Chapter 12: Preparing for the Room

Luckily, no one caught us in the corridors after hours that night, not even any of the Hogwarts Ghosts. Even throughout the next day, not one person suspected anything.

That was, until Angie intercepted me in the corridor right after I exited the Charms Classroom with Rowan after our end-of-term exam on Monday.

"Jane!" she called to me when she saw me. "We need to talk."

After telling Rowan to go ahead to Potions without me, I sighed, turning to my prefect, "I know what you're going to say. You're going to ask me about the twenty House Points I lost Gryffindor over the weekend."

"That is a very accurate assumption," Angie nodded, genuinely shocked that I had addressed her in that manner. "Would you mind explaining what happened?"

"Don't you already know?" I asked, puzzled. "Like you said, word travels fast in Hogwarts." Surely, she'd heard by now, seeing as the duel between Merula and I had been talked about almost nonstop all weekend long.

"I do know," Angie said, "but I would still like you to explain."

I sighed again. "I didn't do anything wrong. I was only defending Ben Copper, who was being bullied by Merula Snyde in the Courtyard. I had to stop her."

"So you dueled her?" Angie said in a tone that a mother would use when scolding her child.

"I didn't start it," I said honestly. "She wouldn't let either of us go, especially Ben, so yes, I had to duel her, but only because she was threatening Ben. Nobody else was going to defend him."

Angie nodded understandingly. "I believe you, Jane, but you need to understand that dueling won't solve anyone's problems; it enhances them. There are other ways to stand up to a bully."

You think I don't know that? I wanted to scream at her but didn't. Instead, I sighed, shaking my head shamefully, "I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do. I was afraid Merula would hurt Ben, especially since he did absolutely nothing to her. I wasn't going to just stand there and watch."

"I wouldn't expect anything less of you…" Angie said with a slight smile. "Which is why I think you'd make an excellent prefect one day. You have a good heart, Jane."

"Thanks," I said, still feeling ashamed. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"Not now that it's the end of term," Angie said apologetically. "However, for next term, I suggest that you go to class and focus on your studies. Do everything in your power to earn more House Points."

I frowned, in disbelief that she seemed to still only care about that than the safety of my lost brother, but I nodded anyway, saying, "I will."

"I know things have been difficult for you without your brother," she said sympathetically, like she read my mind, "and I know you want him back in your life, but you must stay out of trouble. It's only going to get worse for you if you don't, and I really don't want to see you expelled. I want to help you, Jane, because you're my friend. Promise me you'll be better behaved next term."

I sighed again, feeling that, deep down, I couldn't guarantee that happening—as getting into trouble may be the only way of finding Jacob—but I felt the need to say anyway, "I promise."

Seeing past my little white lie, Angie smiled and said, "Thank you, Jane. Hurry to your next exam now."

I did so, feeling more ashamed than ever.

#####

"There you are, Jane," Rowan said a few minutes later, after I took my seat next to her in the Potions Classroom. "Are you alright?"

"Not really," I said, shaking my head honestly. "Angie was pretty upset with me for dueling Merula the other day."

"I hope you guys are still friends even after that happened," Rowan said in a concerned tone. "You and Angie, I mean."

"Yeah, we still are," I assured her. "She just wanted me to promise that I would do better next term and earn Gryffindor more House Points." Which isn't a surprise, I thought but didn't say.

"That's no surprise," Rowan nodded, reading my mind exactly. "That's all she ever talks about these days."

I nodded as well. "Yeah, I know. It's a little annoying, but I'm sure she means well. She cares about me and wants to help me succeed at Hogwarts, just like everybody else."

"How did she feel about you defending Ben Copper?" Rowan asked curiously.

Angie's words rang in my mind in that moment: I wouldn't expect anything less of you… Which is why I think you'd make an excellent prefect one day. "I think…she was genuinely proud of me," I said honestly, Angie's words suddenly giving me the vibe that she would've done the same if she was in my shoes, since that was the sort of thing a prefect would do, "but she would've preferred that I have defended him in another way."

Rowan shook her head and said, "I beg to differ. That duel was one of the best duels I've ever seen; people still haven't stopped talking about it. Merula deserved what she got; in fact, I think she deserved way worse." Suddenly spotting movement in her peripheral vision, she lowered her voice and murmured, "Speak of the witch, she just walked in. I hope she wasn't listening to all that."

"It hardly matters," I shrugged as I saw Merula enter the classroom, followed closely by Snape, "since the whole school knows she lost the duel."

"Pack your notes away," Snape growled shortly after he entered. "The exam will begin shortly."

As I sifted through my bag for my quill and ink jar, Merula spoke up. "Oi, Morgan!" She then lowered her voice to a whisper and asked in a somewhat concerned tone, "Have you told anyone about what Snape and Filch said in the corridor that night?"

"What does it matter to you whether I did or not?" I said, frowning at her.

"Because, depending on whoever you talked to, I want to make sure they're not going to be stupid and blab, and therefore ruin any chances I have of getting inside that room," she said, glancing suspiciously at Rowan.

"Of course they're not going to blab," I spat, knowing Rowan would never do such a thing. "Why are you after the Cursed Vaults anyway?"

"It's none of your business," Merula spat back at me.

"It is my business, because my brother was after the Cursed Vaults," I said in an insistent tone, "same as you, apparently."

"Yeah, and he failed," Merula said with a slight snigger. "Unlike him, I'm going to succeed."

"What makes you think you'll succeed where my brother failed?" I frowned. "You don't know what he did to get himself expelled. Who's to say you might end up doing the exact same thing and get expelled too?"

"Because, unlike you, I'm clever," she snapped back. "I know ways of getting away with things others can't."

"Like what?" I said doubtfully.

"Shut your mouths," I overheard Snape say from the other side of the classroom. "The exam begins now."

Merula sniggered one last time before saying, "Like I'd ever tell you."

In silence, we spent several minutes going through the exam, with the first part being an essay about certain potions and their uses, and the second part being to brew one of the potions we learned in class without the use of a textbook.

While Merula and I were brewing our potions, I noticed that Merula had missed one crucial step, and for some reason, I felt the need to warn her about it. "You should stir it two more times," I murmured to her.

"Excuse me?" Merula responded in an offended tone.

"Professor Snape said in class to stir the potion seven times clockwise," I pointed out. "You only stirred it five times."

"You don't know what you're talking about," she shook her head with a frown. "Shut up before we get in trouble."

Unfortunately—or rather, fortunately—Snape overheard us as he walked around to inspect our potions. "Shockingly, in this sole instance, Morgan is correct," he said to Merula, and he legitimately did sound shocked, which shocked even me. He then turned to me and said, "Even a reckless, incompetent fool like you can become a middling witch by following instructions, Morgan. Ten points to Gryffindor." He said that last bit like he was reluctant to do so, but I was still grateful nonetheless.

"Thank you, Professor Snape," I said, feeling relieved that he didn't take away House Points instead. I had lost Gryffindor enough Points this year already.

Snape then waved his hand in a 'not bothered' manner and snapped, "Next time there is an exam, Morgan, focus on your own work." He then walked away without another word, ignoring Merula's disapproved scoff as he walked past.

"Nice," Rowan murmured to me with a small wink.

"Thanks," I smiled back.

#####

With the end of exams came the beginning of the Christmas holidays. Final exams passed very quickly, but between exams, for our punishment for dueling each other, Merula and I were forced to clean every trophy (of course, without the use of magic) in the Trophy Room for several hours every day; even when every trophy was cleaned, we had to repeat the process the very next day. Of course, Merula made sure I cleaned much more than she did, which greatly annoyed me, but it also didn't surprise me. Despite cleaning seemingly nonstop all week, I was still able to get straight O's on every exam.

When it came time to go home, I was relieved to be Merula- and Snape-free for the next two weeks. As much as I was grateful to be home again after three months of being away, I knew that this Christmas was going to be different, especially without Jacob. There were fewer presents under the tree, and everyone didn't seem as cheerful as they should be this time of year. My family still visited us, like they always did, but it still wasn't the same without Jacob. I received nice letters from Rowan, Ben, and Penny (who had asked me at the last minute to write to her, even though we didn't know each other that well), which lifted my spirits a little. I even received a beautiful owl for Christmas that I named Indigo, on account of his dark blue and purple feathers. I also spent Christmas planning what to do to get inside the room in that forbidden corridor, reading books on useful spells and potions we could use to get in and out safely and unnoticed. By the end of the first week, I already had a plan in mind, and I couldn't wait to tell Rowan about it on the day we go back to Hogwarts.

When it finally came time to return to Hogwarts, I sat alone in the train compartment until Rowan finally found me.

"Jane!" she exclaimed upon seeing me. "I've been looking for you everywhere on the train! Sometimes I wonder who is more difficult to find between you and Ben."

"That'll probably be Ben," I chuckled as she took a seat across from me. "Everyone says he disappears a lot to hide, and he only seems to come out of hiding for class, meals, and bed."

Rowan nodded. "Yeah, that's true. He seriously needs to get out of that habit; it doesn't seem healthy."

"No," I agreed. "Luckily, he's written to me over the holidays, saying that he's decided to finally accept my offer to tutor him in Flying. I heard we're going to be flying a lot more this term, and he says he could use a lot of extra practice."

"That's great, Jane!" Rowan said happily. "I think you'd be a brilliant tutor. Maybe I could help him some as well. I've got a few books that he might be interested in reading to get him better accustomed to Flying."

"Brilliant!" I smiled. "I'll let him know about it when I see him. If I see him."

Rowan then decided to change the subject. "So, did you come up with a plan for getting inside that room? You said in your letter that you would have ideas in mind by the time we see each other again. Also, gorgeous owl, by the way."

"Thanks," I smiled again. I was looking forward to sending loads of letters with him. "And yeah, I did come up with some ideas over the holidays."

"Okay, whatcha got so far?" Rowan asked eagerly.

"Not much," I said honestly. "We obviously haven't learned enough spells, not to mention knowing of any dangers that might be on the other side of the door, besides the cursed ice. The three spells we learned so far will be useless on the ice, and they won't be enough to fight off anything else."

Rowan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I doubt the ice is ticklish, and you can't exactly disarm it either. It's frozen water; it doesn't have a conscious mind. Cursed frozen water, but you know what I mean."

I nodded in confirmation. "Exactly. So we'll need to learn some more powerful spells, like Flipendo."

"Merula seems to be the only First-Year who knows that spell," Rowan pointed out. "Not that I'm planning to ask her to teach it to us."

I shook my head at the sheer ridiculousness of the idea. "Of course not. We'll just have to wait for Professor Flitwick to teach it to us in class, or even Professor Mormon, if she's still willing to teach."

"What about Angie?" Rowan suggested. "She said she'd be willing to teach us some more dueling spells if we needed them to defend ourselves."

I then paused, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "About that, she's still not too happy with me for dueling Merula, using the spells she taught us, and losing Gryffindor twenty House Points last term." I suddenly remembered Angie finding me and reminding me of this just before Rowan arrived. "I doubt she'd be willing to teach me another dueling spell to use on Merula. Besides, I promised her I'd be 'better behaved' this term."

Rowan raised an eyebrow. "Exactly how long are you going to stay 'better behaved,' as you say?" she asked in a suspicious tone.

"Long enough for her to stay off our case," I said seriously. "She obviously doesn't know about the room and our plan to get inside, but since it's going to take a while to prepare, we'll just have to go to class like normal; that way, she'll believe we're not up to no good, even though we actually are, but for a good reason."

"Wow," Rowan exclaimed, seeming impressed, "spoken like a true Slytherin. Maybe the Sorting Hat was wrong about you. Maybe you should've been in Slytherin instead. Not to mention that you and Angie had just become friends; you'd be betraying her this way."

"No, I'm protecting her from getting into something that she doesn't need to get involved in," I said honestly, shaking my head. "My brother dedicated his life to finding the Cursed Vaults, and he ended up disappearing as a result, never to be seen or heard from again. It's my responsibility to find out what happened to him so I can find him and rescue him. Our family is broken without him." At these words, tears started to prick my eyes.

"I understand, Jane," Rowan said, placing a soothing hand on my knee. "From what you told me about your brother, he seemed like a role model to you…at least before he started obsessing over the Cursed Vaults."

I nodded. "He was a role model to me. I really miss him." At that moment, a tear suddenly snuck its way past my eyelashes and ran down my cheek.

Upon seeing this, Rowan swiftly rose up from her seat and wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. "I know you do," she whispered. "We'll find him, no matter what it takes. Together." She said that in a tone like she truly meant what she said, and I believed her. In her arms, I quietly wondered what I did to deserve Rowan as a friend.

#####

Several weeks went by like a flash of lightning, and we still had yet to learn more spells and potions that would be helpful to getting past that door. With our luck, we weren't going to learn the Unlocking Charm, Alohomora, until the last month of the school year, as well as any dueling spells, which meant that we had to wait an extra several weeks to learn them without drawing any attention to ourselves. This also meant that whatever was on the other side of the door would gradually grow stronger in power. Typical, I thought dismally as I studied by the fountain in the courtyard.

"Jane!" Rowan called as she ran to me from inside the castle. "You were looking for me?" Throughout the day, I had asked several students to let Rowan know I was looking for her if they saw her anywhere in the castle, and to have her meet me in the courtyard.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I wanted to let you know that I've finally come up with a proper plan!"

"Really? That's great!" she said excitedly as she sat next to me. "What do you have in mind?"

"Okay…" I said before explaining. "So, we know Snape and Filch, but mostly Filch, have been guarding the forbidden corridor with the room where he found the cursed ice. Obviously Filch can't guard the room 24/7, so he'll have most likely ordered Mrs. Norris to guard it when he's not around. I have an idea to give his cat a Sleeping Draught that will hopefully knock her out just long enough for us to get by." Admittedly, though I chose not to say it out loud, my mum had actually given me the idea over Christmas when she started using the potion to help her sleep at night, on account of her having nightmares of terrible things happening to Jacob and I, especially since I've started attending Hogwarts. "Then we'll use the Unlocking Charm, Alohomora, to unlock the door and get inside after we've learned it in class. Then, if there's anything else beyond the room besides the ice, we'll use strong dueling spells, such as Flipendo, to keep them from attacking us."

Rowan nodded understandingly. "That's a brilliant plan, Jane, but there's one problem. Who's going to brew a Sleeping Draught for us? If you ask Snape, he'll get suspicious."

Knowing she'd say such a statement, I said, "About that, I'll ask someone else…someone who is also gifted at potions." After all, this person did say that she had learned pretty much every potion that every First-Year would learn before the year even started.

"Who?" she asked curiously.

"Penny Haywood," I confirmed. "She said she'd be willing to help me with anything if I asked her, especially if it's to do with potions. I'm pretty sure she has the highest potions grade than any student in Hogwarts."

"Yes, but she's the most popular girl in school," Rowan pointed out. "Would she even find the time to help us?"

"I think she would," I nodded confidently. "Besides you, she's the friendliest person I know."

"And what about Filch?" Rowan asked in a concerned tone. "What if he comes to check up on Mrs. Norris?"

"Oh, don't worry," I said with a smirk. "On the day we decide to check out that room, I have a plan to distract him so that he stays away from the corridor long enough for us to get in and out without being caught." One that may or may not involve Peeves the Poltergeist, I thought but didn't say. Just the very thought of how Filch would react made me feel giddy with excitement.

"Brilliant!" Rowan smirked as well. "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "We'll probably need one more person to pull this off; you know, in case we get overpowered, or something."

"Who did you have in mind?" Rowan asked curiously. "Penny?"

"No," I shook my head. "Ben Copper."

Rowan frowned incredulously. "Ben? But…he's a coward! There's no way he'd be willing to explore a forbidden room with us, certainly not a Cursed Vault."

"I think he's braver than he knows," I admitted, "and if we give him a chance, he'll prove it. Besides, I've been tutoring him in Flying, and once he overcomes his fear of flying, he'll be brave enough to face literally anything, including a Cursed Vault. He's a lot more confident now than he was when we first came to Hogwarts."

It was true. Over the past few weeks, I've been helping Ben to overcome his fear of flying, and the more I practiced with him outside of class, the braver he seemed to become. Even Madam Hooch was starting to see a major improvement with Ben's flying skills, and she gave me thirty House Points as a reward, which was the greatest number of Points I had received from any professor. Needless to say, I was honored, but I was mostly proud of how much Ben had improved with me as his mentor.

"That may be so," Rowan said in an unsure tone, "but how will we know he's not going to run away and abandon us at the first sign of danger?"

"He's a Gryffindor, isn't he?" I said with a shrug. "Obviously the Sorting Hat saw some sort of spark in him. Who knows, maybe that 'spark' will show itself once we find out what's inside that room." Once he does something heroic, he would never be viewed as a coward again. I just knew it. Perhaps this would be his moment to shine.

After a few moments, Rowan sighed. "Alright, Jane. You're always telling me to give Ben a chance to prove himself, no matter how long that may take. He needs to overcome his cowardice at some point, so maybe this could be a good opportunity for him."

"Of course it is," I nodded in agreement. "We just need to help him see it for himself."

#####

It was a challenge intercepting Penny between classes, as not only was she the most popular student in school, but she was also the busiest student. More often than not, when I saw her, she would always be studying, even during meals. One day, not long after Easter had passed, I managed to catch Penny as she exited the girls' bathroom, and I immediately asked her for the favor of helping me brew a Sleeping Draught, and she agreed to meet me later that weekend when the Potions Classroom wasn't being used.

"Oh, hey, Jane!" she said shortly after I entered the classroom on the day we agreed to meet. "I've managed to sneak into the Potions Classroom without Snape knowing. Hopefully he won't find out we're here as long as we do this quickly and clean up neatly afterwards."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Thank you for agreeing to help me brew a Sleeping Draught, Penny."

"My pleasure," she smiled sweetly. "People always come to me for gossip, so it's refreshing when someone recognizes my skill with potions. Why do you need me to help you brew a Sleeping Draught anyway?"

The question made me pause, but I ultimately decided to be truthful with her, seeing as we were now starting to become proper friends. "Mrs. Norris is guarding a locked room I want to enter, so I need her to take a little nap," I admitted awkwardly.

Penny's eyes widened in shock. "Could it possibly be in the corridor on the fifth floor that is now forbidden to all students, and also where you said you were attacked by Devil's Snare?" she asked curiously.

"Maybe," I shrugged. "You're not gonna tell anyone, are you?"

She shook her head and chuckled. "Of course not. Don't worry, Jane. Your secret is safe with me. I think it's quite exciting. You should tell me about it sometime when you return…that is, if you don't get caught."

"Why isn't Snape here?" I asked, swiftly changing the subject, as I didn't want the idea of getting caught, and therefore expelled, to ruin my confidence.

"We lost our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," she explained as she opened the potions book she had checked out of the Library that had the Sleeping Draught listed in it. "Snape is campaigning to Dumbledore, even though the position is cursed. Rumor is, he's not going to get it."

"I'm not surprised she left," I said honestly, thinking about poor Professor Mormon and her severe lack of nerve to teach such a class. "I feel like I didn't learn anything in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year." Except what intense fear and anxiety can do to a person, I thought but did not say, but I put it to the back of my mind.

Penny shrugged, like the issue no longer mattered, which was true. "Well, you're about to learn something about potions right now. Shall we get started then? I'll lock the door so no one comes in while we're brewing, especially Snape."

"Yeah," I agreed wholeheartedly; although, when she mentioned locking the door, I couldn't help but think of the locked door in the corridor, and the fact that it was locked in general made me more and more desperate to unlock it and find out its secrets on the other side.

"Impressive potioneering, Jane," Penny praised me after we finished the last step. "That Sleeping Draught could knock a Romanian Longhorn on its tail." She then scooped a small amount into a phial and handed it to me. "There you go."

"Thanks, Penny," I smiled, accepting the phial and pocketing it in my robes. "I owe you one."

"It's the least I can do for the heroine who stopped Merula Snyde from bullying everyone," she smiled back. "People are still talking about how brilliant you were. I'll check to see if the coast is clear." She then got up, unlocked the door, and peeked out, and after discovering that the corridor was empty, she said, "Yup, the coast is clear. Good luck, Jane. I can't wait to hear what happens; and don't worry, I can clean everything myself before Snape returns."

"I'll tell you about it when it does happen," I promised her. "Thanks again, Penny. See you round!"

#####

After much persuasion, I was finally able to convince Ben to meet me to discuss my plan to get inside that room.

"Thanks for meeting me, Ben," I told him as I sat across from him at the Gryffindor Table for lunch later in the week.

"Of course, Jane," Ben smiled. "You're one of the people I'm least uncomfortable around. I owe you for saving me from Merula last term."

"You're welcome," I smiled back before turning all serious. "But now, something has come up, and I need your help."

"As long as it isn't anything too dangerous…" he said with a shudder, but I knew he would be disappointed when he heard what I was about to say.

"About that…" I said, feeling somewhat hesitant. "I'm not going to lie to you, Ben. We're going to a forbidden corridor where we'll have to sneak past Mrs. Norris before entering a mysterious locked door."

Of course, he would be shocked at me for suggesting such a thing, which was true, because he said, "I wish you were lying. But why do you want to get inside of the door? What's in there?"

I shrugged. "I don't know what's in there," I said honestly. "I think whatever is inside may have something to do with my brother, but I don't know. It's a long, complicated story, Ben."

He then paused, considering my statement. "If you really want to convince me to go with you, you're going to have to tell me the whole thing…and calm my nerves…" he insisted. He then said, seemingly with a little more confidence, "There's no chance I'll ever be brave enough to join you…but I suppose you can try."

I sighed and nodded. "Okay. Here's what I found out…" I then spent several minutes explaining to him everything I learned about what could be on the other side of the door. I told him about Snape and Filch's conversation, and how Filch was convinced that he had discovered proof that the Cursed Vaults exist, that 'proof' being the cursed ice. I then explained my plan to Ben, and how I was confident that it would work with him accompanying us.

"Blimey!" Ben exclaimed after I finished. "That sounds utterly terrifying! You want to investigate cursed ice, which may or may not be escaping out of a Cursed Vault and into that room?"

"Exactly!" I nodded. "Rowan and I believe it may be a clue to finding my missing brother, and we would like you to help us gather that information."

"Why me?" he asked, puzzled. "A coward, of all people?"

"Because you're my friend, Ben," I said somewhat sympathetically. "And I trust you more than you know. I think this could be the perfect opportunity for you to overcome your cowardice. You need to see for yourself that you're much braver than you think you are, and that the Sorting Hat was right to place you in Gryffindor."

"What if we get caught?" he asked, still not fully convinced.

"We won't get caught, I promise," I said, shaking my head. "We'll do all this in the evening when everybody else is asleep, so no one will be up to catch us."

"Except maybe Filch…" Ben said nervously, "and his cat."

"Right, but we'll knock out his cat so she won't call for him," I assured him. "Penny Haywood brewed the strongest Sleeping Draught the other day, and Rowan and I learned and practiced all the spells we may need, so we're in good hands."

"And if we do get caught…" Ben said, his nervousness seemingly diminishing now, "will you protect me?"

"We'll protect each other," I nodded confidently. "You forget Rowan is coming too. We'll all watch each other's backs as a group."

Ben sighed, biting his lower lip. "I don't know, Jane. Are you sure I'll be able to help?"

"I've seen you in Charms, Ben," I said honestly. "You're a powerful wizard. Between Mrs. Norris, the locked door, and whatever is on the other side, I'd feel a lot better having you there with me and Rowan."

He spent a few more minutes in thought before finally deciding. "Okay. I'll go."

"Amazing!" I said cheerfully. "Thanks, Ben!"

"Thank me if I don't flee in terror at the first sight of Mrs. Norris," Ben said somewhat glumly.

I shook my head. "I don't think you'll flee. You proved how brave you are in Flying Class after your flying lessons with me since returning from the holidays."

"And you've earned Gryffindor loads of House Points as a result," he added proudly.

"Yes, that too," I chuckled. "I think you're ready to face a Cursed Vault with us now."

"You're right, Jane," he nodded. "If I'm no longer afraid to fly, then I shouldn't be afraid to face whatever is on the other side of a mysterious door in a forbidden corridor. I won't let you down!"