Chapter 17: Lake of Souls Pt. 2

"Cecilia!" There was no response.

"Cecilia!" Again, no sign that she heard him.

It was horrifying: to hold a friend's body in your arms while their mind was locked in a strange and incomprehensible place, not knowing what they were going through or whether they would recover. Myles shakily rose to his feet, lifting Cecilia up by her legs and shoulders, and began to walk towards the castle. She was light, but Myles was thin himself and far from the largest or strongest first-year. Their progress was awkward and slow going. His heart raced loudly in his chest and he couldn't see his feet past Cecilia's body. Myles's only solace was that Cecilia's eyes and muttering had slowed. By the time he tripped over an unseen rock and sent the two of them tumbling to the ground, her eyes and mouth were moving as if in slow motion.

Myles turned in the fall, taking it on his shoulder so that Cecilia landed on top of him. A moment later, feeling the jarring pain of his shoulder, he inwardly cursed his stupidity. He was a wizard, wasn't he? Myles rose to his feet and drew his wand, relieved to see that Cecilia's muttering and eyes had finally stopped.

"Winga-" Myles cut off his spell as Cecilia stirred with a groan. He stuffed his wand back in his robes and rushed forward to kneel by her. "Cecilia! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." Cecilia looked at him blearily, her eyes failing to focus on his face. She clearly wasn't fine, but Myles felt a weight rise off his chest at her words. She propped herself up on her elbows and made a weak and short-lived attempt to get to her feet. "Help me up?"

Myles moved his arm under Cecilia's and pulled her up. She leaned heavily against him, clearly too weak to support her own weight. From the candles disappearing on the lake to the power that had taken over Cecilia's body and voice, the night felt like a dream turned nightmare. When Cecilia was back to normal, he was going to get answers, but all he could do now was shoulder her weight, trudge back to the castle, and hope that Cecilia would be okay.

There wasn't a single soul in sight: student, teacher, or animal. Even the paintings of Hogwarts were subdued. The diurnal inhabitants of the castle's canvas snored quieter than normal, and the nocturnal inhabitants, prone to confronting students after curfew, were silent as Myles and Cecilia passed. He turned towards the infirmary, hoping they could wake Madam Pomfrey or her assistant up, but Cecilia tugged him towards the stairs that would lead them to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

"I don't need to go to the infirmary," she said, her words decisive despite the weakness in her voice and body.

"You can't even walk!" Myles protested incredulously, though it was the strange magic that had turned Cecilia into a puppet that had him truly worried.

"Myles," Cecilia said, looking up at him with her still unfocused eyes. "Trust me."

He paused for a moment. Between the horde of secrets he suspected her of holding and the nearly constant act she put up at school, Myles didn't know if he should trust Cecilia. But he thought her act eased around him, that she showed him a bit of her genuine self. That had to count for something. And despite her mystery, there was no one at Hogwarts Myles felt more comfortable with. Rose was too uptight, Kory was awkward to be with, and Lyla was simply overwhelming.

Myles turned towards the stairs that would lead to the Ravenclaw common room. "You owe me an explanation for all this. A good one."

He took the noncommittal noise Cecilia responded with as a yes and began the awkward climb up the flights of stairs. He would've switched over to the Levitation Charm if he hadn't been worried about what might happen if his concentration broke or if the stairs gave a surprise shift while Cecilia was hovering in the air. It was a slow climb, but eventually they made their way to the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

If they'd belonged to any other House, their troubles would've ended there. But Rowena, for all the sage and stately wisdom she was credited with, hadn't been above punishing students who broke curfew. It was common knowledge within the House that the Ravenclaw entrance would sometimes work up wickedly hard riddles for students trying to enter past curfew. If you couldn't answer the riddle your only hope was someone opening the door on there way out of the common room or for another student, also returning past curfew, to get the riddle right, both unlikely hopes at this time of night.

"An island is inhabited by three Phoenixes, who answer questions only by caw or cheep."- the eagle knocker on the door cried out the realistic bird noises-"One speaks only in truth, one is cursed to speak only truth's opposite, and one speaks only in the manner of the spinning wand. They will hear only three questions, and only the Phoenix addressed will answer."

"Which Phoenix is which?" The door gave off the sounds of three birds rustling in their perches. "Ask."

Myles looked at the door in disbelief. He'd only been out past curfew once, having gotten caught up in a book, and while the riddle had been tricky, it had been nothing like this monster. He looked to Cecilia, saw her glazed eyes, and realized he'd have to solve this on his own. He sighed, led Cecilia to the bench and laid her down. There were a few thoughtful pillows laid about the entrance, placed for hapless Ravenclaws who couldn't solve post-curfew riddles, and he moved one under Cecilia's head.

Then, he began to pace.

"Three Phoenixes..." Myles mused. "They only answer with caw or cry. It must be yes and no? But which is yes and which is no? And one of them answers in the 'manner of the spinning wand', so randomly…"

He sighed, turning to look helplessly at the compassionless door. "If I can figure out two of them, I'll know the third. Two questions for the first and one for the second? But what about figuring out what means yes and no?"

Myles really needed a quill and parchment for this. And a good night's sleep. And an Invigoration Draught. He thought hard for long minutes before giving up on a perfect answer, realizing that he could be here all night and still not have it.

He decided to assume caw was yes and cheep was no, if he could figure it out from there he'd at least have the odds of a Sickle's flip. Several more long minutes later, he had started pulling on his hair, the random Phoenix having formed an impenetrable wall in his head. Taking a deep breath, he thought about how he would tell the difference between the Phoenix that spoke the truth and the Phoenix that spoke the opposite. If he asked each of them if they were the Phoenix that spoke the truth then they would both respond yes (this could tell him if caw or cheep were yes or no!), but, and Myles was proud of this little epiphany, if he was to ask "if I were to ask you if you're the Phoenix that spoke the truth, would you say yes?" then the truth Phoenix would say yes but the opposite Phoenix would say no. He had the feeling this revelation was important, but he still had no clue how to use it.

Myles cast Tempus and saw that it was past two in the morning; he'd been working on the riddle for almost half an hour. Cecilia still hadn't fallen asleep, but she was clearly out of it. His eyelids were heavy and his thoughts had become sluggish, if he couldn't solve the riddle soon, he might as well sleep in the entrance.

Myles decided he'd try his luck, he would guess that the first Phoenix was not the random Phoenix and go from there.

"First Phoenix, if I were to ask you if caaw means yes, would you say caaw?"

"Caaaw!" Came the response, sounding as if there was a great bird before him. So either the first Phoenix was random or Caaw was yes...

Suddenly, Myles realized that the riddle wasn't the important thing here. What exactly did or didn't the Ravenclaw entrance know? Could it answer any question it was asked?

Myles walked closer to the door and his voice came out in a whisper. "First Phoenix, if I were to ask you is Livian alive, would you say caaw?"

"The Phoenixes know no more than you." The door responded, and Myles felt a rush of disappointment. Perhaps it was because of the late hour and ordeals of the night, but he had fully expected an answer. And beneath the disappointment, there was an undercurrent of relief that he wouldn't admit even to himself, because a part of him didn't want to know the answer. So long as it was a mystery he could imagine that Livian was unharmed and safe.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice the door swing open. On occasion, the Ravenclaw entrance would open for students who interpreted the riddle differently or intentionally cheated it. Some students took it as a game, but the entrance was particular and it was rare that the door would open for anything but the traditional answer. Every time it did happen, however, the door gave the same phrase.

"Ravens break riddles."

Myles blinked at the open door, too tired to bless his luck. He heard a shuffling behind him and turned back to see Cecilia pushing herself to a seated position. Between the riddle and thinking about Livian, Myles had almost forgotten to worry about her, but his concern returned in a flash. Her limbs were shaking just pushing herself up, her skin was too pale, her hair was in disarray, and her eyes were faraway. Even with the door open just behind him, Myles was tempted to march her straight to the infirmary. He wished he could help, but while he might be able to knit together a cut or set and heal a cleanly broken bone, there was nothing wrong with Cecilia that he could fix.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," she replied weakly. "I just need to get to my room."

"I can't take you up the girl's dormitory," Myles said. "We can still go to the infirmary."

Cecilia shook her head at his suggestion. "Just get me to the stairs. I can make it up by myself."

Myles eyed her doubtfully, but he'd decided out on the Hogwarts grounds that he trusted her. He set his arm under her shoulder, and they made there way into the Ravenclaw Common Room, the door that had thwarted them for the better part of an hour closing behind them. It was late enough that there wasn't a single reading light still on, but the light from the star studded sky above them was enough to navigate the room. He led Cecilia to the stairs of the girl's dormitory, unconvinced that she would be able to take them by herself. To his surprise, she summoned the strength to do so, leaning heavily on the railing and pushing herself up.

Myles waited until she had made it past the stairs and through the door to her room before turning to walk to his own. He was dead tired, but sleep wouldn't come. The words not-Cecilia had spoken out on the Hogwarts grounds rose from the back of his mind. They played on repeat, not-Cecilia's voice echoing like thunder in his head.

He almost jumped when the magically silenced curtains around his bed parted, letting in the sound of Kory's snores, but it was only Cecilia. She looked much better, her eyes had cleared out of their haze and her skin had recovered some of its color. She had obviously done something, perhaps a potion, to recover. But Myles didn't fail to notice that her hands were still shaking.

"Can I join you?" Cecilia asked, a tinge of embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

Myles looked at her in surprise. When he'd first gotten to Hogwarts, many of the first-years had cried at night, realizing how much they missed their parents when no one came to tuck them in. The crying hadn't lasted long, but there were other signs than tears that the first-year students were missing their home. Some had only eaten deserts in the Great Hall for the first month, others didn't know how to take care of their appearance and hygiene by themselves, and most of them clung to their group of friends, whether it be new or old, almost as if to replace the caring presence of their parents.

Myles could relate to the emotional absence they felt, it had been over a year since Livian had been taken from the Orphanage. But he couldn't relate to their dependence. For as long as he remembered, he'd taken care of himself. The Caretaker would provide food, clothing, and rules (such as bathing requirements) but little else. It was another reason he felt separated, different, from the rest of the first-years. But Cecilia was an exception to that rule. Despite the way she pretended to act, Cecilia was independent. And she was, Myles thought, even more independent than he was. His independence was one of necessity, he'd never had a parental figure to rely on, but Cecilia's independence was despite having two loving parents.

Which was why Myles was so surprised, it was hard to imagine Cecilia, the real Cecilia, needing to not be alone. He wondered what exactly had happened to her tonight, where she had gone when that eerie voice had spoken through her mouth.

"Come on in," Myles said, opening the covers and shifting over to give her room. He had disrobed before getting into bed but still wore his long underwear. It wouldn't have bothered him either way; there had never been room for modesty at the Orphanage.

Cecilia crawled in beside him, their shoulders touching when they both laid down. The two of them laid there, silent save for the even, almost hypnotic, rhythm of each other's breaths until sleep claimed them.

A/N: I looked back at the Forbidden Forest and Pot of Dragons Bed chapters and realized I had pretty much forgotten to keep writing the subplots introduced there. The brewing of X was an uneventful success and Albus was healed (this isn't just throwing a bandaid over it, I hadn't planned on doing anything else with that). The pot of dragons bed chapter is awkward, because if all first years are carrying around a potted plant, one would expect that to be mentioned as Myles and friends go about their school days. I'm going to continue as if students are only required to tend to the pot of dragons bed in class and look at going back to edit the chapter later.

A/N: The riddle with the Phoenixes is from a riddle of "three gods on an island". If you want to find the riddle look that up on Google.