The day of the Quidditch match arrives with no news of Ben, no idea of when he might be found. I try to be optimistic. No news means no one has found his dead body.
That morning, Tulip and I remain in our dormitory after everyone else has left for the match. I convinced Rowan and Alana to watch. They need something to take their minds off of Ben, and if they're seen hovering around the Gryffindor common room, it won't take a genius to figure out where I am.
I lift my wand, pointing it at my chest. "Reducio," I say. A stream of purple sparks flies from my wand.
The world blurs as I shrink rapidly. When it stops, I'm maybe four or five inches tall. The beds look like mountains, the posts as tall as trees.
Tulip picks me up. "You're so tiny," she laughs. Her voice sounds deep, and very loud. I press my hands over my ears.
"Sorry," Tulip whispers. She holds up a harness with a Dungbomb on the back, and I slip it on. This is my cover. If anyone sees Tulip throw me into the common room, they will find the Dungbomb and stop searching.
Tulip places me in her pocket, and I crouch down to avoid being seen. It's uncomfortable in her pocket; dark, hot, and stuffy. I can't wait until I can get out.
There's movement as she walks to the Gryffindor common room. This is where she meets up with Tonks.
I hear the din of excited students pouring from the common room out to the Quidditch pitch. Normally, the noise level would be tolerable; to my tiny ears, it is deafening. I press my hands over my ears again, attempting to block out some of the onslaught of sound.
Tulip reaches into her pocket. Her hand blocks out the light, and I'm briefly plunged into darkness.
Tulip's fingers wrap gently around my torso, and she lifts me up. I take a deep breath, refreshing after the stifling atmosphere of her pocket. I keep my hands clamped over my ears.
The last of the Gryffindors leave the common room, two boys so intent on their conversation about the upcoming match that they don't notice Tulip tossing me through the portrait hole behind them.
I land on a rug with a thump. There's no one else in there. I shrug off the Dungbomb, letting it fall to the carpet behind me.
I pull out my wand. "Engorgio," I say. With a shower of icy blue sparks, I'm returned to my usual size.
I search frantically, peering under tables, moving aside cushions on sofas and chairs, pulling back blankets over furniture. I would tear the room apart, but no one can know I was here. I even get down on my hands and knees to peer into the fireplace, thinking the quill might be hidden in the ash, but it isn't.
I move a stack of textbooks, but there's nothing underneath. I study a statue of Godric Gryffindor, but it's too heavy for me to move.
Finally, I spot something black taped to the underside of a table. I peel back the white Spellotape and shove the quill into my pocket.
I hear the sound of a horn from outside. Tulip and Tonks rigged the entrance so that if anyone tried to get back in, they would set off a variation of a Dungbomb that results in an explosion of confetti. More importantly, it also makes a noise that allows it to be used as a signal.
"Reducio," I whisper, diving under the closest armchair. I lay still, my heart pounding.
No one comes in. Tulip must have convinced them to leave. Just to be sure, I wait until I hear her knock twice on the portrait before crawling out from under the armchair.
"Engorgio," I say. I open the portrait hole and close it behind me. "Reducio." I shrink down, allowing Tulip to hide me in her pocket again.
We make it back to our dormitory without being interrupted, where we meet Rowan and Alana. Helena and Badeea are elsewhere, perhaps still at the match.
Tulip places me on the floor. I cast Engorgio on myself and return to my normal size.
"Did you find it?" Rowan asks. I nod and take the black quill out of my pocket.
"Reparifarge," I cast. With a flash of white light, the quill transforms into a piece of parchment, identical to the one we found in the Artefact Room.
I unroll the note. "'Proceed to the library corridor. Transfigure this note back into a black quill and return it to the Gryffindor common room. Failure to follow your instructions will result in severe punishment. -R'." I look at Rowan. "The library corridor… that's where you said…"
"That's where the vanished stairs are most likely to be," Rowan confirms. "Which means that R is investigating the vaults, and they're getting Ben to do it for them."
"Ben, and probably other students, too," I say. "Otherwise they wouldn't care if the quill was put back or not."
"So are we going to put it back?" Alana asks. "How would we get inside the common room? Doing it once was hard enough."
"We'll leave it up to Ben," I decide. "If he wants to put it back, then he can put it back."
The sudden sound of footsteps on the soft carpet shakes me from my thoughts. Tulip leaves the dormitory, closing the door with a soft click behind her. I look up, startled. I was so eager to see what the message said that I forgot she was here. I tell myself not to worry too much. Tulip deserves to know what we found with her help.
The worry fades away, replaced by a desperate urgency. "We've got to go. Now." I'm already halfway to the door by the time Alana and Rowan get off the bed, R's note still in my hand. I shove it in my pocket.
My friends run to catch up, and together we walk to the corridor. I want to hurry, to reach Ben before it's too late, but R's instructions were clear. We cannot be noticed.
As we near the library, the temperature drops rapidly. Our breath forms clouds in the chilly air. My fingers and toes are numb, unresponsive blocks of ice.
We round the corner, and I almost fall. The floor is coated in a sheet of ice, as slippery as a skating rink. The corridor is filled with massive stalagmites of ice, similar to the ones from the frozen room last year, only much bigger. At the base, they are wide and circular, narrowing to a point at the top. These pillars of ice are beautiful, smooth and white, but they also look as unnatural as they are. The points are sharp, the bases too round, the sides too smooth. All of them are identical. There are no imperfections, no irregularities.
We slide, rather than walk, through the forest of ice, alert for any sign of Ben. Even here, out of sight of everyone, the ice forbids the urgency we long to have. The floor is too treacherous.
It seems like an eternity before we catch sight of Ben, although it's probably no more than a few minutes. He's encased in a block of ice. No part of him pokes out. The stalagmite holding him is identical in every way to those surrounding it. One of many.
I draw my wand. "Flipendo!" It's the spell we used to break the ice last year. This time, though, the ice doesn't so much as crack. It's too strong.
Alana and Rowan try as well, but they also can do nothing. I whip around to face Rowan. "Find one of the professors." I don't care what R said, I'm not leaving my friend to die in a block of ice.
Rowan nods and slides away. She goes as fast as she can, but even that speed seems painfully slow.
"Flipendo!" I strike at the ice again and again, but it's surface remains perfect, taunting me. Ben's face stares at me through the ice. His eyes are closed, but his mouth is slightly open. Maybe he was frozen in the middle of a cry for help.
A small, traitorous voice in my head whispers that I can do nothing for him now, that I'm too late. I grit my teeth. I don't know that for sure. I strike at the ice harder, and a small crack appears.
"Let me try," a voice says behind us. Professor McGonagall. I almost start crying in relief. I've never been so happy to see a professor.
Alana and I lower our wands and step away, letting Professor McGonagall get closer. She studies the ice intently. I bite back a question. I can't distract her.
"Incendio," Professor McGonagall says, pointing her wand at the ice encasing Ben. A jet of fire pours from the tip, slowly melting the ice.
Water drips onto the floor, forming a puddle. Professor McGonagall holds the fire until only a thin layer of ice is left surrounding Ben. This she breaks with Flipendo.
Ben's limp form topples to the ground. He's pale and shivering. Even though he's freed from the ice, he hasn't woken up, but at least he's alive.
Professor McGonagall says another spell, one that sends out a warm gust of air and dries Ben's robes. She carefully picks him up. "I need to get Mister Copper to the Hospital Wing. You should return to your common room. I will let you know when he wakes."
I nod reluctantly. I know from experience that Madam Pomfrey doesn't like her patients getting visitors, and if we accompany Ben now, she'll only shoo us away.
"Oh, and I would suggest learning Incendio," Professor McGonagall adds. "It's a useful spell, and I have a feeling you'll be needing it soon."
I look at her in shock, but she's already sliding away, Ben in her arms. In a roundabout way, did she just give me permission to go looking for the first vault?
Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it! Two chapters, good for us, but not so good for Celena and her friends. Oh well.