A/N: Hey, I'm sooooo sorry it took this long to update, but I've been
working on this story over at harrypotterfanfiction.com. I'm on the fifth
one currently. :D Any suggestions you make, I try to incorporate into the
ones I'm writing now. Thanks to all my reviewers so far! I hope you enjoy
it, and please leave a review!
Chapter 8 - Snow and Glumbumbles
December arrived, and with it came winter. Their first now was the second week of the month, and every day thereafter was a paradise of the fragile white flakes. Even though homework was piling up, so was the snow, and all the students found excuses to leave assignments behind in favor of having snowball fights, building snowmen, and making snow angels.
On one such day, Rachel and Michael persuaded Liz to leave her homework for a few hours to come out and enjoy the snow. They all bundled up warmly and headed outside. Most of the students had already gotten the idea and were playing in the snow. Michael spotted some first- and second-year Gryffindors working on building snow forts for a snowball fight, first- years against second-years.
"Can we play?" Rachel asked the first-years crowded in the unfinished fort. Bettie Hess, bundled in shawls and scarves, nodded, so they climbed in as John Peterson and Keith Dircks finished building the fort.
"Attack!" came the cry from the opposing fort, and a shower of snowballs rained down upon them. Desiree squealed and shook the snow out of her air. Michael scooped up some snow, rolled it into a ball, and pelted it at the second-years. The others followed suit, and soon the whole thing had turned into an all-out onslaught. Several people took shelter in the fort, only to be buried chest-deep.
Liz launched a snowball at one of the enemies, only to get one in return, full in the face. Stooping, she gathered up more and threw it as hard as she could. It landed, not on a second-year, but smack on top of Jessica Weasley's head. She had been approaching with some third-year and fourth- year Gryffindors.
"We were going to ask if we could play, but I think it's been decided for us," she spluttered.
"We get fourth-years!" Michael shouted.
So the fourth-year Gryffindors joined them with quick introductions. There were Shannon Wainscott, Brandon Cree, Allison Kennedy, Rodney McCormick, and Karen Duyff. As each one introduced his or herself, they made snowballs and piled them up as an inventory. Each person took two.
"Go!" Michael yelled, and they all launched their snowy weapons. The second- and third-years then launched their counterattack. Next to Liz, Rachel caught a mouthful. Michael lunged over the fort wall, snowballs in tow, and began pelting his sister. She shrieked and launched her own attack at him.
"Ow!" Allison Kennedy cried as three snowballs hit her in the face at once. "I'm going to go take shelter in the fort," she told Liz, who was busy assisting her team in victory, however small her part was.
On sudden inspiration, she whipped out her wand, aimed at the enemy fort, and said, "Inflamaria!" A spark shot from her wand and burned a hole in the wall before the melting snow extinguished it. This she repeated until she had reduced the fort into a pile of snow no bigger than her foot. Then she moved on to their stock of snowballs.
When some of the opposing team noticed that their fort had ceased to exist, they began to yell, "Retreat! RETREAT!" Liz's team made sounds like war cries and chased after them. Liz began to follow, but something caught her eye almost out of her range of vision. She turned. It had been in the direction of the snow fort. Liz neared it with caution. Was Allison in there? She had to be; Liz had been near it ever since she had gone to rest. "Allison?" she asked cautiously. "Are you all right?"
No reply came. Liz inched closer and peered inside. Allison was gone. Vanished in a puff of smoke. Or rather, a flash of light. Liz backed up, trying to breathe. "Help. Help. Help! HELP!"
Both teams halted and turned back. "What?" Michael said. "What is it?"
"Allison," Liz choked. "She's gone."
"Gone?" Shannon said. "Gone where?"
"Gone. Vanished. Disappeared."
"She...where was she?"
"Right here!" Liz said. Wasn't that obvious? "She said she was coming to take shelter and she vanished."
"That can't be true," Brandon cried out.
"You don't believe me?" Liz said bitterly. It was a tense moment in which everyone stared down at Liz, and she felt utterly alone in the middle of their ring. Then Jessica spoke up.
"Someone has to go tell McGonagall. Liz, take someone and go there now."
"I'll go," John volunteered before Rachel or Michael could. He raced off, and Liz followed after him, through the castle doors and through a maze of halls, up and down corridors, all the way to McGonagall's office. John knocked before Liz caught up with him.
"Enter," came their headmistress's voice. The door opened of its own accord. "Yes? What is it?"
"Allison Kennedy is gone," Liz said. "She was there one minute and gone the next."
"Where?" McGonagall inquired sharply.
"Outside. We were having a snowball fight," John piped up.
McGonagall rushed past them toward the site of this latest tragedy, and they followed. The rest of the students were searching and yelling, "Allison! Where are you?" at the top of their lungs.
McGonagall made some quick questions and dashed inside. A few minutes later, she came back out with some of the teachers, and they told the students that they would take it from there. Many of the students looked on fearfully.
"Oh, don't worry," Professor Garb said. "I'll find them. Don't mind your silly little heads about it." And he set off, leaving the students all feeling very patronized. Liz sat and breathed. Somehow, some way, this was going to end up having to do with her.
Two days before Christmas, the students who were going to return home for the holidays departed for the Hogwarts Express. Nearly everyone left; now there had been four disappearances and no one wanted to be the next victim. The students who were staying waved goodbye as they sleds pulled away.
"Happy Christmas!" Michael and Rachel shouted from their sled.
"Happy Christmas!" Liz called back, waving.
Liz was glad she was staying for Christmas. For one, if she went home, Emma would make sure her holidays were ruined. And also, she would miss the Christmas decorations and the magnificent Hogwarts Christmas feast.
On Christmas morning, the sun awoke before Liz did. Liz stretched and hopped out of bed. Outside, it was a cold clear morning. But inside, there were—
"Presents!" Liz said loudly, for there was no one in her dorm to wake. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had sent her a book full of very interesting facts to read, along with a note. Both had come with her owl, Luna, supposedly when Liz sent their presents. The note was merry and kind, but the last full sentence was, "Emma has offered to put the letter in the envelope and attach it to your bird." And down at the bottom there was one word: "FREAK." Liz tore off the bottom and threw it away.
Rachel had sent a large bag of candy, the best present from or for an eleven-year old. Michael had sent a large book of spells that had once belonged to his mother. And Chris had sent up a harmonica that could be played regularly or could play on its own.
Liz was about to rip into Rachel's tasty Christmas present when the snowy owl that usually came bearing a letter with her mother's signature appeared at the window. It did not have a letter, but a large box. As Liz hurried to unlatch and open the window, it struggled and dipped down below her windowsill. She reached out her hands into the frigid air and brought it inside.
It hooted and shook its leg, desperate to free itself from the box. Liz quickly unhooked it and let the owl fly free. Then the box shook. Liz jumped back, startled. What kind of present was this? It had little holes punctured in one side and a low rumbling emanated from it. Gingerly, Liz opened it. Out crawled a tiny orange kitten with a paper in its mouth.
"Aww!" Liz said, scooping up the baby kitten in one hand. "I think I'll name you...Sunny."
"Mew," the kitten replied, nuzzling her neck. Liz grinned and opened the letter.
Dear Elizabeth,
Happy Christmas! I've got to go now. I'm sorry this was such a short letter.
Love,
Luna
Liz closed her eyes and sprawled out on the floor. Sunny leapt nimbly onto her back and curled up there, purring. Luna, her owl, perched on top of a Christmas tree that Liz and Rachel had set up before the holidays. The tiny owl looked just like a Christmas star. Liz sighed happily and got up, unsettling her new kitten. "You stay here." The kitten crawled back into the box and began crunching at something. Liz peered in to see cat food scattered everywhere in the box. "Smart, Mum," she said. "Come on, Luna, I bet you need some food too."
After depositing Luna in the Owlery for her own Christmas feast, Liz headed to the Great Hall. Only two other first-years had stayed: John Peterson and David Hannigan of Hufflepuff. There were also a couple of third-years and a fifth-year.
"Welcome!" Professor McGonagall said joyously. "Happy Christmas to you all!"
"Liz!" a voice called from the High Table. It was Chris; he had been sitting next to Hagrid. Now he came down and greeted her. "Happy Christmas! Did you get my present?"
"Yes, thank you so much. Did you get mine?"
He nodded. Liz had gotten him a bag of candy.
"Come on, eat down here with me."
The two of them joined the others, who had all gathered around to a single table. They exchanged Christmas crackers after breakfast, and after that, they all went their separate ways.
Liz and Chris went outside and had a snowball fight (without snow forts; Liz had become very wary of snow forts since Allison's disappearance). After that, Chris dared Liz to go into the Forbidden Forest with him.
"What?" Liz cried. "That's too dangerous!"
"Aw, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. Hagrid goes in there all the time."
"But Hagrid's a—" Liz started to say giant, but then she remembered reading that it was considered an insult. So she said, "He's an adult."
"I went with him once."
"You did?"
"Yeah, it's not all that bad. Come on."
"Oh, fine."
They got as far as the first tree before Liz began to chicken out again. "Let's go back. I'm, uh, hungry."
"We can find things to eat in the forest," Chris said. "Two types of trees in here have edible leaves that grow all year long: Alihotsy and chirb trees. The Alihotsy leaves will make you feel really hysterical, so we better find a chirb tree." And he plunged deeper into the forest. Liz trailed hopelessly behind him.
"Look! I think this is one," he said after a few minutes. He jumped up and grabbed a handful of leaves, then offered one to Liz. "Here. They're really sweet."
Liz took a bite. "Gross! Disgusting! I thought you said they were sweet! That is nasty!"
Chris looked at one of the leaves, and then up at Liz, who was beginning to feel slightly panicked. "What?! What?! WHAT?!"
"Alihotsy," Chris said quietly.
"You mean I ate the leaves that make you hysterical?" Liz screeched. Chris nodded.
"I am so sorry," he apologized. "I thought it was a chirb tree! Honestly!"
"You did? Well, IT WASN'T! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I ate an Alihotsy leaf!"
"I know how to make the antidote. We need a glumbumble."
"A WHAT?" Liz shouted at him.
"A furry little insect. Don't worry, there are plenty in here."
So they searched for a glumbumble. Liz looked under every rock in the forest. In doing so, she got so hysterically frustrated that she threw down a rock right on her big toe. Hopping around and screeching, she angrily kicked a tree, which didn't improve matters. Chris found her jumping up and down on one foot, shouting hysterically at a tree with a small indentation on its side.
"I found one."
"Do I have to eat a bug?" she shrieked.
"No. Hang on."
Chris took out a long, thin container of water and a small cup, and he squeezed some of the water into it. "Hold this," he said, handing the tube to Liz, who was surprised to feel that it was warm in the cold winter air. Chris then took the glumbumble and wrung it over the water. It writhed in his hands for a moment, and then it released a blue fluid into the cup. When Chris released it, it scuttled off, looking none the worse for wear. Chris put a lid on the cup, shook it, removed the lid, and handed the cup to Liz. "Drink it," he told her.
Liz shuddered, pinched her nose, and practically inhaled it. It was twice as bitter as the Alihotsy leaf, but it calmed her down. She looked up at Chris. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Chris said. "If I hadn't thought the Alihotsy tree was a chirb tree, it wouldn't have happened at all."
"Can we please leave now?" Liz requested.
They trudged through the snow-covered forest until they could see Hagrid's cabin. "I've got to see if Hagrid needs anything," Chris said. "But I'll be down at the Christmas supper later. See you."
"Bye!" Liz said, waving. Then she made her way back up to the castle.
Chapter 8 - Snow and Glumbumbles
December arrived, and with it came winter. Their first now was the second week of the month, and every day thereafter was a paradise of the fragile white flakes. Even though homework was piling up, so was the snow, and all the students found excuses to leave assignments behind in favor of having snowball fights, building snowmen, and making snow angels.
On one such day, Rachel and Michael persuaded Liz to leave her homework for a few hours to come out and enjoy the snow. They all bundled up warmly and headed outside. Most of the students had already gotten the idea and were playing in the snow. Michael spotted some first- and second-year Gryffindors working on building snow forts for a snowball fight, first- years against second-years.
"Can we play?" Rachel asked the first-years crowded in the unfinished fort. Bettie Hess, bundled in shawls and scarves, nodded, so they climbed in as John Peterson and Keith Dircks finished building the fort.
"Attack!" came the cry from the opposing fort, and a shower of snowballs rained down upon them. Desiree squealed and shook the snow out of her air. Michael scooped up some snow, rolled it into a ball, and pelted it at the second-years. The others followed suit, and soon the whole thing had turned into an all-out onslaught. Several people took shelter in the fort, only to be buried chest-deep.
Liz launched a snowball at one of the enemies, only to get one in return, full in the face. Stooping, she gathered up more and threw it as hard as she could. It landed, not on a second-year, but smack on top of Jessica Weasley's head. She had been approaching with some third-year and fourth- year Gryffindors.
"We were going to ask if we could play, but I think it's been decided for us," she spluttered.
"We get fourth-years!" Michael shouted.
So the fourth-year Gryffindors joined them with quick introductions. There were Shannon Wainscott, Brandon Cree, Allison Kennedy, Rodney McCormick, and Karen Duyff. As each one introduced his or herself, they made snowballs and piled them up as an inventory. Each person took two.
"Go!" Michael yelled, and they all launched their snowy weapons. The second- and third-years then launched their counterattack. Next to Liz, Rachel caught a mouthful. Michael lunged over the fort wall, snowballs in tow, and began pelting his sister. She shrieked and launched her own attack at him.
"Ow!" Allison Kennedy cried as three snowballs hit her in the face at once. "I'm going to go take shelter in the fort," she told Liz, who was busy assisting her team in victory, however small her part was.
On sudden inspiration, she whipped out her wand, aimed at the enemy fort, and said, "Inflamaria!" A spark shot from her wand and burned a hole in the wall before the melting snow extinguished it. This she repeated until she had reduced the fort into a pile of snow no bigger than her foot. Then she moved on to their stock of snowballs.
When some of the opposing team noticed that their fort had ceased to exist, they began to yell, "Retreat! RETREAT!" Liz's team made sounds like war cries and chased after them. Liz began to follow, but something caught her eye almost out of her range of vision. She turned. It had been in the direction of the snow fort. Liz neared it with caution. Was Allison in there? She had to be; Liz had been near it ever since she had gone to rest. "Allison?" she asked cautiously. "Are you all right?"
No reply came. Liz inched closer and peered inside. Allison was gone. Vanished in a puff of smoke. Or rather, a flash of light. Liz backed up, trying to breathe. "Help. Help. Help! HELP!"
Both teams halted and turned back. "What?" Michael said. "What is it?"
"Allison," Liz choked. "She's gone."
"Gone?" Shannon said. "Gone where?"
"Gone. Vanished. Disappeared."
"She...where was she?"
"Right here!" Liz said. Wasn't that obvious? "She said she was coming to take shelter and she vanished."
"That can't be true," Brandon cried out.
"You don't believe me?" Liz said bitterly. It was a tense moment in which everyone stared down at Liz, and she felt utterly alone in the middle of their ring. Then Jessica spoke up.
"Someone has to go tell McGonagall. Liz, take someone and go there now."
"I'll go," John volunteered before Rachel or Michael could. He raced off, and Liz followed after him, through the castle doors and through a maze of halls, up and down corridors, all the way to McGonagall's office. John knocked before Liz caught up with him.
"Enter," came their headmistress's voice. The door opened of its own accord. "Yes? What is it?"
"Allison Kennedy is gone," Liz said. "She was there one minute and gone the next."
"Where?" McGonagall inquired sharply.
"Outside. We were having a snowball fight," John piped up.
McGonagall rushed past them toward the site of this latest tragedy, and they followed. The rest of the students were searching and yelling, "Allison! Where are you?" at the top of their lungs.
McGonagall made some quick questions and dashed inside. A few minutes later, she came back out with some of the teachers, and they told the students that they would take it from there. Many of the students looked on fearfully.
"Oh, don't worry," Professor Garb said. "I'll find them. Don't mind your silly little heads about it." And he set off, leaving the students all feeling very patronized. Liz sat and breathed. Somehow, some way, this was going to end up having to do with her.
Two days before Christmas, the students who were going to return home for the holidays departed for the Hogwarts Express. Nearly everyone left; now there had been four disappearances and no one wanted to be the next victim. The students who were staying waved goodbye as they sleds pulled away.
"Happy Christmas!" Michael and Rachel shouted from their sled.
"Happy Christmas!" Liz called back, waving.
Liz was glad she was staying for Christmas. For one, if she went home, Emma would make sure her holidays were ruined. And also, she would miss the Christmas decorations and the magnificent Hogwarts Christmas feast.
On Christmas morning, the sun awoke before Liz did. Liz stretched and hopped out of bed. Outside, it was a cold clear morning. But inside, there were—
"Presents!" Liz said loudly, for there was no one in her dorm to wake. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had sent her a book full of very interesting facts to read, along with a note. Both had come with her owl, Luna, supposedly when Liz sent their presents. The note was merry and kind, but the last full sentence was, "Emma has offered to put the letter in the envelope and attach it to your bird." And down at the bottom there was one word: "FREAK." Liz tore off the bottom and threw it away.
Rachel had sent a large bag of candy, the best present from or for an eleven-year old. Michael had sent a large book of spells that had once belonged to his mother. And Chris had sent up a harmonica that could be played regularly or could play on its own.
Liz was about to rip into Rachel's tasty Christmas present when the snowy owl that usually came bearing a letter with her mother's signature appeared at the window. It did not have a letter, but a large box. As Liz hurried to unlatch and open the window, it struggled and dipped down below her windowsill. She reached out her hands into the frigid air and brought it inside.
It hooted and shook its leg, desperate to free itself from the box. Liz quickly unhooked it and let the owl fly free. Then the box shook. Liz jumped back, startled. What kind of present was this? It had little holes punctured in one side and a low rumbling emanated from it. Gingerly, Liz opened it. Out crawled a tiny orange kitten with a paper in its mouth.
"Aww!" Liz said, scooping up the baby kitten in one hand. "I think I'll name you...Sunny."
"Mew," the kitten replied, nuzzling her neck. Liz grinned and opened the letter.
Dear Elizabeth,
Happy Christmas! I've got to go now. I'm sorry this was such a short letter.
Love,
Luna
Liz closed her eyes and sprawled out on the floor. Sunny leapt nimbly onto her back and curled up there, purring. Luna, her owl, perched on top of a Christmas tree that Liz and Rachel had set up before the holidays. The tiny owl looked just like a Christmas star. Liz sighed happily and got up, unsettling her new kitten. "You stay here." The kitten crawled back into the box and began crunching at something. Liz peered in to see cat food scattered everywhere in the box. "Smart, Mum," she said. "Come on, Luna, I bet you need some food too."
After depositing Luna in the Owlery for her own Christmas feast, Liz headed to the Great Hall. Only two other first-years had stayed: John Peterson and David Hannigan of Hufflepuff. There were also a couple of third-years and a fifth-year.
"Welcome!" Professor McGonagall said joyously. "Happy Christmas to you all!"
"Liz!" a voice called from the High Table. It was Chris; he had been sitting next to Hagrid. Now he came down and greeted her. "Happy Christmas! Did you get my present?"
"Yes, thank you so much. Did you get mine?"
He nodded. Liz had gotten him a bag of candy.
"Come on, eat down here with me."
The two of them joined the others, who had all gathered around to a single table. They exchanged Christmas crackers after breakfast, and after that, they all went their separate ways.
Liz and Chris went outside and had a snowball fight (without snow forts; Liz had become very wary of snow forts since Allison's disappearance). After that, Chris dared Liz to go into the Forbidden Forest with him.
"What?" Liz cried. "That's too dangerous!"
"Aw, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. Hagrid goes in there all the time."
"But Hagrid's a—" Liz started to say giant, but then she remembered reading that it was considered an insult. So she said, "He's an adult."
"I went with him once."
"You did?"
"Yeah, it's not all that bad. Come on."
"Oh, fine."
They got as far as the first tree before Liz began to chicken out again. "Let's go back. I'm, uh, hungry."
"We can find things to eat in the forest," Chris said. "Two types of trees in here have edible leaves that grow all year long: Alihotsy and chirb trees. The Alihotsy leaves will make you feel really hysterical, so we better find a chirb tree." And he plunged deeper into the forest. Liz trailed hopelessly behind him.
"Look! I think this is one," he said after a few minutes. He jumped up and grabbed a handful of leaves, then offered one to Liz. "Here. They're really sweet."
Liz took a bite. "Gross! Disgusting! I thought you said they were sweet! That is nasty!"
Chris looked at one of the leaves, and then up at Liz, who was beginning to feel slightly panicked. "What?! What?! WHAT?!"
"Alihotsy," Chris said quietly.
"You mean I ate the leaves that make you hysterical?" Liz screeched. Chris nodded.
"I am so sorry," he apologized. "I thought it was a chirb tree! Honestly!"
"You did? Well, IT WASN'T! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I ate an Alihotsy leaf!"
"I know how to make the antidote. We need a glumbumble."
"A WHAT?" Liz shouted at him.
"A furry little insect. Don't worry, there are plenty in here."
So they searched for a glumbumble. Liz looked under every rock in the forest. In doing so, she got so hysterically frustrated that she threw down a rock right on her big toe. Hopping around and screeching, she angrily kicked a tree, which didn't improve matters. Chris found her jumping up and down on one foot, shouting hysterically at a tree with a small indentation on its side.
"I found one."
"Do I have to eat a bug?" she shrieked.
"No. Hang on."
Chris took out a long, thin container of water and a small cup, and he squeezed some of the water into it. "Hold this," he said, handing the tube to Liz, who was surprised to feel that it was warm in the cold winter air. Chris then took the glumbumble and wrung it over the water. It writhed in his hands for a moment, and then it released a blue fluid into the cup. When Chris released it, it scuttled off, looking none the worse for wear. Chris put a lid on the cup, shook it, removed the lid, and handed the cup to Liz. "Drink it," he told her.
Liz shuddered, pinched her nose, and practically inhaled it. It was twice as bitter as the Alihotsy leaf, but it calmed her down. She looked up at Chris. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Chris said. "If I hadn't thought the Alihotsy tree was a chirb tree, it wouldn't have happened at all."
"Can we please leave now?" Liz requested.
They trudged through the snow-covered forest until they could see Hagrid's cabin. "I've got to see if Hagrid needs anything," Chris said. "But I'll be down at the Christmas supper later. See you."
"Bye!" Liz said, waving. Then she made her way back up to the castle.