Bagsy got off the train, leaving her luggage in the pile on the station.
'Your belongings will be carried up to the castle for you,' Professor Hilkins, the ancient Transfiguration teacher who seemed as frail as a leaf, had announced in his soft voice. 'First years this way, please. Everyone else, to the carriages.'
Bagsy followed the procession towards a line of horse drawn carriages. Only, no ordinary horses were drawing them. Instead, a skeletal winged horse with eyes like an ocean's abyss was waiting to carry them along.
'Wooooah… I forgot how cool these things are,' Bagsy heard a familiar voice say ahead of them and spotted the top of Winifred's bald head.
Itsuki nodded in agreement. 'Yeah, that is cool. Carriages pulling themselves! Still can't get over it.'
Bagsy frowned, wondering if Itsuki had very poor eyesight or was deliberately ignoring the bat-winged horsed. Pushing the question aside, Bagsy clambered onto one of the carriages and sat down, glancing at the ones in front and at the ones filling up behind her, hoping she'd made a mistake and would catch a glimpse of Mezrielda somewhere. She sat as tall as she could in her seat, craning her neck around, but found no sign of her. When the carriages started moving, creaking as their wheels crunched over dirt and leaves, she kept up her search, eyes desperately trying to find her friend.
When they arrived at the great hall and sat down at their house tables, Bagsy stretched upwards, peering over the other students' heads to look at the Slytherins, and tried to hear the sharp, condescending tone of Mezrielda's voice above the loud chatter of the others. When she looked over to the Slytherin table, no Mezrielda was sitting amongst them.
'Bagsy!' Greenda said merrily, sitting down opposite her, and filling her vision instead.
'Hi, Greenda,' Bagsy responded with a smile. Neve, Teresa, Itsuki and Jon were sitting to Bagsy's right and discussing what the best flavour of Bertie Botts every flavour beans was, so she was free to listen to Greenda during the feast and ignore the excited conversation they were having. She felt far more comfortable talking, and mainly listening, to just one person, but still couldn't shake her concern for Mezrielda.
Bagsy looked at the professors' table at the front of the room and saw the usual faces. Professor Wattleseed, the young and good-looking Herbology Professor, was sitting next to Professor Kim, the young and good-looking flying instructor.
'What's going on there?' Greenda asked, nodding at the staff table.
Bagsy shrugged. 'I guess they're friends,' she said innocently.
Greenda frowned, looked back at Bagsy, before returning her gaze to the staff table. 'No, not those two. I mean her.' She pointed at an unfamiliar face at the end, belonging to a tall and lithe woman, with features more severe than Mezrielda's. Her skin was tan but seemed pale compared to her jet-black hair that fell below the table and to her feet, coiling on the floor like a snake. Yet even her hair seemed light compared to the darkest black of her long, sweeping dress. The woman, as if sensing she was being watched, fixed the most mesmerising violet eyes on Bagsy, who'd never seen eyes such a colour, and felt her insides turn to ice in a way she couldn't describe. She looked at her hands quickly, hoping the new woman hadn't noticed her staring.
'She is very odd…' Greenda trailed off, furrowing her brow. 'I can't describe how, though.'
They didn't get much more chance to discuss it because Professor Fitzsimmons, the head professor of Hogwarts, was approaching the podium to make their beginning-of-term speech.
So far, Bagsy had tuned out and ignored Professor Fitzsimmons' speeches. Feeling guilty, she pushed thoughts of Mezrielda's absence out of her mind so she could finally pay some attention.
'Welcome back to Hogwarts, students,' Fitzsimmons said with a smile. They wore their usual unassuming white and brown robes, with a crooked, pointed cap on their head. Their bark coloured hair was cut as it had been last year – reaching down to their jaw and curling at the ends in ways Bagsy had previously thought impossible.
But what really made Fitzsimmons stand out was their dark eyes which were enlarged by a pair of mammoth glasses that sat neatly on their small nose. Two great, big brown eyes stared out at the students, watching them closely. 'One of our house-elves has, unfortunately, left our number. As such, we have seen need to seek help from outside of Hogwarts to replace his indispensable and dedicated cleaning services.' Fitzsimmons gestured efficiently at the woman with violet eyes and long, jet-black hair who was sitting patiently at the staff table. The woman stood up and there were a few gasps up and down the great hall. Now that the new woman was standing Bagsy could see a cloak hung from clasps on either side of her neck, trailing down her back, made entirely of black feathers, but as impressive as it was, she didn't think that was what had the students so shocked. The woman was incredibly tall – easily a head or so above any of the other teachers. Even Belta Zotova, the grounds keeper, who was a massive woman herself, seemed dwarfed by her height. Professor Starrett, who always looked short despite the high heels she click clacked around the school in, was sitting to the tall woman's right. Now, she was staring pointedly ahead of herself, a furious expression etched into her face at how tiny she looked in comparison to the height of this new woman.
'Please, introduce yourself,' Fitzsimmons invited the new staff member.
The woman dipped her head respectfully, her hair and feather cloak moving like water, her hands clasped in front of her night-dark gown. 'You may call me Mistress Foncée.' Her voice was quiet and yet filled the space easily. Mistress Foncée sat back down, making not a sound, evidently done with introductions.
Fitzsimmons turned back to the students. 'Treat our new staff member with respect when you see her tending to the castle and be cautious of the mess you may bring into our walls. Now, I have one final, but grave, announcement.' Fitzsimmons smiled thinly. 'The spiral stair case in the south of the castle is currently out of bounds to all students and staff. It has been appropriately locked. It is impossible to find yourself on those steps accidentally, and anyone who attempts such a foolish action will be expelled immediately.'
The students broke into whispers.
'Expulsion straight away!' Greenda breathed in shock. 'There's never been such a strict rule.'
Fitzsimmons' enlarged, bug-like eyes flashed dangerously, and the hall fell silent. 'I must warn you all that a dangerous creature breached the castle last year. The issue has been dealt with, but I must advise caution and vigilance to all of you. Remember, your professors are here to protect and guide you. Be honest with them, and you will find help when you need it most.' With their ominous speech concluded, Fitzsimmons nodded at Professor Wattleseed, who had been whispering something under his breath to Professor Kim. Wattleseed nodded and got to his feet, picking the sorting hat up from the floor.
Bagsy heard a few students up and down the great hall sigh. Wattleseed was incredibly good-looking and Bagsy had found students very immature about it indeed. Wattleseed had dark hair, a polished goatee, large square glasses and welcoming features. She could understand why people found him attractive, at least.
The first years who'd been stood fidgeting at the back of the hall were ushered forward by Wattleseed. Professor Hilkins waved his wand from his seat at the staff table and a faint orange light glided through the air, forming into a stool in front of the four house tables that watched on eagerly.
Bagsy cast her mind back to when she'd been sorted. The sorting hat had been a foreign voice in her head and Bagsy had tried her best to hide her desire to not be in Hufflepuff from it. She wondered if that had been a mistake. She glanced at the Slytherin table and collected a handful of glares and instantly looked away, feeling like a rabbit hiding from a fox. She realised that yes, it had been for the best that she'd been sorted into Hufflepuff. Even if it meant she hadn't been in the same house as Mezrielda, at least she wasn't being eaten alive by the more boisterous houses of Hogwarts. Bagsy wasn't particularly brave, smart or cunning, so she reckoned she was best left in Hufflepuff.
'Ignis, Robin,' Wattleseed read out from a scroll half way through the sorting.
'Woo!' came an excited cry from the Ravenclaw table. Winifred was beaming at the girl walking to the stool, her friends around her elbowing each other and whispering eagerly. Fitzsimmons fixed their eyes on Winifred who ducked her head and went quiet, shooting a look at one of her friends.
Bagsy looked up at Robin Ignis and realised why Winifred had cried out. Robin was like a mini Winifred. She had hair so short she was practically bald, and fiery amber eyes like Winifred's. Robin sat down on the stool, smirking in the direction of Winifred and shooting her a wink. Winifred winked back, shooting finger guns at her.
The hat had been on Robin's head for barely a second before it called out 'Ravenclaw!' and the Ravenclaw table burst into life, Bagsy just as startled by the sudden loud noises as she had been last year. Winifred and her group of friends got to their feet and whooped louder than all the rest whilst Wattleseed looked back at the other teachers with an amused and bewildered shrug.
Robin confidently strutted down to Winifred and sat next to her. Winifred wrapped her hands around her and rubbed her head harshly while laughing, as Robin tried to squirm out of her grip but was unsuccessful.
'If they aren't sisters, I'm not a prefect,' Greenda murmured to Bagsy with an amused smile. Bagsy nodded her agreement.
'Levitt, Elijah,' Wattleseed called out. A boy of average height and build, with straight brown hair and no real distinguishing features, sat down on the stool. He screamed of ordinary to Bagsy, though she wasn't one to talk. The hat made quick work of him, placing him swiftly in Hufflepuff.
The Hufflepuffs cheered in approval as Elijah walked happily over to sit with them. Greenda indicated the seat next to her and Elijah sat down, beaming at the students around him who were patting him on the back or waving pleasantly. Bagsy smiled thinly, covering her ears against the noise. Elijah shot her an odd look but seemed more amused than anything.
'Bloodworth, Kester,' Wattleseed said. Another boy walked up to the stool and found himself a Gryffindor within a minute. 'Hirsch, Howe,' Wattleseed continued, before another boy was placed in Ravenclaw.
The sorting continued until all the first-years had their houses. Bagsy noticed that Hufflepuff didn't seem to get all that many students, whilst the Gryffindor and Slytherin ranks had been boosted considerably. Bagsy glanced at the massive hourglasses that represented the house points collected throughout the year and wondered how fair it was to have more people in one house than another.
After the sorting had finished, a great feast appeared on the tables and the students tucked in. Glancing at the Slytherin table one last time, Bagsy piled food onto her plate. She was hopeful they'd make it through the feast without incident, when she heard a chant start up a few seats down from Greenda and herself.
'Greenda, Greenda, what shall we do?' it began. Bagsy's stomach sank and she slowly put her cutlery down. Greenda looked at her plate silently before letting out a long, tired sigh. 'You're boring us, which is nothing new.'
'I'm not even talking to you-' Greenda shot down the table angrily but was cut over by more voices. Emmeline and Kat were smirking at Greenda, keeping their voices low so teachers wouldn't hear, but loud enough so Greenda could.
'Greenda, Greenda, what can we say? Whenever you're there, you spoil the day!' The two students looked at each other with a snigger. Bagsy got the impression what was coming next was worse. 'Greenda, Greenda, you're so weird, you have to be friends with the younger years!' They fell about with giggles. Greenda's face slacked, her eyes looking at Emmeline and Kat with hurt. Then, she glanced self-consciously at Bagsy before, finally, looking down at her food, her hands holding her fork and knife tightly.
'Greenda-' Bagsy began.
'It's fine,' Greenda said, eating a piece of broccoli and chewing it harshly.
Professor Blythurst, the head of Hufflepuff, was at the other end of the table and hadn't seen the teasing. Last year he'd shut Emmeline and Kat up with nothing more than a look. Bagsy wished he'd done the same again, and before Emmeline and Kat had finished that last line. It seemed to have upset Greenda more than any of the others.
Greenda was very quiet the rest of the meal and Bagsy struggled to lead the conversation, speaking had never been her strong suit, so that when the meal ended she was feeling very concerned for her friend.
'Greenda, is something wrong?' she asked.
Greenda shot her a sideways look. 'They have a point,' she responded quietly. 'It's not ideal that you're friends with me.' Bagsy's face fell. 'I love being friends with you,' she clarified, 'but maybe I'm just stopping you from making friends with students your own age. I'm in my fifth year, remember?'
'Right,' Bagsy muttered. Whilst Greenda did have a point, they were far apart age wise, it still hurt to hear it.
When the feast was done, Professor Blythurst stood at the end of the Hufflepuff table to organise the students on their way out. He was the most asymmetrical man Bagsy had ever met, and probably the laziest, too, if last year was anything to go on. From head to toe there was nothing symmetrical about him. He had an uneven, stubbly beard, eyes of different sizes, and a nasty scar that stretched from one corner of his face to his jaw. With his dark robes and rotund shape, Blythurst looked like a shambling cauldron draped in cloth. Last year he'd had at least some grey hair, even if it was greatly receding, but now Bagsy couldn't see a single strand – he was as bald as Winifred.
'Prefects-' Blythurst cut off as a great cough racked his body. Over at the Gryffindor table Professor Wattleseed, who Bagsy surmised was the head of Gryffindor house, was bowing extravagantly with a charming smile as the students filed past him out of the hall. Professor Starrett, at the Slytherin table, was coldly watching the students walk by her, snapping every now and again when their robes weren't clean, or shoe laces untied. Evidently, Starrett wasn't just the deputy head, but the head of Slytherin as well. Professor Jones, the Astronomy professor, was similarly orchestrating his pupils, the Ravenclaw students, out of the hall.
The Hufflepuffs watched in mounting worry as Blythurst continued to cough, despite the other houses being all but gone from the hall. Eventually, he managed to take a vial out of his robe and drink it, clearing his throat. 'Prefects,' he croaked down the table. 'Lead your -cough- housemates out of the hall.'
'This way, please-' Greenda stood and began to instruct the first and second years around her, but Emmeline cut over her.
'This way!' Emmeline called, louder than Greenda. Silently fuming, Greenda looked at her in annoyance. Students hesitated in confusion, looking back and forth between the two prefects, before following Emmeline.
'You better go with her, too,' Greenda said to Bagsy, who opened her mouth to protest, only to find Greenda storming out of the hall and shoving past the other Hufflepuffs before she could.
Reluctantly, Bagsy followed Emmeline and a horde of first years to the Hufflepuff common room. She knew the corridors a little better this time around, and when they passed the only still life painting in all of Hogwarts, that Bagsy had been told led to the kitchens, she knew the common room was nearby.
Stopping at the end of the corridor in front of a large stack of barrels, Bagsy couldn't help but think back to when Winifred had tried to follow her into the common room. She'd banged an incorrect rhythm and had consequently been doused in vinegar.
Emmeline warned the first years of this, demonstrated the rhythm, and on which barrel to tap it, before leading them inside. Unlike Greenda, however, her voice was less commanding, and a fair number of students hadn't paid attention to what she'd said. Bagsy worried they'd get covered in vinegar later on in the year.
Climbing the small set of stairs that had swung forward once the barrel had opened, Bagsy crouched down and walked through the dim passageway that led to the common room. Once inside she paid little attention to the other Hufflepuffs, heading straight for her private room which was accessed by a small, round door hidden behind an armchair and some ferns. She spared a glance at Itsuki, who was laughing as hanging tendrils of ivy rebirthed the mohawk he'd lost over the summer.
'You sure you don't want a different hairstyle?' Teresa asked in disbelief, crossing her arms. Itsuki shook his head, admiring his new hairdo in a small mirror.
Bagsy ducked behind the armchair and reached for the small wooden door that led to her room. It had iron decorations of badgers on the front and she took a moment to trace one of them with her finger. Badgers were pretty cool, she thought. As she opened the door and ducked into her room, she remembered the quilt her sister had given her for her birthday and decided to use it as a throw on her bed.
Only, when Bagsy entered her room, it was entirely dark. She tried to light the lanterns, but it didn't seem to work, and then she heard a noise.
The distant clamour of the common room shrunk to nothing more than haunting whispers and the quiet of her room was disturbed only by the noise of a creaking door. In the darkness Bagsy could just about make out one of the cupboards opening on its own, and she backed against a wall, her breath catching in her throat.
There was silence, and all Bagsy could hear was her own, staggering breathing. Then, so suddenly she had to close her eyes against it, there was a bright white light filling the space. When Bagsy's eyes adjusted a towering creature was looking down at her with bloody eyes and eight white arms.
The blood eyed beast.
With a scream Bagsy thrust open the door to her room and scrambled back out into the common room. The students who'd been examining their new home slowly silenced to look at Bagsy in confusion, who was lying on her back and desperately shuffling away from her room.
'Where did she come from?' Bagsy heard someone say. She couldn't respond, she was too busy hyperventilating.
'Calm down,' Teresa said, sounding scornful.
'Bagsy? What's wrong?' Neve asked.
'T-t-t-t-there is… t-t-there…' Bagsy stammered, pointing at the door to her room, finding herself unable to finish her sentence, as if the words were being forced back down her throat.
Primrose snorted. 'She's gone mad. Bagsy, there's nothing there.' Primrose kicked her lightly, as if she were a broken toy. 'Honestly, can't you go one day without freaking out.' The common room filled with suppressed giggles. Bagsy was looking at the door to her room, which was slowly, and ominously, closing.
'You have to run!' Bagsy said, clambering to her feet. 'Please!'
Primrose shook her head and tutted, leaving for the girl's dormitory. 'Lost it, that one has,' she joked to some of the first years, who laughed in their agreement.
Bagsy heard a great roar from her room. 'See!' she said, gesturing at her room. No one reacted. 'D-didn't you hear that?' she asked, her voice faltering when she realised no one had so much as flinched. Teresa rolled her eyes and Neve shook her head with a concerned expression. Bagsy looked at the door, wondering if she really was losing her mind.
As if out of nowhere, Professor Fitzsimmons and Mistress Foncée were standing in the common room, and a few moments later, a huffing and puffing Blythurst appeared. Bagsy would have wondered how Blythurst had fit through the small passage if it weren't for her relief at the professor's appearance.
She rushed over to Fitzsimmons. 'Professor! There is-'
'Not another word, Bagsy,' Fitzsimmons said severely, their big eyes fixed her with a silencing look and her sentence died in her throat. Fitzsimmons glanced around at the remaining Hufflepuffs. 'All of you to your dormitories, now,' they ordered. With confused mutterings the other Hufflepuffs left. Neve shot Bagsy a sympathetic smile, whilst Teresa looked bewildered and a tad annoyed.
Once the room was clear Fitzsimmons placed their hand on Bagsy's shoulder. 'I must apologise again,' they said and Bagsy looked up sharply. 'A boggart moved into your room over the summer. Without a cleaner it had yet to have been dealt with. I had instructed Professor Blythurst to inform you of this and to instruct you to use the girl's dormitory but, unfortunately, he forgot.' Fitzsimmons shot a scathing glare at Blythurst who let out a hoarse breath and gave the smallest of nods as apology. 'I ask that you not mention this to anyone else, Bagsyllia,' they added, sweeping towards the exit. 'If anyone pushes for answers, tell them a Boggart was hidden below that armchair and it was dealt with. The teachers and prefects will support this story for you, so you will not be called a liar.' With that, Fitzsimmons disappeared from the room, as did Blythurst. Bagsy blinked, still puzzled how they kept managing to appear and reappear like that.
'Let us deal with the creature,' Mistress Foncée said, her voice crisp like morning ice. She moved to the armchair and pulled the door hidden behind it open. 'Come,' Foncée instructed, standing back from the opening. Bagsy stood at Mistress Foncée's side fearfully. Something like a wisp of smoke glided out of the private room and hovered before Mistress Foncée. Bagsy felt the creature looking into her soul and then, as she blinked, it changed into the beast she had faced during her first year at Hogwarts. Foncée looked at the beast for a long time, her expression unreadable, then pulled forth a long wand, that was black like the rest of her clothes, and stepped between Bagsy and what she now knew was a boggart. The boggart, in the shape of the blood eyed beast, turned its red, sludge-like eyes onto Mistress Foncée, baring its teeth.
Foncée raised her arm and pointed it at the beast slowly. 'Riddikulus,' she cast. In a snap, the arms of the beast turned into balloon animals and tied themselves into the shape of dogs and birds and the eyes became big red balloons that punctured and flew about the room with hilarious hissing noises. Foncée swished her wand again and the balloons burst – the boggart disappearing. Mistress Foncée turned to look down at Bagsy and dipped her head. 'All taken care of, my dear.'
Bagsy looked at her room. 'So… I can go in?' she asked in a small voice.
Mistress Foncée nodded. 'Yes. Good day.' With a swift turn Foncée disappeared from the common room. Bagsy looked at the door leading to her room, then glanced at the circular passageway that led to the girl's dormitory, her hand reaching up to clutch the invisible necklace she was wearing. Bagsy decided that, at least for one night, she didn't want to sleep on her own, and walked to the dormitory.
