Henry would never forget how white Kimmi Slymer looked when she saw Henry and Jon stride into the Grand Hall that morning for breakfast. She probably expected them to be long gone to Newcrest by now. The boys in question had been dead tired but at least cheery that their skins were saved from the huge dog and they were still able to study at school! As the days went on...the adventure with the dog really excited them every time they reminisced about it. It made them a bit ready to try for something else adventurous. Henry even took the time to break Hagish's request and began to fill Jon in on the details of the vault, the package, and the trapdoor the dog was guarding. Even Jon connected the dots and agreed it was very plausible. The boys chatted about their theories as to what it could be hidden underneath that trapdoor.
"It's either worth a lot or very, very dangerous," Ron decided.
"Could be both," Henry supplied.
The only thing they had to go on was that it could fit in a shoebox.
Neither Esmani or Taryn mentioned the incident again and didn't seem as interested in knowing what lay beneath that door. Taryn remarked that she just never wanted to be in that area ever again for as long as she goes to this school.
As for Esmani, she was refusing to speak to Henry and Jon. It was fine by them. The peace and quiet was welcomed. It seemed that the boys wanted to figure out the mystery of the trapdoor and to get back at Kimmi Slymer. It would seem that the mail delivered was going to be just their ticket.
Just like they did every morning, the owls came fluttering in droves. Some people had noticed that one of the owls was carrying a package that was very long and thin. As it swooped closer Henry realized it was blue. Upon further inspection he realized it was Magus! When the bird dropped the item, it cleared about two other kids' plates which made them stare daggers at Henry. There was a letter on top of the package.
With excitement, Henry ripped open the letter. It said:
DO NOT OPEN THE PACKAGE AT THE TABLE
It contains your new Zoomsweeper Pegasus. I absolutely do NOT want other children to know you have this broomstick. If you have one the whole student body will want one. Bring it with you for your first Grilled Cheese Duel practice with Ryan Switch. Be on the field at seven o' clock right after dinner.
PROFESSOR GARSPATUON
"A Zoomsweeper Pegasus!" Jon moaned with envy. "I've never even been near one let alone touched one!"
"Let's go to the dorms and open it there," Henry suggested. Jon nodded in agreement and the two boys finished up breakfast and left the Grand Hall as quick as possible. They made it right to the exit when Kimmi Slymer, Lobby, and O'Doyle were standing there. Henry felt like he wanted to roll his eyes. When Kimmi reached out way too fast and snatched his broom, he flared his nostrils at her.
"I can tell that's a broomstick," she said and surprisingly threw it back to him. Her face was full of jealousy. "You can't just keep being the favorite that gets away free from everything, Puffer. You're in for it. You know first years aren't allowed to have brooms and yet here you are with one somehow." She gestured towards the broom.
Against what Henry would have liked, Jon couldn't help himself.
"It's not just a broomstick," he said with his chest held high. "It's a Zoomsweeper Pegasus. What was it you were bragging that you have at home, Slymer...a Zoomsweeper Classic, right?" Jon grinned at Henry. "The Classics get you to point A to point B but...the Pegasus is modeled to be the fastest."
"And what would you know about it, Parsley," Kimmi spoke with frustration. "You couldn't afford even the splinter that came from the handle. Your whole family must have to save up bit by bit until you've built an entire grubby broom to share."
Jon opened his mouth to argue but Professor Flitwit saw the tenseity.
"Alright here, younglings?" She asked.
"Professor! Puffer has got a broomstick, Professor. He's a first year and not allowed! He's breaking the rules!" Slumber shot a pointed finger at Henry and then the package and then back at Henry. Flitwit just broke into a beaming smile.
"Ah yes, Henry! Professor Garspatuon told me all about these special circumstances that permit you to have a broomstick as a first year! What model is it, may I ask?"
"A Zoomsweeper Pegasus, ma'am," said Henry. He was greatly fighting the urge not to smile or stick his chin up or make some other sort of rude face at Slymer. Her face was just too priceless! It was like someone deflated her entire facial features. "All thanks to Slymer here, ma'am. If it wasn't for her! Garspatuon would never have seen how well I am on a broom," he just had to add. Kimmi went pale, then pink, the red. Her cold eyes and accompanying sneer made Henry and Jon laugh together all the way up the stairs to the dorms.
"She was furious," Jon chuckled, "I've never seen someone so confused and just raging mad, Henry! That last line you quipped was bloody brilliant, mate!"
"I'm not lying though!" Henry laughed along, "if he hadn't stolen Taryn's Forget-Me-Not I wouldn't be on the team…"
"So I suppose you think that none of your actions have consequences, hm?" An angry voice called from just behind the boys. They had barely made it to the portrait of Princess Cordelia. She was looking directly at Henry's hand with the broomstick still wrapped up in its packaging.
"I thought you weren't speaking to us," Henry pointed out.
"You know you don't have to start," Jon said, "it's been an improvement."
She just marched through the portrait with her nose high in the air.
"Wow," Jon sighed longingly when the broomstick was opened and laid out on Henry's bedspread.
Henry knew nothing of brooms. He was the last person to have an opinion on a broom, in fact. But as he looked upon this Zoomsweeper Pegasus it was abundantly clear that you didn't have to have much prior knowledge to tell that it was a stunning broom. It was sleek and shiny as if it was just recently stained. The handle was a deep mahogany and the tail was bundled and preened to a finite point. Zoomsweepr Pegasus was carved into the side and filled in with what looked to be actual gold. How was he supposed to get through the day?
At dinner, Jon was all but vibrating with excitement for Henry who was eating faster than he had ever eaten before. All of the other boys teased and prodded him for it. He couldn't wait for his secret to come out so he could tell them all.
"Go, go!" Jon ushered at 6:30 and Henry went. He had just enough time to run up to the dorms, grab the broom, and leave the castle just as twilight overcame the Harnocks castle and grounds. The path led to a stadium that reminded him of baseball. There were large walls for stadium seats and posts with banners and flags all with the House colors of reds, blues, yellows, and greens. Henry wondered what it would look like on the inside!
When he entered, he saw the hundreds of seats that were around the field. On both ends of the field were three bronze beams with what looked like soccer goals attached to the top. The goals varied in size. One beam had a large spacious goal, another had a rather medium sized goal, and the third had a tiny goal. Inside each goal there was a tube like tunnel for what Henry assumed where the ball to go. Henry's eyes followed the tubing and he realized they led all the way to the ground and connected to...billows? Like the kind that you use to blow oxygen to stoke a fire. There was also a wrought iron stove that was powered by wood. He was so eager to learn the game of Grilled Cheese Dueling!
Ryan was not here yet so Henry took the opportunity to mount his broom and kicked off from the ground. The feeling of being in the air again was like an utter rush. He swooped high and low. He rounded those peculiar goal posts and dipped low again to be near the stove. The response time of this broom was insane! The slightest touch or movement sent it going exactly how Henry wanted!
"Oy! Garspatuon wasn't lying! Come down, mate!" Ryan called from below. Henry did as he asked and the two shook hands. Ryan was carrying a large leather case that looked like it held some sort of instrument. "I've got here the rest of the tools to play the game. Tonight, I just want you to get familiar with all of it. Then you will begin joining team practice three times a week." Henry nodded.
When Ryan opened the case, Henry peered inside and saw deep red velvet encasing three very interesting looking balls, a pan made of gold, a spatula made of gold, something that looked like an oven mit, and a cast iron pan. Henry was more confused than ever.
"Back in the day, Normies knew of casters," he began, "if you were caught you were burned at the stake. Everything we did had to be quick in case you had to run from a Normie mob. Cleaning, sleeping, bathing, and even...cooking." He gestured towards the stoves on either side of the field. "Cheese was easy to make, butter was easy to make, and bread was easy to make. You could make a lot in advance and combine it all to feed your family quickly and efficiently."
"Grilled cheese?" Henry gasped. "Casters invented grilled cheese?"
"It's funny how these things happen," Ryan said as he nodded in answer, "first the act of making grilled cheese was a necessity and a life or death situation but as the years went on and casters were able to keep secret, it became a game! Who can make grilled cheese the fastest!"
"That's the object of the game?" Henry was very suspicious that this was as fun as he had thought originally. It seemed like a pretty silly thing to him. Even Aunt Daisy let him cook grilled cheeses from time to time and there was nothing really magical or interesting about it.
"I can see you're not convinced. No one is at the start let me tell you," Ryan laughed. "It's easy enough to understand, even if it's sort of difficult to play. First and foremost there are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Stokers."
"Three Stokers, okay," Henry repeated obediently. Switch seemed pleased and took out the biggest ball. It looked like a crumbly golf ball (divetts and all) sized up to that of a basketball. Crumbs fell from it when Ryan handled it.
"This ball is called the pane, pronounced pan-ay," said Switch. "The Stokers throw the Pane to each other as well as try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal." He pointed at the largest opening goal, "that one is worth twenty five points," he pointed to the medium opening goal, "that's fifty," and then to the smallest opening, "and that's one hundred points." Henry watched Switch's finger trace the tunnels that come out of the goals, "when the ball goes through it travels down the tunnel and hits the billow. That keeps the fire on the stove hot. You can't cook your team's grilled cheese if the fire is not hot." Henry realized the billows were also different sizes. "You see how the one hundred point goal leads to the largest billow? That gives the fire more oxygen. Then the medium goal leads to the medium billow...then the biggest goal leads to the tiniest billow."
"So their job is to get the Pane balls into the goals that travel down the tunnels and hit the billows to give oxygen to the fire under the stove to keep the stove hot?" Henry recited and summarized. Switch's eyes went wide.
"Damn kid, you're a fast learner. I like you."
Henry shrugged and tried not to get too cocky. He was actually intrigued now.
"There is also the Defender. That's my job on the Alpaggard team. I have to fly around the opposite team's goals and make sure the other team doesn't get their Pane ball into their goals so their fire doesn't get stoked."
"Three Stokers and one Defender," Henry kept up. He was determined to remember everything. "And they play with the Pane ball, easy enough! So what is the rest of it all for?" He pointed to the other ball that looked solid and yellow along with the gold pan, the cast iron pan, the oven mit, and the gold spatula.
"I'll show you! There is one player on the team that is the guard. They wield this cast iron pan racket. Another player does too but we'll get to that. The Stokers wear the oven mits to toss back the next ball I'm about to show you." He turned his attention back to the cast iron pan. "You see how it has this rubber handle?" Henry nodded. "When the game starts it gets an ever warming enchantment to stay very hot." Switch bent down and picked up the solid yellow ball. Henry realized that it looked and smelled like a round, solid softball sized ball of butter.
It was.
"This is the Burro ball. While the Stokers are working to get the Pane balls into the goals, the Guard is trying very hard to send the Burro ball to hit any player on the team. When their hot, cast iron pan meets this Burro ball it…"
"Must hurt!" Henry couldn't believe this crazy game!
"For a bit! But if you get hit, you have to fly down and dismount. That's when the last player comes in. That's the Reviver. He gets a Sarten Racket too. The Reviver is able to tag back in any player hit by the Burro ball. But if the Reviver gets hit...he doesn't get to get back in and that makes everyone on the team not be able to be revived!"
"Sort of like dodgeball?" Henry asked.
"What's dodgeball?" Switch wondered.
"Nevermind," Henry said quickly.
One Pane ball and two Burro balls. Henry looked them over again as Switch picked up a cast iron pan used by the Guard. He said some words and it began to radiate heateat.
"Watch," Switch said as he picked up a Burro ball and whacked it with the pan. "It's called a Sarten Racket, did I mention that?" Henry watched the Burro ball melt slightly and go into the air. Defeating gravity, it whizzed around the field and Switch had to keep batting it away with the Sarten Racket. "It looks for the closest person which is how team members get out!" Henry watched it zig zag and his eyes went wide as it flew towards him! Switch dove and Henry realized he was wearing one of those mitts. When the Burro ball was caught, it stopped completely. "That's why Stokers have mitts. If they catch the Burro ball they can toss it to their team's Guard to get it started again. You have to try to at least dodge it or catch it. NOT get hit by it. Dodgeball Henry thought. "I know that's a lot, kid. You good?"
"Three Stokers that wear the mits and stop the Burro balls to be thrown back to the Guard. They score the points to stoke the fire. The Defender is on the other team's side preventing the Pane ball from going to their goal. The Guard keeps the Reviver safe and they both have the Sarten Rackets to make the Burro balls fly. Don't get hit by the Burro ball or you have to be out on the sidelines until the Reviver tags you back in. If the Reviver gets out...your whole team could be out and I assume...that ends the game…?"
"I'm like, super impressed, kid like...damn."
"Had a Burro ball ever...um...seriously burned anyone?" Henry had to ask hoping it sounded more casual instead of alarmed.
"Never here at Harnocks. Some little burns like a mild sunburn."
"O-okay…"
"Don't worry! Matthew Parsley and Jordan Young are the best Reviver and Guard duo ever. You will be perfectly safe! Speaking of! The last player is the Flipper." Switch bent down to show Henry the golden pan and the golden spatula. "This is the most important part of the game. When the game starts, a raw grilled cheese is placed in this gold pan and put on the stove. The fire is lit and the game begins! The Flipper must have impeccable reaction time. He has to watch how hot the fire is getting based on what the Stokers are scoring. Knowing this, the Flipper's job is to flip the sandwich two very important times. At the beginning to cook the one side and at the end to finish it. A Grilled Cheese Duel only ends when the team who finishes their sandwich gets their Flipper to flip the finished sandwich on the golden plate next to the stove. You have to be careful. The sandwich has to be golden brown on both sides to win. Too raw on one side and you have to flip it back...anything burnt gains one hundred points. So," he paused for a breath, "any questions?"
Henry shook his head and completely changed his mind. This was quite a game! He understood what he had to do. It was advanced grilled cheese cooking. Garspatuon saw his quick reaction time catching Taryn's Forget-Me-Not and that meant Henry could do this.
"We won't practice with the Pane and billows for now," Switch said and shot a flash of light from the tip of his wand. It lit the fire underneath one of the stoves. He then set another charm on the smallest billow to periodically billow air so Henry had an even surface of heat to practice. They walked over and set the gold pan on the stove.
"Mount your broom," Switch instructed and Henry did so. "When I yell three, I will drop the sandwich into the pan. Flippers do not get oven mitts and I'll be in the air with the Sarten Racket and Burro ball." Henry gulped. "Don't worry, I will set my Sarten to the lowest heat setting to start. As you fly I will try and hit you, okay? Just duck, weave, and dodge until you think that the first side of the grilled cheese is done, okay? Then, you do it all over again for the next side. When you think that side is cooked...flip it onto the golden plate!"
Henry tightened his grip in his broom handle and when Switch yelled he was off! Thankfully the older boy gave him a bit of head start maneuvering the field, Henry eyed the sandwich simmering in the pan and then saw Switch rise up on his broom with his Sarten in one hand and the burro ball in the other. With a thwack he hit the Burro ball and Henry's eyes widened when the thing made a right angle and came right for him!
Switch was playing the role for both hypothetical teams. With the one Burro ball he simultaneously hit the Burro ball at Henry and protected Henry as best as he could from it. Henry ducked low and near the stove. It came and went in a flash but he heard the sizzling and saw the edges bubbling. One more pass ought to do it. He whizzed up and over as the Burro ball nearly caught him in the shoulder!
"Mind your back!" He heard Switch yell.
Henry dove and in his right hand he poised the golden spatula. This was going to be trickier than he thought! Flipping a sandwich while moving!
But something just clicked!
Henry flew low and fast right up to the stove and halted the broom abruptly. It sent him forward and the spatula was able to get right under the bread. With a barrel roll on his broom, the motion made the sandwich flip.
It was perfectly golden brown.
"Puffer you're crushing it!" Switch called. "I'm going to go harder on you with this Burro now! Look alive and finish that sandwich!" Switch was not kidding! The Burro ball seemed to be chasing him as the older boy really dialed back the role of being Henry's Guard. Henry did any and all maneuvers he could think. He was panting hard and sweating a lot and…
NO! The sandwich!
He nearly forgot! The fear of being hit almost pushing the main goal from his mind!
A nasty pivot that rocked him to and fro was what he had to do to get towards the stove. Oh no was that burning? Henry dug his heels into each other to speed up. With his spatula at the ready he descended
Lower...lower...lower…
In the last second he halted his broom again and almost jettisoned himself off. But in the brink of time he held on and scooped the sandwich up and over and…onto the golden plate.
Perfectly golden brown!
"Henry you're a king! You're a natural! I'm utterly freaking out right now!" Switch said with the Burro ball in an oven mit! "That Grilled Cheese Dueling Plate will be Alpaggard's this year! Garspatuon really knows his stuff!" He strode over and picked the sandwich up off of the plate. "This is the best looking one I've seen by far! Man! I can't believe it!" Switch tore it in half and gave one half to Henry. The boys ate it and Henry had to admit he did do a good job. "I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you turned out better than Carl Parsley, honesty! He could have played for Riverview if he'd have not gone off training dragons!" Henry could only beam proudly around a bite of buttery, cheesy goodness.
The next two month at Harnocks flew by due to Henry's Grilled Cheese Dueling practices in the evenings on top of all of his classwork and homework during the day. The school was becoming more of a home to Henry than the Doofly home had ever felt. What had made him unsure just months prior was the coursework in magic. He just wasn't sure he was going to be any good at it. However in the short time between then and now the basics were mastered and Henry found his lessons were more fun and loads more interesting.
On Spooky Day morning Henry and Jon woke to the smell of baking pumpkins permeating the dorm, common room, and corridors. Autumn at Harnocks was proving to be very serene. The ominous castle, for starters, looked to be from a time long ago and days past. Add that with the season being a time for warm, cozy, comfort with spookiness and giddiness to spare!
"Professor Flitwit said today was the day she'd teach us how to make objects fly. I've been dying for this lesson, Henry! Just think! No more walking to get things! You can just make it fly right to you," Jon was talking and gesturing wildly. Henry easily grinned when he remembered Professor Flitwit showcasing the spell on a random toad that had happened to get lost in the classroom. It looked so much fun as it soared through the air by the wand of Flitwit.
"Come to think of it," Henry froze and thought back, "wasn't that Taryn's toad?" The boys looked at each other and just paused. They couldn't help busting out into a grin.
In Mischief Magic class, Henry could barely sit still. It is a very interesting long, and large class. Professor Flitwit seemed to take her sweet time calling roll and getting the class going. Sure, it's a three hour class but there was so much to do! Flitwit normally split the time with lecturing for thirty minutes, twenty minutes of historical theory, and ten minutes of practical practice exemplified by the professor. This was normally how the first hour with one of the other Houses went. They'd get a fifteen minute break and then one of the houses would rotate in turn. You then begin the next period with thirty minutes of studying by the books and writing notes and then individual practice with a different House, followed by another fifteen minute break. The final period is just like the first, an hour long class with the remaining House. There's the summary lecture for ten minutes, individual practice for twenty minutes, partner practice for thirty minutes, and ten minutes closing with next Friday's agenda. The schedule rotates every week. Henry worked it out and it looks like this Friday they'd have period one with Leetlefloof, period two with Ivybell, and period three with Owlenmoon. It seems chaotic for an entire first year class to be in one giant room but Henry learned that Professor Flitwit may be small but she surely knew how to keep up with rotations and disciplined accordingly. She could perhaps be on par with Garspatuon if she wasn't also so sweet and peppy.
Henry was loving this new spell to move objects. He watched very carefully during the first period during the modeling done by Flitwit and even kept focus during the lectures and historical theory. By period two, he was itching to use his wand! He kept his nose into his book even though he could feel Kimmi Slymer's eyes on him. Henry picked up his wand to begin his individual practice. Professor Flitwit gave them an inkless quill to try and levitate. Henry checked and rechecked his notes and tried the spell. He couldn't help it, he looked over to Kimmi.
She seemed to not be having any luck and the frustration on her face was evident. Every since he had made the Grilled Cheese Dueling team she had been pretty quiet and less of a complete nuisance. Perhaps the thick of the term was keeping her just as busy?
By period three Flitwit put them in partners for the partner practice. Henry was to be paired with Paddy O'Rourke and Jon had to pair with Esmani Ghadjer. Jon wasn't even trying to hide his scowl. As she promised, she had not spoken to either of them since Henry received his new broom.
"It's more than words, kiddos, it's more than words," Flitwit was saying. "Ivybell students should be writing NOT chatting," she said and returned her attention to Alpaggard and Owlenmoon. "The wrist movements are key here. You need a swish and a flicking motion. As you progress at Harnocks you will find that one wrong syllable or even a slip of a letter sound will change a spell not always in your favor." Her eyes trailed over the huge lecture hall. "Leetlefloofs should be quietly practicing individually. And Ivybells, if you keep up the talking I will remove fifty House credits right here and now."
Having Paddy watching was not helping Henry get any better at this difficult spell.
"Bleedin' no good rotten feathery arse," he'd grumbled under his breath. Henry watched him stab the quill at the end of his wand and the beginnings of smoke told Henry to put it out!
"Watch it, Paddy!" Henry cried. "Just relax and be patient! Come on, we've got this."
Jon wasn't having any better luck at the next table over Henry observed.
"Throughify za Airafy!" he shouted, waving his arm like a propeller. It seemed that the more he tried, the louder he got as if the volume was what was missing.
"It's because you're saying it wrong," Esmani snapped at him. "It's Through-I-fy z-UH air-I-fy," she breathed through her nose in a huff, "you're saying it like Through-uh-fy z-ah Air-uh-fy." She shook her head in disapproval.
"Well if you know everything, I'd like to see you do it!" Jon rolled his eyes.
"With pleasure," she said and rolled up her sleeves on her school robes. Henry was now fully paying attention to her and her first try. Her tongue peeked out with focus and she took a deep breath. Her wand pointed at the quill, her eyes sharp and at attention. "Throughify za Airafy!" She shakily breathed through a smile when her words combined with quick swishes and flicks sent her inkless quill up in the air. Jon made some sort of noise in exasperation which alerted Flitwit.
"We've got a flyer!" She cried while clapping. "Miss Ghadjer has done it, way to go! Ten credits to Alpaggard House! Miss Ghadjer! Please take heed to showcase your partner with the correct technique for the remainder of class." Esmani could only nod while Jon absolutely seethed in his seat.
His mood did not get any better as they walked towards the Grand Hall for lunch.
"It's no wonder she doesn't really have any friends from our House," he confided to Henry. "She's just too good at everything. People don't know whether to be annoyed or freaked out by her." He paused. "I have decided I can't stand her one bit!"
The corridor was very crowded with people changing periods but someone bumped into Henry as they picked up pace to pass him and Jon. He caught a quick peek at tight curls in a short bob cut. And he knew the face. It had been Esmani. She had tears in her eyes and down her cheeks.
"I think she heard every word you just said, mate," Henry said.
"I…" Jon began but his face fell and he lowered his eyes to watch his feet as he walked.
She wasn't in the Grand Hall for lunch.
She didn't show up in Language Arts.
There was no Esmani in Plantology.
By the time their last class (Mathematics) proved Esmani was not attending, Jon looked very fidgety and uncomfortable. Henry also didn't like how his stomach felt. The Spooky Day feast was during dinner and just after this class ended and Henry couldn't find it in himself to be as excited as he had been that morning.
"Something bad must really have happened," Jess McNamara was whispering to her friend Laren Oakly. Henry's ears perked up and though he tried to not show it, Henry could tell Jon was eavesdropping too.
"Last I heard she spent all this time since Mischief class crying in the girl's bathroom. It's bad. She wants to be left alone," Laren shook her head sadly. Henry's eyes fluttered to Jon's profile which was stoic and awkward. To their utter amazement and relief, they were dismissed early to enjoy the feast and once they stepped foot into the Grand Hall in all of it's Spooky Day decor, the boys' eavesdropping got pushed to the back of their heads.
There were live bats by the thousand and they fluttered from the ceilings to the walls. Some swooped over the tables like low, black clouds. The jack o' lanterns twinkled and the floating candles had an interesting orange hue to them. There were cobwebs and skeletons as well with twinkling spooky music. The fest appeared on their silver plates and Henry was surprised dishes of Spooky Day sweets were also present. He had some control and helped himself to real food first.
"Hey Henry," Jon said awkwardly as Henry began to eat. Henry's mouth was full, so he just nodded to signal he was listening. Jon started to rub the back of his neck and Henry noticed his plate was empty. Something is not right. "I've been thinking…" Jon bit his bottom lip. "...about…" he squeezed his eyes shut, "Esmani…"
Jon was interrupted by Querkle sprinting into the Grand Hall, down the aisle, and flailing her arms wildly. Her belly was bigger than Henry remembered and she was yelling. Her eyes were wild and terrified as she reached Headmaster Simbledore's golden chair.
"THERE'S A ZOMBIE IN THE BATHROOM!" She screamed, took a huge breath and yelled some more, "A CURSIFIED ZOMBIE IT'S…" she began to pant, "THREE SIZES ENLARGED!"
Garspatuon barely had enough time to catch her as she fell into a dead faint.
Simbledore arose with a start and the Hall was in an uproar. To squelch the ensuing chaos, she raised her wand and shot spark after spark from the tip.
"Princeps," she bellowed, "you are to lead your Houses to their dormitories promptly!"
Perry was already up and yanking first and second years by their collars.
"Lead Boys and Girls are to echo my instructions in case confusion arises," Simbledore almost sounded like a voice over alert system. "Stick closely together! A zombie is nothing to fear the size of an elephant or the size of a rat."
"What kind of school has a zombie?" Henry wondered. He thought he was done being surprised with the Realm of Magic. Obediently, they followed Perry and Alpaggard's Lead Boy and Lead Girl. Jon was red and sweaty, still looking awkward through his adrenaline. Henry briefly flashed back to what he had been saying before the commotion but it was overtaken by hearing Perry.
"Zombies are slow and very stupid. If you ask me, Sceeves must have let it in as a Spooky Day prank! I hate pranks," he gave a stink eye to Matthew Parsley. Henry had never seen Matthew look so worried but he realized that Jack was being ushered away with Owlenmoon House. The crowds were getting thick and elbows were beginning to fly. People were somehow going in different directions. Henry was nearly knocked off balance when Jon stopped abruptly while holding Henry's shoulder.
"Wh…? What in the heck, Jon?" Henry said with a raised voice over the crowd.
"Henry...Esmani is in a bathroom."
"Yeah but…"
"She doesn't know about the zombie!"
"Okay and…" realization dawned on Henry. If Esmani didn't know about the zombie in the bathroom...and she was in a bathroom…
"We've got to go get her!' Jon yelled and was already starting to turn towards the bathrooms. Henry was puzzled but very eager with this plan and this change of heart by Jon. Esmani was interesting, a bit high strung, but in no way did she deserve whatever a zombie was capable of. "Watch out for Perry! He'll stop us if he catches us!"
Stealthily, they ducked and joined some Owlenmoon students going in the direction of their common room. Henry noticed a mop of familiar curly hair pulled into a messy bun. Jon and Henry ran right into Jack and she spun around.
"If you're going after Esmani, take the next hallway and hang a left. Trust me," she said. Jon opened his mouth to ask when she interrupted, "Some first years in my House were gossiping. I'd go with but," Henry and Jon noticed she was escorting crying and terrified first years. The boys nodded and took off, following Jack's instructions.
They ran and ran until a disgusting smell hit their nostrils and at the same time.
"Oh my WATCHER, YUCK!" Jon stuck his tongue out.
"It smells like my cousin's old socks and a public toilet," Henry said through a pinched nose. "Do...Jon do you hear that?" Henry held his breath and Jon perked up his ears.
"It sounds like grunting and moaning," Jon whispered. Shakily, the boys followed the sound that grew louder and louder as they followed the corridor. Slow, large, dragging footsteps paired with the moaning and groaning the closer they got. "Henry is it…?" Jon began but Henry grabbed his friend and dragged him into the shadows and behind a suit of armor. He had to put his hand over Jon's mouth to stifle his outcry.
Twelve feet tall with dull, gray, and rotting skin the lumbering enlarged zombie had been right behind them just out of range for him to notice. It could have once been a normal Sim but his clothes were tattered and torn beyond recognition to what they had been new. The head on the thing was huge with patches of hair mixed with decay mixed with bald. The eyes were beedy and milky with an eerie, yellow glow to them. It had a plunger in its hand that was also enlarged. So much so that the zombie had to drag it along with him.
A large room with double doors was at the end of the corridor and the zombie stopped to appraise it. He opened one of the doors with his free hand and grunted as he peeked inside. It seemed like minutes, but the boys watched it crouch a bit and slouched slowly inside. Henry checked all of his surroundings and then looked up towards the armor they were hiding behind.
"We can stick this guy's sword into the double handles! We can trap it inside!"
Jon smiled and looked towards the door and then his face instantly went pure white.
"Henry?" He asked as his voice got higher and higher in pitch. "Do those double doors say 'Ladies Restroom?'" His voice was now as high as he could make it and Henry squinted and dropped his jaw. Instinctively, he was up on his feet and running towards the door. He knew a fellow student and classmate was in there! They had just come to find and warn her and now...this was a rescue!
A high pitched scream sounded just as Henry's hand wrapped around one handle and Jon's wrapped around the other. The two lurched the doors open at the same time. They found Esmani backing into a stall. Sinks and tiles were flying everywhere as the huge zombie advanced on the girl hitting everything in its way. Water was spraying everywhere. The monster swung his plunger and Esmani slammed the stall door. It didn't matter. The force knocked the entire stall completely over and the boys watched Esmani crawl into the next one. On the back swing, a pipe from a sink was knocked loose and rolled to Jon's feet.
"We have to distract it!" Henry yelled.
"Henry?" Esmani must have heard him. Her voice sounded petrified.
Jon seized the moment and picked up the discarded pipe. He threw it as hard as he could right at the zombie's head but missed and hit the wall to its right. In good fortune, the zombie stopped smashing stalls and looked up towards the boys. It was blinking slowly and stupidly to see what made the noise. When the eyes focused on Henry, the zombie changed course and advanced on him!
"Oy! Undead head!" He must have found another pipe because this time Jon lobbed it and it hit the zombie in the shoulder. The caved in nose turned from Henry to Jon. "Run Esmani! Run, run!" Jon called to her but she was frozen in terror crouched on the ground within the last remaining, intact bathroom stall.
"ARRRG!" All of the water, yelling, and commotion was driving the zombie mad.
Henry decided it was now or never once the zombie tried to begin lumbering full speed towards Jon. He took off in a dead sprint towards the monster and slid like a baseball player under the open legs. With all of his height and power, he jumped up, climbed tattered clothing and flesh, and latched his skinny arms around the fat neck from behind. The zombie couldn't feel Henry at all. But he could feel it when Henry took his wand from his pocket and stuck it straight into the monster's left nostril.
It screamed and shrieked. Could zombies feel pain? The monster twisted and lurched forward with the plunger flailing wildly. Henry clung on for dear life. It was at this moment Jon pulled out his own wand. Only one spell came to mind.
"Throughify za Airify!" He screamed.
Suddenly, the plunger the enlarged zombie had been flailing floated up and out of his grip. He looked more confused than angry. Higher and higher it rose with Jon's wand movements. The boy was in full focus and guided the floating plunger up as high as the ceiling would permit. With a quick flick of his wrist, Henry could see over the zombie's shoulder and looked up to watch the plunger falling fast right out of the air. With a gut wrenching clunck it landed on the zombie's head and maybe that was all it took to hurt his brain and defeat him because with Henry still on tight, he wavered and swayed. With a thud, the beast fell and Henry was jettisoned into a summersault back onto the ground.
On shaky feet, Jon ran and helped Henry up. Esmani slowly crawled from her spot and walked up to them with great trepidation.
"Is it...dead?" She whispered.
"I don't think so," Henry had to wonder, "technically isn't it already dead?" In no way was he ready for the disgusting task of prying his wand out of the zombie's nose. It came out all slimy with green and yellow snot. "YUCK! Zombie brains!" He wiped it on the tattered shirt of the fallen monster.
"I think that was just snot. Zombie brains look almost bluish gray-I read about it in..." Esmani whispered but then hung her head. Jon turned beat red and marched right up to her so they were looking right at one another.
"Don't stop yourself from being smart...I was a real jerk. I didn't mean what I said before lunch. I was just frustrated and jealous, I think." He hung his head and sounded huffy and out of breath from saying that all so fast. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.
Esmani eyes went wide and a slow smile began to form. She opened her mouth…
BANG!
A sudden slam of the double doors and loud footsteps made the group look up quickly. It was apparent now how bad the destroyed bathroom looked and what it would have done to make it look like this must have caused a lot of noise. Stall, sinks, floor tiles, and mirrors were all smashed and water from the disconnected piping was spraying everywhere. Esmani's hair was actually falling damp and flat over her eyes.
Professor Garspatuon was in the room looking wild. He was tailed closely by Snabes and Querkle. The latter had to brace herself against a sink that had not been damaged when she took in the sight of the enlarged zombie.
Snabes bent low over the zombie's head while Professor Garspatuon appraised Henry and Jon. He looked absolutely furious. His lips were completely white and pulled extremely thin. Hopes of staying on the Grilled Cheese Dueling team evaporated quickly.
"What could you possibly have been thinking to pull a stunt like this," he said with fury and rage in his voice. It was bone chilling and worse than if he were just madly yelling. Henry looked at Jon. Jon shrugged. "You could have been killed. One bite from a zombie is…" the professor couldn't finish, "you should have been in your dormitories."
Snabes' cold stare made Henry look at his feet in shame.
Esmani stepped forward and puffed out her chest.
"Mister Garspatuon, sir," she began. Professor Garspatuon literally gasped when she parted her soaking hair to reveal herself. "I went looking for the zombie I…" she paused to gather her thoughts, "I thought I knew all about them from my...books and…" Henry thought she was the most horrid liar he had ever witnessed. But the gesture was not lost on him. Esmani Ghadjer was not only lying but lying to a teacher? "If Jon and Henry hadn't found me, I'd be dead right now. I realize that. Henry stuck his wand up its nose and Jon knocked it out with an actually impressive spell!" She flashed a secret smile at Jon which made him look completely thrown off. "They had no time to ask for an adult to help," she finished out the tale. "It was just about to finish me off when they arrived!"
Henry and Jon both fixed their faces to look as if this was not a fake story.
"Miss Ghadjer I expected…" Garspatuon spoke low and slow. "I expected more from you. How foolish. How careless of you to take on not only a zombie at eleven years old...but one that was obviously cursed with an enlarging charm."
Esmani could only hang her head. Henry was probably gaping like a goldfish. This was the girl that would not break even the most mundane of a rule. Though here she was, pretending to break multiple rules all the while actually breaking a rule by lying to an authority figure! All to get Henry and Jon out of trouble no less!
"I will have to remove ten credits from Alpaggard," Garspatuon said almost mournfully. "I'm extremely disappointed in you. All of you, in fact. If you're not hurt then I'd better see to it that you are to Alpaggard dormitories and into your beds in thirty minutes." He raised an index finger towards the door.
Esmani looked up, saw the gesture, and gave Henry and Jon one more longing look before she followed Garspatuon's silent order and left the bathroom.
Garspatuon turned to Henry and Jon and the former felt sick.
"You two might be the luckiest first years I have ever come to know," he began and it was not in a happy tone at all. "Though bravery, creativity, and swiftly acting while under pressure is admired and revered," at this, Snabes stood up and crossed her arms.
"Mono…?"
"I award you five credits for saving the life of a friend…"
"MONO!"
"FRIEND?!"
Snabes and Jon snapped at the same time.
"Are you serious right now? These children are setting a horrid example for any student to go around willy nilly stirring up trouble and thinking all will be forgiven if they prove to be a little less stupid than we would have liked," her eyes were only focused on Henry. He felt as if he was going to puke.
"Then you may relinquish credits, Slyvia it matters not to me," Garspatuon said with finality. "What they did was a feat. There is reward in that. I doubt any student would have been so bold." He was done speaking and apparently so was Snabes.
Henry and Jon just continued to stand there with spraying water all round them. They looked like drenched, sorry rats. Garspatuon looked them over once more and then at the scene around them.
"What are you standing for? You should have left for your dorms twenty seconds ago."
That was all the boys needed to get their feet working.
They entered the common room where the feast had been moved. People from each year were talking and feasting merrily. Esmani stood alone in the corner. Henry nudged Jon to follow him to approach her.
"I...don't know…" Jon pitifully protested.
"She saved our skins back there, Jon," Henry said.
"We saved hers," Jon countered.
It was too late. Esmani saw them coming and took a few steps to close the distance. For a long while the three just stood silently and looked at each other. The background of the other Alpaggards partying and enjoying the holiday. All were oblivious except this particular group to the death defying and pure heroic event that happened just merely minutes before.
"I was going to say you're right," Esmani spoke first. "When you apologized. I was going to accept your apology and tell you you're right."
"I'm WHAT?!" Jon gasped while Henry could not stop his grin.
"People do seem annoyed by me and…I really don't mean to be," her eyes fell. "This world is just so thrilling and new to me and I guess in my excitement I can be…"
"A real uppity know-it-all!"
"Kind of a show off at times."
Henry and Jon both said this at the same time and were surprised when Esmani chuckled and nodded her head. Whatever was happening was almost stranger than the zombie!
"Well I don't want to be an uppity know-it-all show off," her voice got real low and blush tinted her already dark skin. "Especially around you guys because I'd like…" she looked up at the both of them through her eyelashes in awkwardness "...I'd like to be your friend."
Jon looked at Henry.
Henry looked at Jon.
Words weren't needed to confirm it. When you discover a three headed dog hiding a trapdoor and defeat a zombie with someone, it's almost impossible not to start liking them.