Chapter Eight
The Destroyed Corridor
Terry was released from the hospital wing two days later. Marigold Raymond had been very upset that he had missed two Quidditch practices and was eager to get the ball rolling again. So, Terry, Travis, and Alia were to be found in the first week of October on the Quidditch field with the rest of the Ravenclaw team, practicing long and hard to make up for lost time. It was Terry's first time to test the Zephryn Twenty-Seven.
Terry and Alia were on form. Alia had saved each team member about ten times from rampaging Bludgers. She made an amazing save when a Bludger was pelting at Natasha Skile by dropping from her broom, hanging by one hand, grabbed the Bludger with her ankles, and doing a flip to get back on her broom. She then hit the Bludger as hard as she could toward the school and didn't return for fifteen minutes.
Terry had caught the Snitch within a minute after Marigold's whistle, and caught it twelve more times afterward. The Snitch had been caught so many times that it flew lopsidedly and slowly which made it easier and easier the longer the practice drew on.
Travis, however, had been hit by a Bludger twice and the second time it uprooted him. Marigold was starting to get irritated with him. She gave him one more change in which he blew totally by hitting Marigold in the gut with his club by accident.
The Quidditch practice that evening was canceled on account Marigold couldn't breathe or speak too well. Travis had turned red and hid in the farthest corner of the changing room for about an hour. After an hour he gathered enough courage to go up to dinner.
"I don't know what my problem is," said Travis when he sat down. "I was good at playing baseball when I was in the fourth grade, but this is harder. I don't know why it is. It might be the brooms."
Alia didn't look up from what she was doing. She was rather busy sticking the Daily Prophet article about the Malfoys onto her History of Magic notebook. She had had the best time waving the paper in front of Ethilina's nose when ever she saw her. The entire school had also had a good laugh when the article had come out. Ethilina would have her three friends surround her in the corridors to hide her face, but people who had seen her doing this, would offer the two boys, Trenton Crabbe and Paul Goyle, cakes. They would leave their positions leaving Ethilina exposed for ridicule and taunts.
The end of the first week of October, came wet and melancholy. Rain spattered the windows with such force that a window in the charms classroom actually cracked. Marigold took this a personal insult. The Quidditch practices were canceled do to the rain and thunderstorms. She was fuming around and yelling at Terry, Travis, or Alia when ever they looked too happy.
The homework the Ravenclaw first Years had to finish was now creeping up on Terry. He, Travis, and Alia were to be found that weekend in the library, looking up how to turn teacups into canes for Professor Dannersham. She had given it to them the day before but had given them a due date that most thought was too soon.
"Three days! Three days! To perfect a spell I doubt I'll even use," said an exasperated Travis who's cane still had a handle and a flowery print on it. He gave another flick of his wand and the flowers multiplies by three.
"I still can't make it wood!" remarked Alia who was flicking her wand at her cane too. "Maybe Dannersham won't mind."
"I think she might," said Terry who had already made his cane and had moved on to his History of Magic essay about the History of Hogwarts. He was looking up a point of extra credit. "Do either of you know when the different floors are cleaned?" he had asked Alia and Travis.
"Check page 493 in Hogwarts, A History. I think it tells," said Alia who's cane had lost its sheen and had started turning a bit brown.
Terry flipped to a page near the end of the book.
"Ok," he said. "I have them all except the seventh floor." He skimmed the page again. "Oh! Found it." He jotted down "Monday" onto his paper.
They spent another half-an-hour at the library, but got very hungry and went to lunch.
The teachers had acted differently toward Terry the first week he had been out of the hospital wing. Professor Dannersham had shaken his hand and given him a tearful embrace. Professor Granger had given him a large slab of chocolate and didn't give him homework. Professor Budman had given him full marks on a quiz even though he didn't answer three of the questions. He was pitied by Professor Elnota when he showed up for her class and was telling him how worried she had been for him. The only teacher who wasn't warm and maternal toward Terry was obviously Snape.
Even though you could trace the accident to being Snape's fault, Snape showed no remorse or pity. He had in fact given extra homework to Terry because he messed up his Silencing Solution.
"Prat," said Travis under his breath after Snape had done this and swept away. He then made a rude gesture toward Snape, making Alia elbow him in the ribs.
The second week came around sunnier and cooler. The trees around Hogwarts now dotted the grounds with majestic reds and oranges. The lake reflected the burnt-colored trees of he forbidden forest. Large crows could be see flying from the trees and gave the students a true feeling that Halloween was to be approaching soon.
If you were to watch by the vegetable patch by the greenhouses you could see pumpkins that came up to Terry's chest. Professor Budman had charmed them to grow with faces without having to carve them herself. She had also given them a charm to talk and taunt the students.
"He he he!" shouted a particularly large pumpkin with a tragic face. "Methinks inkle firstie students are learning magic! I wager that the blonde haired girl over there couldn't put a dent in me!"
"I don't need to!" Alia shouted back at the pumpkin. "I'll just wait till Halloween night when I'll be eating you and all your little buddies in a pie!"
"You wouldn't!" taunted the pumpkin, with mild fear in its voice.
"Wouldn't I?" said Alia, coming up to the pumpkin and waving her wand threateningly.
The pumpkin shut up then. The pumpkins who had been laughing behind it all quieted down too.
"Isn't she a nice one," mumbled a happier looking jack-o-lantern as Alia triumphantly marched off.
"Just thought I would have a bit of fun," said the first pumpkin.
Alia didn't put up with the pumpkins too well. Every day, if she were to pass one, they would go silent. Alia had gained a reputation with the pumpkins. Since they couldn't have fun with Alia, they were extra-annoying to all the other students. Logan Renfield was to be found one day in a gaggle of pumpkins in the Entrance Hall, pummeling one that had said Logan looked like a bundimun.
Peragu Paleface had given one pumpkin an extra charm to recognize all the Slytherins. Whenever one past the pumpkin, it would stand up on root like legs and try and attack the Slytherin. He was severely punished when it gave Snape a swollen lip.
Four weeks later and the following Sunday, the students had awoken Halloween morning to the pumpkins being more aggressive than they had ever been, live bats flying around the halls, the suits of armor jumping out at students and screaming "Boo!", and being happier than they had ever been that Year.
"You know," said Travis, starting on some bacon, "Muggles celebrate Halloween too." Alia gasped and dropped her fork with a clatter, which startled Midnight who had drifted downstairs to see what smelled like the pumpkin pies that were being made in the kitchens.
"Does the Ministry of Magic know about this!" she asked urgently. "This probably flouts the International Wizarding Statute of Secrecy! We may be discovered! The entire secret wizarding world could be found and they'd all burn us at the stake. I have way too much to live fo –-"
"Alia, calm down," said Travis. "It's fine. Muggle children just put on costumes and go door to door to get as much candy as they could."
"Oh," said Alia, reassured. "I guess that's okay." She went back to her breakfast.
More pumpkins were brought in by Professor Budman and Mr Crombe. Professor Ferinis, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, had brought in more bats and let loose a ghoul for extra Halloween fun. This turned out to be a huge mistake. The ghoul ran a rampage around the classrooms and hallways. Poor Ellistris Kanteroff had not heard Professor Granger not to pass through the sixth floor and was scared out of her wits when the ghoul came across her and started to grunt and flail its arms at her.
Alia also had a run-in the ghoul. It had decided to come around the fifth floor, and as Terry, Travis, and Alia were on the way to the library. The ghoul grabbed Alia from behind, and started to babble incessantly. Alia grabbed her wand and screamed "Locomotor Mortis!" The ghoul's legs snapped together and it fell forward right onto its nose.
That evening, Terry, Travis, and Alia went down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. The hall was decked out in the talking pumpkins; some floating, live bats, innumerable candles, large non-popping black and orange bubbles that drifted from table to table, large withered trees, cubes of hay, and of course all the ghosts spotted in between the students eating.
Terry had never seen so many pumpkin based foods. Pumpkin cakes, pumpkin tarts, pumpkin juice marinaded chicken, pumpkin juice, pumpkin casserole, pumpkin bread rolls, pumpkin pies, and a pumpkin like ice cream float in a pumpkin shell. Pumpkins were soon going to give Terry a headache.
"It's really good, isn't it?" asked Travis, who quickly adopted his eating habits he had had at the beginning of the Year feast.
"I guess," said Alia. She wasn't used to so many pumpkin foods. She poked timidly her pumpkin casserole.
Terry helped himself to chicken and a roll. Travis had put a bit of everything on his plate and tried to see if he could down it in less than a minute. Gary had also got everything, but was eating more politely. He was talking enthusiastically to Naria Webster about wizarding politics.
"I mean, if that Fudge man hadn't had messed it up, I don't think our economy would be as slow as it is today. The goblins probably wouldn't have gone on strike in 2003 which deteriorated the entire Gringotts system. Speaking of goblins, don't get me onto the subject of Ludo Bagman!"
Naria didn't seem to really be listening. She was staring glazed eye at Gary, in a stupor that left her hand holding her fork stationary by her mouth. Gary didn't notice that his audience was wavering between comatose and collapsing with boredom.
Alia, who wasn't talk to anyone at the moment, glanced over at the staff table. Her brow furrowed.
"Wait a moment," she voiced after a while. "There are two empty chairs! Who's missing?'
Travis shrugged. Terry said, "I dunno."
"Let's see. Potter, Granger, Budman, Elnota, Soan, Irriate, Crombe, Mourn, Treaten, those five teachers I don't know, and...hold on! Where's Snape and..."
Right as she said this, the doors to the Great Hall slammed open, and James and Karinthia Potter and Cole Weasley came running it.
"Dad!" yelled a very pale James.
"Mother! It's horrible!" screamed Karinthia.
Professors Potter and Granger stood up. Professor Granger ran around the staff table and met her children before they got to the staff table. Terry, Travis, and Alia were sitting in seats right next to the middle aisle, so they were able to catch what James and Karinthia were saying to Professor Granger.
"Oh, mom! I can't believe it happened!" said James.
"What happened?" asked Professor Granger.
"We were going back to the seventh floor," said Karinthia, now tearful. "We were going to put our stuff away in the dormitory and..."
James took over. "The entire seventh floor corridor has been destroyed! Turned totally upside-down! We couldn't even get to the Fat Lady through all the mess."
Professor Granger turned back to her husband. "Did you hear that, Harry?"
"I did," said Professor Potter. "Staff, come with me to the seventh floor. Prefects take your house back to –- "
Professor Potter was interrupted by the entire student body leaping up and, along with the teachers, dashing up the Marble Staircase, into the Grand Staircase, and up seven flights of stairs. They all entered the corridor, and to their horror, they found the bookcases, tables, portraits, chairs, and vases were all broken or toppled over. The portraits who were still on the wall, though lopsided, were all yelling for Professor Potter to come assist them.
"What happened here?" asked Professor Potter to a portrait.
"It was horrible, Headmaster!" said a portrait of a man with greenish skin. "We were all hanging here, minding our own business, and a cloak like figure came and tore the place apart!"
The crowd murmured.
"We screamed to for it to stop, but to no effect. It just kept destroying it. I think it was rubbing a large burn on it's arm and said 'It's not here,' as it ran away."
Professor Potter looked grim. He turned to the teachers.
"Hermione, if you..." And for the second time, Professor Potter was interrupted. The door that led to the Grand Staircase opened and Snape came swiftly into the corridor.
"Sorry, Headmaster," said Snape, walking over to him. "I was dealing with Peeves. He upturned a chandelier in the Muggle Studies department. Sir Nicholas told me where you all were."
Potter and Snape continued to talk, and were joined by Professor Granger and Professor Dannersham.
"You know that Snape did it, don't you?" said Alia. Her face was grimmer than Terry had ever seen it. The normal glitter in her eye was gone and her cheeks, ordinarily rosy, were pale.
"Yeah," agreed Travis. "The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime!"
"You don't know that for sure," said a Hufflepuff sixth Year boy. "It could have been anyone. What if Peeves decided to have some Halloween fun?"
Alia shot exasperated glances at the boy.
"Because," said Terry, "Peeves was off in the Muddle Studies department, destroying a chandelier. And...I heard Snape talking about some sort of 'key' when I went to the teachers lounge. Maybe, what this 'key' unlocks is up here...and he was looking for a way to open it without the key."
They all contemplated this for a while.
"You're insane," said the boy and walked away to talk to some of his Hufflepuff friends.
"He's got a point, you know," said Travis. He didn't look his normal cheerful self either. Terry had a feeling he didn't look like he had just been given roses.
"Students!" came Professor Potter's voice. "Please return to your dormitories! Teachers, please remain here." He muttered something to his wand and a large red glowing ribbon slithered out of it like a snake and warded off the far end of the corridor by the portrait of the cringing elf. He magicked away the mess so the Gryffindors could gain access to the portrait of a fat woman in a pink, silk dress.
Reluctantly, the students trudged their way back to their dormitories, all talking about what had just happened. They all went off to bed, and no one slept easy.
"What if," said Jim Lunomen from his bed in the dormitory, "the cloaked figure comes after us?"
"What if," said Davis Byrdman from his bed, "the cloaked figure is a student."
"What if," said Benjamin Strifle, "because of this Hogwarts is closed."
"What if," said Davis again, "my mother withdraws me from Hogwarts because she gets too scared."
"What if –- "
"WHAT IF," said Travis, who had propped up in his bed to scowl at the three, "YOU ALL SHUT UP SO I CAN SLEEP!"
No one spoke after that, but Terry lay in his bed, just thinking.
What had been Snape talking about when he had said the "key." The key to what? Maybe he and Travis and Alia should investigate the seventh floor. And what had burned Snape, if he was the one under the cloak? Is there a dragon or something guarding this place Snape wanted to get to.
Terry rolled over. It was way too much to be thinking about, but he couldn't help but think about it. Somehow, Terry thought that he had some clue that he just couldn't put his finger on. Somehow, someway, he might be able to solve why the seventh floor was turned upside-down.
But that was ludicrous. He was just a student in his first Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He couldn't possibly stop Snape. Partly because he had not enough experience with magic, and partly because he didn't know what Snape wanted.