reason!" Noah agreed as they hurried outside. "Even Myrtle has her scary moments, especially when she's trying to get romantic on me. Why can't girls seem to enjoy being in a relationship without unreasonable demands and commitments that a bloke doesn't have a prayer in ever keeping?"
"Not all girls are like that," Leu protested.
"Sure, you say that now. Wait until you're my age and you'll change your mind," Noah said. Leu blinked.
"If I waited that long, there wouldn't be many girls my age left to see," Leu said. "Ah, there's the Hurling area on the other side of the field by those flags. Thank goodness they haven't started yet!" He hurried over to where a group of brave Ravenclaws were standing as a seventh year instructed some of them on how to use the equipment. Leu immediately found a seat nearby and pulled off his shoes, eager to put on his new Springoline boots.
"I still think this is a mistake," Noah said, taking a seat in the stands behind him. "You'll be in the hospital wing before the hour is over."
"Only if the students trying out for the Chaser Ball teams get too close," Leu said, glancing up after several brooms raced to the Quidditch rings overhead.
"Don't worry, they've been told to stay near the other set of rings when we start practicing over here," said Colby. Suddenly he ducked, and instinctively Leu did the same just as Kim zoomed close to their heads, landing nearby. Her face was dusty and she seemed a bit out of breath, struggling to get her gloves off.
"Don't tell me you're trying out for this team too!" Colby scowled at her.
"None of the team sports are playing at the same time as any of the others. I checked," Kim explained, pulling off her goggles and reaching under one of the seats for her boots. "They figure they can maximize time on the field and the pitch that way, and it left me free to try out for all of them. Don't worry, I got permission first," Kim assured them.
"Just don't let your marks drop trying to keep up with it," warned Cobb Matchison, one of the seventh years.
"I can handle it," Kim said, standing up to test her boots, which bounced a bit. "Ever worn these before, Murphy?"
"Just long enough to try them on to make sure they fit," Leu admitted.
"Stand up and gently try to press your heals to the ground if you want to bounce. If you want to stop or stay on the ground, try to walk on your toes. It feels a bit like walking on high heels at first until you get used to them…"
"He wouldn't know that!" Noah protested.
"Oh, right, I guess not," Kim grinned, helping him up. Leu did as he was told and felt his heels start to bounce as if they were on a rubber surface, practicing a bit as Kim walked around with him, his boots threatening to propel him upwards at random intervals.
"Hang on, don't take off without your knee and neck protection," Cobb protested, handing them something that looked like a fairly ordinary set of knee pads along with what appeared to be an attachable collar that was so high that Leu could feel it against the back of his head. Fortunately, it tapered off near the front where it attached to his bronze jumpsuit.
"You resemble an evil overlord out of a bad fairytale," Noah snickered. "You look quite silly."
"You would look silly trying to wear anything," Leu retorted.
"All right, Cobb, he's suited up and he's figured out how to walk now," Kim reported.
"Thanks, see if you can help that one, then," Cobb said. He gestured towards Colby, who was flat on his face with his legs bent and his boots over his head to keep them from doing anything.
"Right," Kim agreed.
The moment Kim let go of his arm, Leu took one single timid step and found himself soaring into the sky, blinking as he looked through the middle Quidditch ring before coming back down again. At first it was disorienting, but it was the moment or two of weightlessness that he experienced when force caught up with gravity that was somehow fascinating, and it was in those few seconds that the players were expected to move the Bludger down the pitch.
Excitedly, he arched his foot and came down on his toes, taking only a moment to inspect the magical suction-cup stoppers on the toes of his shoes before running back over to the stands for his hurley. Even before most of the other first timers managed to successfully get off the ground (let alone learn how to land) Leu was up in the air trying to get used to how it felt swinging in mid-air, trying to time it in the few seconds of airtime he had. Sometimes he swung too early or too late, making it look like he was chopping in air rather than swinging.
It took much longer to get everyone else up, but finally everyone was jumping with ease, some of the bolder ones doing somersaults in air while they waited for Cobb to trigger a single Bludger that came zooming out. Near-air collisions and the danger of being hit by the other hurleys as they swung for it turned the practice into complete chaos, forcing several of the players to try and control their heights to keep themselves from becoming caught up in the mess.
"Are we even going to have a working team by the time it starts?" Leu asked out loud to no one in particular, laughing at the hilarity of it all before bouncing back into the fray to give the Bludger another whack. Despite the chaos, he was quite pleased when he found out he made the team after practice was over. So was Copper, it seemed, croaking happily when he took her out of his pocket.
As Noah was watching from the stands, he felt a tingling up his arm and turned to see Myrtle hanging on it with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Oh, there you are, Myrtle. Where have you been hiding at?" Noah asked, taking her hand.
"Thinking… in the cistern," she explained.
"What were you doing all the way down there?" he asked curiously.
"I was being depressed," she explained. Noah frowned. "Did you miss me?"
"Yes."
"Then come walk with me after the mortals go to bed," she said enticingly.
"But there's a curfew! I might get into trouble…"
"Oh, don't be silly! You're a ghost, not a mortal. You don't have to live by their rules!" Myrtle said with exasperation.
"I promised Professor Snape and Professor Ravenclaw that I would behave like a normal student…"
"That doesn't mean you have to behave like a mortal! You're just using that excuse to get out of walking with me, aren't you?" Myrtle challenged him.
"Of course I'm not, Myrtle, you know how I feel about you," Noah said irritably.
"How would I when you never show it?" Myrtle asked dangerously, despite the fact he still had a hand on hers.
"We're ghosts, Myrtle, our affection isn't the same as theirs," Noah reminded her.
"Is that why you don't want to kiss me?" Myrtle pressed.
"I'm just not ready," Noah said firmly, but noticed that Myrtle's expression had changed and was on the verge of another melt down. "Now, don't start that. I'll go walking with you tonight, Myrtle… as long as you promise to stay away from the bathrooms and such," he compromised.
"Of course! I always do that when I'm walking with you," she tsked. "Don't you trust me?"
"Yes, I trust you, at least farther than I'd trust any other girl," Noah said, and she laughed at that.
"I'd better get ready then. It's only twelve hours away," she said excitedly and faded away.
Leu came over a few minutes later, carrying all of his gear in a lumpy sports bag with a cord.
"Where'd you get that?" Noah asked. "Looks handy."
"From the Mungo's booth, and it is handy. It's bigger on the inside and handles some of the weight, too," Leu said. "Were there any other events you had tickets for today?"
"Just the Mace Throwing prelims. You?"
"Football. I promised Uncle Maurice I'd sit with him. Practically all of the Owls and all three of the Willowbys will be over there," Leu said.
"Well, when you get back to the rooms, I don't suppose you could cover for me if I'm not there? I promised Myrtle I'd go walking with her tonight," Noah explained.
"Sure, although it's funny to hear you call it walking," Leu admitted. "Are you going to try to cheer her up?"
"What makes you think she needs cheering up?" Noah asked.
"Because that's normally when you're willing to bend the school rules to appease her," Leu observed.
"Oh, shut up. I'll see you when I get back, or in the morning if you're asleep when I get in," Noah said.
"All right, have fun," Leu said, walking out of the Quidditch area and towards the field. It was as he was nearing the stands on the far side that Diana stepped down and stood by the bottom of them with that same unreadable expression that she always had on her face. "Hullo, Diana. Not trying out, I take it? Have you seen my Uncle Maurice?"
"Meet me at the lake after dinner tonight," Diana said.
"We're not allowed out of the castle during the weekdays unless an event is going on, Diana, you know that," Leu said. "And there's normally a watch at the door."
"I will be waiting at the docks," Diana said seriously. She walked away, apparently no longer interested in staying. Leu stared after her with a frown.
"Llewellyn?" Leu glanced around to see Cain standing there. "Over this way."
"Oh… thanks," Leu said, and followed him over to where Maurice, Max, Cain and Garvan were sitting at the very edge of a section made up mostly of Slytherin.
"There you are. I hear your tryouts went well," Maurice said, gesturing to the seat next to him.
"Great, thanks. It was even more fun than I thought it'd be," Leu said, glancing out at the field. "Not many Slytherin trying out, are there?"
"Most of the Slytherin who are already on the team are over at Mace Throwing," Max explained. "Coventry and Meyers are close in points now for the Hexathlon, although Grey is making a pretty decent showing considering he's a first year."
"True, and Mace Throwing isn't as boring to watch," Garvan added.
"You could have gone over there," Cain reminded him.
"I'm here as a show of support for my order," Garvan explained.
"No, he's not. He's here because he fancies…" Max was quickly cut off as Garvan put a hand over his mouth.
"Starling, it's obvious that Garvan doesn't want anyone to know about that, and Slytherin keeps its secrets. Now, why don't you run along to the Mace Throwing prelims and make sure our prefects don't need anything and get me a report on how it's going," Maurice said.
"Fine. I'll need a ticket, though," Max said, and Maurice got a booklet and tore one out, handing it to him, along with a few coins.
"Sure you trust him with your money?" Cain asked, getting settled.
"He'd be a fool to use it for anything other than prefect's errands. He knows it'll come back to haunt him," Maurice said unconcernedly, watching the field. "Speaking of haunts, where's Nolan?"
"Over at Mace Throwing, I think," Leu said.
"Well, when you see him again, let him know that I need to speak with him when it's convenient. It's concerning my investigations about the gargoyles," he explained.
"Really? I don't think he knows anything about that. At least, nothing that he's told me about," Leu said.
"Well, he may know more than what he's told you, or perhaps he knows someone else who does," Maurice said. "You see, the one thing I know for certain about the gargoyles moving is that it always seems to happen at night… which means, the only ones who may have seen anything are the ghosts or the paintings… and I have a hard time believe that neither of them saw anything. I mean, how many places are there in the castle that neither of them go? Not many, and the gargoyle changes are almost always in known doorways and passages, except perhaps the one in the new passage. So, if you can arrange for him to meet me in the library or something after dinner, that would suffice."
"I think he has plans tonight, but I can ask him to stop by the library at lunch tomorrow," Leu suggested.
"That can be arranged," Maurice agreed, turning his attention to the field. As usual, Kim was dominating the field, just as she did in any sport she tried out at. Hope seemed to be a close second, her energy pulling her constantly forward, while Natalie seemed most at home in the keeper position. Charles seemed to be hanging mostly on the sides, only moving in when those trying to move the ball forward needed some opposition, so sharp and attentive that for the first time since he had started Hogwarts he seemed uncommonly mature for his age.
"I think it's safe to say that Gryffindor will be adding another Willowby to their roster," Maurice observed. "Pimra and Kim will be hard pressed this year to stay on top."
"You don't think Slytherin has a chance?" Cain asked with a frown.
"Well, it is hard to say, considering that most of our team and half of Hufflepuff are over at the other event, but I am concerned that the rivalry between those two teams may hold them back a bit," Maurice mused. "Then again, that situation could change. Michael Coventry has been considering withdrawing from the team. He wants to go the Hexathlon and he needs top marks if he wants to be an Auror, so he feels like he doesn't have time to commit to anything else. If he does leave, that would change the dynamic."
"At the very least, it'd cut down on the number of penalties we get this year," Garvan said. "Do you think Donald will drop when he's heard that Michael has?"
"Doubtful," Maurice decided, glancing at where Helena was busy trying to direct what few Slytherin was out on the field on what they were supposed to be doing. "I think I had better start on my homework now that I'm certain that my nieces and nephews are going to make the team. I have tests in Ancient Magic and Transfiguration tomorrow."
"I have tests tomorrow too," Leu agreed, remembering Professor Weasley's threat of what she would do if they came in unprepared again. If that had happened in Potion's class, he really would have been trouble, he thought ominously as he walked upstairs.
The houserooms were practically vacant, so Leu decided to take advantage of the quiet and bury his nose in his books for a while. He didn't even remember dozing off.
It was Copper's croak that finally woke him up. He looked around, still half-asleep, fully intending to simply change and go to bed. But Copper's croak was so insistent that he stared at her for a while, trying to focus in on her.
"Have I forgotten something?" Leu finally asked, giving up on the idea of trying to figure it out on his own. Copper jumped up on the windowsill and croaked. "Outside? Wait, you mean that meeting with Diana. I wasn't planning to go, and besides, it is getting late, so she's probably…" he paused, thinking about it. Perhaps a typical girl would have left by now, but would Diana have left? For some reason, Leu doubted it. It was Diana's strong determination that stood out over her lack of other skills, and Leu could imagine her waiting all night, probably until Bellamy took his jog the next morning.
"You're right. We ought to go long enough to make sure she went back into her room. Surely she can't have been serious about trying to run that thing at night, it'd be much too dangerous, and too cold," Leu said, getting his jacket.
Copper immediately followed, croaking several times in protest until Leu finally picked her up and put her in his jacket pocket. He followed the secret passages… at least as far as he knew them. But he didn't know any around the entrance near the lake, so he decided to slip outside as soon as he could and stay in the shadows rather than run the risk of being caught in the halls after hours. Fortunately, there was a passage that led close to the Quidditch Pitch, and that gate appeared to still be unlocked. A bit nervous that that might mean there was a professor patrolling the grounds, Leu immediately skirted the area and made his way over to the water.
A muffled ribbit was enough to get Leu to slow his pace, and he carefully crept up until he saw the girl standing near the docks in the dark. Standing next to her and looking rather cold was Winifred Brim. She seemed quite surprised to see him.
"What are you doing here?" Winnie demanded.
"I was worried about Diana, actually. Oughtn't you be in bed? We have tests tomorrow," Leu reminded her.
"After we race," Diana said evenly.
"She's quite set on it, isn't she? I've been trying to talk her into going inside for well over an hour," Winnie explained.
"It isn't safe trying to run the obstacle at night, Diana. Doctor Sagittari lets the Kraken out at night to feed, and the Headmaster warned me that a lot of dark creatures hunt near or in the water at night when they don't run the risk of running into as many wizards."
"They are afraid of us. I'm not afraid of them," Diana said, taking off her coat to reveal that she was in her diving suit. "Winnie can keep the time."
"All right, but I really think you're taking this too far," Winnie said, reluctantly taking the watch from her and fiddling with it to make sure she understood how it worked.
"I don't suppose an apology would be enough? Even though I'm not quite sure what I need to apologize for…"
"Do you always try to apologize for something without understanding why?" Diana asked evenly.
"Just explain to me why you want to do this," Leu said with a sigh.
"Because I'm better than you," Diana said bluntly. "You will go first, then I will show you how wrong you are to assume you are the best without even giving others the opportunity to challenge it!"
"Fine, I never thought about it that way," Lleuwellyn admitted. "But if I agree to this, do you want to study together sometime?"
"Don't be stupid!" Diana snapped, and sat on the edge of the dock as if she were about to slip into the water.
"No, wait! Before you do that, I'd better make sure the course is clear. It's pretty routine for me to check for debris and things like that before any timed round, you know…"
"You are just trying to give yourself an advantage!" Diana accused him.
"No, really… at least let me go first, Diana, then I can be sure to go over the course," Leu insisted.
"Maybe you ought to let him, Diana," Winnie said. "The course hasn't been used in two days, and Bellamy's trained Leu on what debris needs to be kept off the course. Besides, it'll give you a clear time to beat."
"There will be no excuses as to why you lost!" Diana said suspiciously.
"I promise that I won't make any excuses when you beat me," Leu said. Leu made use of the boathouse to put on his diving suit, and then stepped out and dropped straight down into the water, bobbing up and down near the boathouse.
"Be careful, Leu," Winnie said. Leu nodded solemnly at that. "Are you ready?"
"I'm going to need to cast a light spell on myself, because my diving light is at home," Leu explained, getting it out of his jacket. Copper croaked curiously and came out on the dock to watch.
"No cheating!" Diana warned.
"No, of course not," Leu said with a sigh, casting the spell that made him and the area around him glow. He then put it back in his jacket. "All right, I'm ready."
"On your mark," Winnie said, holding up the watch.
Leu forced himself to focus, diving just as Winnie called time. Even with the light, it was difficult to see where the reeds were in the water, and he ended up bumping into several on his way past and then bracing himself for the currents that lay between the reeds and the maze. He knew the course enough to know he would have to give in to those currents a little or he would be forced to spend a lot of his energy and speed trying to pull away from them. Carefully he worked his way through to one of the milder currents, knowing that it would carry him close enough to the maze that just a couple of strong kicks would be enough to get him the rest of the way. But as he began to kick, something unexpectedly got caught around his foot.
Twisting around, Leu couldn't see anything but darkness above him. Something was moving… the same thing that was around his foot… a wave of panic hit him and he began kicking and clawing at what seemed to be a rope, succeeding only in getting his arms and torso tangled as well. He struggled to cry out but couldn't underwater, so when it began wrapping around his head, he realized just how much trouble he was in.
On the docks, Winnie stared at the stopwatch, frowning at the time.
"This is a bit slow for Leu. I wonder if he's having trouble getting through the obstacles in the poor light?" Winnie asked, frowning when she didn't see any moonlight reflected in the water at all. Copper croaked worriedly and jumped in the water, swimming out of view. "I had better get one of the magnifying glasses."
"You are keeping time," Diana complained.
"Then you'll have to take over for me, because I'm going to the boat house to get a glass so I can make certain that nothing is wrong," Winnie said before running inside. As she searched for the box, she heard a loud wail and nearly fell over in surprise, her heart racing.
"Horrible gawker!" shrieked a voice.
"Calm down, Myrtle! She can't see us, so she can't be here to gawk. What are you doing out here, Winnie?" Noah's voice asked.
"It's Leu. I think he's in trouble," Winnie explained quickly, grabbing a magnifying glass. "He went to do the obstacle course and isn't back yet," she explained, then rushed back outside.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Myrtle demanded.
"To help Leu, of course," Noah's voice said.
"But he's in the lake!" Myrtle protested, but Noah had already left. He floated over the lake, using his sense of Leu's presence to pinpoint where he was. But as he closed in on where he thought Leu might be, he noticed a massive clump of weeds floating on the surface and dove in a panic.
At the edge of the docks, Winnie let out a cry of alarm.
"What now?" Diana asked impatiently.
"It's Fishertrap! A water type of Devil's Snare! It's covering the back half of the course!" Winnie said. Diana frowned and dove into the water, while Winnie, left with few other options, sent up a flare.
Noah summoned his wand and willing himself deeper, the wand reaching his hand just as he arrived at the center of the plant's mass. Calling up a light, he spotted a wrapped figure that could have only been Leu and pushed forward, the terror of losing his friend washing away any lingering fears he had of the water itself.
"Lumos solem!" he intoned, piercing the Fishertrap with a thin ray of sunlight that caused parts of it to shrink back. It didn't let go of Leu completely, but enough of the vines had shrunk back that Noah could get near him. He tugged at the weeds around Leu's face to find that Copper had somehow managed to get to him, her body wedged next to his head and keeping the vines from completely covering his face. "Let go of my friend!" Noah shouted angrily, attacking the vines with sunlight again. The plant made a swipe at the nuisance tickling its undersides, but the vines went right through Noah, who was refusing to give up on his attempts at freeing Leu.
"Lumos solem!" echoed a strange voice behind Noah, and the vines shrank back further. Noah glanced at Diana briefly before the two of them began to work together, and their combined efforts were enough to finally pull Leu free, quickly swimming away from the confused Fishertrap before it could make another grab at them.
"He's still unconscious! Let's get him to shore!" Noah said. Diana nodded in understanding; grabbing an arm and pulling Leu up with ease as the currents of the lake helped to push them onto the bank. Noah then listened to Leu's shallow breathing with deep concern and put his hands on his chest, a curious glowing mist covering Leu's midsection. Within seconds, Leu let out a gasp and coughed, his breathing returning to normal. Diana put a hand on him as well, feeling his breathing and his chest.
"He will be all right, but he may have cracked ribs," Diana said solemnly.
"He won't be all right when I am through with him! You are a total and complete idiot! How stupid can you be going out there at this time of night! I know you've been warned before about swimming in the lake after dark! What were you thinking?" Noah shouted at him angrily. Copper croaked in apparent agreement.
"It wasn't my idea," Leu murmured, wincing in pain.
"Then whose…" Noah stopped short, glancing over at Diana who was looking downwards. "Never mind, I get it. We need to get you to the hospital wing, but when you're feeling better, I am going to teach you how to say no to girls!"
"Thanks," Leu said quietly. Diana picked him up, ignoring the abashed look on Leu's face as she did so.
As they began to work their way around the lake, they heard voices calling out Leu's name. Diana shouted out a reply and then saw a bouncing light as Professor Craw ran over to them with Winnie just a step behind her. A look of pure relief washed over Craw's face when she saw that Leu was already out of the water.
"Leu! Are you all right?" Jennifer asked.
"No," Leu admitted.
"He almost drown in the lake," Noah said irritably.
"Nearly suffocated by Hydra Weed," Diana explained.
"Let's get him to the hospital wing. It's a good thing you got him out of there, Diana," Jennifer said.
"Noah saved him," Diana shrugged. "I just helped. So did Copper."
Copper croaked in agreement.
"Winnie, would you pick up Copper and then ask Sagittari to come to the castle? Come, Diana, let's get Leu settled, then I want a full explanation what all of you were doing out here this late at night," Jennifer snapped sternly.