Quest of the Seekers: Animals Within
Year Two at Hogwarts
.....
Chapter 8: Tyler's Secret Exposed
.
Tyler got back to find Regulus back from his trip and already handing Matt treats. He made his way to them through all the people almost bumping into a few on the way. He was still excited from what had just happened at the cave.
"Regulus, hey, did you bring me my new supply from Honeydukes?"
"Here you go, a fresh supply of Fizzing Whizbees, Sugar Quills and Honeydukes Chocolate. All for you Tyler."
"Thanks seeing as how I gave you the money for them."
Matt and Tyler played Exploding Snap while discussing what might Arnold show them in their next class.
"You just know that he going to start pairing us off for dueling practice. We have been learning dueling jinxes and hexes from him this whole time so it's pointless if we don't practice on each other."
"Matt, it's close to the end of the term. He might just hold off on that until after we come back from the Christmas holidays."
"Whatever, I just have a feeling about this. I just want to duel now because it seems so...ruthless."
Tyler didn't really care about the pace Professor Arnold put their class on. He still thought he was weird from all the looks he shot Tyler before.
...
However, as time went on, Professor Arnold seemed to get even weirder towards Tyler. Before when Tyler noticed, Arnold always looked at him like he was a person he couldn't remember and now he looked at Tyler with a flare behind his eyes like he was a nasty something in his path. He proved his suspicions of having something against Tyler by instructing him to only try to dodge while Matt, who had partnered with him, try to use the Force Hex on him in the middle of the classroom where all the other slytherins could see.
"Now go," Arnold instructed Matt in front of the class.
Matt raised his wand "Averte Stature!"
Tyler moved to the left and was barely able to dodge it but felt his hair wave back.
"Again Mr. Carroway," Professor Arnold shouted.
"Averte Stature!"
This time Tyler got connected in the chest with it and was rolled back and landed flat on his back. Matt gave him a sorry kind of face when Arnold asked another one to be thrown. Tyler got hit again and when he got up drew out his wand to strike back.
"Not so fast Solemn. You could be wandless when you get attacked and you'll keep getting Carroway's attacks until you dodge them five straight times like I have on certain occasions."
Tyler wanted to comment on how unfair that was but Matt had already sent another force hex, which got him to land on his bottom. He tapped into his seeker reflexes and started to dodge Matt's spells until it was five straight times.
After that was over Tyler felt like sending his own force hex at his dark arts professor. ' I vow on my Slytherin honor and as a member of the seekers that Arnold won't get away with this' he satisfyingly thought.
"Alright," restarted Arnold. "Now that the Force Hex has been demonstrated, I will now tell you of its weakness. As Mr. Solemn showed us" Tyler gritted his teeth at this but no one noticed, "the force hex is slower and dodge able compared to Flipendo, the Flipper Hex. Although it is more powerful, I recommend that you use it with wit and instinct on a fast target."
The bell then rang and Professor Arnold dismissed the class. Tyler cursed out loud when he was sure he was out of their teacher's earshot.
"What's wrong with Arnold?! He always made me think he was weird but now he's a plain git!"
"Yeah, he seems to hate you Tyler" smirked Matt.
"Thanks Matt, that really helps," he said with annoyed sarcasm.
"Sorry about the spells" Matt really was. "I couldn't not cast them or Arnold might've made me be on the receiving end with you."
"It's alright but you didn't have to aim so well."
Matt laughed at that which made Tyler roll his eyes.
"Come on, cheer up Tyler. Your time at Hogwarts at least couldn't get any worse than that."
...
It became late mid-December and there was a chill in the air announcing the end part of the fall and the beginning of the winter season. Tyler, Jacke, Regulus and Matt were sitting on the pitch stands watching the second match of the season: Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff. So far it was Ravenclaw 190 and Hufflepuff was at 60. Reggie and Brad were circling the field, close to each other so it would be easier to keep the other in their sights.
Tyler was torn on who, of his fellow seekers, to root for like they had been for his match with Jacke.
"Jacke, who are you rooting for?"
"To tell you the truth Tyler, I've been too busy looking for the snitch that I haven't had time to pick."
"Looking for the snitch? But we're not even playing this one."
"Force of habit," he said simply.
"Oh enough you two. Your friends went through the very same thing during you match and I don't want to be hearing that problem again." Matt was breathing a little hard from that outburst.
"They did?" said the two seekers simultaneously.
"Yeah and Regulus here straightened them out to root for the best out of you two rather than the teams you were on or the outcome. Now Tyler, Walker, could you stop talking so I could watch?!"
"Is he always this grouchy mate?" asked Jacke in a whisper he was sure Matt couldn't hear.
"Sometimes but you learn to mind it," answered Tyler. He then went to face Regulus. "I didn't know you talked to Reggie and Brad like that." 'He must be loosening up towards them' he thought afterwards.
Regulus looked at Tyler nervously. "Yeah...well they seemed like they needed it. Oh look Ravenclaw scored again," he said trying to get the attention off of him.
"Tyler thought the Ravenclaw chasers were very talented. 'Oakmire, Gansley and Crump will have their hands full when we face them after the holidays.'
The game continued for another eleven minutes until the snitch had been spotted by Brad and Reggie. They chased after it until it was clearly in Brad's hand. Phil Villar went into his usual announcing shouts.
"And...Brad Carter, the new seeker for the Hufflepuff team, has caught the snitch. However Ravenclaw still wins at 260 to 210 points!"
...
Reggie and Brad came out of the changing rooms to sit on the grounds by the tree where they all played games together with. The grounds were empty since everyone was either celebrating, talking about the last quidditch match or getting ready to go home for the holidays. Regulus and Matt went to the castle to get dinner but Tyler and Jacke weren't hungry yet. They also wanted to Brad and Reggie alone and joined them at the meeting tree. They had all worn sweaters under their cloaks because the weather had gotten a bit too cold to sit outside without freezing to death without it.
"Great catch Brad."
"Thanks Jacke."
"Ah, I just went easy on him. I would've caught that snitch sooner but I had dust blown in my eyes."
"That's funny because it looked to me that you were trying your hardest and were seeing quite fine Reggie." This earned Tyler a playful glare from Reggie. "But don't feel bad, your team still won. The chasers were incredible out there. The rest of our teams will be having a field day trying to get by them."
"Well, I do have to agree on that. Ravenclaw is going to get the cup this year."
Jacke interrupted with "You forget who won it last time."
"True but there are new lineups everywhere so don't hold your breath Jacke," added Brad. "Hufflepuff does have me now."
"But Slytherin has me." Tyler was starting to love this.
"We'll just see who is right or wrong come the end of the tournament."
Reggie's words brought an end to that topic but Jacke brought up another one.
"It's been a while when we just been together without worry about homework, quidditch, training or the school rivalries. It's the first time where the Seekers can lay back together.
"Yeah...it's very nice."
At that moment, Tyler laid flat on his back to the ground and at this the other 3 seekers followed suit. This had the be the most heart stopping event in all of Hogwarts history. Four twelve-year-old boys, each belonging to a different house just lazyingly lying on the ground enjoying each other's company. Tyler felt that time was standing still. Jack was enjoying just laying down on the ground. Brad took in the great feeling of being with the friends he had made coming into the wizarding world. Reggie thought that Tyler and Jacke may fool around a lot but sometimes they had the right idea.
A breeze started to blow over the Seekers and it made the hufflepuff seeker shiver. "Whew, it's starting to get colder. Lucky it isn't snowing today. Maybe we should head back."
"Hold on," said Jacke before they could get up. "Are you forgetting about the gryffindor member of the seekers being a fire elemental?" Jacke shrewd his eyes in concentration and extended his hands to make a string of fire surround them, which warmed the air.
"Cool, an outdoor furnace."
"What's a furnace?" asked Tyler and Jacke.
"I'll tell you later," assured Reggie.
Then Tyler could've swore he heard Chaos' hissing voice. He wondered what his snake was doing out here when he told him to be in the dormitory so he could pack him when it was time to pack to go home. He strained his ears and found that the voice wasn't that of Chaos. 'He has a deeper voice than that one' he thought. He then heard it loud enough to tell what the voice was saying.
"What's wrong? Is it spring already? I'm in the need for food then."
Tyler swung his head around to find a young coral snake. He could tell because his red bands were with his yellow ones. Tyler had looked at a book all about snakes before coming to Hogwarts to satisfy his love for snakes. He, however, was not happy to see a coral snake since he knew they were poisonous.
It was going close to Jacke's arm. However its tail end rubbed against Reggie's arm alarming him to the snake's presence.
"Jacke...take care not to move...there's a snake...next to you."
Jacke tensed at this and moved his eyes to it. "Can't you curse it or something?"
"We didn't bring our wands because of the match. Tyler? Did you?"
Tyler nodded in a no type fashion. He hadn't brought his wand. Brad was muttering something under his breath.
"Red with black, poisons be lack. Red with yellow, not a good fellow."
"What are you doing?" Jacke said with an urgent voice.
"It tells me that that snake is poisonous. It's a coral snake song I was taught in primary school in the muggle world."
"Well, that news sure helps. Now could you do something?" Jacke whimpered. He then shrewd his face in concentration again. It looked to the others that he was going to try to use his elemental powers on the snake which they should've done because it would've forced the snake back since they weren't accepted or whatever. But it became apparent that Jacke wasn't trying to use his fire powers because he then sneezed.
The snake panicked from Jacke sudden movement and it went into hysterics. It opened its mouth and bared its fangs to attack its "attacker". It moved to strike and went for Jacke and something inside Tyler snapped.
"Wait, don't!" he hissed to the snake.
The snake stopped immediately and looked at him puzzlingly. "Isn't this boy attacking me?"
"No he's just as scared of you as you are of him. Go back to your hibernation and all will be well. I'm sorry but it appears my friend's fire power woke you up and I apologize." He pointed his finger like an enforcement official at the ground near the snake.
The snake slid right into the hole and Tyler breathed out a sigh of relief at the thought of talking sense into the snake. Just then Tyler's head dawned an expression to match his feelings perfectly. He had just realized that he had spoken parseltongue, in public, in front of his friends.
He slowly looked to his friends and felt his stomach drop when he did. Brad looked like Tyler had fallen from the sky and seemed to be frozen in shock. Reggie looked at him with hesitation like he didn't want to look at him but couldn't help it. Then Tyler looked toward Jacke and it was his expression that made his insides freeze up. Jacke's jaw was quivering and he had a mixture of fear and shock in his eyes. Tyler quickly got up from the ground and ran. He ran from them, from his friends, from the first people Tyler connected with and ran full force to his common room leaving the three other seekers speechless on what they learned of their friend and fellow seeker.
...
End of Chapter 8
.
Author Notes:
There you have it for chapter eight. What exactly is up with Professor Arnold anyway? Tyler's secret has been exposed to his friends. What will happen now? Is this the end of Tyler's life? Will this be the end of his family? The end of his time at Hogwarts? THE end of the Seekers? THE END of his friendship with Jacke, Reggie and Brad?...Only time will tell. Give me your reviews and make it a lot and I won't keep you all in suspense for so long. No reviews and you'll have to suffer. Ha, Ha, Ha, I'm getting so evil now.
Year Two at Hogwarts
.....
Chapter 8: Tyler's Secret Exposed
.
Tyler got back to find Regulus back from his trip and already handing Matt treats. He made his way to them through all the people almost bumping into a few on the way. He was still excited from what had just happened at the cave.
"Regulus, hey, did you bring me my new supply from Honeydukes?"
"Here you go, a fresh supply of Fizzing Whizbees, Sugar Quills and Honeydukes Chocolate. All for you Tyler."
"Thanks seeing as how I gave you the money for them."
Matt and Tyler played Exploding Snap while discussing what might Arnold show them in their next class.
"You just know that he going to start pairing us off for dueling practice. We have been learning dueling jinxes and hexes from him this whole time so it's pointless if we don't practice on each other."
"Matt, it's close to the end of the term. He might just hold off on that until after we come back from the Christmas holidays."
"Whatever, I just have a feeling about this. I just want to duel now because it seems so...ruthless."
Tyler didn't really care about the pace Professor Arnold put their class on. He still thought he was weird from all the looks he shot Tyler before.
...
However, as time went on, Professor Arnold seemed to get even weirder towards Tyler. Before when Tyler noticed, Arnold always looked at him like he was a person he couldn't remember and now he looked at Tyler with a flare behind his eyes like he was a nasty something in his path. He proved his suspicions of having something against Tyler by instructing him to only try to dodge while Matt, who had partnered with him, try to use the Force Hex on him in the middle of the classroom where all the other slytherins could see.
"Now go," Arnold instructed Matt in front of the class.
Matt raised his wand "Averte Stature!"
Tyler moved to the left and was barely able to dodge it but felt his hair wave back.
"Again Mr. Carroway," Professor Arnold shouted.
"Averte Stature!"
This time Tyler got connected in the chest with it and was rolled back and landed flat on his back. Matt gave him a sorry kind of face when Arnold asked another one to be thrown. Tyler got hit again and when he got up drew out his wand to strike back.
"Not so fast Solemn. You could be wandless when you get attacked and you'll keep getting Carroway's attacks until you dodge them five straight times like I have on certain occasions."
Tyler wanted to comment on how unfair that was but Matt had already sent another force hex, which got him to land on his bottom. He tapped into his seeker reflexes and started to dodge Matt's spells until it was five straight times.
After that was over Tyler felt like sending his own force hex at his dark arts professor. ' I vow on my Slytherin honor and as a member of the seekers that Arnold won't get away with this' he satisfyingly thought.
"Alright," restarted Arnold. "Now that the Force Hex has been demonstrated, I will now tell you of its weakness. As Mr. Solemn showed us" Tyler gritted his teeth at this but no one noticed, "the force hex is slower and dodge able compared to Flipendo, the Flipper Hex. Although it is more powerful, I recommend that you use it with wit and instinct on a fast target."
The bell then rang and Professor Arnold dismissed the class. Tyler cursed out loud when he was sure he was out of their teacher's earshot.
"What's wrong with Arnold?! He always made me think he was weird but now he's a plain git!"
"Yeah, he seems to hate you Tyler" smirked Matt.
"Thanks Matt, that really helps," he said with annoyed sarcasm.
"Sorry about the spells" Matt really was. "I couldn't not cast them or Arnold might've made me be on the receiving end with you."
"It's alright but you didn't have to aim so well."
Matt laughed at that which made Tyler roll his eyes.
"Come on, cheer up Tyler. Your time at Hogwarts at least couldn't get any worse than that."
...
It became late mid-December and there was a chill in the air announcing the end part of the fall and the beginning of the winter season. Tyler, Jacke, Regulus and Matt were sitting on the pitch stands watching the second match of the season: Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff. So far it was Ravenclaw 190 and Hufflepuff was at 60. Reggie and Brad were circling the field, close to each other so it would be easier to keep the other in their sights.
Tyler was torn on who, of his fellow seekers, to root for like they had been for his match with Jacke.
"Jacke, who are you rooting for?"
"To tell you the truth Tyler, I've been too busy looking for the snitch that I haven't had time to pick."
"Looking for the snitch? But we're not even playing this one."
"Force of habit," he said simply.
"Oh enough you two. Your friends went through the very same thing during you match and I don't want to be hearing that problem again." Matt was breathing a little hard from that outburst.
"They did?" said the two seekers simultaneously.
"Yeah and Regulus here straightened them out to root for the best out of you two rather than the teams you were on or the outcome. Now Tyler, Walker, could you stop talking so I could watch?!"
"Is he always this grouchy mate?" asked Jacke in a whisper he was sure Matt couldn't hear.
"Sometimes but you learn to mind it," answered Tyler. He then went to face Regulus. "I didn't know you talked to Reggie and Brad like that." 'He must be loosening up towards them' he thought afterwards.
Regulus looked at Tyler nervously. "Yeah...well they seemed like they needed it. Oh look Ravenclaw scored again," he said trying to get the attention off of him.
"Tyler thought the Ravenclaw chasers were very talented. 'Oakmire, Gansley and Crump will have their hands full when we face them after the holidays.'
The game continued for another eleven minutes until the snitch had been spotted by Brad and Reggie. They chased after it until it was clearly in Brad's hand. Phil Villar went into his usual announcing shouts.
"And...Brad Carter, the new seeker for the Hufflepuff team, has caught the snitch. However Ravenclaw still wins at 260 to 210 points!"
...
Reggie and Brad came out of the changing rooms to sit on the grounds by the tree where they all played games together with. The grounds were empty since everyone was either celebrating, talking about the last quidditch match or getting ready to go home for the holidays. Regulus and Matt went to the castle to get dinner but Tyler and Jacke weren't hungry yet. They also wanted to Brad and Reggie alone and joined them at the meeting tree. They had all worn sweaters under their cloaks because the weather had gotten a bit too cold to sit outside without freezing to death without it.
"Great catch Brad."
"Thanks Jacke."
"Ah, I just went easy on him. I would've caught that snitch sooner but I had dust blown in my eyes."
"That's funny because it looked to me that you were trying your hardest and were seeing quite fine Reggie." This earned Tyler a playful glare from Reggie. "But don't feel bad, your team still won. The chasers were incredible out there. The rest of our teams will be having a field day trying to get by them."
"Well, I do have to agree on that. Ravenclaw is going to get the cup this year."
Jacke interrupted with "You forget who won it last time."
"True but there are new lineups everywhere so don't hold your breath Jacke," added Brad. "Hufflepuff does have me now."
"But Slytherin has me." Tyler was starting to love this.
"We'll just see who is right or wrong come the end of the tournament."
Reggie's words brought an end to that topic but Jacke brought up another one.
"It's been a while when we just been together without worry about homework, quidditch, training or the school rivalries. It's the first time where the Seekers can lay back together.
"Yeah...it's very nice."
At that moment, Tyler laid flat on his back to the ground and at this the other 3 seekers followed suit. This had the be the most heart stopping event in all of Hogwarts history. Four twelve-year-old boys, each belonging to a different house just lazyingly lying on the ground enjoying each other's company. Tyler felt that time was standing still. Jack was enjoying just laying down on the ground. Brad took in the great feeling of being with the friends he had made coming into the wizarding world. Reggie thought that Tyler and Jacke may fool around a lot but sometimes they had the right idea.
A breeze started to blow over the Seekers and it made the hufflepuff seeker shiver. "Whew, it's starting to get colder. Lucky it isn't snowing today. Maybe we should head back."
"Hold on," said Jacke before they could get up. "Are you forgetting about the gryffindor member of the seekers being a fire elemental?" Jacke shrewd his eyes in concentration and extended his hands to make a string of fire surround them, which warmed the air.
"Cool, an outdoor furnace."
"What's a furnace?" asked Tyler and Jacke.
"I'll tell you later," assured Reggie.
Then Tyler could've swore he heard Chaos' hissing voice. He wondered what his snake was doing out here when he told him to be in the dormitory so he could pack him when it was time to pack to go home. He strained his ears and found that the voice wasn't that of Chaos. 'He has a deeper voice than that one' he thought. He then heard it loud enough to tell what the voice was saying.
"What's wrong? Is it spring already? I'm in the need for food then."
Tyler swung his head around to find a young coral snake. He could tell because his red bands were with his yellow ones. Tyler had looked at a book all about snakes before coming to Hogwarts to satisfy his love for snakes. He, however, was not happy to see a coral snake since he knew they were poisonous.
It was going close to Jacke's arm. However its tail end rubbed against Reggie's arm alarming him to the snake's presence.
"Jacke...take care not to move...there's a snake...next to you."
Jacke tensed at this and moved his eyes to it. "Can't you curse it or something?"
"We didn't bring our wands because of the match. Tyler? Did you?"
Tyler nodded in a no type fashion. He hadn't brought his wand. Brad was muttering something under his breath.
"Red with black, poisons be lack. Red with yellow, not a good fellow."
"What are you doing?" Jacke said with an urgent voice.
"It tells me that that snake is poisonous. It's a coral snake song I was taught in primary school in the muggle world."
"Well, that news sure helps. Now could you do something?" Jacke whimpered. He then shrewd his face in concentration again. It looked to the others that he was going to try to use his elemental powers on the snake which they should've done because it would've forced the snake back since they weren't accepted or whatever. But it became apparent that Jacke wasn't trying to use his fire powers because he then sneezed.
The snake panicked from Jacke sudden movement and it went into hysterics. It opened its mouth and bared its fangs to attack its "attacker". It moved to strike and went for Jacke and something inside Tyler snapped.
"Wait, don't!" he hissed to the snake.
The snake stopped immediately and looked at him puzzlingly. "Isn't this boy attacking me?"
"No he's just as scared of you as you are of him. Go back to your hibernation and all will be well. I'm sorry but it appears my friend's fire power woke you up and I apologize." He pointed his finger like an enforcement official at the ground near the snake.
The snake slid right into the hole and Tyler breathed out a sigh of relief at the thought of talking sense into the snake. Just then Tyler's head dawned an expression to match his feelings perfectly. He had just realized that he had spoken parseltongue, in public, in front of his friends.
He slowly looked to his friends and felt his stomach drop when he did. Brad looked like Tyler had fallen from the sky and seemed to be frozen in shock. Reggie looked at him with hesitation like he didn't want to look at him but couldn't help it. Then Tyler looked toward Jacke and it was his expression that made his insides freeze up. Jacke's jaw was quivering and he had a mixture of fear and shock in his eyes. Tyler quickly got up from the ground and ran. He ran from them, from his friends, from the first people Tyler connected with and ran full force to his common room leaving the three other seekers speechless on what they learned of their friend and fellow seeker.
...
End of Chapter 8
.
Author Notes:
There you have it for chapter eight. What exactly is up with Professor Arnold anyway? Tyler's secret has been exposed to his friends. What will happen now? Is this the end of Tyler's life? Will this be the end of his family? The end of his time at Hogwarts? THE end of the Seekers? THE END of his friendship with Jacke, Reggie and Brad?...Only time will tell. Give me your reviews and make it a lot and I won't keep you all in suspense for so long. No reviews and you'll have to suffer. Ha, Ha, Ha, I'm getting so evil now.