Ron throws his arms up in relief. "Oh there you are Hermione!"
Hermione turns from the mirror and spins on her heels with an incredulous look on her face. Her eyes dart between the three of us as she suspiciously zips up her makeup bag. The fact that Malfoy, Ron and myself were standing together peacefully visually throws her off.
Rightfully so.
She tries to read our panicked expressions. "What're you lot doing in the girl's bathroom?"
Malfoy takes an adamant step toward her with an arm extended. "There's a bloody lindworm in the castle," he sternly advises. "Best get going, love."
"In the castle?" her voice squeaks. Her chest does a light heave as she places an agile hand covering her heart. "How can that be?"
"No time to wonder," Ron insists.
As we approach the exit, Ron halts in place and I nearly run into the back of him. "Why'd you stop walking?" I groan.
A sudden deafening shriek rattles the walls. It echoes throughout the tower and down the halls. Once I gain view from behind, I realize that we had been confronted by the wingless bipedal lindworm gliding down the hallway.
The enormous hybrid has the head of a snake and the spine of a dragon. It's easily the same height as the mutated three-headed dog we were faced with a few weeks prior. The lindworm's spike-rimmed tail violently swishes behind it as it targets us.
"Get back in the bathroom!" I shout.
The four of us rush inside before closing and locking the large doors shut. We plug our ears as it lets out another bellowing screech. The creature slams against the bolted entrance over and over. The double doors are bound to burst open at any moment with each forceful blow.
Well aware that the flimsy pieces of wood could only hold the mutant back for so long, we frantically scatter about the room and take cover. I end up separated from the rest with Hermione in one of the stalls.
Pieces of debris are sent flying as the lindworm successfully barges through the double doors. With another deafening roar, each light bulb shatters one by one until it's pitch black. We are constricted to our remaining senses in escaping the monster.
I'm aware that most snakes have terrible eyesight in general, but for some species it became even worse in the dark. I pray that the snake-like half of the hybrid was one of those species.
Within seconds my dominant eye abruptly alternates between ultraviolet, infrared and normal/sightless vision. It circulates one more cycle while dramatically slowing down. My eye continues to play a game of roulette before ultimately choosing an idealistic version of sight.
I'm able to see infrared radiation emanate across the room. I was given the ability to act strictly off the thermal heat of our bodies for vision. If the hybrid had nocturnal abilities, we would now be at par.
I gain sight of the impatient cold-blooded creature from above. I can only make out the shape of its engorged body; lacking any detail. The monster violently swerves back and forth. It's obvious that it has trouble scanning the room.
Its tongue erratically flickers in and out of its mouth using it to sniff us out. The wet flapping sound echoes throughout the lounge.
I discreetly advise Hermione to remain perfectly still. That doesn't seem to work, as the hybrid wildly swishes its head from side to side while nearing us. It opens its mouth exposing two massive fangs with drips of lethal venom trickling from both.
"Duck!" I holler hunching over her.
The lindworm maniacally lashes its head back and forth before using its upper body to horizontally slice the stalls cleanly in half. Rubble rains heavily upon us as Hermione screams out in pain. I can make out the shape of her body and she appears to be clutching her leg. The snake hybrid frustratingly pummels itself against the walls cracking the marble.
Amongst the deafening commotion, I use my hands to feel out a miscellaneous object covering Hermione's leg and shove it from off of her.
The crackling sound of a giant pillar crumbling erupts from behind us. Hermione shrieks as it collapses to the ground just inches from us. My body lightly convulses as I try to remain strong minded.
After confirming that she wasn't seriously injured, I calmly rub both sides of her arms. "Stay here, and stay low. You'll be hidden well. I can see everything," I inform while peering across the pitch-black lounge.
"What do you bloody mean you can see everything?!" she pleads. "It's pitch dark!"
"Just trust me," I scramble. We fiercely banter back and forth until I reassure that I have the same visual benefit, if not better, as the lindworm.
I emerge from beneath the rubble and blindly stumble my way across a mountain of debris. The darkness dramatically delays the creature's actions as well. I notice that it has trouble detecting my body heat; seeing as I'm currently sticking out like a sore thumb directly in front of it.
I aimlessly run my hands along a massive smooth ovular object. Once I gain balance I hop and crawl over the pillar that almost squashed us like bugs.
I heavily sigh in relief once I locate Ron and Malfoy unharmed. The shape of their bodies exude a mixture of neon yellow, orange and red radiation. They remain sturdy in place on their hands and knees. Based off their positioning, I make an educated guess that they were hidden beneath a row of sinks.
I hear Ron whisper, "Lumos". The tip of his wand acts like a mini light bulb, illuminating his immediate surroundings.. including Malfoy.
"Put your wand away." Malfoy demands." Are you trying to get us killed faster, you daft peasant?"
The beast roars and sloppily directs its head toward them.
Ron covers the end of his wand. "I was planning on using you as a distraction. Who here votes to use Malfoy as a human sacrifice?" He raises his own hand hitting the underside of the sink.
I am astounded that the Gryffindor and Slytherin were still at each other's throats even in the face of death. That took commitment.
I turn my attention from my distracting/idiotic mates and zone in on the monster towering over us. A familiar intoxicating surge of adrenaline electrifies through my body. I maintain pristine view of the hybrid which appears to be struggling. Remaining perfectly still, I look back to the blokes surrounding me.
"Hey!" I whisper so they know I was nearby.
"Well now what do we do, Harry?!" Ron whines.
I'd have more time to come up with an answer if he hadn't just exposed their exact bloody location.
"I know of a spell my father taught me," Malfoy informs neglecting to lower his voice. "Dark magic. It's one of the unforgivable curses, but I refuse to die next to a Weasley." He tilts his body forward before whipping out his wand and using it as a flash light. "Lumos Maxima."
"I was only joking mate!" Ron turns to him. "Wasn't expecting you to actually follow through with the death wish!"
"Have you gone mad?!" I ridicule as the walls vibrate with another roar.
"Shut up, Potter I know what I'm doing." Within the blink of an eye, Malfoy speedily expels himself from beneath the sink and comes toe to toe with the hybrid.
"No!" Hermione sobs from the floor, blinded by the darkness. "Draco, you can't! Harry stop him!"
He straightens a trembling arm directly in front of him. His wand is firmly grasped in the other hand, illuminating a small circle around him. He arches his wand above his head.
Time was limited and if I didn't do something soon, my daft roommate would end up committing one of the unforgivable curses and get himself locked up in Azkaban. This wasn't necessary as I was confident that I could reason with the mutant serpent.
With one swift movement, I slide the wand from my back pocket and briskly flick my wrist toward Malfoy. "Everte Statum!"
The charm instantly ejects him and his wand several feet from the creature. His body flies across the room and ultimately slams up against a wall. He loudly gasps for air while gripping his chest.
The lindworm shrieks in excitement as I had essentially just weakened its prey. Bloody hell, I hadn't thought that far.
The beast extends its neck to full capacity and exposes its fangs. In a similar motion to the snake that attacked Sean during my lacrosse game, the creature sporadically sways its head to and fro. Its tongue wildly flickers as it becomes uncomfortably close to Malfoy.
I emerge from behind the rubble. "STOP!" I fearlessly direct the snake-like dragon's attention onto me. The lindworm abruptly halts in place while sniffing out where my voice had come from. "Lumos." I use the tip of my wand as a bright beam of light and courageously center it upon myself. "I'm right here."
An intimidating gurgling noise emerges from its throat. I gulp as I take a few steps back, stumbling over a piece of concrete. I then direct my wand toward the general area of an ample glass stained window to my right.
"Leave through that window, and head straight for the forbidden forest," I instruct. "You won't be harmed, and you can go on your way."
The lindworm responds with some sort of guttural grunt, somewhat like a sigh, while passively lowering its head.
I quickly glance between the three surrounding me while using my wand as a spotlight. Malfoy's against the wall, Ron's under the sink and Hermione's beneath a small pile of rubble. For some reason, the shocked expressions on their faces now appear to be directed at me instead of the monster. Ron and Hermione's mouths lightly hang open and Malfoy's eyebrows are lowered.
I turn my attention back to the lindworm. I lower my wand after turning its flashlight abilities off. My surroundings flood with darkness with the exception of the multicolored bodies encircling me. I flinch as the lindworm expeditiously lowers its head toward me; I can feel its tongue shuddering just inches from me.
"I don't want to hurt you," I continue. "But if you don't obey me, I will kill you." It gradually nods its head in compliance with another grumbling sigh.
A distinctive voice suddenly appears from behind the monster. "Vipera Evanesca." A flash of yellow light shoots across the room, directly hitting the hybrid. The lindworm instantly screams out in torture as it slowly dissolves. It eventually evaporates into thin air.
Professor Snape puts his wand away before picking up two lanterns held close to his face. His eyes closely observe our obliterated surroundings. "Negotiating with a serpent hybrid is of no use, Mr. Potter," he lectures nearing my side.
I breathe heavily looking down at my shaky hands. "You didn't have to kill it," I plead. "It was listening to me. I had it-"
"Would you prefer your little friends be killed over your ego instead?" he sneers.
I decide to forfeit from the pending argument with the Potions professor.
Utilizing the same standard spell, a ball of light appears from the tip of his wand. He individually points it toward each of us while temporarily blinding us with foreign brightness. "What has happened here today shall not be discussed with your fellow students, nor your professors. Do I make myself clear?"
Snape acting dodgy, like always, was a minuscule concern in comparison to the colossal encounter we had just experienced. So, we mindlessly nod our heads in unison.
The professor glides toward Malfoy and picks him up by the back of his robes. "And you. You'll be coming with me." Draco's head hangs low rubbing the back of his neck as he follows on his tail.
Despite leaving three other potentially injured and traumatized students behind, Snape was nice enough to leave me with his extra lantern.
Ron trips over the hill of rubble making his way toward myself and Hermione. "Well that was scary," he states the obvious.
"At least we weren't eaten alive," Hermione responds tossing a few pieces of rubble from her lap.
"Bloody hell." Ron blinks with his mouth agape. "Do you really think Snape fancies human flesh?!"
I roll my eyes as a light smile crosses my lips for the first time today.
Holding the lantern close, Ron and I help Hermione to her feet and inspect the injury on her leg. She was lucky to have only sustained a few minor cuts and bruises.
"Harry, how could you not tell us you were a parselmouth?!" Ron asks in dismay as we wobble over another large pile of debris.
I furrow my eyebrows. "A what?"
"Not now, Ron." Hermione sighs using his shoulders from behind for balance. "I think we've endured enough for one day."
We finally reach the exit where our eyes are blessed with artificial lighting throughout the halls. You could hear a pin drop in the castle. Presumably, Snape advised the professors that he had the lindworm handled.
I never understood why the headmaster had so much trust in him..
"Thank you for coming to rescue me," Hermione says giving Ron a hug.
"Anytime, Hermione." Ron points a thumb my way. "Seeing as Harry over here is bloody useless, and all."
She smiles smacking the back of her hand against his chest and turns to me. "And thank you, Harry."
My limbs are still lightly shaking. "Don't mention it," my voice squeaks.
