HARRY POTTER AND THE BOOK OF EVIL
Chapter One
The Academy
COLUMBIA ACADEMY WAS perched on a cliff, overlooking the furious northern Atlantic ocean, somewhere in Maine. Most of it was actually embedded in the rock itself, with medieval-looking glass windows peering out over the ocean. There was a single tower, rising high over a glassy lobby and a courtyard with a low marble bench for the students to do work on.
The bicycle came flying out of the air in a whirlwind of autumn leaves and came to a crashing halt on the courtyard floor.
"Timothy!" shrieked Rosalind Sidereus.
He freed himself from his red bike, grinning lopsidedly with his dark brown hair standing on end. Tim Wyvern picked up the frame, one jarred wheel rolling away, with a look of surprise; he didn't seem to realize he was going so fast. After fetching the wheel, he took out his wand - surprisingly intact - and restored the bike with a tap.
"Whatever possessed you to enchant that old wreck?" asked Skyla Conway, eyeing the scratched and dirty metal.
"An old wreck?" he asked, hand over his heart in mock surprise and olive eyes shining. "This was my dad's, are you kidding?"
"Well, it's certainly old," commented Llewellyn Euryale, looking at his flushed, boyish face over her horn-rimmed glasses. "But aren't you going to get in trouble? A flying bike would scare the living daylights out of most Muggles."
He tapped the frame again, and it became invisible with a small pop.
"Smart," commented Rosalind blandly, her eyes back on her astronomy book, "but did you remember to make yourself invisible, too?"
As Llewellyn and Skyla broke into furious fits of laughter, Tim turned into a brilliant shade of crimson and dragged his invisible bike down the stairs.
The sun broke through a large cloud in the azure sky overlooking Columbia and the three students on the courtyard bench. Llewellyn was olive-colored, with dark wavy hair and trapezoidal glasses, while Rosalind had blue eyes, a sheet of light-brown hair, and silvery glasses. Skyla had dark brown eyes and hair. They all wore white Columbia robes with a navy band around their waist.
Ino Kinst, Llewellyn's friend, left the lobby and walked onto the courtyard with his book bag on his back and a scowl on his face.
"Euryale!" He loved to call Llewellyn by her last name.
"'Sup?" she asked.
"My grandma's mad at me. Says I've messed up too bad at Columbia. I think she's trying to force me into a Squib school."
"Squib school?" repeated Llewellyn, horrified. "Your grades aren't that bad!"
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "If I don't scrape some O. W. L.'s this year, I'm - pfffft - out of here."
"I can help you study," she volunteered.
Ino shook his head. "Doesn't matter - I'm as good as dead. Anyway, you're going to be at that wizard school, Hogwarts, remember?"
A sudden bolt of shock ran through her head.
"Hogwarts!" she screeched, standing up and clapping her head to her forehead. "Oh, how could I have forgotten?"
"You forgot you were going to Hogwarts for half a year?" echoed Skyla, astonished.
"Well, the K. W. O. took a lot of my time, okay?" she shot back, nervously fingering her Knowledge Wizards'/Witches' Open badge on her band. Columbia had ranked first in the nation in the grueling summer competitions, and she was proud to be co-captain with Rosalind. The grand prize was the trip to any another wizard school in the world. They had decided on the oldest, Hogwarts, and each would go for two semesters. "What day is it, anyway?"
"Friday," replied Rosalind, glancing for a second at her highly complex wristwatch.
Llewellyn drew in a sharp breath. "I've two days?" she hissed to herself.
Tim reappeared on the steps. "Two days 'til what?"
"September first!" she replied, gathering up her quills and parchments. "When I go to Hogwarts!"
"Oh yeah," he remarked.
She sprinted across the courtyard and down the spiral staircase in a flurry of white robes and spell books.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across the deep blue Atlantic ocean, across miles and miles of wave-whipped water, nestled between tall, rocky mountains, Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry loomed in the mist of morning.
"Another exchange student, Albus?" asked Professor Minerva McGonagall, dimly lit by a crackling fire in the headmaster's office. "We won't have the same fiasco as with the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students last year?"
"No, no, Minerva," replied Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, his long silver beard glinting in the firelight. "Miss Euryale will be properly sorted, put with her age group, attend classes, and such."
"Oh, and another question - three school balls?"
"The first and last are dances, Minerva, a much less formal occasion. The new prefects and Head Boy and Girl all agreed a Back-To-School and a Leaving dance would be well received. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"
"No, Albus, but thank you for your time."
McGonagall paused for a moment, turned on her heel, and strode out of the office. On her way down, she accidentally knocked into an old, wooden crate covered with strange stickers and writings. A fair-skinned, reddish face wearing a baseball cap backwards popped into view.
"Oh, sorry!" he chirped, stood up, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Matt Visilio, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. And you are?"
"Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration," she replied crisply, looking at him like he had just crawled off the dirty streets.
"Charmed," he replied, in a strangely oily tone. He took off his hat, smoothed back his gelled chestnut-colored hair, and kissed her hand.
"Matthew, why don't you go, er, unpack your things?" suggested Dumbledore hastily, after seeing McGonagall's shocked face.
"Alright, Headmaster, I'll leave you and Minnie McG to yourselves."
She became an interesting spectacle as her nostrils whitened, cheeks reddened, and eyes flashed maliciously, all at the same time, as she watched Visilio drag his giant crate out the door and down the steps.
" 'Minnie McG?' " asked Dumbledore, his blue eyes shining.
McGonagall's mouth became, if possible, even thinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rosalind threw the last white robe into Llewellyn's battered navy suitcase.
"They wear black robes," explained Llewellyn, "so I'll wear the new black ones to class and my regular white ones otherwise."
"Don't they wear Muggle clothes, too?" Rosalind asked.
"Muggle clothes? Oh..." she replied, eyes wandering away from Rosalind and Skyla.
"Oh, come on, Llewellyn, why don't you just get some Muggle clothes? You're not exactly broke, you know," suggested Rosalind.
She rolled her eyes. "I can't. Tradition, I guess. No Euryale ever wears anything other than robes, except for very special occasions."
"But why, though?" asked Skyla, looking from Rosalind to Llewellyn. "You're here at Columbia almost all year. Your parents wouldn't ever know, and what difference does it make if they do?"
Llewellyn looked at her suitcase, her face turning red. "Later," she mumbled.
She added a handful of balled-up socks and shut the lid.
"Just think, Llewellyn, you're going to be gone for two semesters. I wonder how Columbia's - OUCH!"
Rosalind stopped in mid-sentence. She looked down.
"Timothy!" she shrieked, for the second time that day. "Your rabbit escaped!"
He ran into the girl's dorm and came to a skidding halt.
"Oh, did my little Deathy-poo get away?" he asked, dropping to the ground.
"What?" asked Skyla.
"Death," he said, picking up the fluffy white rabbit. He stood up. "That's his name."
"He just bit me!" yelled Rosalind, pointing to two puncture marks on her foot.
"Well, I tried to put a charm on him so he would eat my baloney sandwiches for me." Tim pulled a face. "But, I think I er, overdid it, because now he's a ferocious carnivore. Aren't you, my little Bunnicula?"
Rosalind, Skyla, and Llewellyn made a very weird sound as they all groaned at the exact same time.
"Never mind," he grumbled. Tim readjusted Death so he was in the crook of one arm and waved with the other one. "I'll be putting Death in his cage and a charm on his cage - he chewed his way out of the metal bars!"
He turned and was about to walk out of the girls' dorm when Professor Szeles, who taught Potions and Astronomy, walked by.
"Timothy Wyvern!" she yelled. "What do you think you're doing? That's the girls' dorm!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day passed by so quickly Llewellyn thought someone in the heavens had just decided to skip it. She forced herself through her classes, each of them seeming a whole lot less interesting than usual. Other than Rosalind, her friends seemed to avoid her, like they knew they couldn't start anything that would take more than a few hours. Llewellyn was glad when the end of the day abruptly came.
Dawn the next morning was cold, clear, and bright, an autumn kind of feeling in the air.
The pillow slapped in her face woke Llewellyn with a start.
"Get up!" Rosalind nudged the pile of blankets Llewellyn was tied up in. "You were talking in your sleep again."
Llewellyn thought back to that dream she was having. Something with a...a snake?
A bleary eye appeared over the lip of the blankets. "What time is it?" she asked groggily.
"Nine o'clock," responded Rosalind curtly. "Headmaster Jannis told me to tell you you're leaving at eleven, getting there at three, and breakfast is at nine-fifteen."
"Leaving at eleven and getting there at three?" she asked, yawning wide. "How am I getting to Hogwarts?"
"I dunno," replied Rosalind, making her way out of the girl's dorm. "But breakfast is sure to be a real treat!" she called from the doorway.
"Yeah, my last meal," muttered Llewellyn darkly, raising herself to a sitting position. She was beginning to get second thoughts about going to such a different wizarding school, when she had been at Columbia Academy for nearly all her life. With only half a mind, she changed into her crisp white robes and trudged down to the cafeteria.
"Surprise!" yelled the school.
With a start, she tore her eyes from the floor and looked around, bewildered, at the decorations and posters festooning the walls and ceiling.
A big sign on the far wall read, in silver and navy letters, "Good Bye and Good Luck, Llewellyn!" There were streamers decorating the stone walls, and the glass ceiling was covered in balloons. The normal white dishes were replaced by navy ones, with the school wolf on the front. One quick sniff revealed the breakfast was pancakes, Llewellyn's favorites.
Rosalind waved from her seat and motioned to a empty seat between her and Skyla. Llewellyn rolled her eyes and grinned, plopping down into the chair and picking at her pancakes.
"Euryale! We made you a good-bye card!" called Ino. Tim handed over a ridiculously large green card. Llewellyn laughed, took it out of his hand, and opened it. Several lime colored birds flew out, and one of her favorite songs, "Enchanted By Moonlight" by Mora Jones, began playing. In a small olive bag on the inside were nineteen chinkas, the American wizard coins.
"We took up a collection," explained Skyla.
"Aw, thanks, guys," replied Llewellyn, reading the various messages written inside.
Tim flung a piece of pancake at her, and it bounced off her forehead. Slightly annoyed, she picked it up from off the floor and realized it was actually a rolled-up scrap of parchment. Raising her eyebrows inquisitively at him, he mouthed one word: "Hogwarts". She nodded and stealthily stuffed it in her pocket.
Although Llewellyn barely touched her breakfast, the morning was very enjoyable as her friends relived all their past experiences and how different Columbia would be with her gone. All too soon, again feeling like there was a sudden cosmic time skip, she was changing into the strangely different black Hogwarts robes and dragging the suitcase to the lobby.
Feeling, she thought bitterly, just like a black sheep, she stood waiting between Skyla and Tim as the five professors of Columbia got the extra- strength Floo powder working correctly. Columbia was very different from Hogwarts, Professor Risden had told her. There were about two hundred students, opposed to Columbia's twenty-five, and twenty professors. Hogwarts was divided into four houses, with absurd names such as Gryffindor and Slytherin, and played a European-favored sport called Quidditch. She wondered if it was anything like Quodpot 2000, her favorite game in the world.
Finally, the flames had risen, strangely blue, and Professor McVey announced to Llewellyn that it was eleven.
"Why am I getting there at three?" Llewellyn asked.
"It's three o'clock there when its eleven here," she answered, and stepped back, clearing the way to the fireplace. With one last look at her friends, all waving good-byes, she clenched the handle of her suitcase, stepped foward, and shouted, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
Chapter One
The Academy
COLUMBIA ACADEMY WAS perched on a cliff, overlooking the furious northern Atlantic ocean, somewhere in Maine. Most of it was actually embedded in the rock itself, with medieval-looking glass windows peering out over the ocean. There was a single tower, rising high over a glassy lobby and a courtyard with a low marble bench for the students to do work on.
The bicycle came flying out of the air in a whirlwind of autumn leaves and came to a crashing halt on the courtyard floor.
"Timothy!" shrieked Rosalind Sidereus.
He freed himself from his red bike, grinning lopsidedly with his dark brown hair standing on end. Tim Wyvern picked up the frame, one jarred wheel rolling away, with a look of surprise; he didn't seem to realize he was going so fast. After fetching the wheel, he took out his wand - surprisingly intact - and restored the bike with a tap.
"Whatever possessed you to enchant that old wreck?" asked Skyla Conway, eyeing the scratched and dirty metal.
"An old wreck?" he asked, hand over his heart in mock surprise and olive eyes shining. "This was my dad's, are you kidding?"
"Well, it's certainly old," commented Llewellyn Euryale, looking at his flushed, boyish face over her horn-rimmed glasses. "But aren't you going to get in trouble? A flying bike would scare the living daylights out of most Muggles."
He tapped the frame again, and it became invisible with a small pop.
"Smart," commented Rosalind blandly, her eyes back on her astronomy book, "but did you remember to make yourself invisible, too?"
As Llewellyn and Skyla broke into furious fits of laughter, Tim turned into a brilliant shade of crimson and dragged his invisible bike down the stairs.
The sun broke through a large cloud in the azure sky overlooking Columbia and the three students on the courtyard bench. Llewellyn was olive-colored, with dark wavy hair and trapezoidal glasses, while Rosalind had blue eyes, a sheet of light-brown hair, and silvery glasses. Skyla had dark brown eyes and hair. They all wore white Columbia robes with a navy band around their waist.
Ino Kinst, Llewellyn's friend, left the lobby and walked onto the courtyard with his book bag on his back and a scowl on his face.
"Euryale!" He loved to call Llewellyn by her last name.
"'Sup?" she asked.
"My grandma's mad at me. Says I've messed up too bad at Columbia. I think she's trying to force me into a Squib school."
"Squib school?" repeated Llewellyn, horrified. "Your grades aren't that bad!"
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "If I don't scrape some O. W. L.'s this year, I'm - pfffft - out of here."
"I can help you study," she volunteered.
Ino shook his head. "Doesn't matter - I'm as good as dead. Anyway, you're going to be at that wizard school, Hogwarts, remember?"
A sudden bolt of shock ran through her head.
"Hogwarts!" she screeched, standing up and clapping her head to her forehead. "Oh, how could I have forgotten?"
"You forgot you were going to Hogwarts for half a year?" echoed Skyla, astonished.
"Well, the K. W. O. took a lot of my time, okay?" she shot back, nervously fingering her Knowledge Wizards'/Witches' Open badge on her band. Columbia had ranked first in the nation in the grueling summer competitions, and she was proud to be co-captain with Rosalind. The grand prize was the trip to any another wizard school in the world. They had decided on the oldest, Hogwarts, and each would go for two semesters. "What day is it, anyway?"
"Friday," replied Rosalind, glancing for a second at her highly complex wristwatch.
Llewellyn drew in a sharp breath. "I've two days?" she hissed to herself.
Tim reappeared on the steps. "Two days 'til what?"
"September first!" she replied, gathering up her quills and parchments. "When I go to Hogwarts!"
"Oh yeah," he remarked.
She sprinted across the courtyard and down the spiral staircase in a flurry of white robes and spell books.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across the deep blue Atlantic ocean, across miles and miles of wave-whipped water, nestled between tall, rocky mountains, Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry loomed in the mist of morning.
"Another exchange student, Albus?" asked Professor Minerva McGonagall, dimly lit by a crackling fire in the headmaster's office. "We won't have the same fiasco as with the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students last year?"
"No, no, Minerva," replied Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, his long silver beard glinting in the firelight. "Miss Euryale will be properly sorted, put with her age group, attend classes, and such."
"Oh, and another question - three school balls?"
"The first and last are dances, Minerva, a much less formal occasion. The new prefects and Head Boy and Girl all agreed a Back-To-School and a Leaving dance would be well received. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"
"No, Albus, but thank you for your time."
McGonagall paused for a moment, turned on her heel, and strode out of the office. On her way down, she accidentally knocked into an old, wooden crate covered with strange stickers and writings. A fair-skinned, reddish face wearing a baseball cap backwards popped into view.
"Oh, sorry!" he chirped, stood up, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Matt Visilio, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. And you are?"
"Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration," she replied crisply, looking at him like he had just crawled off the dirty streets.
"Charmed," he replied, in a strangely oily tone. He took off his hat, smoothed back his gelled chestnut-colored hair, and kissed her hand.
"Matthew, why don't you go, er, unpack your things?" suggested Dumbledore hastily, after seeing McGonagall's shocked face.
"Alright, Headmaster, I'll leave you and Minnie McG to yourselves."
She became an interesting spectacle as her nostrils whitened, cheeks reddened, and eyes flashed maliciously, all at the same time, as she watched Visilio drag his giant crate out the door and down the steps.
" 'Minnie McG?' " asked Dumbledore, his blue eyes shining.
McGonagall's mouth became, if possible, even thinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rosalind threw the last white robe into Llewellyn's battered navy suitcase.
"They wear black robes," explained Llewellyn, "so I'll wear the new black ones to class and my regular white ones otherwise."
"Don't they wear Muggle clothes, too?" Rosalind asked.
"Muggle clothes? Oh..." she replied, eyes wandering away from Rosalind and Skyla.
"Oh, come on, Llewellyn, why don't you just get some Muggle clothes? You're not exactly broke, you know," suggested Rosalind.
She rolled her eyes. "I can't. Tradition, I guess. No Euryale ever wears anything other than robes, except for very special occasions."
"But why, though?" asked Skyla, looking from Rosalind to Llewellyn. "You're here at Columbia almost all year. Your parents wouldn't ever know, and what difference does it make if they do?"
Llewellyn looked at her suitcase, her face turning red. "Later," she mumbled.
She added a handful of balled-up socks and shut the lid.
"Just think, Llewellyn, you're going to be gone for two semesters. I wonder how Columbia's - OUCH!"
Rosalind stopped in mid-sentence. She looked down.
"Timothy!" she shrieked, for the second time that day. "Your rabbit escaped!"
He ran into the girl's dorm and came to a skidding halt.
"Oh, did my little Deathy-poo get away?" he asked, dropping to the ground.
"What?" asked Skyla.
"Death," he said, picking up the fluffy white rabbit. He stood up. "That's his name."
"He just bit me!" yelled Rosalind, pointing to two puncture marks on her foot.
"Well, I tried to put a charm on him so he would eat my baloney sandwiches for me." Tim pulled a face. "But, I think I er, overdid it, because now he's a ferocious carnivore. Aren't you, my little Bunnicula?"
Rosalind, Skyla, and Llewellyn made a very weird sound as they all groaned at the exact same time.
"Never mind," he grumbled. Tim readjusted Death so he was in the crook of one arm and waved with the other one. "I'll be putting Death in his cage and a charm on his cage - he chewed his way out of the metal bars!"
He turned and was about to walk out of the girls' dorm when Professor Szeles, who taught Potions and Astronomy, walked by.
"Timothy Wyvern!" she yelled. "What do you think you're doing? That's the girls' dorm!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day passed by so quickly Llewellyn thought someone in the heavens had just decided to skip it. She forced herself through her classes, each of them seeming a whole lot less interesting than usual. Other than Rosalind, her friends seemed to avoid her, like they knew they couldn't start anything that would take more than a few hours. Llewellyn was glad when the end of the day abruptly came.
Dawn the next morning was cold, clear, and bright, an autumn kind of feeling in the air.
The pillow slapped in her face woke Llewellyn with a start.
"Get up!" Rosalind nudged the pile of blankets Llewellyn was tied up in. "You were talking in your sleep again."
Llewellyn thought back to that dream she was having. Something with a...a snake?
A bleary eye appeared over the lip of the blankets. "What time is it?" she asked groggily.
"Nine o'clock," responded Rosalind curtly. "Headmaster Jannis told me to tell you you're leaving at eleven, getting there at three, and breakfast is at nine-fifteen."
"Leaving at eleven and getting there at three?" she asked, yawning wide. "How am I getting to Hogwarts?"
"I dunno," replied Rosalind, making her way out of the girl's dorm. "But breakfast is sure to be a real treat!" she called from the doorway.
"Yeah, my last meal," muttered Llewellyn darkly, raising herself to a sitting position. She was beginning to get second thoughts about going to such a different wizarding school, when she had been at Columbia Academy for nearly all her life. With only half a mind, she changed into her crisp white robes and trudged down to the cafeteria.
"Surprise!" yelled the school.
With a start, she tore her eyes from the floor and looked around, bewildered, at the decorations and posters festooning the walls and ceiling.
A big sign on the far wall read, in silver and navy letters, "Good Bye and Good Luck, Llewellyn!" There were streamers decorating the stone walls, and the glass ceiling was covered in balloons. The normal white dishes were replaced by navy ones, with the school wolf on the front. One quick sniff revealed the breakfast was pancakes, Llewellyn's favorites.
Rosalind waved from her seat and motioned to a empty seat between her and Skyla. Llewellyn rolled her eyes and grinned, plopping down into the chair and picking at her pancakes.
"Euryale! We made you a good-bye card!" called Ino. Tim handed over a ridiculously large green card. Llewellyn laughed, took it out of his hand, and opened it. Several lime colored birds flew out, and one of her favorite songs, "Enchanted By Moonlight" by Mora Jones, began playing. In a small olive bag on the inside were nineteen chinkas, the American wizard coins.
"We took up a collection," explained Skyla.
"Aw, thanks, guys," replied Llewellyn, reading the various messages written inside.
Tim flung a piece of pancake at her, and it bounced off her forehead. Slightly annoyed, she picked it up from off the floor and realized it was actually a rolled-up scrap of parchment. Raising her eyebrows inquisitively at him, he mouthed one word: "Hogwarts". She nodded and stealthily stuffed it in her pocket.
Although Llewellyn barely touched her breakfast, the morning was very enjoyable as her friends relived all their past experiences and how different Columbia would be with her gone. All too soon, again feeling like there was a sudden cosmic time skip, she was changing into the strangely different black Hogwarts robes and dragging the suitcase to the lobby.
Feeling, she thought bitterly, just like a black sheep, she stood waiting between Skyla and Tim as the five professors of Columbia got the extra- strength Floo powder working correctly. Columbia was very different from Hogwarts, Professor Risden had told her. There were about two hundred students, opposed to Columbia's twenty-five, and twenty professors. Hogwarts was divided into four houses, with absurd names such as Gryffindor and Slytherin, and played a European-favored sport called Quidditch. She wondered if it was anything like Quodpot 2000, her favorite game in the world.
Finally, the flames had risen, strangely blue, and Professor McVey announced to Llewellyn that it was eleven.
"Why am I getting there at three?" Llewellyn asked.
"It's three o'clock there when its eleven here," she answered, and stepped back, clearing the way to the fireplace. With one last look at her friends, all waving good-byes, she clenched the handle of her suitcase, stepped foward, and shouted, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"