Chapter Three:
I awoke to the sound of shouting. Next to me, Cassie stood next to her bed. She looked frightened and her long black hair was crimped and wavy from being in a braid all day. Gemma was shouting at us to evacuate along with another teacher with glossy blonde hair who I'd seen Uncle Donovan sitting next to back at the great hall.
"What's going on?" Jasmine asked as she came over to us.
Nobody knew anything. We huddled together as Gemma and the blonde teacher pushed us along into the Slytherin common room which was also a mess. The great crackling fire from before had been put out and yellow lanterns floated through the room, casting shadows on the green carpet. There was a loud roar from all of the students as everyone tried to figure out what was going on in all of the chaos.
"Silence!" yelled the blonde teacher and with the wave of her hand, the room fell to a hush. "Thank you," she said, regaining her composer. "Now all of you need to go to the great hall. There is no need to panic. Everything will be fine," she assured us.
"But why exactly are we evacuating?" Jasmine muttered.
Nobody answered her question as we followed the stream of Slytherins into the great hall where the other houses were already there. The tables had magically disappeared making room for the Gryffindors to lay down their sleeping bags that had already been given out to them. As the last Slytherins made it into the great hall, one of the teachers sent out a glow of light from her wand, sealing one of the exits and the other teachers did the same until there was no way out and no way into the great hall.
Jasmine, Cassie and I huddled in one of the corners peeking timidly as the headmistress called for everyone's attention.
"Students, quiet please," she said and again the roar of chatter slowed. "Next to Gringotts, Hogwarts is the safest place in the world," said the headmistress. Her small, thin body quivered as she spoke the next words. "That is why it is such a shock that we are once again, under threat."
Murmurs shattered throughout the room and I looked at Cassie who looked just as scared and confused as I was.
"As most of you know, Rhea Silvia escaped from Azkaban prison only a few days ago," Professor Hecate continued.
Rhea Silvia, I'd heard that name before, I just couldn't pinpoint where. Maybe I'd seen it in Daily Prophet and just hadn't payed much attention at the time.
"As of just an hour ago," Professor Hecate informed us, "Rhea was spotted just outside the castle."
More panic spread across the room. Cassie's face turned deathly white and Jasmine began to furiously clean her glasses as if using it as a distraction. I was scared for sure but I couldn't understand why people were so upset. There's no way anyone could get beyond the castle gates, not with this many teachers protecting us.
"Until we can confirm that we are all clear, you all will be spending the night in the great hall," Professor Hecate concluded. "We're sorry for this inconvenience," she added as she swiftly left the podium.
Left to our own devises, worry spread through the students of Hogwarts. Nobody really slept and those who did were awakened several hours later when the teachers said it was safe to go back to the common rooms. I guessed Rhea wasn't that much of a threat after all.
"Not since You-Know-Who have we had this much of a scare," I heard one of the teachers say as we shuffled back down into the dungeons.
Before we reached the common room, I stopped in front of one of the bathrooms. Something smelled off.
"What's wrong?" Jasmine asked, as she and Cassie stopped with me.
"Nothing," I said, "I just need to use the bathroom."
"Can't you use it back at the common room?" Jasmine asked, sounding worried.
I shook my head. Something about the smell coming from the bathroom was almost inviting. The more I stood there in front of it, the more enticing going inside seemed. I smelt sage, and my mom's perfume. The bathroom smelled like home and warm vanilla and pumpkin pie, all rolled into one burning candle.
"Can you guys smell that?" I asked, taking a step closer to the bathrooms.
"No," Cassie said. "Does is smell bad?"
"Nevermind," I shook my head. "See you guys back there," I said and walked towards the lovely, succulent smell.
As soon as I entered the bathroom something in my brain fired. On the mirror written in blood were the letters H-E-I-D-I; my name and in the sink was a pink fire giving off a warm enticing glow. The glow almost consumed my vision and made me forget about the bloody lettering written on the mirror. I approached the sink and saw my reflection appear next to the 'E' in Heidi. My pupils were huge. Another shape appeared in the mirror but I didn't stir. Something in my brain was screaming to get out but the fire made it so hard.
My hands trembled as I reached for the faucet. I knew if I turned the handle the fire would be gone the lovely scent would go away. My hand rested on the faucet but I couldn't bring myself to turn it. The shape behind me in the mirror grew closer and larger but I couldn't focus on what it was. Finally my wrist moved and water poured over the fire, drowning out the pink light. The sweet scent was gone and my head began to clear.
I had one second to comprehend what was happening before the beast lunged. A wolf like face bared it's teeth and bit into my lower arm. I screamed in agony and tried to shove the beast off me but it clung, scratching at my face and ripping my nightgown. Blood oozed from my arm and onto the wet floor as Cassie and Jasmine dashed into the bathroom. I couldn't see their faces but one of them screamed-
"Petrificus Totalus!" and the wolf creature let go of my arm.
I continued to cry out in pain as Cassie and Jasmine ran towards me. I watched as the wolf creature's ears perked up as if summoned by a whistle and it ran into some kind of drainage pipe that seemed appear momentarily in the wall.
"Heidi! Are you alright?" Jasmine asked. Her face was as white as a sheet.
I couldn't speak. My arm felt punctured and I couldn't comprehend what was happening. Blood continued to ooze from where the wolf creature had bitten me and I couldn't stop it. My breathing was ragged and I rolled over to my side.
"Be careful," Cassie said.
She reached down and ripped off the edge of her nightgown, tying it around my arm but the blood only soaked through.
"She's losing too much blood," Jasmine said. "We need an adult."
"No," I croaked. Hot tears sprang into my eyes. "No one can know."
My dad hated the werewolves. All of them were criminals that he brought into the auror department, and if the school found out that I was bitten by one, he'd find out soon after. He'd never speak to me again and I'd be forced to live with my muggle step dad forever.
"Heidi, you're crazy," Jasmine insisted. "There are potions you can take to help with lycanism. This won't change anything."
"I'm not a werewolf," I growled, clawing myself to a sitting position.
More tears spread down my face and fell into the cuts the the wolf had made with it's claws, causing them to sting like acid. I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror again. There were claw marks scratched across my face and my nightgown was torn at the chest where another claw had dug itself. My small nose was covered in blood and some of it was dripping towards my lips. I reached for the faucet again and washed my face, yet the slashes still remained.
"Can someone ask Gemma for a medkit?" I asked quietly.
"A medkit isn't going to fix this," Cassie said, reaching a hand for my shoulder.
"I KNOW," I yelled wiping around the face her. She looked scared. I hadn't meant to scare her and now I felt even worse. "I'm sorry," I said.
"You really shouldn't be walking," said Jasmine as we made our way back to the common room. I leaned on her shoulder as we reached the entrance. "Toad whiskers," she said and the wall began to move.
The common room was dark and deserted. I limped over to one of the couches and collapsed onto it, careful not to let me arm drip onto the velvet. Jasmine came from upstairs with a medkit.
"Found it," she said. "Didn't have to wake Gemma up."
Cassie and Jasmine grabbed the gaus and helped me wrap up my arm so bleeding would stop. In the medkit there was also some creme that we applied to my face and after that we all changed our nightgowns. It was a miracle that no one else woke up.
I managed to slip back into bed but I was still trembling from the encounter. As I tossed and turned, unable to find comfort in the four poster foreign bed, my mind replayed the moment before the creature bit me, the moment that I had last been human. Now what was I? A monster. My arm throbbed but I couldn't let it bother me or else others would find out what happened. I'd be sent away from Hogwarts and forced to live with my mom and her muggle husband forever. Even then I felt as if I no longer had a place in the wizarding world.
The sun rose and I still hadn't fallen asleep. As the others woke up, I slipped quickly into my robe to avoid people noticing my bandaged arm and ran over to the mirror. To my surprise, the claw marks from last night had scared over already and had become thin white lines down my left eye. If I was lucky, no one would remember me from yesterday and they'd all assume I was always been like this.
I smiled at myself in the mirror and watched the scars stretch and bend with my face. Suddenly more tears rose to the surface as I realized I'd have to live with these scars on my face now for the rest of my life and these were only the first. Every month from now until I died, I would go through a terrible transformation. I couldn't imagine a worse fate upon anyone.
Jasmine and Cassie were waiting for me outside the common room bathroom and I hugged them immediately.
"Thank you," I said finally. "You guys saved my life last night."
"That's what friends are for," Cassie said.
I hadn't realized how cold I was until I let go of my friends. I shivered in my cloak even though once again the fire crackled in the common room hearth.
Cassie's black hair was back in a fishtail braid and Jasmine had let her blond hair tumble down her shoulders. They were both dressed even though Gemma had announced a two hour delay before classes started to give the students a chance to recoup from the evacuation. Some of the kids had evidently left last night and didn't plan on coming back, although according to Gemma, most of them were Gryffindors.
As far as I could tell, all of the first year Slytherin girls were still here including the creepy looking girl- Carina. For the boys, I wasn't so sure. There were five of them but I never counted last night so I didn't know if any had decided to leave. Some of the second years were gone; pulled out of school by their parents and it wasn't a surprise that at breakfast that morning an owl dropped a letter down on my plate from my dad.
Dear Heidi,
It's your dad. I heard about what happened last night and hope it wasn't too scary for you. As you know Rhea Silvia was the woman I arrested back in June so you can imagine how much I worried she would target you.
That's where I'd heard Rhea Silvia's name before. It had been a big bust for my dad and the auror department. He had even earned a medal.
My eyes shot open. The blood on the mirror had spelled my name. I had been a target because of what my father did. It was his fault Rhea Silvia wanted revenge and it was his fault she had sent a werewolf to infect me.
If you want to take a break from school, write me because I will be there to pick you up. I have an important business meeting today but after four o'clock I can be there, the letter read. Besides that I hope you have fun at your classes and let me know how Uncle Donovan is doing as a defence against the dark arts teacher. I'm sure his class will be fun.
What house were you sorted into? I'd love to hear. I hope it's Slytherin but I'll be happy with (almost) any of the others.
Best wishes,
Love Dad.
I folded the letter up with one hand and tucked it away. Part of me wanted to crumple it up, the other part wanted to reply immediately and lie to him that everything was alright.
"What's wrong with your arm?" Claire, the plump Slytherin first year asked. She seemed to have noticed me only using one hand and hiding the other one under the table.
"None of your business," Cassie said and scooted over, forcing Claire to have to scoot down the bench even further.
Breakfast appeared and I had to stab and cut all my pancakes with one hand. We ate slowly and talked since we had extra time before class. Apparently Slytherin first years had to go to History first thing in the morning which was sure to keep us all awake. I'd heard it was taught by a rambling ghost who hadn't left Hogwarts since the invention of dirt, or something.
A couple bites into my pancakes, I stopped. My stomach felt queasy and eating seemed wrong. A searing pain started up again in my arm again and I choked to keep the food from coming back up my throat.
"You okay?" Jasmine asked, in a low, quiet voice.
"The scent from the bathroom," I said unable to keep my racing thoughts to myself anymore. "It was put there on purpose, to get me to go in there."
"That thing you smelt last night?" Jasmine asked, looking concerned. "Cassie and I saw the sage husk in the sink. I'm not sure what it was but it looked enchanted. Something maybe that only you could smell."
I nodded. "My name was on the mirror," I said. "They were targeting me."