Chapter 12 – Secrets in Print
"Exams. I positively hate exams," Rachel said on their way to the Potions exam.
"Wouldn't that be negatively?" Michael said offhandedly.
Students streamed in packs around them, quizzing each other and saying how their parents would go mad if they did badly. Liz annoyed Rachel and Michael by saying how disappointed she'd be if she got anything wrong.
"Which we know you won't, of course," Michael teased. "You never get anything less than perfect."
"Yes, I do. On that first Potions written exam I got that one question wrong—"
"Oh, one question! How horrible!" Rachel said. Seeing the look on Liz's face, she hastily added, "You know I'm just joking. Here we are."
Liz peered despairingly in. Snape was at the very front of the classroom, looking delighted at the prospect of failing so many students at once. He spotted Liz. "Come in, Miss Potter, and take your exam." His voice challenged her to do well, all for a grade she was bound not to get anyway.
"Calm down, it'll be fine, it's our last exam, relax," Rachel hissed through gritted teeth. "Don't worry, you'll do great."
In Liz's opinion, the exam could have gone worse. Granted, Winnie still took her opportunity for revenge and spilled Liz's Anti-Boil Solution on Thomas Needham, but he had just inadvertently covered himself in boils, so they healed and Liz was proved correct. Snape merely sniffed pretentiously at her potion, meaning he couldn't find anything to degrade, belittle, or criticize. Liz left the room feeling very triumphant. The others, though, weren't so quick to rejoice at the end of exams.
"We were supposed to be making an Anti-Boil Solution?" was Thomas Needham's view of it.
"I'm sure he got an A," Rachel said sarcastically. "What color were they supposed to be?"
"Purple," Liz and Michael chorused.
"Do you think brown counts?"
Michael laughed and shook his head.
They got to the Great hall. All around people were reading Secrets of the Mind. To Liz's dismay, Rachel and Michael took out their books (they had bought their own copies) and began to read too.
"What are you doing?" Liz hissed at them.
"Reading," they answered automatically.
"I can see that, but why? You've already read it three hundred billion times!"
"Makes it three hundred billion and one," said Michael.
Liz turned around and crossed her arms. This was out of control. What was going on with these books?
A head of light brown bobbed toward Liz in the sea of bent necks. It was Nora. "Liz! Liz! Matthew finally lent me the book! I can read it! You want to read it after me?"
"Fine," said Liz. Then she could finally see what all the fuss was about.
Nora sat down at the Gryffindor table. Over a hundred eyes shifted toward her warily and then back to their books. Nora cracked open the front cover and began to read. Liz watched her carefully.
A strange change was taking place on Nora. Her eyes seemed to be revolving in their sockets. They changed colors, and her pupils disappeared and reappeared many times. Her body stiffened and relaxed. Her head dropped onto her chest.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Nora's head snapped up, and she held out the book to Liz. "Here, your turn."
Liz's eyes widened. "N-no, I don't think so. Maybe later, s-sometime." She got up and walked away.
What had happened? The books were turning people bad? Liz suddenly remembered the letter Luna had sent her early in the year about a magazine that made everyone go insane. Maybe this was something like it. Maybe they were being—hypnotized!
What could she do? She would follow Nora. Whoever was doing this might make her do something, and Liz needed to be there to stop it. She could bring Michael and Rachel—but no, they were hypnotized too! Was she the only one not taken over by the book? Liz glanced at the rows of students, all reading. Yes, she was.
Nora got up to leave the Great Hall, and Liz followed surreptitiously. Her cousin disappeared behind a statue that moved aside when she said, "Bananas," so Liz supposed that was the entrance to the Hufflepuff House. Liz hid behind a nearby pillar and waited.
She found she had dozed off when she awoke to a grating sound. The statue was moving again. Nora emerged, followed by the rest of the Hufflepuffs. Liz was strongly reminded of her dream about everyone leaving Gryffindor Tower...maybe it hadn't been a dream. It had been real. Liz shouldered this knowledge, swallowed her courage, and followed the hypnotized Hufflepuffs.
This took her all the way to the great Hall. Up near the High Table were two figures. One was Professor Nilworg, a malicious grin lining her face. The other had a hood on, so Liz couldn't see his or her face, but she thought she had a pretty good idea who it was.
The students all took their seats at the respective tables, as though for dinner. Liz nervously sat behind Michael. At the exact same moment, every head snapped toward the hooded figure.
A thrill of dread raced down Liz's spine. She was now absolutely sure of whom it was. Her instincts proved correct when the figure threw back his hood to reveal...the Dragon.
"They have come," he whispered. Those three words crept down Liz's back, chilling her to the bone. "My goal is finally about to be realized. I will master Hogwarts!"
Professor Nilworg cackled next to him.
The Dragon began issuing orders for groups of students to go subdue the teachers. "You there," he shouted, pointing to the students around and next to Liz, "take on the giant and the Squib." And he moved on to others.
Rachel and Michael stood, and Liz hastened to follow. As she passed the Dragon, he laughed. "You thought you could defeat me. I am now in control of you." Liz determinedly didn't look at him. "Go."
Liz followed her classmates out the doors and onto the grounds, all the while thinking quickly. If she made a run for the cabin to get to Hagrid and Chris first to warn them of the approaching danger, would her friends come after her instead? They might, and they might not. Liz considered it for only a moment more, and then she broke ranks and ran for it, not looking back.
After a minute of harder running than Liz had ever ran in her life, Liz chanced a glance back. No one seemed to have noticed that she wasn't with the horde of zombie-like students anymore. Liz rested, her hands on her knees, breathing hard. She rarely ran, and she wasn't sure she could make it. But she had to try.
She put on a burst of speed and took off. Somehow, she managed to reach Hagrid's door. "Hagrid!" she panted. "Open up! Let me in! HAGRID!"
The door swung open. "What's the matter?" Hagrid asked.
"There's...there's people...they're coming...to get you...you've got to...got to hide or something," Liz gasped desperately.
"Liz, what are you doing here?" said Chris appearing in the doorway from the kitchen.
"Maybe yeh need ter sit down," Hagrid suggested.
"No!" Liz cried in protest. "No, you've got to get out of here, they're coming for you..."
"Who's coming?"
"The students...they're hypnotized...we've got to leave! It's the Dragon and Professor Nilworg, they're in this together, he's trying to take over Hogwarts—"
"Calm down, tell us the whole story, Liz," Chris said.
"There's no time!" Liz yelled. "They'll be here any minute now!"
Hagrid's face paled. "The Dragon?"
"We don't have time to go anywhere, and we don't have anywhere to go," said Chris. "Can we barricade the door?"
"How many of them are there?" Hagrid asked.
"The first- and second-year Gryffindors, so about twenty," said Liz. "Minus me."
"We c'n do it," said Hagrid. "Wait, scratch that. I c'n do it. You two go in the back an' take cover. Go!"
"Hagrid, we—"
"Don' do that ter me, Chris! Take Liz and hide, just in case I can' hold 'em off."
Chris stood firmly for a moment, and then dropped his stance. "Come on, Liz."
"No, I don't want to leave Hagrid by himself."
"Go on—oomph," Hagrid grunted as a jolt shook the house down to its very foundation. "I'll hold 'em."
Chris grabbed Liz by the arm and pulled her to the kitchen. "Liz, I brewed a Snap potion all by myself."
"Chris, this really isn't the time—"
"No, don't you see? We can use it on someone to un-hypnotize them!"
"Chris, you're right, I—"
Just then, another jolt rocked the cabin. Following it was a thud and a dull moan from Hagrid. Liz clamped herself to the wall as the door was flung open.
"Exams. I positively hate exams," Rachel said on their way to the Potions exam.
"Wouldn't that be negatively?" Michael said offhandedly.
Students streamed in packs around them, quizzing each other and saying how their parents would go mad if they did badly. Liz annoyed Rachel and Michael by saying how disappointed she'd be if she got anything wrong.
"Which we know you won't, of course," Michael teased. "You never get anything less than perfect."
"Yes, I do. On that first Potions written exam I got that one question wrong—"
"Oh, one question! How horrible!" Rachel said. Seeing the look on Liz's face, she hastily added, "You know I'm just joking. Here we are."
Liz peered despairingly in. Snape was at the very front of the classroom, looking delighted at the prospect of failing so many students at once. He spotted Liz. "Come in, Miss Potter, and take your exam." His voice challenged her to do well, all for a grade she was bound not to get anyway.
"Calm down, it'll be fine, it's our last exam, relax," Rachel hissed through gritted teeth. "Don't worry, you'll do great."
In Liz's opinion, the exam could have gone worse. Granted, Winnie still took her opportunity for revenge and spilled Liz's Anti-Boil Solution on Thomas Needham, but he had just inadvertently covered himself in boils, so they healed and Liz was proved correct. Snape merely sniffed pretentiously at her potion, meaning he couldn't find anything to degrade, belittle, or criticize. Liz left the room feeling very triumphant. The others, though, weren't so quick to rejoice at the end of exams.
"We were supposed to be making an Anti-Boil Solution?" was Thomas Needham's view of it.
"I'm sure he got an A," Rachel said sarcastically. "What color were they supposed to be?"
"Purple," Liz and Michael chorused.
"Do you think brown counts?"
Michael laughed and shook his head.
They got to the Great hall. All around people were reading Secrets of the Mind. To Liz's dismay, Rachel and Michael took out their books (they had bought their own copies) and began to read too.
"What are you doing?" Liz hissed at them.
"Reading," they answered automatically.
"I can see that, but why? You've already read it three hundred billion times!"
"Makes it three hundred billion and one," said Michael.
Liz turned around and crossed her arms. This was out of control. What was going on with these books?
A head of light brown bobbed toward Liz in the sea of bent necks. It was Nora. "Liz! Liz! Matthew finally lent me the book! I can read it! You want to read it after me?"
"Fine," said Liz. Then she could finally see what all the fuss was about.
Nora sat down at the Gryffindor table. Over a hundred eyes shifted toward her warily and then back to their books. Nora cracked open the front cover and began to read. Liz watched her carefully.
A strange change was taking place on Nora. Her eyes seemed to be revolving in their sockets. They changed colors, and her pupils disappeared and reappeared many times. Her body stiffened and relaxed. Her head dropped onto her chest.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Nora's head snapped up, and she held out the book to Liz. "Here, your turn."
Liz's eyes widened. "N-no, I don't think so. Maybe later, s-sometime." She got up and walked away.
What had happened? The books were turning people bad? Liz suddenly remembered the letter Luna had sent her early in the year about a magazine that made everyone go insane. Maybe this was something like it. Maybe they were being—hypnotized!
What could she do? She would follow Nora. Whoever was doing this might make her do something, and Liz needed to be there to stop it. She could bring Michael and Rachel—but no, they were hypnotized too! Was she the only one not taken over by the book? Liz glanced at the rows of students, all reading. Yes, she was.
Nora got up to leave the Great Hall, and Liz followed surreptitiously. Her cousin disappeared behind a statue that moved aside when she said, "Bananas," so Liz supposed that was the entrance to the Hufflepuff House. Liz hid behind a nearby pillar and waited.
She found she had dozed off when she awoke to a grating sound. The statue was moving again. Nora emerged, followed by the rest of the Hufflepuffs. Liz was strongly reminded of her dream about everyone leaving Gryffindor Tower...maybe it hadn't been a dream. It had been real. Liz shouldered this knowledge, swallowed her courage, and followed the hypnotized Hufflepuffs.
This took her all the way to the great Hall. Up near the High Table were two figures. One was Professor Nilworg, a malicious grin lining her face. The other had a hood on, so Liz couldn't see his or her face, but she thought she had a pretty good idea who it was.
The students all took their seats at the respective tables, as though for dinner. Liz nervously sat behind Michael. At the exact same moment, every head snapped toward the hooded figure.
A thrill of dread raced down Liz's spine. She was now absolutely sure of whom it was. Her instincts proved correct when the figure threw back his hood to reveal...the Dragon.
"They have come," he whispered. Those three words crept down Liz's back, chilling her to the bone. "My goal is finally about to be realized. I will master Hogwarts!"
Professor Nilworg cackled next to him.
The Dragon began issuing orders for groups of students to go subdue the teachers. "You there," he shouted, pointing to the students around and next to Liz, "take on the giant and the Squib." And he moved on to others.
Rachel and Michael stood, and Liz hastened to follow. As she passed the Dragon, he laughed. "You thought you could defeat me. I am now in control of you." Liz determinedly didn't look at him. "Go."
Liz followed her classmates out the doors and onto the grounds, all the while thinking quickly. If she made a run for the cabin to get to Hagrid and Chris first to warn them of the approaching danger, would her friends come after her instead? They might, and they might not. Liz considered it for only a moment more, and then she broke ranks and ran for it, not looking back.
After a minute of harder running than Liz had ever ran in her life, Liz chanced a glance back. No one seemed to have noticed that she wasn't with the horde of zombie-like students anymore. Liz rested, her hands on her knees, breathing hard. She rarely ran, and she wasn't sure she could make it. But she had to try.
She put on a burst of speed and took off. Somehow, she managed to reach Hagrid's door. "Hagrid!" she panted. "Open up! Let me in! HAGRID!"
The door swung open. "What's the matter?" Hagrid asked.
"There's...there's people...they're coming...to get you...you've got to...got to hide or something," Liz gasped desperately.
"Liz, what are you doing here?" said Chris appearing in the doorway from the kitchen.
"Maybe yeh need ter sit down," Hagrid suggested.
"No!" Liz cried in protest. "No, you've got to get out of here, they're coming for you..."
"Who's coming?"
"The students...they're hypnotized...we've got to leave! It's the Dragon and Professor Nilworg, they're in this together, he's trying to take over Hogwarts—"
"Calm down, tell us the whole story, Liz," Chris said.
"There's no time!" Liz yelled. "They'll be here any minute now!"
Hagrid's face paled. "The Dragon?"
"We don't have time to go anywhere, and we don't have anywhere to go," said Chris. "Can we barricade the door?"
"How many of them are there?" Hagrid asked.
"The first- and second-year Gryffindors, so about twenty," said Liz. "Minus me."
"We c'n do it," said Hagrid. "Wait, scratch that. I c'n do it. You two go in the back an' take cover. Go!"
"Hagrid, we—"
"Don' do that ter me, Chris! Take Liz and hide, just in case I can' hold 'em off."
Chris stood firmly for a moment, and then dropped his stance. "Come on, Liz."
"No, I don't want to leave Hagrid by himself."
"Go on—oomph," Hagrid grunted as a jolt shook the house down to its very foundation. "I'll hold 'em."
Chris grabbed Liz by the arm and pulled her to the kitchen. "Liz, I brewed a Snap potion all by myself."
"Chris, this really isn't the time—"
"No, don't you see? We can use it on someone to un-hypnotize them!"
"Chris, you're right, I—"
Just then, another jolt rocked the cabin. Following it was a thud and a dull moan from Hagrid. Liz clamped herself to the wall as the door was flung open.