hey guys, it's been a while! work has been kicking my ass but i finally had inspiration to finish the chapter.
"I think we can rule out Filch's office and other places like it. If the stone was in there, it probably would have been found by now."
"So the most likely place is somewhere that isn't used often, right?"
"Probably. So where does that leave us?"
Yeoreum sits on her knees, leaning forward so far she's in danger of falling on the map. "We have all of the abandoned dungeons, the unused girls' lavatory, the armoury, the trophy room, any of the random storage rooms, the unused sixth floor bathroom, the bell towers, the dark tower — sounds rather ominous — and the boathouse. That doesn't include whatever room Malfoy circled on the seventh floor, or the Great Lake, or the Forbidden Forest, or the greenhouses."
Ella bunches her lips to the side, examining the map intently. There is nothing on there to indicate that one option is better than the rest, and so it's purely a case of needing to choose something that has her saying, "What about the boathouse first?"
Yeoreum hums, tapping her chin with her finger. "It would make sense. And if you wanted to drop something in a place where no one is likely to find it, underwater makes sense, right? I think the water should be shallow around there."
"Well, if not, we know how to swim," Ella says. "When should we go?"
"I think," Yeoreum starts slowly, "we should go tonight."
"Really?"
Yeoreum nods. "It's Saturday, so we aren't tired from class and we don't have class tomorrow. And I don't really feel like waiting until next Saturday."
"Good point," says Ella. "We'll go after everyone's gone to bed."
And so they play the waiting game. The first step is to head down for dinner as though they aren't secretly plotting to sneak out later, and if Ella scans the area for the most efficient route to the boathouse, no one has to know. They sit beside each other as they always do and start to eat.
Torian joins them five minutes later, a hesitant smile being his only greeting before he sits in front of them. It's awkward in a way that it hasn't been before. All the other times he's sat with them, conversation has flowed rather easily, but Torian appears cautious this time. Nervous, even.
Ella is about to ask what's wrong when a yell diverts her attention. Over at the Ravenclaw table, eyebrows completely singed and hair sticking upwards, is Sebastian Veront. The flames on his clothes are being stamped out by the cronies sitting beside him, though no one else at the table seems particularly inclined to help him. It takes poor Professor Flitwick dousing him in water from his wand for the fire to completely die down.
As Sebastian whinges on his way to the hospital wing, Yeoreum laughs and says, "I don't know who did it, but they have my thanks."
"Probably Vesper or Zorion," Torian says. "Apparently Veront was taking all of his anger on Slytherin winning the game today out on Hikari, calling her certain names and all that."
Ella looks to the Slytherin table and, sure enough, Vesper and Zorion are laughing as they watch Sebastian leave. Theresa is speaking quickly to them with an expression of disapproval on her face. Hikari herself is blinking owlishly, gaze flickering between Sebastian and the rest of her friends.
"It's what he deserves," Ella says.
There are no further incidents at dinner, the atmosphere lighter between the three of them than before, and the question to Torian goes unasked as Ella forgets about it. She has more pressing matters to worry about tonight.
The second issue they face is staying awake.
Well, Ella doesn't have this issue. She's hyped herself up too much on the idea of finding the Resurrection Stone, so much so that she can't sit still. Yeoreum, on the other hand, is trying and failing to keep herself awake. There are only so many times she can slump over into uncomfortable positions before Ella tells her to simply rest. She'll wake her up later.
Neither of them know when prefects return from their rounds, nor when (or if) Filch sleeps, but Ella assumes just after midnight is as safe a bet as any. She shakes Yeoreum awake at five past and, to her best friend's credit, she leaps out of bed the moment she realizes what time it is, all signs of tiredness gone from her face.
"We'll just go straight down and through the quad," Ella says, pulling a coat over her night clothes. "It'll be faster that way."
"Let's hope Mrs Norris is already asleep," says Yeoreum.
They creep down to the common room, barefoot despite their journey leading them outside, and Ella peers around the staircase to ensure the room is empty. It is. One obstacle clear out of several dozen.
When the portrait hole opens, the Fat Lady stirs, snore interrupted by a few mumbled words Ella doesn't catch before she rolls on her side and the snores resume once more. They move on their tip-toes towards the stairs, not caring about which staircases they take as long as they're going down. The castle this late at night is dark and foreboding, long shadows cast by pale moonlight, soft whispers that are quiet enough for one to question whether they existed at all, and open windows letting in cold drafts.
If she allows herself to dwell on it for too long, she imagines a large snake, the largest she can imagine, slithering through the deserted halls, searching for its next victim. It's a silly thought. The snake is gone and everyone (well, no, not everyone) is safe and sound now, there is nothing to fear. Yet she keeps her eyes trained on the ground regardless.
They manage to make it to the courtyard without incident, but the moment they step foot outside, they hear what no Hogwarts student wants to hear this late at night: a cat's meow.
"That cat has the worst timing," Yeoreum hisses.
"I'm pretty sure that's the point," Ella says in a low voice, searching for the wretched cat. A flicker of movement in her peripheral has her turning to their right. "Over there, by the other wall."
Mrs Norris hasn't seen them yet, concentrating on something by the wall that they can't see. There is a chance that, if they're quiet enough, she won't notice them at all, but Ella knows how cats work. Their senses are sharper than a human's, and cats of the magical variety in particular seem to just know things. Jinxie is living proof of that.
Wait.
Ella pulls out her wand on instinct, several memories of Jinxie swirling in her mind as she points it at the wall. Yeoreum hisses quietly and bats the wand down with her hand.
"Are you crazy? Filch might not have magic, but he will explode us into the earth if we hurt Mrs Norris!" she whisper-shouts.
Ella shakes her head. "I'm not going to hurt her! Watch."
With a slightly shaky hand, she raises the wand again and directs it towards the opposite wall, the one Mrs Norris is currently staring at. "Lumos Mini," she says in a low voice, stepping back as a small speck of light shines from the tip of her wand. She shakes her wand and is pleased to see that the light reaches the wall unhindered.
Mrs Norris meows, but it isn't one of her careful meows, the one that sends students running. It's a playful sound that makes her sound younger than she actually is (though really, how old is she?) and is the only warning they get before she lunges for the wall. Her claws swipe thin air again and again as Ella moves the light from side to side. She gently pushes Yeoreum forward so they can get going again.
"How did you know to do that?" Yeoreum asks as they round the corner, Ella keeping up the distraction for as long as she can until her arm feels as though it's about to detach from her body.
"All cats are the same deep down," she says as they continue to scurry along the path. "Give them a laser pointer and they'll be distracted for days."
There are no obstacles the rest of the way, and two minutes later they're slinking into the boathouse like thieves in the night. Ella immediately searches the area, using a stronger lumos spell, just in case the stone isn't in the water as they originally thought. They aren't that lucky. The only objects worth noting are some crates, a broken boat, a blank portrait, and what appears to be remnants of magic fireworks. No stones. Not on the land.
"Alright." Ella looks at the water with narrowed eyes, shrugging her coat off and lifting the hem of her nightgown. She bunches the fabric in one hand. "I'm going in."
The moment her barefoot touches the water, she recoils. It's still too cold at night to go for a late swim, but she isn't here to goof off, and so she grits her teeth and wades in so the water completely covers her shins. The water is deeper than she initially thought, however, and going further in will require resigning herself to getting drenched.
"You stay there," she tells Yeoreum, who is already halfway into taking off her own coat. "It's cold and the water's deep."
Yeoreum isn't having any of it. "No way, two heads are better than one and all that. Besides, it's not fair if you're the only one getting soggy."
Ella hums, doubt in her voice. "Alright, but make sure you get in quickly. It's easier that way."
She doesn't wait for Yeoreum to join her, taking a deep breath and submerging herself in the water, though she does hear the splash just as she goes under. Her illuminated wand guiding her, she breastrokes her way through the dark waters. She travels down, down, down — and stops. At the bottom of the lake is sand and a few plants here and there but, most of all, there are rocks.
Lots and lots of rocks.
With a frustrated groan that comes out as a gurgle, she pushes her way back to the surface and gasps for air. Yeoreum is a second behind her, able to catch her breath much faster, and she shakes her wet hair out of her face.
"It's going to be like finding a gillyweed in a swamp bottom," she says.
Ella nods absently, internally weighing their options. They could abort the mission, returning to the dormitory without anything to show for their sorry states and with no knowledge of what's down there, or they could try their hardest until they can't anymore. For her, the answer is simple.
"I'm going to grab as many rocks as I can, bring them up here, sort through them until I find what I'm looking for," she says.
She sees her own determination reflected in Yeoreum's expression. "Then I'll grab twice as many."
And just like that, they're returning to the dark depths of the lake, this time with more conviction than before. They scoop up as many rocks as they can before resurfacing and dumping them on the ground of the boathouse. Combing through them takes a painstakingly long time, especially as they turn each stone in their hands three times just to be sure it isn't what they're looking for. None of them react.
They're about to embark on their fourth dive when a low, drawling voice says, "And what do you two think you are doing?"
Ella freezes and Yeoreum, who had just taken a deep breath to go underwater again, stares at the source of the voice with puffed cheeks. The voice isn't one Ella recognizes, but she doesn't need to when she sees where it comes from, and she curses herself for forgetting not only about the travelling portraits, but also who this particular portrait belongs to.
"None of your business," she says right to Severus Snape's (painted) face.
The man's lip curls in distaste and she can imagine how imposing he would be if he was still alive, peering down at a tiny first year and their bubbling potion. She's heard plenty of stories about this man and her respect for him is in the negatives. He's just as described to her, too, wearing all black with equally dark hair so greasy she imagines she would be able to feel it beneath her fingertips if she reached out and touched the portrait. Disgusting.
"Let one group of students run amok for seven years, another one comes in to take their place," Snape says, almost to himself.
"Good thing dead men can't give detentions," Ella says, continuing to sort through her rocks, ensuring she's shielding her actions from Snape. Just in case.
She can hear the sneer in his voice as he says, "Your impertinence —"
"— Why is there a portrait in the boathouse?" Yeoreum interrupts, their goal momentarily forgotten as she squints at the portrait in question. "And all alone at that."
"Probably so he can't bully anymore innocent children," Ella says bitterly.
The water ripples as Yeoreum wades her way back to the boathouse ledge. From the corner of her eye, Ella sees her lean over to read the name that goes with the portrait. "Oh, you. I've heard of you."
Snape gives a low hum and, when she turns to him again, Ella watches his eyebrows knit together. He doesn't say anything else, even as Yeoreum stares at his portrait.
"Why would they have a Death Eater's portrait in the castle? Seems a bit stupid to me."
Ella doesn't bother holding back her snort. "Why Dumbledore would hire him in the first place is my question. You know he used to be the potion master here? Let the Slytherins be bullies and then bullied all of the other kids himself."
Yeoreum makes a face. "Ew."
"If you two are quite done," the annoyance in Snape's voice is satisfying, "I'll be —"
"Oh, Snapey! It's not like you to make a racket at this time of night!"
All three of them pause at the new voice. No one else is supposed to be awake at this time, let alone roaming the halls, and Ella knows Filch's voice isn't as whimsical as that. She hopes that it's just a harmless ghost, a loud one who doesn't care for the routines of the students and staff. Someone who won't make a big deal of their presence.
That hope is shattered the moment Peeves turns the corner and into sight.
Ella and Yeoreum move at the same time, the latter diving behind some broken crates in an attempt to hide while the former, still floating in the water, risks taking a deep breath and sinking back into the darkness below. She realizes her mistake when what little noise there was becomes muffled and all she can see is the darkness of the lake. Lumos can't help her now, not when there is the risk of Peeves seeing a speck of light in the water.
She can hear Peeves talking, but is unable to make out what he says, and she hopes he's only bothering Snape and hasn't found Yeoreum's hiding place. His voice is loud with several pauses in between, possibly where Snape is carrying the conversation (or, more likely, telling him to go away), so she figures she doesn't have anything to worry about.
That is, until her lungs start reaching their breaking point.
No matter how deep a breath she took before diving beneath the surface, she can't stay underwater forever, and she fights to resist the urge to swim up and take in some of that fresh night air. She focuses on Peeves' voice, which is louder now, and moving towards — oh, no.
A shriek that can only be Yeoreum is heard and Ella knows their cover is blown. She breaks through the water and gasps for air, catching her breath as she pulls herself out of the water, running towards where Peeves is swooping at Yeoreum like an oversized magpie. Yeoreum herself is ducking while Snape looks on with barely concealed mirth. Bastard.
"Leave her alone!" Ella says, running up to him, though she doubts it will help. She's heard enough stories about Peeves to know it will take more than three words to get him to go away.
Peeves chortles. "Ohoho, there's another one! Wittle icky first years going for a swim? What, oh what, would the headmistress say?"
"I don't know because you're not going to tell her!" Ella swipes at Peeves, but he manages to evade her each time, floating too high for her young form.
"Oh, but I could," Peeves says, cackling with glee. "She'd be so mad, too! Stomping down the stairs in her little granny nightgown to yell at some naughty first years! Detention for the rest of the term!"
Giving up on catching the poltergeist, Ella huffs and stomps her foot. "Why are you like this?"
A hand grabs both of the braids she usually wears to bed, tugging her around with more force than a poltergeist ought to. "Why are yoooouuu like thiiiissss?"
She thrashes around, squirming in an attempt to free herself, but Peeves' grip is like iron. It doesn't hurt as much as one might think, but that doesn't mean she wants to be his yo-yo for the rest of the night. Yeoreum darts forward in an attempt to help her, but her efforts are futile, and Peeves reaches out for her as well.
"Ow!" Yeoreum tries to keep her voice down, but they're well past that point. "Can you —"
"Atramento!"
Peeves' grip disappears as he screeches, bringing his hands to his eyes, which are now covered in a dark substance. Ella and Yeoreum dodge to either side to avoid his flailing. Snape is saying something at Peeves' expense, but Ella has her attention on the newcomer who has wide eyes and their wand drawn.
"Torian!"
Torian immediately presses a finger to his lips. "C'mon, we have to get out of here, there's no way Mrs Norris hasn't run to get Filch by now."
"That's great and all —" Yeoreum dashes beneath Peeves to make it to their side of the boathouse, "but if we go right now we'll run right into them, won't we?"
Torian's smile is slightly crooked. "Nope, watch this."
He approaches Snape's portrait as Peeves' floats into the corner, still lamenting over his hindered vision. Snape glowers at them, but Torian ignores it, staring him right in the face as he opens his mouth to speak.
"This password is absurd."
Snape's glower becomes so deep that extra lines appear on his forehead. Ella wonders if it requires extra paint on the artist's part or if magic simply works that way. "That won't work on me."
Torian sighs, exasperated, but doesn't look surprised. "Alright, then we'll do this the hard way."
Curling his fingers around the portrait's edge, he starts to pull. It must be heavier than it looks (or Snape must be resisting the movement somehow) as it takes a few tries for him to lift the painting enough to reveal the opening in the wall. A winding passageway full of cobwebs and dust stands before them.
Torian doesn't give them time to stare, muttering a quick "Lumos" and gesturing for them to follow him. "Come on!"
Ella doesn't have to be told twice, and neither does Yeoreum, the two of them following Torian, trusting him to guide them out of their predicament. Snape's muttering and Peeves' whining disappear as the portrait falls back into place. A tense silence is all that's left, adrenaline running through the space.
The passageway takes them left, then right, then another right, then up some stairs, through a smaller tunnel, everywhere imaginable. There are no forks in the road, so navigating isn't an issue, and it isn't long before they're approaching the back of another portrait. Ella hopes it's someone tolerable this time.
No password is required this time, the portrait swinging open just as the Gryffindor tower one does whenever they leave the common room. Ella takes a moment after stepping onto the familiar floor to take in their surroundings. They're by the Grand Staircase now, closer to their common room. Closer to safety.
"Ohohoho!" The voice makes Ella jump, and she turns to the portrait behind them. The name at the bottom reads 'Percival Pratt'. "It's been a while since someone's gone that way!"
"Shh!" Torian's urgency quickly silences Percival. "We need to go. It's possible Filch knows how to get through those passages."
The reminder of Filch kicks them into high gear, and Ella is glad they chose to go barefoot for this expedition, as shoes would make their running echo throughout the halls. They are on high alert, keeping their eyes peeled at every corner despite the speed in which they move. If they're lucky, Filch will be waylaid by Peeves or Snape. Or both.
It's a miracle that they make it to Gryffindor Tower without any interruptions, though one obstacles remains. The Fat Lady's snores stutter when Torian knocks on the wall beside her and she startles awake. Seeing them, she frowns and grumbles, but Torian doesn't give her time to scold them.
"Wolfsbane."
The portrait shifts and they climb into the common room. Ella doesn't want to disturb the Fat Lady more than necessary, and she suspects Yeoreum and Torian are the same.
The common room is empty. A glance at the clock tells Ella it's just after one in the morning and a shiver runs through her body. Right, she's still soaked. She gravitates towards the fire, thankful that it never stops burning even in the early hours of the morning. Yeoreum joins her a moment later and they sit down, letting themselves slowly dry.
"You should probably change first."
They both look at Torian. He's standing by the couch, a distance between them that wasn't there when he was saving them from potential detention. The hesitance he often conducts himself with is back.
Despite this, his voice is firm when he says, "Go change and rest. I — I want an explanation in the morning."
Without giving them a chance to respond, he heads for the stairs leading to his dormitory and takes them two at a time. They watch him leave and Ella thinks they probably owe him more than just an explanation.
thanks for reading!
