Bill sets the date for our return as the third week of January, during the Ravenclaw versus Slytherin Quidditch match. With all this curse-breaking, I haven't been able to go to a match. The only time I've seen Quidditch being played was at Skye's tryouts. Those seem like so long ago.
The ice encompasses all of the second floor when we return to Hogwarts. Our Transfiguration classes have been moved until the curse can be broken.
The professors have no idea what to do about the ice. I see them whispering to each other in the corridors and at meals, keeping their voices down. As if there might be someone who still believes that they have everything under control. It worries me. If the professors can't break this curse, how can we hope to?
The ice is spreading faster, covering more of the castle every day. The Slytherin common room is blocked off by sheets of ice, so they're moved to the Great Hall. The Potions classroom follows it, but fortunately there is no shortage of unused classrooms.
I look at the head table as I take my seat. The chair in the middle is empty, has been since we returned. Dumbledore is gone, and no one knows where. Panicked whispers speculate that he knows Hogwarts can't be saved, that he's made his escape before it's too late. I don't believe that. If nothing could be done about the curse, he wouldn't leave us here to freeze. That still leaves the question, though, of where he's gone and why.
As the day of the Quidditch match approaches, I grow antsy. I want to break this curse before too many people get hurt. The Hospital Wing is crowded with students who've gotten trapped in the ice.
Professor McGonagall stands suddenly. Everyone's head whips towards her. I'm not the only one on edge.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts classes are canceled until further notice," Professor McGonagall announces without preamble. "Professor Jordan has fallen ill."
Fallen ill. Right. We all know what's really happened; Professor Jordan was frozen by the cursed ice.
I resist the urge to return to the door immediately. I want to do something, especially since it seems nobody else will.
The day of the Quidditch match is clear and cold. I can't remember the last time I felt warm. Even when we visited the Khannas, I could feel the cursed ice, as if it's chilled me somewhere deep inside.
I find Bill as everyone else is walking outside to the pitch. "Are you ready?" he asks.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I answer. My mind is already far from him, thinking about that door.
We left the staircase visible, hoping that the professors would be forced to actually do something for once. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I didn't even get questioned about it, although they have to know I was the one who revealed it. I'm left with no choice but to put myself and my friends in danger to do their job for them.
It's painfully easy to make our way to the staircase. The professors haven't even bothered to leave someone to guard it.
I'm already shivering, even though the worst of the cold is yet to come. I follow close behind Bill, one hand gripping my wand. The other rubs the clover from Alana, which I've taken to carrying around.
We reach the top of the steps, but when we round the corner, Bill stops. I step forward so that I'm standing beside him. The way to the door has been blocked off by massive sheets of ice that stretch from the floor to the ceiling.
"Th-this wasn't here b-before," I say through chattering teeth.
"C-cast Incendio," Bill says.
A jet of fire spurts from the end of my wand, offering a small amount of relief from the cold. The ice melts slowly at first. Water drips down, forming a puddle on the floor. Then it cascades. The ice shrinks faster and faster as the puddle on the floor spreads. My shoes and socks are soaked. Wonderful.
We haven't even reached the door, but I'm gripped by a sudden desire to turn back. The image of Alana lying unmoving on the ground flashes through my mind. I would leave this to the professors. I know I should, but how can I when they won't do anything?
"Careful," I warn as we approach the door. "This is where Alana got hurt."
Bill shakes his head. "That's the mistake you made last time. We've got to attack before it has a chance to hit us." He lifts his wand. "Incendio!"
"Incendio!" I jump as a beam of light strikes the place where I was standing just a second ago.
"Incendio!" A beam of light shoots towards my head. I duck underneath it before diving to the side to avoid another.
I spare a second to look over to see how Bill is doing, and immediately wish I hadn't. A beam of light flies from the door, and before I can dodge, it strikes me in the chest. Pain sears through me as I'm thrown backwards. I strike the ground, and then everything goes dark.
My toes are burning. My ears and fingers too. The rest of me is numb, a fact I'm grateful for. Why? What happened?
I force open my eyelids. I'm in the Hospital Wing. Am I hurt? Of course I'm hurt. How, though?
I wiggle my fingers. They're stiff, and they feel like they're on fire. That's not right. I'm not hot, I'm cold. I'm cold because… because…
Madam Pomfrey hurries over to my bed. "You're awake, Miss Serantos. Do you remember anything?"
About how I got here? I remember… jumping… and there was someone else… "Bill," I say as I remember his name.
"Mr. Weasley brought you here a week ago," Madam Pomfrey says. "I will let him know when you're ready to receive visitors. Your friends have been worried about you."
A week?! That's too long. I have to do… something important. Something very important. If only I could remember what it was. I'm trying to… get rid of the cold. That's right. Bill and I are trying to get rid of the cold.
It takes me another week to recover. Every day, I gain a bit more feeling. My memories return in pieces that I struggle to put together. It's a relief when everything floods back. Is this how Ben felt, lying in a bed in the Hospital Wing struggling to remember who he was?
Madam Pomfrey finally releases me. "You haven't recovered as much as I would like, but I'm afraid a complete recovery is impossible with the castle in this state," she sighs. "The governors have been talking about closing the school until this mess with the ice is sorted out."
Close the school?! We've got to get past that door, and fast. The next Quidditch match is too soon, only a week from now, but it's become clear that we can't wait until May for the one after that.
I find my friends outside the Hospital Wing, clearly waiting for me. "Madam Pomfrey said that they're going to close the school if the ice isn't gone soon."
Bill looks somber. "I'm not surprised," he admits. "Half the castle's frozen now. People are getting trapped in the ice faster than the professors can rescue them."
"Professor Flitwick and his entire class got trapped this morning," Penny adds.
"We've got to go back as soon as you're ready," Ben says.
I look at him. "We?"
Ben shrugs. "You and Bill obviously can't get past the door by yourselves."
"But you said we have to go back. You've never been to the door," I say suspiciously.
Ben shrugs again. "Slip of the tongue."
I narrow my eyes. After getting hit by the ice and experiencing its disorienting effects for myself, I was almost certain that Ben's memory loss was purely a result of being trapped in the ice. Now I'm not so certain. Now I'm not even sure he's lost his memory at all.
"But why you?" I press. "If anyone else is coming, it should be Alana. She's already been, and I'd rather not have anyone else get hit by the door."
Alana shudders slightly. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not get struck by the door again. Been there, done that, you know?"
"I could come," Penny offers hopefully.
Ben crosses his arms. "I've been researching Concealment Charms. I can hide any evidence that we were there."
"Why does that matter?" Penny retorts. "The professors clearly don't care about anything that goes on in that corridor."
I look at my friends in confusion. Ben and Penny are scowling at each other, both intent on coming with us. Just last year, Ben wouldn't even enter the locked room, which was much less terrifying.
I think about Penny's reaction when I told her I didn't want my friends going near the door. She's so insistent on not being left out of anything. Between this and Ben's sudden courage, I'm starting to question my friends motives for helping me.
Rowan glances nervously at first me, then Ben. I wonder if she's come to the same conclusion I have, that Ben might be working for R after all. Bill simply looks bewildered. He doesn't know about R's notes.
"Can't we just let them both come?" Bill looks at me for confirmation. "I know you want to keep the number of people going in the vault to a minimum, Celena, but we need their help."
"All right," I say. "So here's the plan. We have two weeks to train. If the professors still can't get their act together at the end of that time, then we break the curse ourselves. Penny, Ben, make sure you know Incendio."
Rowan looks startled by my obvious disdain for the professors, but recovers to offer advice of her own. "Practice your dueling spells as well. Don't forget about the Ice Knight."
The Ice Knight had, in fact, slipped my mind. "Right." Because things aren't complicated enough already.
Penny looks suddenly nervous. "My Flipendo needs work," she admits.
"I'll help you," I reassure her.
I think of my first vision, of Hogwarts vanishing under a block of ice. With every day that passes, that vision becomes closer to becoming a reality. Will we be able to save Hogwarts in two weeks? Or will we be too late?