We meet Ben and Alana on the platform. "How were your holidays?" I ask as we board the train.
"Good," Ben says. "My neighbor had a new dog. It barks a lot."
"My family and I went skiing," Alana says. "It was fun. We got hot chocolate."
Rowan and I don't have very much to say, but we listen to their idle chatter until we've succeeded in finding an empty compartment.
We shove our trunks above our heads, and then it's time to get down to business. "Did you guys find anything?" I ask as we sit down.
"Tulip said that Filch cares the most about Mrs. Norris, and he won't leave his office if he thinks he's protecting her," Alana says.
"So you want us to threaten a cat?!" I gasp.
"Well, we don't actually have to go through with it," Alana reassures me. "I'll tell Filch that I overheard a couple of students say that they were planning to make all of the confiscated prank items in his office go off, and he has to stay in his office to make sure they can't go through with it."
"I think I have the wand movement for Alohomora down," Ben reports. "We can practice in the Room of Requirement later."
"Rowan and I couldn't think of anything, but-"
"Sleeping Draught!" Rowan blurts. We all stare at her in confusion. Her eyes are shining in excitement as she explains, "We can give Mrs. Norris Sleeping Draught and sneak past her while she's asleep." Her face falls. "The only problem is, Sleeping Draught is a second-year potion, and none of us are good enough to brew it."
I remember Penny's offer from after I dueled Merula. "I'll ask Penny Haywood," I say. "She offered to help me with potions if I ever needed it."
"I don't think this is exactly what she had in mind," Rowan says doubtfully, "but I suppose you can try."
"I'll ask her after Herbology tomorrow," I say. "Should we work on Alohomora Thursday before Transfiguration? I have detention tomorrow."
"Did Hagrid say what you'd be doing?" Alana asks.
I shrug. "All he said was to meet him at the Quidditch pitch. I guess I'll find out then."
In the center of the Quidditch stands is a large oval field, striped with different shades of green. The field is pockmarked with odd little holes. At either end is a sandy area with the three goal hoops. The stands are draped in banners for each of the four houses.
Hagrid is standing in the center of the field, joined by a first-year Gryffindor girl. Her name is Skye Parkin. Apart from Penny, she's the most popular student in our year. Did she get detention as well?
"All righ', Celena. Skye will be helping us degnome the pitch today in preparation for the match," Hagrid says.
"You're the one who dueled Merula," Skye said. "Good job. She had it coming." Her words are nice, but there's an odd look on her face, nervous and expectant. It's a look I know well, because it's one I wear often. She's expecting a reaction to her name.
I strain my memory. "Oh! You're the one from the Quidditch family, right?" I say. "Sorry, I'm not a huge Quidditch fan."
Skye looks thrilled. What she's found is something every famous person without the world's biggest ego eventually seeks; anonymity. "I'm going to try out for the team next year," she says. "One of the Chasers is graduating."
Hagrid reminds us that we do have a job today, so we follow him to one of the holes in the field. A creature with pointed ears, light green skin, and a shiny red nose pops it's head out of the hole.
Hagrid seizes the startled gnome, holding it above his head by the ankles. "Gnomes are curious creatures," he puffs, swinging the gnome above his head. "They'll come to investigate anything, which makes getting rid of them easy. Jus' swing it above your head to get 'em dizzy, like this, then-" Rather than explain the next step, Hagrid simply throws the gnome over the stands.
"Umm, Hagrid... I don't think we can throw them that far," I say, craning my head to watch the gnome flying way up into the air.
"Course you can't," Hagrid says. He retrieves a Beater's bat that I hadn't noticed from the shadow of the stands and gives it to Skye. "You're going to throw them, and Skye will give them a bit more oomph."
I find another hole. A few of the gnomes have poked their heads up, curious about what's happening. I pick one. "Don't go easy on them or they'll bite," Skye warns.
I swing the gnome above my head in circles, ignoring its frustrated cries. Skye lifts her bat. I let go of the gnome, sending it flying into the air. Skye takes a swing and connects solidly with the gnome's pudgy stomach.
I watch the gnome disappear over the pitch walls in the direction Hagrid threw his gnome. The others are practically lining up at my feet, completely lacking any kind of survival instinct. I remember watching some Muggle sport with my dad when I was a kid- baseball, that's what it was called. I didn't pay much attention because it was a sport, and therefore mind-numbingly dull, but it feels like we're playing baseball now.
"You're good with that bat," I puff some time later as the last gnome disappears. "You sure you're a Chaser?"
"I've played every position," Skye says. "My dad wanted me to be prepared for every opportunity." Apparently remembering that I don't know who her dad is, she explains a bit more; "Ethan Parkin. He plays for the Wigtown Wanderers. He's expecting me to do the same. Everyone is. Quidditch is in our blood, ever since our family founded the Wigtown Wanderers."
"That must put a lot of pressure on you," I say sympathetically.
Skye's face suddenly becomes closed off. "It's what I want to do."
She runs off before I can apologize. Hagrid has already left, leaving me in the middle of the field wondering what I did wrong.
The Room of Requirement looks almost the same as before, except for the variety of locks strewn around the floor. I select a simple bronze lock and join the others in a circle.
Ben demonstrates the wand movement; a circle followed by a downward line. The pronunciation is fairly simple.
"Alohomora." It takes a few tries, but eventually we all get the hang of the spell. Ben suggests that we practice on different locks, so we disperse throughout the room. Some of the locks are more complex than others, some have been sealed magically, and others resist all attempts at the Unlocking Charm, even those made by Ben.
I freeze, holding one of the most stubborn locks. "What if the door has been charmed to resist Alohomora?"
The other three look up, their faces suddenly nervous. As soon as the words leave my mouth, I know it's a pointless question. What if it is? There's no way to know, no other way past the door that we're capable of. We've done too much planning to give up now, so all we can do is hope.
Hope. The success of our plan rests on something so fragile it can hardly support a drop of water. We're treading on thin ice now.
"We hope it hasn't been," Alana finally says, echoing my thoughts. It's not a satisfactory answer, but then, real questions have no answers.
And if they do, they're hidden away behind locked doors...
A/N: Just a quick note about Quidditch; I find it ridiculous that in order to make the math work out, almost everyone who played Quidditch at Hogwarts would have to go on to play it professionally. So in this world, there are only four teams; the Chudley Cannons, the Wigtown Wanderers, the Wimbourne Wasps, and the Montrose Magpies. These four teams play each other round-robin style like the house teams, and the team that accumulates the most points wins the League Cup. The seven best players across all four teams play for the World Cup.