Chapter Nine: A Discovery

They waited weeks but Twyla and Ferna found nothing. Hope was the first to lose heart, quickly followed by Rose. But Al kept their hope alive, encouraging them to be patient. Finally, though, something was discovered.

"Hope, Rose, can I talk to you and all your friends after class?" Twyla asked the two in Herbology.

"Why?" Rose inquired, leaning forward over the Devil's Snare they were pruning.

"I found something. But I can't tell you here," Twyla responded and smacked the plant as it wrapped a vine around her wrist. Rose looked like she wanted to ask more questions but Hope nodded.

"Alright," Hope answered and picked up the titanium foot long sheers, ready to tackle the prickly plant in front of her.

"I found something under Rachel's bed. I was looking to see if she had forgotten anything that could be a clue," Twyla explained to Hope, SS, Rose, and Al as they sat at the back table of the library.

"I already searched her bed," Hope protested.

"Rachel was crafty. She had a compartment inside her headboard. I found it when I noticed that the grain of the wood was different," Twyla responded. Hope glared at the dark girl briefly before she nodded.

"What did you find?" Rose demanded. Twyla reached into her robes pocket and pulled out a small pin. It was an Arctic wolf outlined in purple.

"This. I don't know what it means. But I think that anyone wanting to leave would have one. I'm pretty sure she forgot it," Twyla told the group. SS took it and felt its cool metal, trying to understand something.

"Thank you. We'll try and figure out what it means," Hope assured her friend. The look in Hope's dark eye told Twyla to leave. She hesitated for a moment before she understood that the group would not reveal their secrets to her. So Twyla stood up and left. The group instantly relaxed and leaned in close. SS placed the pin in the middle of the table and Rose stroked it with her index finger.

"An Arctic wolf. What does it mean?" she wondered aloud.

"Maybe they're joining a wolf pack," Al suggested. Rose gave him a look. "Or maybe not."

"Asphodel," Hope muttered. SS turned to her.

"What'd you just say?" he asked.

"Asphodel was wearing white wolf ears when she attacked me before school started. I just thought it was a bizarre fashion statement. But do you remember how Albany constantly talks about wolves?" Hope realized.

"Each house has a symbol. Albany's symbol might be the white wolf," Rose continued, eyes widening in fear. "This isn't good."

"But where are the students going?" Al put in.

"They're going to Albany. She's building an army," SS stated with a steely voice.

"But how?" Al wondered.

"Dreams. Twyla has nightmares every night. I hear her scream and scuffle in her bed but she never says anything," Hope explained.

"That's why she's not trying to reach us. She's busy recruiting students for her army, students who minds aren't protected like ours," Rose exclaimed.

"What do we do?" Al whispered. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't protect people's minds.

"We hope Ferna's found something," SS replied and the group nodded in agreement.

"Actually, I have found something," Ferna admitted as she and SS walked down the halls to the library to meet the others. "But I'm worried. I've been having nightmares and Luff has been telling me all sorts of things but I don't know what it means."

"That's what Rose is for," SS assured her and pushed open the heavy oak doors. Madame Heydt nodded towards them as they headed to the back of the library. Rose was browsing an old book and Hope was reading a stack of notes while Al was struggling to finish an essay for Transfiguration. "Uh, guys, I brought Ferna."

"Oh, wonderful," Rose breathed, relived. She slammed her book shut and Hope pushed the notes into Rose's bag. Al quickly finished his essay then turned to Ferna, his full attention on her.

"Have you found anything?" Hope asked her. Ferna nodded and sat down, across from the group.

"Luff keeps talking about how Hogwarts sucks and how it really has gone to the dogs. He said he would love to transfer schools," Ferna began.

"Where else would he go?" Al interrupted.

"That's what I asked him," Ferna continued. "And he asked me if I've been having dreams."

"Dreams?" Rose inquired. Ferna nodded.

"Yes. I told him I had. And he asked if the Headmistress had asked for my presence yet. I lied. I said I hoped she would soon. Luff told me he felt the same, although he was glad that she trusted him enough to have a task here. I asked him what it was. He wouldn't tell me," Ferna finished.

"The Headmistress? Caroban?" SS repeated, confused. Ferna shook her head.

"What's her name?" Rose questioned her.

"I don't know. She hasn't told me in my dreams. And she hasn't asked for me yet. A voice keeps asking me if I want more. She'll give me power, but I don't want it," Ferna assured the group.

"Everyone's been having these dreams?" Hope gasped.

"Everyone does seem more tired this year," Al put in.

"What does this woman look like? Have you seen her in your dreams?" Rose demanded, leaning forward, quill posed over a scrap of parchment for note taking.

"She's glowing with a purple light. Her eyes remind me of a cat and she wears a tiara made of thorns. She's powerful but dark," Ferna answered, worry creeping into her voice before she could halt it.

"She's not just raising an army. She's starting a school," Al realized. Rose shot him a look and he clammed up.

"Who?" Ferna asked, curious.

"It doesn't matter. Thank you for telling us this. If you find out anything else, like this task Luff has, let us know," Rose instructed her. She cast a confused look at SS who nodded. Ferna then smiled and left.

"That's were everyone's been going. Albany's school. She's training them for her army," Hope muttered.

"And if they all like her school better, they'll want her to take over Hogwarts. That's what she is doing. She's trying to take over our school," Rose sighed.

"What do we do?" Al cried.

"Now? Keep our ears open and get all the information we can. Try to stop people from leaving," Hope instructed.

"I'll tell Professor Venus and Professor Higglebottom," Rose added and the group stood. With a grim mood, they left the library.

"We suspected as much," Professor Venus admitted as she shuffled some papers on her desk.

"Excuse me?" Rose gaped, shocked. How could her two teachers know this already? Moreover, if they had, why hadn't they told her?

"We knew Albany had something to do with it. Professor Higglebottom found out," Professor Venus answered.

"Where is she?" Rose demanded body tense.

"She's doing her daily readings. I wouldn't disturb her if I were you," Professor Venus suggested and began to grade an essay. Rose slammed her hand onto the desk, startling the teacher and grabbing her attention. Rose was tired of not being noticed.

"Why wouldn't you tell us this? Isn't this information we could've used?" Rose growled.

"You, child, did not need to know this. We didn't want to frighten you. But we didn't know that Albany had created a school. It was my hypothesis that she was brainwashing the children," the teacher replied.

"Do you know anything else, anything that I may want to know?" Rose asked. Professor Venus chewed her lip, thinking. There was so much Rose probably would want to know but there was so little she needed to know.

"No. Nothing else. Just please be careful," Professor Venus finished. Rose sighed, nodded once, and left the room. Madeline stared after the child, worry on her face. She alone knew that Rose would face many hardships if she wanted to succeed. But she didn't need to know them quite yet. It would only serve to make her more worried.