Chapter 11:Damned mirror.
Maleficent:
Maleficent, Tehhie, and Melian all headed down to the dungeons for an afternoon of Double Potions with (as you may have guessed) the Gryffindors. This was not an experience that they were looking forward to. Maleficent was especially not looking forward to it since the professor would be assigning her a partner. All of her friends had class partners. She really didn't want to get paired up with a Gryffindor, since they all seem to get on her nerves lately. They arrived in Potions. Tehhie went to her table and sat by Severus, Melian went to sit with Sirius (I think that was who you were paired up with), and Maleficent sat at an empty table next to Melian and Sirius. On the other side of the room were Lily and James sitting together. Peter Pettigrew had wandered over to them and joined in their conversation. Shortly the professor entered. He turned to Maleficent and said, "You're the new Slytherin, aren't you? Well, I need to find you a partner." He looked up and down the roll and said, "You can join Peter Pettigrew at the far table." He pointed to a table in front of Lily and James, where Pettigrew's things were sitting. The Slytherins all voiced their objections but the professor silenced them and sent Maleficent over to the table.
Maleficent sat down in the seat on the right side of the table. Peter stood back behind James's chair, trying to avoid Maleficent. The Professor said, "Mr. Pettigrew, take your seat. It's time to start class." Peter hurried to his seat and pulled the chair as far away as he could from Maleficent. They received their instructions and began getting their ingredients together. Unwillingly, PEter joined Maleficent at the student cupboard to find their ingredients. "I'm not going to bite you, Gryffindor. Let's just try to get through these classes without a big mess, okay?" Maleficent said to the trembling boy. "Ma..may..maybe," he stammered. They went back to their table and began preparing the potion.
Halfway through the lesson, Maleficent began to think that they were going to survive the awful partership in Potions. But then, something went wrong. As Maleficent and Pettigrew mixed the potion, James began whispering to her from the table behind her. "Slytherin, don't be trying anything that might hurt him or you'll find yourself in a heap of trouble," he whispered. Maleficent turned around and replied softly, "If you don't shut up, we'll find out how good you look in a pink frilly petticoat too." She turned back to her potion. Tehhie and Severus had noticed James bothering her. James continued to taunt her. Finally Maleficent had enough of it. When James wasn't paying much attention she pointed her wand at him and Banished the cauldron. It flew backward, turning the hot potion all over James. Green boils began to pop up all over his burned flesh. The whole class shrieked. The Professor waved his hand and the potion disappeared. "I'm taking him to the hospital wing. I'll be back soon," he said and led the whimpering Potter out of the room. No one but Peter had seen her cast the spell.
Peter suddenly felt courageous. He jumped up and shouted, "Maleficent, you really hurt him! You'll pay for that!" He pulled out his wand and aimed. Before he could cast the spell Maleficent leapt out of her chair and fell backward, out of the way. She quickly got to her feet, pulled her wand out. "Perhaps the petticoat wasn't enough to get out off my case, Gryffindor. Would you like a taste of something a little more.....damaging?" she demanded.
Tehhie:
"Damn, stop it!" - I yelled - what Maleficent certainly did not need was trouble, and I clearly heard the
footsteps in the hallway.
I jumped in between of them, eyeing both angrily.
"As if words are not enough! Come on, put you wands down!" - I pleaded - the footsteps were now
almost outside the classroom - "Some teacher is coming!"
Maleficent put down her wand, but Petegrew was still aimed, looking as if he can blow up the entire
classrom. Of course, I had to disarm him, and because I was not sure of the "expelliarmus" spell, I
didn't really know how to do it, I had to knock him out s bit.
He fell on the chair and on the very moment McGonagall entered.
"Oh, no!" - I gasped
McGonagall eyed the silent room and her eyes stopped at me and Maleficent. Is she a mind-reader or
something? I thought she was, because she didn't even ask what happened, just silently motioned us to
go with her. But as I saw Maleficent's fce it became clear to me, that Mconagall (thank god!) didn't read
our minds - it was clearly "written" on Maleficent's face "I am Guilty", as it probabl did on mine.
e and Maleficent exchanged panicking looks as Mcgonagall led us to the Headmastr's office. Her
silence was worse than any yells.
When we entered the office, Dumbledore was not there, so McGonagall ordered us to stay in there while
she'll go get him.
"Man, we're in trouble!" - I said, as the door closed behind her
"Yeah, she's the Head of Gryffindor, right?"
"Duh! And she'll of course believe THEIR story and think that it was US provoking them. Damn it!"
I looked around the room. The walls were in stone patterns "Hogwarts" "Hogwarts" "Hogwarts". But then
my eye caught a "wrong" pattenr-piece "Howgarts" is said.
Because Dumbledore was not coming, Maleficent was too shaky to talk and I was bored (why do I
always get so indifferent when I'm in troube?) I decided to the "Reverse Spell" on it - may be, for making
his pattern look all nice a pretty Dumbledore will not expel us?
"Maleficent?" - i called
"Yeah?" - she got up and also stared at the pattern. And then, as if reading my minds added -"No,
Tehhie, what we sure don't need is more trouble!"
"Oh, it's just a pattern and we still have nothing to do..."
"Restutio" - I saidm and the pattern indeed "repaired".
But as it became "HOGWARTS" the wall with the fireplace began to move. Neither me nor Maleficent
had time to jump out into the room. After a second we appeared in some dusty, narrow chmber, with
two tunnels leading into the darkness.
We tured back to the fieplace,looking for the way back. But no, it seemed to be a one-way entrance.
"Now we better find he exit, Tehhie!" - Maleficent said, going pale
"I guess" - I chocked out.
And we headed straight into the left tunnel.
Zandra:
"I hate new schools really I do, all the new books and coursework, and never knowin anyon", I mumble
to myself as I try and find my way down the narrow and twisted halls with coursebooks stacked up to
my nose.
CRASH
Books fly everywhere ands I end up on my derriere.
"Ain't this just a prefect start", I spit out without thinking...
"I'm sorry miss..? uh, you new?" said the sad, tired looking boy I bumped into.
"Yeah, I jus got 'ere, I'm Zandra, you?"
"uh, Remus, but ..." his eyes flashed somethin familiar and I looked up and out a nearby window.
When I looked back he was gone.
"Well.. how'da like that? without even a 'by your leave' I declar' Brits'll never learn propa manna's" I smirked to myself. I thought about that meeting and something odd kept buggin me, somethin in his eyes... somethin familiar, Jaques?, no, but like 'em maybe, inna schol'a magick, um. well Momma said wonders ne'er cease.
I get to the door and hear a scuffle if full swing, the door flies open and knocks me down again. Ms.
McGonagall walks into the open door and leaves with two girls from the class. I gather my books up and
try'n straighten myself out when e'er'body else files out. I recognize the young man I "bumped" into
earlier leavin with some friends. I look back down to finish gatherin my books and a girl with red curls
helps me pick up the last.
" I'm sorry, uh, are you hurt... maybe you should." Lily stammered.
"I seem ta find myself sittin more in these halls than I do standin." I said with a little smile,
"maybe you can tell me where this class is," pointing awkwardly at the schedule I was holdin.
"No problem," Lily smiled, "Just follow us."
"Hey, Lil what'sa the hold up back there?" yelled a boy with mussed black hair.
"Nothing, James..." she called back quickly
Standing I followed her and her friends, through the corridors.
"So, "I finally found the courage to ask," what was all the ruckus about ?"
They all just stared at me, and turning and lookin at each other broke out in roaring laughter.
Severus:
All the day was a pretty bunch of suffering and misfortune.First, my forearm was severely hurting, in
spite of bandages and general Anesthesia Charm.Second, Potions seemed to be jinxed, because most
of incidents occurred in this classroom (thanks to me last time, and no it was Maleficent's go).And, after
all, my falcon came back with really strange message:
"I need to see Dumbledor...Warn Bartemius"
And after that usual gibberish of my beloved dad.But first two sentences...
-What have you seen, Wald?-asked i, stroking him musingly.-Pity you cannot tell me, you looks
worried.
He cried in answer and spread his wings, as if ready to fly back.
-No, after all that's only my nutter father, let's it be his problem.I have mine.
And really i had, because the prospective to become a werewolf didn't please me at all.I shook off
Lucius and went to library in very glum mood, hoping to find something as "Lycanthrope cure kit" or kind
of.However, most of the necessary books were in Restricted Section of library, and Madam Pince, the
librarian, hovered over here as overgrown vulture.So i decided to return in here after hours, because even
possibility to be captured by Filch was better than werewolf transformation.
Lucius peacefully snored in his bed, as well as G&G, when i put my robes on, took my wand and
headed for library.I was lucky indeed, because neither Filch no his abominable pet cat didn't cross my
way.I pushed the door and entered dark library-in night it was no less creepy than paths of Forbidden
Forest.
-Lumos-muttered i.Wand radiated a smear of light, and i sneaked in the Restricted section.Thousands of
dusty old books stayed there on the shelves, and how i was supposed to find a wanted one? I reached
for the upper shelf, trying to read the names of books, when one of them caught my attention.All others
where extremely dusty, but this one clean, glinting and it stayed not exactly in row, as if somebody tried
to pull it out.
"History of Hogwarts, Volume 23.The Curse of Slytherin"-read i on it's cover.
"Hmm, sounds interesting,-thought i and drew the book out.
-OUCH!
Floor under my foot glided aside, i tottered and fell into the instantly appeared trapdoor.
-Ouuuuuuu!and with a loud crash i bumped onto something extremely hard and unwelcoming.My
miserable hand got me now-it was nearly broken, and i couldn't find my wand in darkness.
-Hey, somebody, help!-no answer."You are in trouble, Severus.May be 1000 years after some
archeologist will find your skeleton in here, dear boy"-but somehow this idea didn't console me at all.At
last i fingered my wand, got a feeble light and started up to the dirty chilly corridor.
About half a hour after i completely lose direction and was about to lose conscience, too, when at the
end of side passage blinked a patch of light.I gathered all my remained strength and hurried in this
direction.I squeezed through the abysmally low tunnel-to see Tehhie, sitting on the edge of ruined
column and crying her eyes off, as it seemed.
-Tehhie!
-Severus!
I could bet it was the first time in her life when she was happy to see me.
-You was looking for me? I knew you'll try to find me, if Maleficent tell you...
-Er...Tell what?
-We decided to part, it was too many tunnels, but i lost her, i thought i'll never get out of here!
-Tehhie.Listen to me:Maleficent didn't tell nothing, no one even noticed she isn't here.May be, this is a weird sort of magic in here.And i...Well, i fall in
some trapdoor by mere incident, but i'm glad now-role of grand knight in shining armor is exactly for
me.And only thing that remains to find-exit.
Tehhie:
"So what do you reckon?" - I asked Severus after he lit his wand again.
"We got to find the exit. How did you end up here, anyway?" - he asked
I told him the story, and he nodded silently
"I guess this castle has too many secret passage ways" - he said - we had a nice choice of five tunnels,
all looking exactly the same.
"I guess we got to go up, if you were falling down" - I said - "SO may be we'll try the second one..."
"Nope, the third one seems to promise us freedom. Ah, if I only had some map!"
"Like what?"
"D'you think I would bother saying "ah, if" if I knew? Something that is supposed to get us out of here" -
He sat down on the column
"WE can't search all of the tunnels, or we will spend our entire life here, and nobody will even care.
There has to be some other way..."
"What about... well, i mean if the enter was that fireplace thing then may be the exit is also something
like that?"
"May, but as I said we are going to be searching for this fireplace or whatever it is for centuries! I am
certainly not scanning the wall-patterns for the wrong spelling - I am not the English teacher!"
"No, i mean, the people who created it probably didn't want to get lost, did they, so it has to be
something pretty simple to find..."
"Unless they KNEW what, where and when they were looking for. This exact column might've been a
Portkey or something. Or may be it was some special type of execution - when a student got expelled
they will just push him in here...forever" - Severus made a face
"Yeah, right, you're so cheering me up. But whatever it is, we have to choose the tunnel to start - or
we're going to sit here for quiet a while"
"Third one" - Severus said
"Fine then. Third one."
Severus:
I had a feeling that we didn't approach the exit,opposite-we went deeper and deeper in Hogwarts
dungeons.Water dripped from the walls, and air became more and more cold.
-Always hated porridge-sighted i-but now i'm ready to devour full bucket of it.Only two-three hundred
years of wandering-and we'll be free.
-Rather dead-muttered Tehhie glumly.
-Not a big difference, this tunnels are copy of egyptian tombs or kind of.However, without treasures,
that's disappointing.Or...
We just passed especially wet and dirty passage and crawled out of it, when something glittered in light
of our wands.
-And here the treasure of Gryffindor, hidden in this dirty hole all those years-started i, sure that it's no
more than pool of water.However, it wasn't.It happens to be old dusty mirror with dark wood frame, some
words engraved on it, now completely imperceptible under cover of dust and old cobwebs.
-Weird-said Tehhie dimly
-Yeah.What you think it's doing here?It looks like...Tehhie, see, it looks like a door!
-Are you mad? That's mirror, not a door.
-Yeah, but what you see in it?That's not reflection!
And indeed it wasn't.The image looked like library, but very weird one.Books were scattered on the floor,
pages tore, shelves broken, and the light-it was the light of lanterns, red and smoky,and the scorched
marks were all over the walls.
I tried to touch the surface of mirror-and my hand got through it.
-It's exit, Tehhie!If you entered through the fireplace, why we cannot exit from the mirror.
-But look, Severus, it's not Hogwarts library, it's not Hogwarts at all, i didn't like this place yonder...
But i didn't listen.Overjoyed with prospective to get of here, i grabbed Tehhie's hand and dragged her into
the magical mirror.
A few books still smoldered, sending a clouds of smoke into the air.And not only books.In the corner,
half hidden under broken shelves, laid the scorched human corpse.
-Severus, no!We have to come back
Tehhie turned to mirror-but this one reflected only the remnants of furniture and glowing embers, burned
walls and ceiling.I touched it-it was only glass, usual glass without any sign of magic.
-Oh, what we're gonna to do now?-cried Tehhie.
But i didn't answer, because the door opened with snap, and several men entered the room.They were
dressed in ancient armor, resembling the armor of Hogwarts statues of the knights, and carried lances.
-Here they hiding, little rats!The last ones, i hope-exclaimed one of the soldiers,-hold them and tie, we
have seen already that even youngest of them have teeth and know devilish tricks, magical brats!
Melian: Melian looked up from her book when Lucius touched her shoulder. "Euh Mel? Do you know where the others are?" She looked at him and let out a sigh. "No, can't we put a bell around their necks to track them down?" "Well it is an idea".
She slowly stood up and walked out of the common room. Her hair waved lightly in the draft that was
caused by the Bloody Baron. "Well well if that isn't our little Melian" The ghost smiled at the girl.
"Excuse me Sir, have you seen my friends?" The baron told her no and after a short conversation wafted away.
Suddenly she put attention at reflection in old strange-looking mirror.It was Severus and Tehhie, staying in unknown room and facing hord of warriors!She approached the mirror-and walked into it. Only to fall down and land on something else.
Severus:
-Here they hiding, little rats!The last ones, i hope-exclaimed one of the soldiers,-hold them and tie, we
have seen already that even youngest of them have teeth and know devilish tricks, magical brats!
And about ten menacing-looking soldiers bared their swords and ran to us.
-Curse them-yelled i, but before i managed to remember a necessary curse mirror behind my back
snapped and spat no else than Melian.
-Demon!They summoned demons!-cried the brave captain and sprinted to corridor, his guardians on his
hails.So, we had a temporal advantage-but only temporal,because a minute after captain returned,
accompanied by several bowmen with sinister-looking crossbows.
-Shot them!Shot demons!
However, the first bolt missed us,ripped the curtain and broke the window.It was fatal mistake of
soldiers-because the moon beams fall into the room-and on me.The moon was full.
First i felt that my hand doesn't hurt anymore. And second was the hunger, hunger more strong and
overpowering than i ever felt.And then i remember nothing.
...When i woke up, some warm liquid damped my lips.
-Don't stir, dear, just drink it, it'll help you-said the tender female voice.
I rose and tried to sit.But woman (actually, it was girl in her late teens)gently pressed my shoulder and
forced to lay down.
-You need rest.
-Who are you?And where my friends?And where...
-Don't worry, you are in safe place.As safe as possible in our harsh times.Your friends need rest, too,
because a long way awaits us-we must to save others, and they were brought by soldiers to Carleon
castle, no doubts.It's far from here.Your transformation saved you and these girls, but now you have to
rest at least two days.
My name is Helga Hufflepuff, i was senior student in our school.Weird, i cannot remember you, and i
didn't hear about werewolves among the our students.And Godric too.
"No doubts you didn't.Oh mine, or i'm mad, or we jumped a thousand years ago!"
Uhoh...Okay, this mad plot was really my fault, so give me a good kick and review it!!!
