Nifflers and bowtruckles.
Griffin and Jacob sat together in Creature Club, playing with a Bowtruckle and discussing their holidays. Arun sat at the front of the class reading up on the next week's lessons and deciding how she wanted to teach them. She had deliberately placed Griffin and Jacob near her desk so she could listen in to what they were saying and she was glad of it too, because it didn't take long for them to forget who might be listening.
"My mother said that Hogwarts will be attacked. She said that the Centaurs fought off a number of werewolves a few days ago but Dumbledore's been ordered to keep quiet about it. The Daily Prophet isn't printing either."
Arun looked up at the redhead and wondered who her mother was. There were a number of Griffins who worked at the ministry that she knew about, but none of them were in positions where they would know something like that.
"Do you think they are after it too?"
"I think they are after us, but if we are going to be attacked that would be the perfect time for Snape to steal it. I bet he invited them here to cause a distraction."
Jacob leaned in, "But what can we do?" he pressed. "We've already landed Rab in . I won't put anybody else at risk."
"We're all at risk," Griffin growled. "I think we should speak to the Centaurs. I've been reading up on them. I think they will speak to me."
"There's more in that forest than horsemen; I think the entrance is there too."
"To the hidden vault network?"
"Quieter," Jacob hissed.
Griffin leaned in closer, "You managed to research?"
"I got my mum to take me to the Balthasmory Historical Library in Edinburgh where the records are kept for Hogwarts construction. There's a whole network of vaults and….I mean...it's changed a lot but…It mentioned curses...it mentioned...I don't know if they are the same ones but..." he shrugged.
With a flick of her finger, Arundel caused the bowtruckle to stumble and fall into the candle, which tipped over and caught the corner of their parchment on fire. Griffin put it out and Arundel made a display of looking up at them. "Honestly, you come here to look after these creatures, not put them at risk of harm. I'm giving you both detentions. See me tonight after dinner and bring your cloaks."
"Professor…" Jacob started to complain, but Griffin kicked him under the table and gave a quick shake of her head. She was studying Arundel in a way that unnerved her and when she read her mind she found some resistance, Griffin had started to teach herself oculomancy which meant that she had worked out Arundel had the ability to do it, and perhaps suspected both Snape and Dumbledore too. Arundel responded with a smile.
"You want to say something Freya?"
"Are we going outside?"
"I haven't decided yet."
The evening lessons went smoothly, one lesson was purely studying and essay writing in preparation for working with a new creature. One was writing up care notes after a practical, she hosted a potions revision group before tea time, where the focus was on the difference between cutting, crushing, smashing and ripping ingredients, then she got herself tea in the great hall, spoke to the herbology professor about the resin Amber and it's properties and then made her way back to her rooms where she found Griffin and Jacob waiting for her in the hall.
"Give me a moment to change and we'll go down," she told them as she disappeared into her study.
Griffin looked past her, "Is this where you live professor?" She asked. "It's very nice. What's that on your mantelpiece?"
Arun looked at the Oran Spike. "My sister studies ancient magical cultures, it's a replica of a dagger from the Mayan people."
"That sounds like a fun job," Griffin actually looked wistful, but Arun was too full of worry for her sister to humour her.
"It's a dangerous job, I have no idea if she's dead or alive and there's not a thing I can do about it," she'd said too much. Griffin's face fell, Arun turned and disappeared into her room. A moment later she came out in boots and trousers, with her cloak around her shoulders and a scarf around her neck.
"We're going to the forest," she told them as she pointed for them to walk.
They left the castle and headed down through the grounds. It was already dark and Arun pushed her hands together, breathed into them and a lantern formed which gave off a warm golden light.
"How'd you do that?" Jacob asked. "You didn't use a wand."
"I don't have a wand."
Both children looked up at her with more questions than she cared to answer. "Did somebody take it from you?" Griffin asked.
"No."
"Did you break it?" Jacob asked.
"No."
"Were you banned from using it?"
"Griffin-" Arundel breathed in and stopped, they had reached the whomping willow which was swaying slightly, shaking birds from its branches when they dared to land.
"Professor?" Jacob asked, an edge to his voice now he could see the first trees of the forest. "Will we be safe in there?"
"Safe is a relative term. Are there things in there that might kill us? Yes, there are. My advice to you is to stay close to me."
"Why are we going in?"
"I need Centaur dung for my second years to analyze."
Arun watched Griffin and Jacob exchange glances.
"What?"
"It's…" Griffin bit her lip. "It's nothing. I've never met a Centaur before."
Lies, so many lies.
"What else do you know about these forests?" Arun asked.
"That over the years they have built up a number of magical beasts, many are not native and have escaped from the Care of Magical Creatures department. There are stories that there are vampires and werewolves too."
"Vampires and Werewolves," Arundel chuckled. "How frightening."
"It's not funny," Jacob told her, his voice full of spite. "Those creatures survive off of the pain and misery of others."
Arun stopped walking and turned so the light shone in Jacobs face, "Know that as a fact do you? Have you ever met a werewolf or a vampire before?"
Jacob hung his head, "No."
"Then, on what premise do you base your assumption?"
Griffin stepped in, "Everybody knows," she said. "Cases of attacks are well documented. What about Greyback?"
"What about him?" Arun turned and started to walk again.
"He turned everybody he could, particularly children, he sided with the Dark Lord."
"So did the Death Eaters, are all wizards bad too?"
Griffin and Jacob went quiet. For a little while, all that was heard was the crunch of leaves underfoot.
"I heard a rumour, Professor, about werewolves coming to Hogwarts," Griffin told her.
"Did you?"
"If the rumours were true, if they did come, would we...would we be safe."
"Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world."
"But…"
"Yes?"
Griffin bit her lip then stopped walking and looked deeper into the forest. "It's a big place, the forbidden forest."
"If that's what you are worried about, why did you come with me tonight?"
"I," she stopped, but she didn't stop looking into the darkness beyond Arundel's lantern. "I was told that werewolves attacked the forest a few days ago."
Arun nodded and looked into the darkness. "Told by whom?"
"My mother."
It was too quiet, "Why would she know?"
"She's an Aura."
With a flick of her hand Arun changed her vision so she could see better in the gloom, she was surrounded. Somewhere between twenty and thirty werewolves, out of the reach of the lantern but watching silently. There wasn't a full moon tonight, but one scratch could see a person bleed to death without powdered silver and dittany and Arun only had enough for herself.
"Get behind me, get your wands up."
Jacob looked very pale indeed, Griffin resolute, they did as they were told.
In the darkness somebody started to laugh, or growl, it sounded very similar.
"Arundel Granville, what a pleasant surprise." Fenrir Greyback emerged from the shadows. "Thought I warned you away."
"You warned me, and I ignored you."
"That was silly," he chuckled, then noticed the children for the first time. "Brought me dinner did you?"
"Not today. I need them."
Fenrir growled, and behind him a number of eyes glinted in the lantern light. The wolf pack had crept closer.
"How many of you are there?"
"More than you can take on. I suppose if you are here we have a conflict of interest Granville. That's a pity."
"Answer me this, before you kill us," Arundel urged, buying time as she tried to edge away from the approaching mass of werewolves. "Are you working for the Americans?"
That seemed to surprise the werewolf. He stopped advancing and licked a tongue over his teeth, "We've got to kill the kids Arun, can't have them back at school, telling tails, and if you try and stop us I'll kill you too."
Arun stepped back a few more times, waiting for the werewolves to get into range. Then she grabbed Griffin and Jacob by the rist and launched herself through the trees, they hit on branches and narrowly missed slamming into tree trunks as she fled, and the werewolves gave chase.
"Now would be a good time to tell me where the vault is," she screamed at Jacob as they flew.
"You know?" Jacob cried as Griffin started to shoot repelling spells at the advancing werewolves.
"I know Jacob, just tell me where to run to."
Fenrir had nearly caught them up, she felt air shimmer as his sharpened nails slashed inches away from her leg. Griffin hexed him and he fell back howling.
"The great lake," Jacob cried.
Arundel veered up, "Hold on!" she shouted and she Jumped into the air and flew them through the thick canopy then across the top of the trees back in the direction they had come from. On the edge of the lake Arundel landed and checked herself over for bites and scratches. "Do the same," she commanded of the children.
"I've been scratched," Griffin's voice wavered, Arun ran across to her and studied a long cut on her arm.
"It's ok, you won't turn from that but there will be side effects. She reached into her bag, the one charmed bigger on the inside, and she pulled out a bottle. "Give me your arm." she said and poured the powder onto the cut.
"Will they find us here?"
Arun set wards then sat heavily on a rock by the water's edge and ran a hand through her hair. "I think it's time you were honest with me," she said.
"We could say the same," Griffin poked her wand in Arun's direction. "You knew him. Seemed like you were friends."
"I know Fenrir, yes, I knew he was coming here. I tipped the Centaurs off."
"And why are you here Professor?" Griffin raised her wand as if to attack. Jacob wasn't paying them attention, he'd gone into the tree line searching for the vault entrance.
Arun gave her student a surly look, Griffin raised the wand higher. "I don't appreciate being threatened."
"I don't appreciate being taken into the forest as an offering for a werewolf."
"That's not what happened here."
"Then what happened!" Griffin screamed.
"You and I are searching for the same thing. The vault and the cause of the hauntings."
"The Grants Artefacts?"
"Yes."
For a moment Griffin looked like she would keep her wand on Arundel, but she lowered it. "Why are you looking for them?" Griffin asked.
"I would ask you the same."
"To stop the Dark Lord from coming back."
"They couldn't make him come back even if they were all together."
"Then, to stop Snape from getting so powerful he could take the dark lords place."
"That's the last thing Severus wants."
"If that's true, why are you looking for them?" Griffin pressed.
Arundel bit her lip, was she really going to tell a child what was going on? She was. She was about to tell this sixth-year girl, who looked so much like Snape's childhood love Lilly, everything.
"Griffin, I'm-"
There was a piercing scream from the forest. Arun and Griffin spun around.
"Jacob!" Griffin cried.
"Wait-" Arun called but Griffin was already sprinting back into the forest.
The scream came again, this time to their right. Arun overtook Griffin and arrived at a cave entrance first. She blocked Griffin and slapped her hand onto her forehead. "Go back to the school, you served your detention, it was boring, you didn't find any centaur dung."
Griffin stumbled, blinked a few times as her brain reordered itself.
"I seem to have got lost," she muttered. "I'll be going now."
Arun watched her stumble through the trees and she hoped to god that the girl didn't run into Fenrir's people. The scream came again, Arun turned and slid down feet first into the cave. Which turned into a slide and she landed in ice cold water in the pitch black.
Something wound around her feet and she blasted it with a jet of hot water which made it recoil sharply. Then she swam as fast as she could towards what she hoped was the surface. When she came up for breath there was an inch between her and the cave ceiling. She cast an air bubble around her head and dived down again. This time casting a lumos spell to see where she was going. She saw a flicker of movement to her right and she followed through a tunnel and then up into a chamber where she saw that Jacob had been pinned to the wall with thick web. His skin was turning blue. She shot a blast of hot air at the sticky webbing which shrieked and recoiled and Jacob fell to the floor.
"Where's your wand?" she asked him. "Accio Jacobs wand!" from the depths of the water it shot into her hand and she pressed it into his and used a drying spell to warm him up. "Come on Jacob, wake up."
His eyes flicked open, and in their reflection, she saw many eyes. She rolled and blasted the creature before she even knew what it was. A huge spider screeched and stumbled away.
"What are you!" Arundel screamed.
"What do you think, human!" The spider cried.
Arundel too a few steps back, collected herself and looked around. There were a lot of monstrously huge spiders in this layer and only one exit. In one hand she created a fireball, the other ice and water. The spider took steps back but it's legs went into attack positions.
"I'm looking for haunted objects, They should be in a vault near here. Do you know where I can look?"
The spider clicked it's fangs and bristled. "He says to us to protect it but we sees all of the ones we have lost. We wants it gone."
"I can get rid of it."
"No, human, I can't let you leave. We must stay safe from your kind."
"You think I care about your existence?"
"Caring or not is your luxury, but trusting you is ours and we don't trust you at all."
"If you're going to kill me you might as well tell me where the haunted objects are hidden."
The spider started to laugh, Arun crossed to Jacob and helped him up, but the spiders had blocked their way out. Arun took Jacobs hand, they had their back to the water now. In a swift motion Arun pushed Jacob into the water and followed him, she cast the bubble back around their heads. Above her spiders crashed into the water, but they couldn't swim down to get her. In the darkness, she clutched Jacob to her, cast the biggest lumos spell she could muster which caused a number of more vile looking creatures to swim and hide, and then she started to search for other ways out. Next to her Jacob swam with wide eyes and a pail face. He never let go of her sleeve.
"Look," he pointed after a while of searching. His eyes were better than hers, and she couldn't see what he was pointing to.
As the got closer Arun stopped swimming, she could see the ghost of the muggle girl she had tortured. Jacob stopped and studied her.
"Can you see her too?"
"No."
Arun nodded. Convinced now that they were in the right place. As they drew closer she saw a large circular hole in the rock with the symbols for mars and jupiter etched into the corners. They swam into a tube, now following the ghost of the muggle girl. Arun looked at Jacob and told him he should go back, but he pointed out that there was no way back, and that was hard to argue with.
"It's going to get frightening," she told Jacob. "Don't panic or the artifact will become more powerful and don't get separated from me."
The tube turned up, directly above them Arun could see a patch of light. But the light kept getting further and further away, and the tunnel grew darker. Ghostly hands, decaying and in tatters grabbed at them and started to drag them down. Jacob made a strangled cry and clutched onto her, and she blasted the hands with a stunning spell which made them disappear. Their heads broke through the surface of the water and they crawled out into a low vault.
"What was that!" Jacob cried.
"That's the power of a Grants Artifact." Arun told him. We need to look for it. We need to fight back whatever it sends to protect itself."
"What will it send?"
Arun didn't bother to answer him, she studied the room, looking for items out of place but the room was blank, so she took Jacob by the wrist and lead him into a corridor. They edged along expecting walls to shrink or the floor to drop away, but nothing happened.
"It can't have been here for long," Arun mutterd as she pushed open the next door and found a pile of corpses.
Next to her, Jacob whimpered and pressed into her side. Arun edged through the bodies her eyes wide, her ears listening for anything out of place, the bodies were mummified, their lips drawn back and their skin was old leather. They looked like they had tried to crawl towards a lectern in the center of the room. On the lectern she saw an american flag. She stopped, heart pounding in her chest. Then she started forward. At the sudden rush of her feet, the corpses reanimated and attacked her. She cast a ring of black fire around her which twisted and shifted like demons, it repelled the corpses but some got through, skin and hair on fire, shrieking like banshees they came, and she screamed curses and jinxes at them to repel them away from her.
Next to her Jacob fought too, stunning spells and knockback jinx's were his preferred magic but it worked. To a point. As she watched a burning corpse grabbed him and dragged him from her side. She heard his screams and she turned herself deaf to them, she was so close to the flag now.
"Help me!"
All the corpses started screaming too, mimicking Jacobs cries.
Arun rushed to the dias, grabbed at the flag and pulled. At once the screaming stopped, the corpses disappeared, and Jacobs sobbing echoed in the darkness. Arun didn't notice. She ran the cloth through her hands, and saw that the horseshoe was wrapped into it, she felt good. Better than good. She felt strong, powerfull, she bit her bottom lip and cast Jacob a furtive glance. "Get up, it's over."
Jacob sat, he looked at her with doubt, "You left me," he whispered.
"I had to."
"You always leave the ones you love," Jacobs voice had changed, it sounded american. She looked at him, shocked, and found a different figure standing in his place.
"What are you?" she demanded.
The figure started to laugh, a deep guttural laugh that made her hair stand on end, and behind him, a host of ghostly people stepped into the chamber. She recognised them instantly and began to back away.
"Those who seek shall find themselves. Those with the power to claim us will be consumed by us."
Arun continued to back up, then in a brainwave idea she seperated the horseshoe from the flag and chucked it. "Take it Jacob and follow me!"
Jacob snatched up the horseshoe and pelted after her. It worked, they were not followed and they burst from the vault through a tunnel that came out under a tree. They didn't stop running until they were back by the lake.
"Don't drop it." Arun commanded. "Whilst you're holding it, it won't attack you."
Jacob sat heavily on the wet bank. "This is- this is a Grant's Artifact? What happened when they were together Professor?"
"I don't know. I saw-" she paused. It didn't matter what she saw, it was there to try her. What was frustrating was the knowledge that just possessing them didn't make her the master of them. "All that matters now is that we destroy them. I need to put them somewhere safe until I can- Until I can destroy them."
"What destroys them?"
"I-" Arun ran a hand across her wet hair and she sighed with fustration. "Can I trust you to keep that one secret until I've found a way to contain them safely?"
'Where should I put it?"
"Keep it on you at all times. If you put it anywhere it will become dangerous to you."
Jacob nodded, he looked back towards the spires of Hogwarts, "Where did Freya go?"
"I wiped her memory and sent her back to the castle. She thinks that she had an uneventful detention and then came back. Jacob, I'm not going to wipe your mind. Not whilst you have the horseshoe. You understand, don't you? You understand how important it is to keep this to yourself."
Jacob nodded, his eyes wide in the darkness. "Spiders and monsters and ghosts and curses," he muttered. "It's like something from a storybook."
"It's a story you can't share. Even with Griffin."
"What if she sees me with it? She knows that it's an artifact."
Arun shrugged, "that's your problem. I'll be as quick as I can to find a container. If Dumbledore talks to you don't look him in the eye."
Jacob looked up, "Can't we trust him?"
"Him least of all."
Jacobs mouth formed an O, Arun realised she had said the worst possible thing.
"He's headmaster, he has a duty of care to the school and his pupils, and he would have to report the finds to the ministry and as soon as he does that the ministry would confiscate them and then they would fall into the wrong hands. We have to protect them."
Jacob nodded, he looked a little more confident. Arun dried him off with a heating spell, then did herself too. "You did good today, kid," she'd heard that in a muggle movie, it seemed fitting.