Chapter 14 Distractions and Despair

On Monday morning after the younger students came back we were eating lunch in the Great Hall when an owl swooped in and handed me a note. I opened it and read.

Brilliant essay. Next is Protego.

Professor Boot

Short and efficient, love it. I need to go to the library after dinner tonight. "Why are you all chippy?" Derek asks seeing the huge smile on my face.

"Oh, I just got some good news from home," I respond quickly.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Hey, pay attention. What are the three weaknesses to young mandrakes?" Selena quizzes Derek. I'm thankful that I'm not the subject anymore. I hadn't told anyone about my extra lessons with Professor Boot. I've only told the girls that I go to the kitchens sometimes to bake so I just used that excuse.

Derek answers, "uh, dirt and fire?"

"Cuddles, singing and food," I correct.

"Perfect, Lina. I thought you needed help with Herbology?" Selena responds.

"Well I took your advice and started reading Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties and I got hooked. I always thought plants hated me because they always seemed to die on me but now I'm like, ohhhh I just didn't know you needed A and B."

Derek groans, "I wish I had your enthusiasm, Lina. I swear Professor Longbottom knows Legilimency. He knows exactly what I didn't study. Every single question on the last quiz was something that I hadn't memorized."

"Or you just need to do more studying Einstein," Selena quips back.

The table bursts out laughing and Derek grabs the book from Selena's hands and buries his face inside.

Over the next few weeks my aim had improved dramatically since my last lesson private lesson with Professor Boot. So much so that I could hit my target within fifty feet directly behind me. Though when I do it it's just me in an empty classroom with Selena positioning my targets quietly. I had let her in on my secret lessons, lesson so far. I figured, out of everyone, she was the one that could understand my reasoning. I was looking forward to this blistery Thursday evening, that I almost just stormed into the room with excitement. I barely touch the door knob when I abruptly stop. Sensing that I was walking into another test, I take a deep breath and knock on the thick oak door.

"Come in," Professor Boot calls out from a distance.

I carefully open the door and walk into what seems like a normal classroom. There were a number of candles lit that gave the room a dusk feel but all the tables and chairs were spread through the room for an ordinary class. Professor Boot was sitting at his desk, head down, leafing through some parchment looking rather busy. Did I mishear when our next lesson was? Or did something come up?

"Uh, Good evening Professor"

Professor Boot maintains his concentration on his work and says, "uh huh" in a bored tone.

"I'm here for my lesson. Here's my essay on Protego," I confidently announce handing him my paper. He continues to ignore me. I slide it on his table and quietly say under my breath, "…ooookay…..". I decide to wait, maybe something came down and he's got a deadline he doesn't want to miss. I go and sit down at one of the desks and wait.

Everything in the classroom looks like what it would after a class. Nothing unusual except…a giant chest in the corner of the room. How did I not see that before? It was at least 5 feet by 3 feet and 4 feet tall. I can't believe I didn't notice it until now. I glance back at Professor Boot and I see his quill wagging away. I make my way casually over to the mysterious chest. When I'm within two feet it starts to shake.

I quickly step back, worried now what's inside it. After a couple minutes it stops completely. Very curious. I hear a click and the top flings open. I lean closer just a tad bit to peer inside when something hits me square in between my shoulder blades. I yelp and stumble forward. I fall head first into the chest, only there was no bottom just a black abyss. I make a death grip on the opening as I slowly pull myself back up and onto my feet. I hear "Tsk tsk" as I turn around. Professor Boot is an arm's length away from me shaking his head with his arms crossed.

I look back at his desk with my mouth open and it's completely cleared off. Shit, I just failed the test.

"Distractions come in many ways. Last lesson we went over grand obvious distractions. Today is the Curiosity-killed-the-cat type. You found something new and were intrigued by it. Why didn't you ask me what it was?"

"You were busy, hell you didn't even look up when I was talking or when I handed you my essay," I answer defensively.

"Deception is a tool that can help give you an upper hand. I could have hit you with a spell as soon as you opened the door but you were remembered from last lesson and was ready. You second guessed yourself even though I told you when our meeting was going to be."

"I just thought something came up and you had some sort of deadline. I didn't want to intrude, I mean this is like a favor for me that I asked. It's not like you have to help me," I return.

His eyes soften as he looks at me. "Ms. Aikron, I am your teacher. When I make an agreement with you, I promise I will follow through. Yes, things come up but I will never leave you out to dry without some form of an acknowledgement. Now, are you ready?" He asks gently.

I nod. "Right then, meet Flint and Shadow." He waves his wand as I turn around and see two gray sacked dummies flying out of the chest. They hover the ground a few inches and stop in front of me. They each have a thin piece of wood that looks like a twig. Those can't be wands, can they? Their faceless heads give me a lazy nod as they wait for their next instructions. "They will be your opponents tonight. BEGIN!" Flint and Shadow fly in opposite directions, turn and then point their twigs at me.

Next, thing I see is a red flash of light heading toward my head. I dive behind a table just as it whizzes past my left ear. Shit, they do have wands! How?! Forget it, focus.

I peek out from behind the table, wand ready. Neither Flint nor Shadow can be seen from my vantage point. I look for another cover, I need to keep moving. I crawl as quietly and quickly on my knees and one hand from behind table and chair until I get behind a book case. I hear a wisp of air from a distance and peek through a shelf. Flint starts gliding over to my original hiding spot. I wait until his back is turned, take a quick survey of the room for Shadow and point my wand "EXPELLIARMUS!"

My flash of light hits him directly in the back and it bounces off like a cotton ball had hit him. What the hell? Professor Boot had me work on this damn spell for a month and it doesn't even work on these guys? What is he trying to teach? Flint whips around and sends a blue streak towards the top of my bookcase. I roll to my right out of the way of falling books and get into a crouch position. I keep moving staying hidden, keeping to the darker areas of the room. I hear Flint gliding around but I don't hear a second set which worries me. Where is Shadow?

I get an idea. I internally groan as I silently rip a piece of parchment out of a book and crumple it. "Incendio". A tiny spark jumps onto the parchment ball and I slinker away. I find a new hiding spot and turn to assess my trap. Sure enough Flint sees the flicker of light behind the bookcase and heads towards it. As soon as he's behind the bookcase I shout "EXPELLIARMUS!" aiming at the top of the tall wooden bookcase. The whole structure topples over with a hundred books, all in a beautiful oak wooden heap with Flint underneath.

The hair on the nape of my neck stands straight up and I don't take time to think, "EXPELLIARMUS!" as I whirl around. Shadow is within one stride away with his twig pointing at my chest. I dive to the left only hearing my useless spell bounce off his sack of a body. But then I hear a small clatter on the cold stone floor and see my wand next to my knee. I look down and my arm is just dangling. I had no feeling to the appendage hanging from my shoulder. The bastard hit me with something. I scramble to grab my wand with my left hand and take off weaving in and out of the shelves.

I peek through some chairs and again Shadow is hidden. Nothing looks amiss in the room except the bookcase that I knocked over. And then I start feeling a tingling down my right hip. Fear encapsulates me as I feel the numbness spreading down my right side. If I don't get him soon, I'll be a sitting duck. Think! I made one more move to the side wall and crouch down. He came out when I lit the fire but why? Did he think I was there like Flint or was he using the light to locate me?

The numbness spread down to my thigh. I decide to risk it and go with the latter. I shoot out the three candles by me and watch the room get darker. I stagger down the side wall and shoot out four more. Then I hear the familiar wisp of air as Shadow starts moving. The feeling is almost down to my right foot as I lurch another few feet towards the last of the candles on the wall. I shoot out the lights and wait. The tiny flames from the other side of the room throw dark shadows of the tables and chairs on the wall. I lie in supine position behind a towering potted plant of some sort. In case I lose all feeling before he gets to me, I can at least aim my wand and have a fighting chance instead of surrendering on my back.

And then I finally see his shadow. It slowly moves toward the side wall as his shadow grows bigger and bigger. I squint through the legs of two chairs and see the gray sack of his legs. I yell, "INCENDIO!" This time a little blow torch size flame hit the sack and caught fire. A smile and relief hit me just as I lose the rest of my feeling in my legs. Is this what pyros feel like?

"AQUAMENTI!" A stream of crystal blue water sprays down onto Shadow and he falls to the ground in a heap. Professor Boot comes into my view and he lights the candles I snuffed out in one flick of his wrist. He looks down on me with a proud look and mutters a countercurse. Instantly I get the fuzzy feeling you get when your foot has fallen asleep and you're trying to wake it up throughout my whole body. I shake it out and stand up brushing off my robes.

"Well done, Ms. Aikron." I beam. "You deduced the disarming spell we had worked on didn't work on these creatures and figured out another way of defeating them. Why did I do that?" He asks.

I ponder for half a minute. "You knew I was confident in my disarming spell, maybe too confident and had to throw me a curve ball to see what I would do if I couldn't hit them. If I could improvise from last lesson."

"Yes, we had practiced using it directly on your target but tonight you realized you can use it indirectly. You used deception for both targets and it worked in your favor. Don't get arrogant. And I must say, your Incendio was a surprise. Does that spell feel strong with you?"

Again, I pondered this question. The second one was stronger, was that on purpose or was my concentration better? "I'm not sure, I knew I wanted to start a fire on both. Maybe my adrenaline was up with the last one because I only had one shot before his curse took over me."

"Ah yes, one of my favorite curses. It creeps up on you slowly by the time you realize what happened, the perpetrator is long gone," he says with a smirk and a glint in his eye. A shiver went down my spine. Woah, what else can I learn from him?

"Ok, let's begin Protego." He announces. And the rest of the night I worked hard. At first it was just producing the protection spell to the size of a small shield. Then I had to cover myself like a mushroom. Professor Boot started having fun with throwing things at me. I think he was getting some frustrations out from today. I don't blame him, he did teach the young first and second year students today. By the end of the night, I was able to block small objects almost in all directions but nothing heavier than a book. I was hit in the head, shoulder and back multiple times and I know there will be bruises I may have to explain later.

Even though I was proud of my performance tonight, I was relieved to be back in my dorm. I had received mail from both kids, Molly, Harry and my oldest brother Liam. I open Sammy's first.

Sammy had sent me a self-portrait of himself in a team uniform on his broomstick. He's between three hoops on a quidditch pitch playing Keeper but has 3 arms blocking all of the hoops. And Socks the pup was playing referee all decked out in a uniform too. It was adorable. I open Phoebe's next.

Mom,

Please come home. I have bad dreams. I keep seeing Dad that night. Its my falt he's gone. I can't do this without you. I want to go home. I miss home. I don't want to be a witch.

Phoebe

Tears swell up in my eyes as I read the strangled words written by my terrified daughter. Oh my god, I need to get out of here. I look at the clock and it reads just before eleven.

"What's wrong Lina?"

I turn to see Maggie still awake with worry in her eyes.

"I need to see Professor McGonagall now. It's Phoebe." Maggie simply nods and gets out of bed to put on her robe. I do the same and she leads me out of the tower and winds me through the hallways. I'm not even comprehending where we're going. Phoebe's struggling. Why didn't I check on her more? Why hasn't Molly said anything? She's had to notice, there's no way Phoebe could hide her feelings she wears them on her sleeve. I need to leave tonight.

We make it to the giant statue and then I realize we don't have the password. "Bollocks! We didn't pass one person before we got here to help us get the password." Maggie curses.

"What do we do?" We look at each other for a second. "Madam Pomfrey," I conclude. We head to the hospital wing and thankfully I see a light at the back of the room. Madam Pomfrey is tending to some young boy on one of the beds as we stroll up. "Madam Pomfrey, I need to speak to the Headmistress tonight. It's urgent."

"Professor McGonagall is most likely sleeping, you can send word in the morning," she speaks in a stern voice not taking her eyes off of her patient.

"No, I need to see her now. What is the password?"

Her eyes flash up, "Go back to bed."

I start to shake in fury but before I say another word Maggie chimes in, "I might be pregnant!" Madam Pomfrey's head whips up and her eyes looked like they were going to pop out any second. "This way."

She leads us back the way we came and stopped in front of the statue. "Norwegian Ridgeback."

The staircase is revealed and they rush up the steps. She gives a soft knock and waits for the command. "Come in."

The heavy door swings open to reveal Professor McGonagall sitting behind her desk. We walk forward and stop in front. "Headmistress an urgent matter has come to my attention," she gives Maggie a side eye. Maggie shrinks a little at the sight of Professor McGonagall's gaze. "Professor McGonagall, Lina needs to speak with you."

"You have an explanation too."

"No, I don't. I only said that so you would take us seriously."

Madam Pomfrey gasped and turned to Professor McGonagall. "Headmistress, these two students lied to me I want them punished."

"Poppy, why don't you return to your wing. I will take care of them," she gently says. Madam Pomfrey gives one last angry look at us and then turns and leaves.

"What is it that needs my attention at such a late hour where deceiving a staff member is wise?"

I feel bad for Madam Pomfrey for looking like a fool, but her feelings being hurt was on her for treating us like kids. "Professor McGonagall, I received a letter from my daughter that requires my attention. I need to leave… now."

She then turns to Maggie and says, "Ms. Lockney, you are dismissed." Maggie gives me a scared look and exits the room. "May I see the letter?"

I hand her the tiny note in my daughter's delicate handwriting. Her eyes glide across the words and then lays it down on top of her desk. "Ms. Aikron I understand the trauma that your daughter has gone through lately. And your maternal instinct is to go to her, but if she were in immediate danger I know Mrs. Weasley would have notified me. Your children are in excellent care."

My mouth drops open. "My maternal instinct? My daughter is crying out for help from her mom and you're telling me to ignore it? Are you serious? She witnessed her dad murdered in front of her, she blames herself. Which is obviously wrong." I ask incredulously.

"Yes Ms. Aikron, and those that are in charge of her care understand that. Has Mrs. Weasley made any mention?" "N-," I stop myself. I had an unopened letter from both her and Harry laying on my bed. "Both Molly and Harry hasn't said anything but I did just get letters from both of them this morning that I haven't read yet."

"Why don't you read the remaining letters and get back to me in the morning?" she calmy asks yet it sounded more like a command than a request.

"Ok, fine," I end like a petulant child. I turn on my heel and leave without being properly dismissed because I'm still seething. She thinks I'm overreacting. But… I did not have my ducks in a row for proof. What's in those letters? There better be an explanation.

I quickly get back to the dorm and Maggie is waiting up for me in bed. "What happened?"

"I need to check something." I rush to my bed and pickup the remaining unopened letters. I stop and face Maggie, "Thank you Maggie, for what you did for me." She gives me a small sympathetic smile. "Once I figure this out, I'll let you know."

"Ok, if you need anything else, wake me up, okay? Good night, and try and get some sleep." Maggie lays down and closes her eyes. I turn back to the letters and see the one from Molly. I tear it open and read.

Lina,

I didn't want to alarm you but Phoebe had been having trouble sleeping lately. She'd been having nightmares about the night Scott died and she kept blaming herself. I just wanted to tell you that we have been working with her and trying to help her through her grief. It breaks my heart to see the pain in her eyes and I can only imagine you reading this how much you will want to cry. I wanted to let you know in case she sends a letter that might concern you. The last couple days have been much better and she's back to being her high-spirited young self again.

I want to take her on a short trip, just her, Ginny and I and do some camping. I won't take her if you don't feel comfortable about it. But I think taking her away from the Burrow would do her some good. Please write back with your answer.

With lots of love,

Molly Weasley

P.S. Sammy is doing great. He's enjoying being kid with Socks and loves his broomstick.

Silent tears are streaming down my face. I look at the date in the top corner and it's today. I rummage through the letters to find Phoebe's and it says last Monday. Why was there such a delay in the delivery? Is someone intercepting my mail? Oh my god, Phoebe sent this letter a week and a half ago and never got a response. More tears come spilling out while I try not to blubber loud enough to wake everyone. She was in pain and I didn't know. Has she been getting my mail? I send her and Sammy something every few days. I shake my head and dry my eyes. Molly's doing everything she can to help but I should be there. I need a better reason to stay. I open the next letter that has Urgent written on the front for an answer.

Lina,

We have new information on your extended stay at Hogwarts. Professor Longbottom will inform you with details on our meeting.

Harry

Finally! Will I be able to go home or will I be coerced some more into staying here? There's no point in trying to sleep right now, I have too much to think about. I grab some parchment and begin my first response.

My Love,

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to respond, there must have been a delay in the mail.

Honey, I love you with all my heart. That night is the worst night of our lives but it is not your fault. You are not the reason dad died. Those bad people are the ones to blame. When you were born, you gave dad meaning again. He told me, he was terrified when we found out I was pregnant with you. He thought with all the things he had done in his life, especially in the military how could he deserve this bundle of love. But when you opened your eyes the night you were born and he held you in his arms he found peace. You were his world, and he did what he always said he would and that's to protect you.

Dad loved you. Even when you yelled, or lied, or broke things out of anger, he loved you. And now, he's watching over you. I miss him every day and I wish he was still with us especially for you and Sammy, but please, understand this is not your fault. I'm sorry I'm not there. I'm doing my best to get back to you but I need to find out something in order to protect you. I love you with everything I have. Please talk to Molly if you need anything. She's a mom too and will understand.

Love you near and far,

Mom

I fold it up, kiss it and seal it. I take out another piece of parchment and write a brief letter to Molly thanking her and giving her consent to take Phoebe on a girl's trip. I also ask why there would be a delay in the mail. By the time I was done it was one in the morning. My brain was officially exhausted and when I my head hit the pillow, I was out.