Anything that's not blatant is a riddle
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Author's penname: Elixa Amethyst
Voices of the Past Part II
Written March 2002 onwards, pre Order of the Phoenix.
All characters and things you recognise, are © JKRowling, no infringement intended.

All references to "mediwizard" mean healer.
Read Part I at ?storyid1672635

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Chapter Five

Susan

It didn't take long for me to show Susan how to create the potion correctly. She was grateful to have the boils removed. I showed her how it worked on one of her hands and then Severus went to remove them by a spell and then stopped.

"Why don't you…?" He asked.

"I've never done it before, I don't want to make a mistake." I said. Severus compromised by healing Susan's face, leaving one hand for me.

"If I mess up I'm really sorry." I told Susan, and then followed Severus's instructions carefully to how to produce the charm. I was pleased when I saw it work.

"Wow." Susan breathed, looking the hand over. "I wish I could do that." I looked up at her face and something inside me felt determined to help.

Susan showed me the river that ran through the village. We stood on the bridge looking into the river water.

"It's been my only want since I was tiny, to have magical powers. The only thing I've ever shown was a couple of sparks, which Muggles have taken as static electricity." I nodded, looking at the crystal clear water running over the stones in the river as I listened to Susan.

"You must know a lot about Muggles though." I suggested.

"I go to a Muggle school. It's another boarding school but I come back here for weekends. I've never been able to bring anyone back here, and all the other young magical people have grown up and moved away here."

"It happens so quickly doesn't it? It'll be my last year at Hogwarts next year." Susan looked amazed.

"You must know loads then."

"A fair amount yes, but I've still a whole load to learn." Susan slumped against the side of the bridge and looked glum. "Don't give up trying Susan." I gently said, patting her hand with mine.

For the following couple of weeks, Susan and I got to know each other better and spent most of the days out somewhere in the village, normally by the riverside. Severus was hard at work on a potion at the top of the house, occasionally he'd mention something about it in the evenings, and a couple of times I'd had to extract him from his lab because he'd got so frustrated with a potion that he'd caused magical accidents. I'd got quite good at ducking when a bottle broke from his frustration on the shelves above my head. The mark on his arm hadn't given him any trouble as far as I knew. It seemed too peaceful which was a curious thought that I'd mull over before I slept many a night.

"It just feels a bit wrong now, like something terrible is lurking, waiting to pounce." I told Susan as we lay on our backs in the sun, catching its rays while listening to the river flowing below our feet.

"You want a bit of action do you?" Susan asked in a suspicious sounding way. I rolled my head to look at her. She did the same, and I saw a crafty grin across her face.

"Follow me." She said, standing up. I scrambled to follow her.

We walked for almost a quarter hour, while I demanded what she was up to. We followed the river downstream. Susan signalled for silence and ducked down behind some bushes. I followed.

"Look over there." She told me nodding to further along the bank. I put my eyes slowly above the top of the hedge and saw a dark, fire damaged wooden hut, not much different to Hagrid's hut at Hogwarts. From the back of the house a line of black and dark green plants ran down to the water outlining a garden, or plot of land behind the house. It looked quiet. I lowered to Susan again.

"What about it?" I asked.

"I dare you to go in there… wandless." I frowned. "It's burnt out, but haunted. I dare you to walk out into the back garden and wave your arms and then walk back through the house to here." I looked at her suspiciously.

"What gives me the feeling you're not telling me the whole truth?" I asked.

"The other magic children used to go in."

"I bet with their wands."

"You said you were up for adventure?"

"Not that isn't safe."

"How do you know until you get in there?" I wasn't one not to take up a dare.

"Alright. But if there's something in there that could do something nasty to me, I'm coming straight back out or you'll have to answer to Professor Snape." Susan nodded. I handed her my wand and walked out from behind the bushes. What could be so scary about a burnt out hut? I realised this could be Susan's way of softening me up so I'd do things that were more risky because this one would be easy. I'd show her. I walked in the front of the hut and into the gloom. I stopped to let my eyes adjust from the light outside to the dark inside. I could see the light coming in from the back door, lighting a wooden floor covered in ashes and fragments of glass. I crossed over and walked out into the back garden. I waved my arms and looked towards Susan.

"That was easy!" I shouted back. Suddenly Susan started to shout something I couldn't hear. It sounded like…

"Behind you!" Susan shouted running from behind the bushes and pointing. I turned and saw one of the plants reaching out for me. I leapt back and was seized by another plant.

"Susan! Do something!" I shouted, trying to identify the plants. If it was devil's snare… but it didn't look like it.

"I can't!" Susan shouted back. I remembered she couldn't do any magic. Great, just what I needed, a pathetic squib.

"Give me my wand." I raised my hand and the plant, binding both my arms to my sides foiled my plan.

"Go and get help Susan!" I shouted, trying to free myself. Susan ran back a few paces, holding my wand in her hand, and then turned round to look at me again.

"I'm coming Elixa!" She shouted, running towards me in a determined way.

"No Susan, get help!" I shouted back, but to no avail. Susan pointed my wand violently at the plant. A great beam of light flew from the end, throwing the plant completely as it was engulfed in a ball of light. The grip loosened and I wriggled free. I rolled out from beneath the branches, and saw that Susan was still pointing my wand and the plant, the ball of light still surrounding it. Her face was amazed, shocked. I ran over to her and found her shaking. Suddenly there was a huge explosion from the plant, and I turned to see it explode, sending charred branches everywhere. I covered Susan, grabbing the wand and her hand.

"I cast a spell…." Susan said weakly, and promptly fainted beneath my cloak.