Chapter 16: Conversations
Snuggly opened as soon as Uric approached. He grinned and petted the gargoyle's head before going up the stairs. Behind him, Louis shook his head, while the woman and Mena stared.
They entered the office, their feet sinking deep into the plush carpet. A fire was burning in the nearby hearth. Uric could see the faint shadows from the flames flickering across the Headmistress' face as she sat behind her desk looking off into the distance. Mr. Kurze was standing in the corner, attempting to look unobtrusive. Uric grinned and waved madly at him.
"Olman," said the Headmistress. "Your presence here is unnecessary." Mr. Kurze glanced between Uric and his wife. He stood up slightly straighter and looked her in the eye.
"I'd like to stay, Carolyn," he said firmly. The Headmistress looked puzzled for a moment, but seemed to dismiss his comment from her mind.
"Very well," she said, but her grey eyes were already focused on Uric and his companions. She gave them each a hard, evaluating stare. Louis decided he would rather be back with the Hunter about to be eaten.
Uric frowned at Headmistress Kurze. She was giving him that look again that made him so uncomfortable. It really wasn't very nice.
"Well, Mr. Beaufolle. What did I tell you would happen if you got in trouble again?" she asked. Uric thought really hard.
"That I'd be forced to swim naked across a tub of marmalade?" he guessed. Mrs. Kurze's expression got even harder.
"Try again," she practically spit out. Uric became aware that behind him, Louis was chanting the word 'expelled' under his breath.
"Expelled?" said Uric.
"Very good, Mr. Beaufolle." Her gaze once again swept over his companions. "And I see you've brought some others down with you. Mr. Iliescu, what will your father say?" Uric glanced behind him to see Louis looking very contrite. Uric wondered if the dark-haired boy was going to cry now.
"I'm sorry, Headmistress," said Louis in a pitiful voice. Mrs. Kurze nodded to herself.
"As well you should be," she said, than turned her attention to Mena. Before Mrs. Kurze could scold her however, the woman stepped forward. She looked very upset.
"You can't expel these children just for being children!" she exclaimed passionately. The Headmistress looked her over.
"I assume you are this mysterious witch who my husband has been complaining about?" She seemed very annoyed that the woman actually existed. Uric wondered if Mr. Kurze had told her about the badgers.
"That's her," confirmed Mr. Kurze from his corner. The Headmistress looked over at him.
"Thank you, Olman." She sounded surprised that he was still there.
"My name is Hollis Havenward. I work for the Australian branch of Corpus Patronus," said the woman. Mena looked puzzled.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"She's a bodyguard. Corpus Patronus is supposed to be one of the best for personal protection," explained Louis, forgetting that he was supposed to be looking contrite. "Didn't you say Mr. Beaufolle hired you?" he asked. Miss. Havenward nodded. Headmistress Kurze didn't seem impressed however.
"Perhaps you are a bodyguard out there, but in Hogwarts you are just an interloper who has no say in the workings of this school. Uric and his co-conspirators will be punished as I see fit," said the Headmistress. She sounded very pleased with herself. She paused, and her look softened slightly as she regarded Louis and Mena. "I am willing to give second chances to those who understand the error of their ways." She obviously didn't think Uric was worthy of being given a second (or in this case, third) chance.
Mena made a face at Mrs. Kurze's comments once she realized what the Headmistress was implying. She wasn't going to leave Uric alone in order to escape punishment. She opened her mouth to say this, but was forced to close it again to prevent herself from crying out in pain. Louis had ground his foot down hard on hers.
They would have gotten into a fight at that point, but Uric had somehow wandered to the other side of the office while Headmistress Kurze was talking. A brilliant light filled the room.
There was a moment of, well, oddness. Mr. Kurze could have sworn he saw a squirrel in bloomers run quickly across the room to perch chattering on Mrs. Kurze's shoulder. Mena watched as the number of Urics multiplied into infinity to fill up the office, than vanished as quickly as they had come. Mrs. Kurze refused to even acknowledge the fact that the children in front of her had morphed into talking tomatoes. Miss. Havenward imagined that she was an elephant sitting on a sock the size of the whole world, and Louis wisely kept his eyes shut.
The moment ended. Louis cautiously opened his eyes to find everyone blinking. Mrs. Kurze was eying him very suspiciously, while Mena was looking around wildly. He noticed that Mr. Kurze was chuckling to himself in the corner. Meanwhile, Miss. Havenward looked like she had been hit with a stunning spell. Now where was Uric?
Ignoring the Headmistress he walked past her to the other side of the office. Collapsed half way behind her desk was Uric. It looked like he was asleep, except for one little thing. His robes were now inside out. The seams of the robe stood out and Louis could no longer see Uric's Hufflepuff badge. Simon was cradled in his hands and chirping softly.
"Uric," Louis said urgently. Uric was just sleeping right? Simon's chirping grew more insistent. "Uric! Wake up!" He finally stirred. Simon squawked as he was pressed too tightly. Uric opened one eye.
"Chirp?" he said. Simon eagerly responded with a barrage of chirps that Uric listened to without getting up.
"What did you touch?" demanded the Headmistress in a cold voice. Louis looked behind him and blanched. Mrs. Kurze towered over them and she looked ready to kill.
"Chirp. Chirp," said Uric.
"Mr. Beaufolle, if you do not start speaking English at this very moment…" she trailed off. Louis reflected that she probably couldn't think of a punishment worse than expulsion. Uric stared hard at Headmistress Kurze. She didn't seem happy with him. Simon chirped again.
"I'm sorry," he said, hoping that he had chosen the right thing to say.
"That won't get you anywhere this time. What did you touch?" she asked in a sharp voice. Uric suddenly felt cold. He looked at the low case behind the Headmistress' desk. It was full of strange and interesting knick knacks.
A tiny model of a dragon paced back and forth between a model of a castle that had a little sun and moon spinning around it, and an odd stone that seemed to change shape when you weren't looking at it. A strange box with glowing orange runes sat next to a beautiful magenta flower, frozen forever in time. Spread in between these things were smaller muggle objects like keys, a compass and thimbles. It was strange to think of the Headmistress keeping those sort of things on her shelf.
"I touched everything," said Uric slowly. He couldn't remember the last few minutes. However, that wasn't too unusual for him. "The dragon bit me." He held up his finger, and they could see the blood welling up from a small gash.
"That doesn't explain your clothes being inside out," pointed out Louis. Uric looked down at himself. Where was his badger? He did a panicky search of his robes and finally found the badge in the left pocket of his robes. He sighed in relief. A look up at Mrs. Kurze revealed that her mouth was pressed into a thin, hard line.
"I do not know what just happened in here," she said. "But if I find out that you were behind it Mr. Beaufolle-"
"You will give him detention and send him on his way," said a man's voice.
"Father!" exclaimed Uric, jumping to his feet. Everyone else looked around to see where the voice was coming from. Uric headed unerringly towards the fireplace. His father's head was hovering in the flames. His dark hair and beard contrasted strongly with the brilliant fire.
"Hello, Father. How are you? How is mother? Do you know what would happen if someone flooing crashed into your neck, or is that even possible?" said Uric in a rush. Mr. Beaufolle regarded his son with resigned amusement.
"Both your mother and I are fine, and I'll send you a book on floo travel later," he said. He smiled at his son. "I'm glad you are okay as well. I hear you had some excitement?" He sounded puzzled, and perhaps a touch angry. Uric nodded solemnly.
"Simon got lost in the forest and we had to rescue him."
"Among other things," added in Miss. Havenward.
"I expect a full report in my hands by noon," said Mr. Beaufolle in a commanding tone, staring straight at the woman. The good humour he had shown towards Uric had disappeared from his face. Miss. Havenward straightened.
"Yes, Sir," she said. Mr. Beaufolle seemed to think the matter was settled, and turned his attention to Headmistress Kurze. She had been watching Mr. Beaufolle with an annoyed expression, but knew better than to interrupt the man while he was talking with his son and subordinate. He was on the Council after all.
"Headmistress Kurze, I have heard some disturbing rumours regarding my son." Louis and Mena took this opportunity to cross the room and join Uric.
"I wonder what rumours he means?" whispered Mena. The two adults continued to talk about the school and Uric, but they didn't really seem to be saying anything.
"Is it the one about the fish, the goblin and the windmill? Because that wasn't me," said Uric. They both stared at him.
"Never mind, Uric," said Louis, keeping his voice low. "He's talking about you being expelled. Mrs. Kurze just refuses to admit it because she knows he will protest. Now that he is here, she isn't so sure about her authority."
"So Uric might be okay?" asked Mena.
"Hopefully all of us will be okay." Louis peered at what he could see of Mr. Beaufolle. "I don't think that Uric's father will let him be expelled." Mr. Beaufolle suddenly turned his head to talk to Uric.
"What did Headmistress Kurze say was your punishment for tonight?" he asked. Mrs. Kurze looked anxious. "This is important, Uric. Concentrate." Uric nodded and thought hard.
"She said she would expel me," he said after a long silence. Mr. Beaufolle gave the Headmistress a triumphant look. She could have denied Miss. Havenward's word or the other students, but she wouldn't dare tell him his son was a liar to his face. She gave Uric a furious look, than visibly composed herself.
"Uric will not be expelled," she said calmly, though her hands were trembling. "However, he and his friends will serve detention with Professor Stewart for the next week." Mena gasped in dismay. Uric just wondered if he would have to run around the castle again. Professor Stewart had been making him run inside ever since the other professors refused to let him serve detentions with them. Mr. Beaufolle nodded.
"That is acceptable." He glanced at Uric and seemed to remember something. "Now that she has been revealed, Miss Havenward will accompany Uric at all times. For his own protection."
"No she will not. There is no reason for your son to have an escort!" The Headmistress looked scandalized. Mr. Beaufolle glared at her.
"I have many enemies, Headmistress Kurze. Until this whole abolition business blows over Uric is not safe. You have already shown that you can not adequately protect him," he said.
"I may not be able to," she admitted, though not without difficulty. "But Hogwarts will keep him safe. The wards here are centuries old and well maintained."
"As are some other things," murmured Louis.
The Headmistress and Uric's father stared hard at each other. Uric nearly clapped his hands in glee. He loved staring contests! And they happened around him so often for some reason.
"If anything happens to my son, I will hold you personally responsible Mrs. Kurze," said Uric's father in his strictest, I'm-on-the-Council-and-will-be-obeyed tones.
"I refuse to let your son go around with a personal servant, Mr. Beaufolle," said Mrs. Kurze primly.
"Servant!" exclaimed Miss. Havenward. "I'm a trained and certified bodyguard, not a bloody maid!"
"I feel it would distract the students from their studies for Uric to be followed around day and night by another adult. Not to mention it would raise the issue of favouritism," said Mrs. Kurze. "You're bodyguard will not be allowed in here. Uric is perfectly safe so long as he remains within these walls."
"Well. I can't remain within the walls," said Uric into the beginnings of another staring war. "I don't fit. The badgers live there though," he said brightly. "And the ghosts like to pass through as well." Everyone stared at him, though he could see Mr. Kurze hiding a smile behind his hand in the corner. Mr. Beaufolle shook his head.
"Very well, Headmistress Kurze. I will leave him in your care, though Miss. Havenward will be staying around the castle to provide extra protection. You will not see her," he said before the Headmistress could protest the arrangement. "Just remember that I know how to expel someone as well." He turned to Uric. "Goodbye Uric. Don't leave the castle again until I come to pick you up. No matter what. Understand?" Uric nodded. "Good." He said his goodbyes, than disappeared into the flames.
The Headmistress surveyed them with distaste. "Olman, would you please escort Miss. Havenward out of the castle. You three may go to breakfast. Report to Professor Stewart after classes for your detention." She rubbed her forehead as if she were in pain. Everyone left as quickly as possible, though the first out the door was Mr. Kurze.
Uric, Louis and Mena followed the adults down the stairs and out past the gargoyle. They were very quiet. Uric stopped walking and reached into his pocket. He took out a stone he had placed there a very long time ago. With a tap of his wand, he transfigured it into a tiny model of a duck. He triumphantly held it up to show Mena and Louis.
"Duck!" he said. Mena sighed.
"Yes, Uric. A duck. Can we go to breakfast now?"
*****
Sorry about the wait. This chapter decided it wanted to be written really slowly…
Thanks to all my reviewers: Crydywn, TatraMegami, Em, Gemin16, Gred Weasley, Tess, Tidmag the Hufflepuff, AniMourner, Ozma, gjegje, J-kid, Lady Knight of Kennan, Leevee of Team Socket.
Tidmag the Hufflepuff: Are you sure cheerios won't work? I can get different kinds…Seriously though, it'll take me awhile to write the sequel so no worries about me leaving off Uric for awhile, and who says I can't write shorter Uric stories either?
AniMourner: Ah yes, I did notice the email. I remember thinking how neat the email was a long time ago. I attempted to reread the whole dark is rising sequence this Christmas, but only made it through the first two before I had to go back to university, so I haven't read Silver on the Tree for about six years now. We are sort of close to the end but not all the way there yet. I am thinking about four more chapters to this story, but I could be wrong…
Gjegje: There won't be any more of the Hunter in this story. He's meant to be mysterious and exciting. (Think Tom Bombadil from Tolkien or Bjorn from the Hobbit for that matter…They're interesting because their ancient and mysterious.) All I can suggest, if you want more, is to read some of the myths about the Wild Hunt, or to read the Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper, which has a version of the Wild Hunt in it as well.
Lady Knight of Kennan: Thanks about the essays (They're just papers I write in university for my classes.) I did really well on all of them.
Leevee of Team Socket: Most of Uric's comments come right from my subconscious. I just pick a subject out of my mind, make sure I haven't done it before in the story, than let Uric expound upon it. (I think everyone should seriously consider the possibility of silverware ruling the world;)
Please review. I love to know what everyone thinks, and if anyone still wants to be added to the update list let me know:)