The next day the staff and students alike attempted to keep a sense of normalcy after the previous night's attack. Beneath all of the forced smiles and forced laughter, however, was a sense of foreboding. Many asked who was responsible for these attacks and even more speculated as to who the next victim could be. The Weasley twins were running a lucrative side-hustle by taking bets.

"Did you hear they're starting a dueling club?" Hermione asked at breakfast the next morning.

Ron scoffed. "Figures. With a monster on the loose, everyone's anxious to learn to defend themselves."

"When is it?" Hilda asked.

"It's tonight after dinner here in the great hall. Says all are welcome to attend, but first-year students are to be observers only."

"That's not fair!" Frida said angrily. "Colin was a first-year. If he'd known how to fight, he might've gotten away." David and Hilda nodded in agreement. "This is a load of rubbish."

"So you're not coming?" Harry asked.

"Oh, we'll be coming, but as protesters."

"Also the duels will probably be fun to watch," David said excitedly.

"David!"

The day crawled by at a dead snail's pace for Hilda. By the time Herbology class with the Hufflepuffs rolled around she was nearly insane with impatience. "Are you alright, Hilda?" David asked as they entered the greenhouse.

"I'm just sick of waiting for tonight to come around," she moaned.

"Welcome, class!" Professor Sprout entered the rooms and gestured for the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff first-years to stop whispering among themselves and take their seats at the potting tables. "Today we'll be checking the young Mandrakes to see how their development is coming along."

Sprout left and returned with a cart of pots, each with a small fern springing from the potting soil within. She placed one at each table before heading to the front of the class. "What do you all know about Mandrakes? Yes, David?"

"They can be used to cure petrification."

Sprout nodded. "Ten points to Hufflepuff. Incidentally, David, there's a spider on your shoulder.

"Cripes!" David brushed the spider off and onto the table, watching it scamper away. "I feel like that's the same one every time."

"He must like you," Hilda said, giggling.

"As David said, and as you are all probably aware, the root of a fully-grown Mandrake is an important ingredient in the potion Snape is making to free Mr. Creevey and Mrs. Norris from their frozen state. However, as the winter season is approaching, these little-ones are burrowed into their pots, hibernating. And a hibernating Mandrake does not like to be woken."

"Like Vittra?" Hilda asked.

Professor Sprout chuckled. "Yes, I suppose they may be related. I heard about your adventure with Lockhart and Chief Mudclaudia. You'd think Gilderoy would have known not to pluck a Vittra young'un from its patch, but that's going off on a tangent. So, onto the examination. I need everyone to put on their earmuffs; although they're young, a baby Mandrake's cry can stun a fully-grown wizard."

Once the earmuffs were on, Professor Sprout amplified her voice so she could be heard. "Alright, class, watch and then follow." Pulling up her robe sleeve, she grabbed the fern by its base and pulled gently but firmly. Up popped the fern, which was, in reality, the sleeping Mandrake's hair. Immediately, it started screaming, kicking its little legs around. All the students heard through their muffs was a faint, high-pitched whine.

"As you can see," Professor Sprout shouted. "They need to be calmed. There is no ideal technique to do so, which is why we use this mild muscle-relaxant draught to mellow them out." Picking up an atomizer, she attempted to spray a puff of its contents into the Mandrake's open mouth. The Mandrake, however, was not having it, and with a thrust of its little hand, it knocked the atomizer to the floor, where it shattered, spilling its contents across the floor. Professor Sprout muttered something inaudible, but Hilda could make an educated guess.

"Well, this is bad," Professor Sprout shouted. "I need someone to go to the dungeons and ask Snape for a new potion. In the meantime, everybody stay calm, there is no need to panic."

As if on cue, the pots in front of each student began to shake and rattle. The students stepped back as the Mandrakes popped their heads out of the soil, having been awoken by their sibling's cries. "Okay!" Sprout hollered over the growing din. "Not ideal, but there's still no need to panic." Then the Mandrake in Sprout's hand slapped her face, knocking her pair of earmuffs off of her head. The professor's eyes widened in surprise, then rolled back in her head as she dropped the Mandrake and fell over in a dead faint.

There was a long moment's silence, then pandemonium as thirty students started panicking.

"What do we do?" someone shouted.

"Catch them!"

"They're running under the tables!"

"One brushed against my leg. Ow! It kicked me in the shin!"

One of the Hufflepuffs grabbed a hoe lying against a wall. "Everyone! Grab a weapon!" he yelled, warming up to take a swing at a Mandrake.

Suddenly, the Mandrakes stopped their screaming. One by one, they turned their attention to David, who had climbed up on one of the potting tables. Hilda risked lifting her earmuffs off to hear what was happening.

David, in his choirboy voice, was singing a lullaby.

One by one, the Mandrakes sat down, heads rocking back and forth to the song. Hilda slowly walked over to one and picked it up, cradling it like a newborn and rocking it. As everyone watched, mouths agape, she pointed to the drowsy Mandrake in her arms, then gestured to the ones surrounding her.

Gradually, one of the Gryffindor's caught on and picked up another Mandrake. The others followed suit, and soon all of the students were busy rocking the Mandrakes to sleep. By the time David had reached the end of the song, the Mandrake in Hilda's arms was fast asleep, snoring peacefully. Creeping on her tiptoes, she walked over to the nearest pot and gently placed the Mandrake into it, covering it back up with the soil.

A minute later, all of the Mandrakes were put away, and the earmuffs were removed. The Hufflepuff who had previously gone for the garden hoe now set it down, looking chastened. "I'll get Nurse Pomfrey," he said a little too loudly.

"Shhh!"

"Oh!" the boy said, before lowering his voice. "Sorry," he whispered, before heading for the greenhouse door.

Hilda walked over to David and helped him down from the table. "How did you know?"

David rubbed the back of his head and blushed. "Well, I remembered how my younger cousin would throw a tantrum, and how my Aunt would sing her back to sleep. I figured these little guys were just cranky, so why shouldn't it work for them?"

Hilda pulled David into a hug. "You're amazing, David. Also, that spider is back on you."

Professor Sprout made a swift recovery once Nurse Pomfrey arrived with a bottle of smelling salts and a hip flask of fire whiskey. Having regained some color, she awarded David a hundred points for his quick thinking and gave the other students fifty points each for their teamwork. After taking another swig, she decided to double the points. David was picked up and carried out the greenhouse on the shoulders of his classmates, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the attention he was receiving.

The rest of the day was pretty easy. It wasn't until after dinner when she noticed the Snape and Lockhart moving the tables against the walls that Hilda realized she'd completely forgotten about the dueling club meeting.

"Excited?" David asked, sitting on one of the benches next to Hilda.

"I guess, even if we only get to watch." She looked over at David and smirked. "Where'd your groupies go?"

"Please don't," David said, laughing. "They Hufflepuffs wanted to throw a party, but I snuck out of the dorm before they could get organized."

Hilda and David watched as the hall filled students. Hilda saw Harry, Ron and Hermione and waved to them. Frida eventually emerged from the crowd and sat next to them, arms crossed. "Still protesting?" Hilda asked her.

"They're asking for trouble by not letting us participate," Frida grumbled.

"No one else seems to really mind," David said, pointing to a few other first-years.

Frida groaned. "Don't they see the danger we're in?"

"Some people just want to carry on like nothing happened," Harry said, expression darkening. "They don't want to admit there's something wrong."

Sounds familiar.

"Quiet, you."

"What?" Frida asked.

"Uh, I meant, quiet, Lockhart and Snape are about to start."

Lockhart clapped his hands to get the students' attention. When that failed, Snape stepped forward and raised his wand and cast a bolt of lightning into the air with a deafening crack. Everyone cringed from the noise directed their attention up to the Potions Master. "Now that we have your attention," Snape began, "Welcome to the first meeting of the Hogwarts Duelling club. As you all know, magic is capable of many amazing things, but it is also capable of great damage and chaos. In light of recent events, the Headmaster feels you should be made aware of the dangers you face, and in turn be instructed on how to counteract those dangers."

"Yes, thank you, Severus, for the introduction," Lockhart said, stepping forwards. "I myself know how important it is to know how to duel. Why, I remember once in Kenya when I was facing a local rogue medicine man—"

Snape turned to the rambling professor and raised his wand. "Depulso." The spell struck Lockhart mid-monologue, lifting him off his feet and throwing him ten feet backward.

After regaining his breath, Lockhart sat up and gave a weak smile. "Of course, one of the first rules in dueling is to never let your guard down. Excellent work, Severus."

"My pleasure," Snape replied, holstering his wand.

Lockhart got to his feet. "Well, now that we've given a demonstration we would like two volunteers to practice. Let's see...Snape, how about I choose one and you choose one." Snape nodded in agreement. "I nominate Harry Potter." Harry frowned when his name was called, but reluctantly climbed onto the dueling platform.

"A curious choice," Snape noted, giving the boy a sour look. "Very well, my turn." He scanned the crowd for a moment before homing in on his target. "Draco, you look eager to start."

The Slytherin grinned and pushed his way through the crowd. Getting onto the platform, he smirked at Harry. "Scared, Potter?"

"You wish," Harry replied.

"Ah, a little good-natured banter," Lockhart said, clapping his hands. "Well, then. Let's have you both stand back to back, take ten paces, turn and-"

"Everte statum."

Just as like Lockhart before him, Harry was caught completely off guard. Fortunately, Lockhart was there to break his fall. Climbing off of the re-winded Defense professor, Harry scowled at Malfoy. The Slytherin only grinned. "Never let your guard down."

Harry responded with a knockback jinx, but Draco blocked it and countered with a stunning spell. This time, Harry saw it coming, and rolled out of the way, to the misfortune of Hilda, who was standing at the edge of the stage directly behind him.

"Hilda!"

Hilda blinked and looked up at the faces looking down at her. "Are you alright?" Frida asked. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"I'm fine," Hilda sat up and looked around. "Where did everyone go? What happened to the duel?"

"The duel is over, Hilda," David replied as he was helping her up.

"What happened, then?"

"It's hard to say," Frida said, leading Hilda over to the nearest bench. "I'm not so sure what happened myself. Malfoy summoned a snake at Harry, which Lockhart tried to banish, but he only made it angry and it went for Justin."

"The Hufflepuff?"

David nodded. "But then Harry whispered something to the snake, and it stopped. Then everyone went crazy. Harry was hurried out quickly by the Gryffindors after that."

"Why was everyone upset? Harry saved Justin."

"It's how he did it that got everyone excited," Frida said. "I don't know any more than that, but I expect we'll get a better idea when we go back to our houses and talk to the other students."

Hilda nodded. "Ok, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Hilda climbed through the portrait hole just as Harry was being grilled by Hermione and Ron.

"Why didn't you tell us you're a Parselmouth?" Ron demanded.

"What's a Parselmouth?" Hilda asked.

Three heads turned towards her. "This is a private conversation, Hilda," Ron snapped.

"Ron, don't be a prat!" Hermione hissed.

Harry sat up. "I'd actually like to know the answer as well, Ron."

Ron sighed and beckoned Hilda over to them. "A Parselmouth is a wizard that can talk to snakes," he explained.

"Okay, I can talk to snakes, so what?"

"So what? Only dark wizards speak Parselmouth!"

Hermione snorted. "That's not true, Ron. Plenty of famous wizards knew how to speak to snakes. Merlin, Copernicus, John Dee…"

"And He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Ron added. "My dad told me during the war he had a pet snake that he used to squeeze enemies to death."

"Why don't you just call him Voldemort?" Hilda asked.

Ron flinched at the name, as did several other students within earshot. "Bloody hell, Hilda. You can't just call him that."

"Why not? What is so scary about the name Voldemort that everyone is afraid to say it?"

"Because it's a taboo," the four students glanced over at Neville, who had stood up from his chair. "He had a curse placed on it."

"Voldemort cursed his own name?" Hilda asked.

"Stop saying it!" Ron hissed.

Neville nodded. "Anytime someone said it, it gave away their general location to the Dark Lord's men. He figured that anyone who didn't fear his name didn't fear him, and therefore they should be made an example of."

"Thanks, Neville, but back to the conversation," Ron continued. "The Dark Lord spoke Parselmouth, and so did Salazar Slytherin."

"Harry, if you speak Parselmouth, and so could Slytherin, then think of what this means to some people."

Harry's eyes widened. "They think I'm the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Well, of course, we don't," Ron said, "but Fred and George have started running odds on who it is, and let's just say you're doing pretty well at the moment."

Harry put his hands over his face. "Oh, Merlin. The entire school is afraid of me, and Fred and George are placing bets."

"Well, technically, they're only running the operation. If you aren't the Heir then they're set to win a lot, so really they're counting on your innocence."

"Which is all the more a reason to get into the Slytherin dormitory," Harry said.

"When should we do it?" Hilda asked.

"Christmas break," Harry said. "That's when we have the best chances of getting away with it. Fewer witnesses."

"But I'll be home for Christmas!" Hilda whined. "Wait, Harry, why aren't you going home?"

Harry cringed. "My relatives don't particularly care to see me, so I stay here."

"Well, you can't be here all alone."

"I'm not alone! I have Ron and Hermione."

"Well, I don't think it would be safe to stay in the castle over the break when there's a monster running around the school. The fewer students, the higher the chance that one of you will be the next to get petrified."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "She does have a point."

"This entire thing was your idea, and you want to postpone it?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"I can admit my mistakes sometimes."

"Then admit that Lockhart is a fraud."

"...Well, I'm sure he knows what he's doing to some degree."

Hilda took Harry's hand. "If your family doesn't want you, you can spend the holidays with me and my mum."

"I'd need to get my uncle and aunt to sign a permission form," Harry explained. "And I think only a miracle would get them to do so."

Hilda grinned. "Well, then it sounds like they've never met anyone like my mum."

When she'd first moved to Trolberg Hilda had trouble adapting to the sprawl and business of the city. One of her common complaints was how every city street looked the same. Johanna told Hilda that just as every rock, tree or mountain was different, so was every house, every door, every street. It had helped Hilda think of the city not as a bland, dreary place but as something unique and special. Of course, the unexpected menagerie of magical creatures had also won her over, but that's beside the point. The point is that looking at Privet Drive, Johanna was glad they hadn't moved to somewhere like Privet Drive. Hilda would never have let her hear the end of it.

Johanna didn't much care for it herself. Everything was perfect. Each house was as perfect and uniform as the houses on each side of it. Perfect gardens, perfect paint, perfect cars parked in perfect drives. And no house was more perfect than Number 4, the Dursley residence. Johanna was reminded of a song a friend of hers had played ad nauseam at her university's open mic nights.

"Little boxes made of ticky-tacky and they all look just the same," she sang quietly to herself as she walked up the perfect front walk to the perfect front door and knocked the perfect brass knocker twice gently.

The door was answered by a woman of all sharp angles, a frown seemingly etched into her sharp face. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Johanna held out a hand, "Hello, my name is Johanna Dahl. You must be Petunia Dursley. Might I come in?"

"Are you selling something?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

"No, I'd like to talk to you about your nephew, Harry."

Petunia's frown grew deeper. "Are you one of them?" she asked.

"I don't know who you're referring to," Johanna replied, giving a frown of her own. "My daughter goes to school with your nephew, and I'd like to talk to you about—" before she could finish her sentence the door was slammed in her face.

Johanna liked to think of herself as a relaxed person. She had to be, with all of the adventures her daughter had a knack for getting herself into. But she felt her temper rising. Grabbing the knocker, she hammered a half-dozen times. The door opened again. This time, a walrus of a man stood before her, his face red. "You must be Mr. Dursley," she said, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Pleased to meet you."

"Go away!" the man hissed. "We do not want your type here."

"My type?" Johanna asked innocently. "Are you talking about wizards?"

She raised her voice just loud enough that the woman trimming the hedges next door turned and gave her and Mr. Dursley a curious glance. Vernon's face turned purple, and he quickly stepped aside. "Come in, then," he growled. "Before you make a scene."

"Perish the thought," Johanna said as she entered the house.

They moved back to the kitchen, where Mrs. Dursley stood, a freshly-poured mug of tea in her hands. "You let her in?" Petunia asked in disbelief.

"Is that for me?" Johanna plucked the mug from the woman's hands and gave a sip. "How kind. You certainly know how to treat your guests."

Petunia looked as though she were about to have a stroke, but managed to restrain herself. "Alright, Ms. Dahl, you have our attention. What do you want?" she asked. "Did Dumbledore send you?"

"The Headmaster?" Johanna asked. "Oh, no. My daughter Hilda sent me. She has made friends with Harry, and wants to have him over to our house in Trolheim."

"And why does this involve us?" Petunia asked through clenched teeth. "Why do you have to walk in and tell the whole neighborhood about the boy and his disorder."

"Steady on," Johanna said, raising her hands. "Magic is not a disorder. If anything, it's a gift. If your own child was a wizard, would you treat him so cruelly?"

"Our Duddums is perfectly normal, thank you very much," Vernon replied in indignation. "If anything, he is the perfect specimen of a normal, healthy boy.

The kitchen door was kicked open, letting in a corpulent boy who didn't even bother to wipe his muddy feet on the mat. "Mum, where're the crisps?"

"That's your son?" Hilda asked. She didn't say it, but the boy could stand to lay off the crisps.

"Hello, Duddums," Petunia cooed, pinching the boy's cheek. "What have you done today?"

"Piers showed me this garden someone had planted in the woods behind the greengrocers. We had a little fun with it."

"Good, clean fun," Vernon boasted, smiling. "Not like your kind," he said.

Johanna rolled her eyes and fumbled through her bag. "Look, as much as I'd like to stay and watch the rest of this show, I just need your signature on this document allowing Harry to spend Christmas with my family."

"Is that all?" Vernon asked suspiciously. Johanna gave him the document to inspect. "Why can't you lot use paper and pen like normal people," he grumbled as he read it, but he evidently found it acceptable. "Alright, I'll sign if it gets you out of my hair."

"Thank you kindly," Johanna said. She watched Vernon sign. "You also need to sign here," she said, turning the page. "And here. And initial there."

"Awfully thorough document," Vernon growled.

"Well, my daughter's elf friend taught me an appreciation for proper paperwork."

"Nutters, the lot of you," Vernon finished and pushed the papers back into Johanna's arms. "There, you've got what you wanted, not leave."

"I will. Let me say it was very terrible to meet you," Johanna said before turning and making for the front door, leaving Mr. Dursley and his wife fuming.

Johanna shut the front door behind her and took a deep breath to steady her temper. She looked over at the rose beds by the picture window and was contemplating setting them on fire when she spotted a trail of tiny footprints leading from the rose bush around the corner of the house. Johanna followed it around the corner of the house. There, she found three strange creatures stacked atop one another, the uppermost one peering through the kitchen window. "Psst!" The topmost Vittra turned and noticed her. "You're after the whale boy, right? He trampled your garden?" The spear-wielding Vittra gestured to his bent and torn head-stalk. "Thought so. The back door's unlocked."

The Vittra gave a knowing grin. "Thanks, lady."

"Gladly," Johanna replied before turning around and walking back to her rental car, her whistles masking the ensuing screams behind in her wake.

"There's a green one, and a blue one, and a red one and a yellow one, and they're all made out of ticky-tacky, and they all look just the same."

This chapter was kind of difficult to write. Originally, the dueling scene was going to feature Hilda dueling Malfoy with the Voice's help. However, it gave away Hilda's secret far too early and would have ruined the pacing of her arc. The scene in the Herbology classroom was added originally to counterbalance the dark tone shift of the duel, but now I'm glad to have made this chapter a little lighter. It's difficult with all of the secondary characters to give some of them enough screen time, and so I wanted to have a part of the story that revolved around David. Together with the added scene with Johanna, I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Coming up: Christmas in Trolberg, the Great Raven, and a close escape.