Chapter 29: Colin's camera

Today was such an awesome day. Colin saw an exciting Quidditch game, where the balls flew on their own as if they were alive, and met a magical creature that looked like an ugly, skinny doll with an oversized head, huge round eyes, and ears so weird and big that it should be called an elephant-elf instead. An elephelf! He wondered if there were other types of elves besides house-elves. He would ask Merlin. Merlin knew everything. He was like the Yoda but with a much cooler Force.

Whoah. He just realized, all Jedis were wizards and the Force was simply magic. Star Wars was like Wizard Wars but in space!

The day was far from over. He was pumped and ready for more fun.

"Where are you going, Jack?" he asked, seeing him put on his shoes, which he only did when he was leaving the Gryffindor tower.

Jack was always nice, but there was an air of mystery around him. Colin couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something always felt a little off about him, like he was Clark Kent on the outside but an alien underneath.

"I have detention with Professor Sprout for the rest of the day. See ya later."

Jack ran out and Colin frowned while looking at the empty dorm. He wanted to do something. He went out to the common room, looking for friends. Harry was celebrating the victory with his teammates. It was so amazing to see him at the game. Colin watched him practice before, but it was nothing like the action of the game. Harry zoomed and zigzagged like a flash of lightning. He had so much more skill than the other players. He even nearly fell off his broom but hung on upside down like Spiderman. It was awesome.

Colin walked up to the group and tried to join in the post-game fun, but they were all taller than him and didn't even notice him. He tried to say something but his voice wasn't loud enough. Oh, well. He could catch up with Harry later when he wasn't surrounded by everyone.

He found Merlin getting up from an armchair. He looked like he was ready to do something fun. Perfect. "Whatcha doing?"

Merlin said in a rush, "Actually, I've got something important to do. I'll be back." And he left the common room through the portrait hole on some important Yoda business. Maybe later they would have some fun together. He wondered if Merlin had seen Star Wars. Would he get the Wizard Wars reference?

Colin looked around at who else he knew there. Ginny Weasley was walking down from her dorm, and he ran up to her. Ginny was always fun and had a snarky sense of humor although recently she'd been quieter.

"Hiya, Ginny. Doing anything fun?"

The girl didn't respond and walked right past him. She was pale and expressionless.

"Ginny, are you okay?"

She reminded him of zombies from Night of the Living Dead. That was a good movie. He wished there was a TV around. He'd love to sit down with a bowl of popcorn and watch a fun sci-fi flick with his friends.

Ginny also went out through the portrait hole.

All of his friends were busy today. What would he do? Colin sighed and decided to do the responsible thing—homework. He stuffed his bag, including his camera—you never knew when something interesting would happen—and went out.

The Study Hall had very few people there today. He didn't want to be alone so he sat down next to a Hufflepuff boy he'd seen in the hallway with Harry.

"Hiya, I'm Colin Creevey."

"Justin Finch-Fletchley, pleasure," the boy answered with a posh accent.

Colin pulled out a parchment, quill, ink, and his copy of Travels with Trolls.

Justin showed him his own copy of the same book. "Allow me a guess. Professor Lockhart assigned you an essay on troll etiquette?"

"You too?"

Justin chuckled. "I'm working on it right now. We can share notes if you'd like."

"Great, thanks."

They worked together and Colin immediately came to like the older boy. They had something in common—both were Muggle-born, though, to his disappointment, Justin didn't have an appreciation for sci-fi movies. Still, they got to compare their experiences of learning how to adapt to this new lifestyle.

"My mother was displeased that I didn't go to Eton College," Justin said. "She's been buggin' me about transferring there. They were going to accept me last year, you know, but I like it here. This summer, I gave her Lockhart's books to read and she's starting to understand just how much of a career I can have as a wizard."

"Professor Lockhart is incredible, isn't he?" Colin exclaimed. "Isn't it amazing how he defeated all of those dark wizards and dangerous creatures? He is totally like a Jedi but more famous."

"Yeah. I wish to become as famous as he is."

"You could."

"Several Hufflepuffs became Ministers for Magic, you know. That would be a jolly good career for me. My mother would be proud."

"Maybe I could become a famous magical photographer," Colin mused. "My name could become as known as Henri Cartier-Bresson. I love his candid photography. That's what I usually do, just try to capture people when they're not expecting it. Those shots come out the best. I'd love to share my photography with others. Do they do gallery showings in the wizarding world?"

"I haven't the faintest idea."

Colin supposed a fellow Muggle-born wasn't the best person to ask. He would ask Merlin later. Merlin seemed to know everything.

"Speaking of, I have a ton of photos to develop today. Do you want to join me right after we're done here? I'd love the company."

"Sure thing."

They finished their essays and went to the Art classroom which had a darkroom built to the side for this purpose. Colin lit a lantern which emitted a safe red light.

He taught Justin the process. The first few steps were the same as developing any Muggle film. The only difference was the last step when you dipped the photo in the Photo Potion which magically animated it.

Everything was going smoothly until he got to what appeared to be a photo of an empty hallway. That seemed strange. He was sure he hadn't taken a shot like that. He dipped it in the Photo Potion and watched how the image of the Nearly Headless Nick slowly appeared in the hallway. Nick tipped his feathery hat and then tipped his severed head for effect. Justin chuckled, seeing the animated photo of a ghost, but Colin blanched.

He just remembered something strange that he'd noticed a few weeks ago when developing a photo of Jack and Elsa. When he saw it, he thought that he imagined it, but maybe he didn't?

With shaking hands, he found the part of the film where he captured the house-elf.

"What's wrong, Colin?" Justin asked.

"Maybe nothing…"

Colin found the frame he was looking for and waited patiently for it to develop. It was taking too long. He had to confirm that he didn't imagine it, that it really was acting the same. And it was. The print showed only Dobby in it but when Colin dipped it in the potion, Jack appeared. It meant that Jack was… Was he a ghost? He wasn't like Nearly Headless Nick. So what was he?

His worst suspicion was proven, but he didn't know what it meant. He had to tell Merlin. His friend would know how to interpret this information. Merlin knew everything. He packed up his things, said goodbye to Justin, and ran to the Great Hall. It was dinnertime already, and he found Merlin sitting with, who else, Jack.

"There you are. I was wondering what you were up to," Merlin said and patted a seat next to him in invitation.

Colin wanted to talk to Merlin alone so he waited. Now, he remembered how Jack could speak a language that was dead for a thousand years. Maybe someone had just raised him from the dead? Was he like some kind of a freaky zombie? This was the world of magic. Anything was possible.

He sat and warily observed Jack who had just stuffed his face with potatoes. His white hair gleamed in the light of the candles that floated above them. Did all ghost zombies have white hair? Oh, no. This meant that Elsa was another ghost zombie, and she sat right behind him. He felt surrounded.

"What?" Jack asked with a full mouth.

Colin busied himself with filling his plate. He stared for too long. That was so careless of him. How could a ghost even eat? Didn't zombies eat brains? Maybe Jack was something else then. Whatever he was, it wasn't normal, it wasn't human. He always knew there was something off about the twins, but he never could have expected it was this bad.

He didn't know what the creature in front of him was or what it was capable of. He better be careful and not anger him. He'd seen the magic Jack could do for fun. What type of magic would he do if someone angered him?

Finally, the opportunity presented itself when Jack ran over to the Ravenclaw table to talk to his sister. Colin went into action immediately.

"Merlin, I have something important to tell you."

"Yeah?" Merlin asked while picking at his food. "What's up?"

"It's about Jack. There's something seriously wrong…"

He was interrupted as Harry Potter walked up to them. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah, I've got it," Merlin smirked and tapped the breast of his robes like he had something hidden there.

"Let's go," Harry said.

Merlin stuffed the last bite in his mouth and got up.

Colin grabbed his sleeve. "Merlin, you really need to hear this."

"You can tell me tonight," his friend said and left with Harry.

Merlin left. He didn't get to tell him. Alright. He would tell him later. He could wait a bit longer.

He tried to eat but couldn't shake the creepy feeling of knowing that something unnatural was behind him. He kept sneaking glances over his shoulder to where Jack sat with his sister. They weren't even looking in his direction but that didn't stop his imagination from telling him that they could sneak up on him from behind at any second. He couldn't eat in the same room as those two. He dropped his utensils, grabbed his bag, and left the Great Hall.

Where could he go? If he went to the dorm, Jack would show up and then he would be alone with him until Merlin was done with whatever he was doing with Harry. No, he had to delay his arrival to the dorm. He didn't want to be alone with a zombie ghost.

Colin wandered the hallways aimlessly, not sure where to go. The rainstorm had turned into a thunderstorm. The rain beat the windows relentlessly as if determined to break them one drop at a time. The unlit corners of the dark corridors seemed to slither in front of him. It was unnaturally quiet and then he heard a shuffle. The hair on his neck stood up and he wasn't sure if it was from the cold.

"Hello?" he said weakly and was met with more silence.

Lightning flashed and illuminated the dark hallway for a second. There was nothing there. Nothing to be scared of. The thunder roared, startling him. He was so silly. Of course, the sound would follow the light with a few-second delay. Why was he so jumpy? Maybe he should go back to the Gryffindor tower. He could wait for Merlin in the common room. There were usually people there so he wouldn't be alone. That sounded like a better plan than walking here in the dark.

He turned around and thought he saw something disappear behind a corner. He wondered what it was and quietly approached. He heard a faint sound and his curiosity took over. Merlin mentioned Hogwarts house-elves when interrogating Dobby. Maybe he was about to catch one of them? He brought up his camera, ready to take a photo. He wanted to know if they were going to look the same as the elf he met today and if they would also wear pillowcases for clothes.

Another thunder sounded in the distance as he turned the corner with his camera ready. He clicked the shutter and the world came to a stop.

The camera's flash illuminated the hallway, and a second later Colin collapsed to the floor.