As the sun rose on the late September day, the four cousins were already awake, down in the Great Hall causing mischief, as they so often did. After the difficult task of pushing all four house tables onto one side, they'd begun to put Portable Swamps all across the hall, figuring that if they couldn't get them into Snape's office, they may as well have some fun with them. Doing this prank was a lot harder than it sounded, for they had to dodge either professors or Prefects every half hour when their nightly rounds came to the Great Hall. It was difficult for them to make the changes unnoticeable, so whenever someone poked their head in, Rhett would imitate Peeves' laughter, since he could do it perfectly after having perfected it for four years. Whoever had stuck their head in—Prefects and professors alike—would just roll their eyes and disappear, grumbling something or other about getting Peeves banished from the castle.
By the time they started with the swamps, they knew they had exactly thirty minutes to cover the entire area, and then rush back up to their dorm. It would be risky, but a prank wouldn't be a prank if just anyone could do it. When Talak had whined about why they always used the Portable Swamps, Vilandra had replied that it was because they were the hardest to get rid of completely, and because she had a fondness for them.
Chaim had thought he would annoy her one day back when she was in Second year, and he'd put one in her bedroom at home during the school year. By the time she came home, there were actually things living in her room. Not wanting to show Chaim how annoyed she was at being caught off-guard—even though she wasn't home—she stayed in her swamp room for close to a month before her mother forced her to get rid of it. So, sighing sadly, she had, but her love for how much damage it could cause stuck with her forever, and every year, one part of the castle could expect a Portable Swamp, courtesy of Vilandra Weasley.
Once they'd finished, they estimated six or seven minutes for them to get back undetected before the next patrol would see the chaos in the Great Hall. They needed to be back in their beds before then, so that the blame couldn't be put on them. All the professors and Prefects had heard 'Peeves' laugh, so the four just hoped they would all think it was him. Of course, they adored getting the credit for all of their pranks, the only thing they didn't like was all the detentions they kept getting. The next two weeks alone, they had two hours of detention every day with Snape, another extra hour with McGonnagall, and another three from Filch—whom they had the misfortune of running into after having fed a Ton Tongue Toffee to Mrs. Norris.
The four stood by the door to the Great Hall, Talak pulling out a piece of old parchment and his wand. He tapped the parchment lightly and smirked at his cousins as he spoke the truest words he'd spoken all month.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The effect was instantaneous. Ink began to flood the parchment, a crest appearing on the front with a group of names.
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present:
The Marauder's Map.
Talak sighed as he pressed the parchment against his chest, as if hugging it lovingly.
"Oh, Grandpa Potter. How much do we owe thee, one cannot count the ways."
"Don't forget Lupin." Vilandra insisted. "He helped, too."
"I think I deserve the most credit." Leroux insisted, puffing out his chest proudly. "After all, were it not for my father and uncle George, we wouldn't have this map. They're the ones who stole it from Filch, and then gave it to uncle Harry."
"Can we argue about the credit later?" Rhett hissed. "We have enough detentions, how about we hurry back to the dorm?" Talak pulled the parchment away from his chest and looked at it, attempting to determine which secret passageway they could get to without getting caught.
"I think this one's our best bet." Talak showed them all a secret passage that was located behind a suit of armour. "It's the one that leads right down the corridor from Gryffindor tower."
"Then let's go, we're wasting time." The four of them inched open the door silently and poked their heads out. The map showed no sign of movement outside the door, nor could their eyes see any. Half-running, the four of them hurried to the passageway, scanning the map every once in a while to ensure they were still in the clear. They saw the suit of armour and Leroux pulled it, cringing slightly as it made a sound that echoed off the walls. He motioned the others to hurry into the passage, which they did. He entered last, replacing the suit of armour perfectly before disappearing at a run after his cousins.
They laughed quietly as they made their way back up to Gryffindor tower via the passage, pleased with their accomplishments that morning. Talak glanced at the map out of the corner of his eye, and then stopped, staring at it. He frowned deeply at what he saw, not quite understanding it.
"Oy, you lot." The three before him continued to laugh as they turned back to him. They all stopped as they saw the frown plastered on his face, and walked back to him. "What do you reckon this is?" He motioned a dot on the map that was moving in the same passage as them, only it had no name attached to it.
"That's odd." Vilandra whispered, frowning at the parchment. "Even Mrs. Norris' name shows up on this map. Whoever could that be?" The four of them watched as the dot continued to move.
"Well, whoever it is, they're heading right for us." Rhett insisted, beginning to continue walking again. The other three didn't move.
"Rhett, this could be bad." Leroux insisted. "What if it's another magical creature?"
"The last one wasn't real." Talak insisted.
"Looked real to me." Vilandra muttered.
"Not the point!" Leroux insisted. "What if this is one sent by the King of Darkness?"
"Precisely why we should go back to the dorm." Rhett motioned up the stairs with both hands, but nobody moved. He sighed, shaking his head. "We'll get in trouble for being out of bed, we'll be caught on our swamping of the Great Hall, and Dumbledore will be furious that we went after a magical creature!" Rhett growled angrily, desperately wishing he could see the map to know how far away the—whatever it was—was.
"Hm, let's think about this, shall we? Detention." Vilandra stuck out her right hand. "The whole school getting killed." She stuck out her left hand. "I wonder which would be worse." She moved her hands up and down, pretending to weigh both sides. Rhett heaved a defeated sigh.
"I want all of you to back me up when I say I had nothing to do with this." He insisted. He then frowned, thinking. "Except if we're successful. Then I want some credit for it." The other three rolled their eyes and pulled out their wands, creeping silently back down the steps. Rhett grumbled as he pulled out his own wand, following. Vilandra couldn't help but think about how much he sounded like Chaim.
As they slowly crept down the stairs, they finally saw the source of the dot on their map. A hooded figure was pacing back and forth in one of the stairwells, which was why it looked like he was getting closer to them. In fact, he wasn't, he was just walking back and forth. As the four attempted to get a good look at him, all four noticed a skull tattoo burned onto the back of the person's hand, the only visible part of the figure. Leroux, who was in the front, pushed the others back urgently. They began silently arguing with one another, mouthing curses at each other for fear of being heard. Magical creatures they could handle. A Death Eater—that was a different story.
Leroux shoved Talak back towards the stairs, mouthing for them to just go back to the dorm. Talak was mouthing something back, although the others couldn't understand what he was trying to say. Rhett and Leroux began shoving Talak, mouthing for them to just go and find a teacher. They began pulling him roughly, and he swung his arm free from Rhett—slapping Vilandra in the face. The sharp slap reverberated off the stone walls, and all four of them froze, terrified, the Marauder's Map lying forgotten on the floor.
"Who's there?" A gruff voice demanded. The three boys began shoving each other hurriedly, running for the stairs. Vilandra followed, then froze, turning to look at the map. It still lay exposed on the floor, right around the corner from the Death Eater. She bolted back for it. If the Death Eater wasn't sure if someone was there before, he was now. Her footfalls echoed off the stone walls as she sprinted towards the map. She skidded to a halt in front of it, grabbed it hurriedly, then turned and bolted with it clenched in her fist.
"Lonnie!" Leroux yelled from somewhere above her. She said nothing, she merely ran, her breath coming in short pants. Either the Death Eater had fled, or he didn't think one girl was worth it, because she did not get hexed, nor did she hear anything behind her. She ran hurriedly up the stairs, two at a time. Once she reached the top, the other three were waiting for her. The second she came into sight, they pushed her in front of them and all four ran up the stairs for all they were worth.
Without bothering to check the corridor, they bolted out of the secret entrance, running back towards Gryffindor tower. They saw a figure standing in front of it as they neared it, still running. McGonnagall turned her head, and her lips pressed together angrily.
"You four!" She hollered angrily, walking towards them. Her anger dissipated slightly as she noticed the terrified looks on their faces. Vilandra glanced down at the map still clutched in her hand and forced herself back behind the boys.
"Mischief managed." She gasped between breaths, tapping the map with her wand. The ink disappeared and she shoved the parchment into one of her robe pockets, the four of them coming to a stop in front of McGonnagall. Leroux fell back against the wall, panting hard as he leaned his head against it, his eyes closed. The twins were doubled over, their hands on their knees, breathing heavily. Vilandra just fell on the ground, sitting across from Leroux, trying to slow her heart rate and taking ragged breaths.
"What in the name of Merlin have you been up to?" McGonnagall asked, all severity gone from her voice. She now seemed more worried than angry.
"We…" Rhett trailed off as he continued panting, trying to gulp in enough air to get a sentence out. "We were pulling a prank."
"Yes, I'm aware of that." McGonnagall replied. "The Great Hall." The four nodded.
"We-we found a-a passage." Talak chocked out between breaths. "It leads—straight here." Talak fell down beside Vilandra, closing his eyes and he attempted to steady his breathing.
"What happened?" McGonnagall pressed. She knew they were trying to catch their breath, but the absolute terror she'd seen in their eyes made her want to grab hold of the closest one and shake him until he spoke. Vilandra was the first to recover.
"We saw a Death Eater." McGonnagall's face paled as Vilandra gulped in another lungful of air.
"Where?" McGonnagall demanded. Vilandra merely pointed in the direction, and McGonnagall fixed her gaze back on Vilandra. "Show me."
-----
"Why did you go back for the map!" Rhett demanded as the four of them made their way to Transfiguration. "You could've been killed!" Vilandra fixed her Prussian eyes on Rhett, stunned he hadn't figured it out. She was one person. That map would've been the end of the whole school.
"That map would be the last thing I would want any Death Eater to have." She insisted. "Think about it. Every secret passage, every House location, every password—we'd be handing him a guided instruction booklet for our deaths." The four boys were silent as they entered their Transfiguration class.
"I like how smart you are sometimes." Leroux whispered to her. She said nothing as she took her seat, Rhett sitting next to her. The four of them knew how close they'd come—not only to death, but to expulsion, as well. Vilandra wasn't keen on having her mother find out about this, she would rip off Vilandra's head and feed it to her for breakfast. Vilandra cringed at the though, rubbing her neck self-consciously.
"I think we should lay off on the pranks for a while." Talak informed the other three as the Hufflepuffs entered the classroom, chatting animatedly.
"Agreed." Leroux said, the other two nodding in agreement.
"We shouldn't mention this to anyone, either." Vilandra shot in, lowering her voice slightly. "The professors wouldn't want us to start a panic." The other three nodded as well when McGonnagall bustled to the front of the class, heading for the four Gryffindors. They cringed worriedly, but said nothing as she reached them.
"Professor Dumbledore would like to see the four of you. You can leave your things here." They all shared a look, and obeyed their professor, getting out of their seats and heading for the exit. People began to whisper amongst themselves, casting glances at the four of them.
"—yeah, the swamp in the Great Hall—" "—always knew they'd go too far someday—" "—expelled for sure this time—" The four said nothing as some of the whispers reached them and exited the classroom. The second they were clear of the door, Vilandra began to panic.
"You don't think we'll really be expelled, do you?" She blurted out. "I mean, we've done some pretty stupid pranks before, and they don't know we willingly went to check out who the person was. Oh, bloody hell! I can't get expelled, mum will hang me!"
"I think dad would be pretty proud of me, personally." Leroux said thoughtfully. "Mum would have a cow, though."
"I think mum and dad would both prefer it if we went to Muggle school." Talak admitted, shrugging. "I don't think they'd care either way."
"Thanks, you're all wonderful!" Vilandra rolled her eyes as she threw her arms in the air. "Here I am, talking about how my mother is going to kill me, and you're all talking about expulsion as if it was no big deal, because your parents won't care."
"I said my mum would care." Leroux insisted. Vilandra ignored him and the four continued to Dumbledore's office in silence. They reached a large stone gargoyle, and stopped, unsure of what to do next. They didn't know the password to enter, and nobody was around to let them in.
"Brilliant. He'll think we skived out of McGonnagall's class if we don't show up." Rhett insisted.
"On the contrary, Mr. Potter." They all turned as Dumbledore slowly made his way towards them. "I know you're all too frightened of Professor McGonnagall to ever skive her class." He stopped in front of them all with a reassuring smile. "Come, let us take a walk." He began walking down one of the adjoining corridors, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. The four cousins shared a look, and began to follow him. "I must congratulate you on your accomplishment. The redecorating of the Great Hall was quite extraordinary considering the professors and Prefects making their rounds. I was highly impressed, and couldn't imagine the four of you giving your credit away to Peeves." He smiled over his shoulder at the four of them and they visibly relaxed. If he was congratulating them on what they'd done, chances were that expulsion wasn't a threat here. "I must, however, inquire on how you came across the Death Eater." Dumbledore stopped and turned to the four students. They didn't need to lie to Dumbledore, they knew if they skipped over the part about the map and going back to see who—or what—the mysterious dot was, everything would be all right.
"We found a passage that would lead us from close to the Great Hall all the way up to close to Gryffindor Tower." Rhett informed him.
"We didn't want to get caught on our way back up." Leroux added. "It would ruin all the hard work we'd put into the swamp." Dumbledore nodded.
"While we were in the passage, we could hear someone behind us. We weren't sure whether or not is was a professor or a Prefects, so we all peaked around the corner and saw someone in a black cloak with their hood up pacing back and forth." Talak continued hurriedly. Vilandra continued afterwards, knowing that Talak's words came faster and faster when he got nervous. She couldn't afford to let him get nervous. Her head depended on her not getting expelled!
"We weren't sure who it could be, we were pretty sure the professors didn't know about the passage, but as we watched him, one of us noticed a skull on the back of the figure's hand."
"That's a sign of the King of Darkness." Leroux shot in. "We were worried about everyone in the castle and decided to go find a teacher, but as we were leaving, he heard us."
"We thought we were dead for sure." Rhett blurted out. "Terrified, we were." The others all nodded in agreement. "We rushed back to Gryffindor tower and Professor McGonnagall was there. We told her what happened and she went looking for the figure." Dumbledore nodded, turning around and continuing to walk. The four were confused by his reaction, but followed him anyway.
"You're all very lucky." He finally said. "Although I'm not sure if it's luck, or genes. Three of you have the genes of the luckiest people ever to have set foot in this castle, and the last one has the genes of one of the smartest pranksters. I would be lying if I said I was surprised you got away." He turned back to them with a kind smile. "It seems Hermione, Harry and Fred's genes were good to you. You got more than their sense of adventure, their looks and their ingenious ideas." The four weren't sure whether to respond or not, so they just stayed silent. "It was both a very dangerous, and a very brave thing you did. I'm not surprised you were all put in Gryffindor."
"So we're not being expelled?" Vilandra slammed her foot down hard on Rhett's and he opened his mouth in a silent scream, making a face as he leaned against the wall and held his foot painfully, glaring daggers at Vilandra. Dumbledore merely smiled at their silent war.
"No, Mr. Potter, you're not being expelled. However, I must advise you all to be cautious from now on. This Death Eater may or may not have seen you. If he did, he could come back to silence you." Vilandra swallowed hard, knowing full well that if he had seen any of them, it was her. Her three cousins shot her worried glances, but she did not return them, merely kept her eyes fixed on Dumbledore. "You may return to class. Please do not delay, and just get back to class." They all nodded, turning to leave. Leroux then frowned, turning back to Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir?" He nodded, showing Leroux could continue. "When you say he may come back for us, does this mean you weren't able to find him?" Dumbledore sighed.
"Alas, dear boy, that is correct. Once Minerva entered the passage, he had long ago disappeared. We are not sure how, but we have Aurors searching the school grounds." He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, young miss Weasley is quite safe." Leroux gave a sheepish smile, realizing Dumbledore knew the only person the Death Eater may have seen was Vilandra. They all turned and left, heading back for Transfiguration.
"How does he always know everything?" Talak whispered as they made their way back. They hurried through the corridors, not wanting to be alone if the Death Eater did return. They'd found it shocking for him to have appeared at all, seeing as how they always had Aurors on the premises. The four rounded the corner hurriedly and Vilandra let out a short cry as she and Leroux tripped over something, Leroux not making a sound. The twins tripped over their cousins, landing painfully on top of them. There was silence as the four lay in a crumpled heap.
"Ow." Talak finally said as he began to untangle himself from the group. They heard high-pitched laughter and all of them looked up. Peeves floated through the ceiling, bobbing upside down above the four of them.
"The pranksters got pranked. How delicious." He continued to laugh as the four of them got to their feet, Rhett turning to see a thick rope running across the corridor. That was what the four of them had tripped over.
"Bloody hell, Peeves, why do you always prank us? We're practically family, you and us." Leroux insisted. "We do pranks, you throw things at people, they're similar." He insisted. Peeves stopped laughing and glared at the four of them as he circled them, coming lower and lower with each full rotation.
"You tried to have the Great Hall swamp blamed on me." He insisted.
"A compliment, really." Talak insisted. "Our ingenuity, all our hard work, it all would've been credited to you. Think of the glory!"
"Gots told off by Dumbledore, you lot did." He grinned at them. "I saw you outside his office." Vilandra snorted.
"Are you mad? He congratulated us!" Peeves frowned at this. "He was wondering why we tried to give you the credit." Peeves flew through one of the walls and the four shared a look. They then shrugged and began walking again when a door slammed open and Peeves re-emerged with a pot and a large wooden spoon.
"LIES! LIES! LIES! LIES!" He yelled as he banged on the pot with the spoon, laughing insanely. The four bolted down the corridor, knowing full well what would come next. As he caught up to them, he began hitting them over the head with either the spoon, or the pot.
"Bloody hell!" Rhett hollered as he attempted to shield his head. "Sod off, you bloody chimpanzee!" The four of them continued running until they finally rounded the corner of the corridor their classroom was located. Peeves giggled madly as he flew back into the ceiling, the pot and spoon falling to the ground as he disappeared.
"I hate that stupid ghost." Talak muttered.
"Actually, he's a Poltergeist." Vilandra corrected.
"Whatever." Talak grumbled back as they headed for their classroom door. Rhett's hand was on the handle when they heard an ear-shattering screech. They all spun around, looking down the corridor as the scream echoed around them.
"Peeves found another victim." Leroux said slowly.
"Nobody screams like that when it's just Peeves." Vilandra whispered. A Hufflepuff Seventh year girl flew around the corner, shrieking like there was no tomorrow. That was when they heard the roar. It had to compete with the girl's hysterical screams, but it was audible enough. Doors flew open and heads popped out of classrooms.
McGonnagall threw open the Transfiguration door, looking out at what her four students were staring at. They still weren't sure, as they waited for the beast to turn the corner. The girl ran into the closest room and forced the students and teacher within to close the door. Everyone else just watched silently. Obviously, what had been chasing the girl had slowed down at some point, for it took a long time for it to finally turn the corner. Leroux walked forward slowly, a frown on his face. Vilandra grabbed the back of his robes and tugged, trying to force him back, but he ignored her, walking slowly forward. Eight steps away from his Transfiguration door, the creature rounded the corner.
The head came into view first as it turned slowly, the lion's mane ruffled due to the running it had obviously done chasing the Hufflepuff girl. Next came the body, which did not look a thing like the head. The second Leroux saw the goat body, he knew that what followed would be a Dragon's tail, for this animal was a Chimera. The three behind him shoved each other hurriedly into the classroom, knowing full well how vicious and dangerous the Chimera was. Leroux just stared, his breath caught in his throat.
"Mr. Weasley." McGonnagall said quietly. "Please, return to the classroom." Leroux continued to stare as the Chimera took a step forward. It was still at least twenty feet away from him, and the classroom was a mere eight steps, but when faced with danger like this, eight steps may as well have been eight thousands steps. Leroux took a cautious step back as the Chimera growled, coming forward. "Come, Mr. Weasley. Quickly." McGonnagall said, her voice strained. It was obvious she was hoping to get him back into the classroom before the Chimera reached them, but at his pace, she feared he would still be standing there by the time the Chimera came down the corridor. He took another step back, now six steps away from the classroom door. "Leroux, he's getting closer, come, quickly." McGonnagall said urgently.
Leroux turned and bolted the six steps, flying into the classroom. McGonnagall slammed the door, following him inside. The Chimera lunged at the door full-force, bouncing off it, but not without causing a loud 'bang' to reverberate in the classroom. Leroux breathed hard as he walked towards his cousins, who had run back to their seats at the front—the furthest away from the door. Vilandra grabbed Leroux and hugged him tightly. As she pulled away, she then slapped him as hard as she could across the face. Leroux let out a cry, massaging his jaw painfully.
"What the bloody hell was that for?" He demanded angrily, turning back to her.
"The hug was because I was glad you were okay, and the slap was because you did that on purpose!"
"I did not!" He insisted.
"We all stayed by the door, Leroux!" Rhett exclaimed, half-panicked. The four of them took deep breaths, trying to calm themselves down. After a few seconds, McGonnagall opened the door, her wand raised. She looked left, and then right before turning back to the class.
"All right, students, all of you will return to your dorms immediately." She instructed. She looked out the classroom door again and saw Professor Vector—the Arithmancy professor—also peering out.
"Professor Vector?" Vector turned to her. "You have Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, don't you?" The professor nodded. "Would you please escort your Hufflepuffs and mine back to their dormitory? I shall take the Gryffindors." Vector nodded and informed the Arithmancy class, the Gryffindors all filing out worriedly. They were only Third years, and didn't seem to like being out in the corridor after a girl came screaming her head off into their classroom. McGonnagall ushered her class out hurriedly and then went to the head of the group, walking hurriedly with her wand raised.
"We've definitely had better days." Talak whispered to his three friends.
"No kidding." Leroux muttered, rotating his jaw painfully.
-----
"That's exactly what I think happened. Why else would he have been in here? What do you think, Lonnie?" All three turned to her as she stared into outer space, wondering about why the King of Darkness would bother attacking a school of students with not even half the amount of power he possessed. Rhett and Talak shared a look before Leroux snapped his fingers in front of her face. She shook her head confused.
"What?"
"Are you even listening to us?" Rhett sighed. She scoffed, smoothing out her skirt.
"Of course I am." She replied irritably. "It's hard to ignore you lot."
"So what do you think?" Leroux asked again. "Was it the Death Eater's plan, or not?" Vilandra sighed, thinking for a moment.
"It would explain why he was in the castle, but how did he get it all the way here without being spotted? And we saw him around seven in the morning, this attack happened just after ten. What was the Chimera doing for those three hours?" The three boys sighed, shaking their heads. All they had were theories, wild guesses. They wanted answers, and they knew the headmaster wouldn't give them any answers. He didn't want to cause a panic—even though it was a little late for that.
The news of the Chimera had spread throughout the school within minutes of the attack. All of those who had been present recounted the story to everyone who hadn't, some making up vastly exaggerated versions. Various people insisted the Chimera had come within inches of them when the cousins knew for a fact they'd been hiding under their desks. Others still insisted that Leroux had pummelled the Chimera to death in order to save McGonnagall, who had fainted at the sight of it. Each story was as ridiculous as the next, the cousins not bothering to relay the true story. If everyone else wanted to act like idiots, that was fine. The four of them were more concerned with the Death Eater they'd seen, and the Chimera's connection with the King of Darkness.
"Why do you suppose the King of Darkness attacked the school?" Vilandra finally asked, having turned the question over in her mind numerous times. "We're still learning how to do basic spells, so we're certainly not a threat. We know hardly a quarter of what someone as powerful as him would know." They sat in silence for a long while as the four all thought about the possible answers.
"The—professors?" Leroux finally asked. The other three turned to him and he shrugged. "Professors are the smartest and best witches and wizards in the world. They couldn't be teachers if they weren't, right? So, maybe his biggest threat are the professors of Hogwarts, and Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang, and all those other wizarding schools." Leroux pointed his finger at his cousins. "How do we know the other schools haven't been attacked, huh?" He nodded, a smile spreading on his face. "Huh?" He wagged his finger, full-out grinning now, certain that he was right. "He wants to get rid of the professors, that's his plan. Trouble is, since they're the best of the best, he knows the only way to endanger them is to go after the students. With so many students to protect, the professors have less defences for themselves." He flung his arm in the portrait hole's direction. "McGonnagall, for instance. She had her back to the other end of the corridor the whole time I was standing in front of the Chimera. While she was trying to get me back into the classroom, she was paying more attention to me than to her surroundings. Something could've easily come up behind her, and—" He slapped his hands together, making his three cousins jump. "Instant death. It's brilliant." The other three were silent, Vilandra finding this possibility very probable now. Rhett and Talak were still unconvinced.
"I was wondering if maybe it was Lupin." Rhett said thoughtfully.
"Lupin? Are you mad, he wouldn't do something so reckless." Vilandra insisted.
"Not on purpose." Talak insisted, picking up on his brother's brain waves, as the two of them often did with one another. "What if he was doing another test for an older class?"
"Things got out of hand, the Chimera got free—" Rhett continued before Talak cut him off to add in his own input.
"—Lupin tried to stop it but it chased one of his students out the door—"
"—she ran all the way to our half and finally managed to get into a safe place." Rhett finished. Leroux and Vilandra shared a look, and then turned back to the twins, Vilandra cocking one eyebrow.
"Highly unlikely. Lupin worked hard to get his job back here after the fall of Voldemort. I seriously doubt he would jeopardize it just to see if his class knew what to do in case a Chimera attacked." Leroux frowned as Vilandra said this.
"Come to think of it, that girl was a Seventh year. Why didn't she know?" He turned to Vilandra. She just shrugged.
"It's the beginning of her Seventh year, maybe they're just beginning to learn what spells to use on beasts like that. We haven't learned about it yet."
"But we do know what spells to use." Talak insisted. Vilandra rolled her eyes.
"Well, obviously, because of who our parents are. Bloody hell, I'll never forget my summer before First year. Mum made me memorize everything in all of her Defence Against the Dark Arts books." She sighed as Talak's eyes bulged.
"All the books?" Rhett asked incredulously. Vilandra's face hardened.
"Years One through Seven." Talak let out a low whistle.
"Dad just told us. Pretty much just drilled it into our heads."
"I rely on you three." Leroux shot in, smirking slightly. He knew a few, but not nearly as many as the Potter twins and Vilandra. He made a mental note to brush up on his reading over the Christmas break—if he lived that long, of course. Chaim suddenly appeared beside his sister, and she turned to him, frowning confused.
"Yes?" She asked uncertainly. He sat down beside her, obviously angry about doing what he was about to do.
"I just want to stay with you for a while." Vilandra cocked an eyebrow confused.
"Why?" She asked slowly. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned to her.
"Because I've lost dad and I came close enough to losing you, all right. Just let me sit here." He crossed his arms and leaned back against the couch, not saying another word. The four cousins shared a look, shrugged, and continued on with their conversation.