Shadows at Augury Academy

Summary: An enchanted school called Augury Academy is shrouded by an ominous mystery: professors and students vanish without a trace, casting a shadow over the once-harmonious halls. Cedric, Sofia, and Butterford are summoned to go undercover at the school, where they unravel a web of secrets, puzzles, and missing people. As they delve deeper into the mystical academy's secrets, the trio must guard their true identities while unearthing the truth behind the disappearances, lest they become the next targets to vanish in plain sight. (Takes place 6 years after my Season 5)

Disclaimer: I only own Jas Butterford, Serena and Charlie (mentioned), and the other OCs as well as Augury Academy. MarionetteJ2X owns Nana and Tanya (mentioned).

Chapter 6: A Master of Disguise

Nighttime had become a dreaded experience for Butterford since they had first arrived at Augury Academy. While his friends had no problem, the Guardian was plagued with strange quick-paced dreams, including several of those dreams where he was walking and suddenly plunged into nothingness, startling him awake. Each time, he felt exhausted, and he was jealous of the couple in the other bed, as they were able to sleep without any issue. He wasn't sure if his trouble was due to a restless mind or spirit, or if he was simply just uncomfortable in this strange bed. Or it could be a combination…

But nothing could prepare him for the nightmare… It was so vivid that he physically felt pained and helpless. His mind was flooded with those agonizing moments when Evanna murdered him, and he could see, taste, and smell the pungent blood as if it were really happening again. His hair was stained and matted with his own blood, and his pure white clothing was ruined. He could feel himself slipping into an eerily peaceful unconscious state—

"N-No," Butterford breathed, sitting up and trying to catch his breath. He felt his loose hair, noting that he was free of blood or any other substances. His night clothing was intact. His companions, he noted, were still fast asleep. "Lucky," he mumbled, pulling himself out of the bed and stumbling in the darkness toward the candlelit lavatory.

He closed the door behind him and stared at his reflection for a while, noting the dark circles starting to form under his eyes. Good thing he was disguised daily, or else he would have looked like a walking zombie or something. Flashes of his nightmare ran through his head, reminding him that there had been so much blood pouring from him, and he quickly reached down to the buttons on his tunic and undid each one, staring at his chest and using his tattooed hands to feel for any signs of injury. Sure, he had scars from 'the incident' that were well healed by now, but even just barely brushing them sent a sharp chill down his spine. It was unpleasant, and he wasn't sure why he'd reacted that way. He hadn't done so in quite some time…

He discarded his tunic into a small pile of other dirty laundry, noting that it was drenched in a cold sweat. He used a nozzle to summon some water, splashing it on his face and upper body, using some soft-scented soap to help perfume his clammy skin. When he was finally satisfied, he picked up a brush and ran it through his hair, unravelling a few sections that had likely tangled during his fitful rest. He considered tying it back, but he couldn't find a ribbon and was too tired to look for one, so he just left it down, the smooth dark blonde waves cascading down his back now. He made his way back to his bed, sighing deeply as he dropped into his spot.

"Jas?"

Butterford gasped softly and sat up, his eyes searching in the darkness to find the source of the familiar voice. "Sofia?" Instinctively, he reached out, gently grasping her apparently extended hand, squeezing it carefully. "You're still up?"

"I heard you get up earlier, and I was curious." She held onto his hand as she moved from her shared bed with Cedric to Butterford's bed, sitting next to him as he released her hand. In the moonlight that managed to slide through the curtains, her blue eyes narrowed only slightly in curiosity. "What happened to your tunic?"

"Um… Long story…" He was a bit stunned when his friend moved into his normal spot on the bed, growing comfortable as she leaned against his pillows, and patted her lap. "Sofia?"

"Lie down," she whispered, smiling softly at him. "You look tired. I'll help you get some rest."

Hesitantly, he maneuvered a bit on the bed, lying down with his head in her lap, facing the opposite wall. He inhaled slowly when her fingers caressed his hair and the bare skin of his back, and a shaky sigh followed soon after. "You don't have to do this, you know… You need some sleep too."

"Don't worry. I'm fine…" She spent several minutes just combing through his hair with her fingers, occasionally coming in contact with the nape of his neck and upper back, both of which must have been sensitive as he shivered a bit. "Want to talk about it?"

"Mm… Nothing much to talk about, I guess… I just had another nightmare about…you know."

Sofia frowned, absently caressing his spine, which had once been brutalized by that evil creature from the Tainted Ten, along with much of the rest of his body. Feeling his skin clean and intact, clear of any signs of torture, was still a relief all these years later. "I've had nightmares about that too, but… I'm sure it's a lot different for you."

"Yeah, especially since in my nightmares, I can still feel the attack. I woke up thinking I was covered in blood, but it was really just sweat." He waved one hand absently as Sofia continued playing with his hair. "That's why I took my tunic off. I didn't like feeling like those injuries and the blood were still there."

The princess trailed her hand over her friend's arm, gently caressing his chest before finding the scarred-over injury he'd endured all those years ago, her fingers warm against his cold skin. She then moved her hand down to his, softly caressing his fingernails, which were now much stronger after they had been removed during Evanna's attack years ago. She laced her fingers through his, using her thumb to gently brush against his knuckles. "She can't hurt you anymore, Jas," Sofia whispered into his ear, placing a soft kiss to the side of his head as he stifled a small sob. "I'll make sure no one ever treats you badly or hurts you like that again."

"Sofia…" He held tightly to her hand as he turned to look up at her. "It's not just these bad dreams… I have a bad feeling about this place too. Something isn't right, and it's not just the missing people. I feel like there's something we're overlooking."

"I know what you mean. I feel it too." She used her free hand to brush away the hair from his eyes, using the pads of her fingers to gently stroke his brows and forehead, even down the bridge of his nose, which she often did for Serena and Charlie to get them to sleep. "We'll figure this out, Jas. I know we will. Cedric and I have been undercover before, and…despite our lapse of judgment in the classroom…" She smiled tiredly as her friend laughed softly. "We'll be okay. And you know I'll protect you just like you've always protected me."

"It's the least I can do for someone who gave me another chance at life." They'd had this conversation many times in their years of friendship, but with it being so late, with them both exhausted (mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually), and with him in such a strangely vulnerable state right now—entrusting his well-being to her… It felt so much deeper and more meaningful than before. "I love you, Sofia…"

She smiled calmly. "I love you too, Jas. Now get some sleep…" Her hand returned to his back and shoulders, where she continued caressing his hair, lulling him into the actual dreamworld. Several minutes later, when she was convinced that her Guardian had fallen into a much-needed deep sleep, she shuffled from underneath him and moved him to his normal spot in the bed instead, assuring that his pillows were fluffed, and his blankets were carefully draped over his sleeping form. She placed a kiss on his cheek, whispering good night to him again, and then moved back to her bed, snuggling next to Cedric as she felt the heavy pull of sleep welcoming her once more.

The next morning, the trio seemed mostly refreshed, though Butterford was notably tired as he yawned a few times while attempting to shake himself from his sleepy state. After taking turns in the lavatory and dressing, they continued their new routine of eating together before setting out to their roles at the school.

After the regular school hours finished, Cedric and Sofia separately made their way to the library (at 35 minutes apart, so as not to raise suspicions), meeting up with Butterford, who magically locked the door to the room.

"Anything today?" Butterford asked as he untied his (or rather Riley's) long brown hair and held the ribbon between his teeth, pulling the chocolate locks taut as he began the process of retying his hair.

"Nothing unusual," Sofia admitted, folding her arms. "Cedric?"

"I did overhear a few professors discussing Professor Owens. I think they said he was only a year out from retirement, so it's rather unfortunate that this happened now. I couldn't help thinking that was a strange way of putting it, but I suppose I can't fault them. Oh." He withdrew the letter written to them and sat down at one of the large tables, gesturing for the other two to do the same, which they did. "Perhaps now that we have some time, we can begin decoding this message."

"Oh, yeah," Sofia added, pulling the letter over to where all three could see it better. "Ugh, it's been a while since I've worked on hidden messages. I don't know how I did it when I was younger. I think I had a bit more intelligence back then."

"You're still intelligent," Butterford assured her. "You can handle this."

She smiled, gently nudging him in appreciation. "Thanks, Jas. Now, let's see…" She began pouring through the letter, using a pen to mark any suspicious lines or words, pointing a few things out to her partners as she did so.

While Cedric leaned more into Sofia and helped her, Butterford grew tired of sitting and stood, walking around to stretch his legs. He was convinced the library had more hidden messages than just that painting from before. After all, where better to hide 'messages' than in a room filled with books? With immeasurable knowledge and numerous topics? And if logic failed, his intuition was nagging him, urging him to keep looking for clues.

With that in mind, Butterford moved up and down the rows of books, tugging on a few of them, halfway expecting one of them to unlock a secret door like he'd read in stories before. Alas, none of them triggered any release, so he continued walking until he paused at the end of the last row, where he noticed a line of books beginning with the last name Masters, who wrote a book called Blended Potions. The book was a mix of dark red and purple, with an outline of a dark blue eye seemingly glowing on the middle of the spine. He frowned, lifting one hand to caress the spines of the books. "Um, guys? You might want to come check this out."

Sofia and Cedric abandoned the letter to hurry over to Butterford, who stepped back to allow them room to see what he was viewing. Of course, most of the books around were in alphabetical order under specific names, but there was a line of eight books that were in what appeared to be a random order: Blended Potions, Alchemy and More, Say the Words, Ethics of Magic, More Magic and Mystery, Even Time Won't Tell, No Wands Needed, and Tools to Teach.

"These aren't even written by the same people," Cedric remarked, adjusting Professor Oaken's glasses as he leaned forward. Apparently, Professor Oaken had worse eyesight than he did, which took some getting used to. "The first book is by Adie Masters. The next book is by Salvador Jeffries, and then Orlando Thompson. This makes no sense."

The princess gasped as she traced the books one more time with her fingers, something clicking in her mind. "It's not about who wrote them, Cedric. Look at the first letter of the titles."

Suddenly, a very clear word stood out to the trio.

"Basement," Butterford realized, noting that the first letter of each title was ordered in a way to spell the word. "There's a… A door near the back of the library." He pointed a few feet behind him, where a simple oak door stood, shut with the handle looking rather old and unused. "I've had time to investigate a lot of the library, but I never touched that door. It felt…weird to be around it."

"Perhaps we should take the time to do so now that we're all together." Cedric led the other two over to the door, reaching out to grasp the handle. He twisted it a few times, discovering it was locked. "Naturally. Just a moment." He muttered a simple spell, frowning when it didn't work. "All right… Perhaps it's more enchanted than we thought."

Sofia reached out, waving her hand over the door handle, her Light Magic practically eroding the brass and unlocking the mechanism within. She grinned as the other two stared at her in surprise. "It was a hunch… Light Magic versus dark…magic, I guess."

Butterford pushed the door open, his eyes roving over the dark emptiness within, save for a few glinting candle lights around as an ominous staircase before them stretched into what appeared to be a deep abyss. "Yeah, nothing creepy about this…"

"Shouldn't we try to unscramble the other clue before we follow this?" Sofia asked. "We don't know if we're walking into a trap or not."

"We can do that once we return," Cedric assured her, using his wand to retrieve the letter, pocketing it for safe keeping. "We've got our magic and each other. Besides, we're losing daylight as it is, and I doubt being in a basement in the later hours of the day would be wise."

"Not that it matters," Butterford quipped sarcastically, "considering it's pitch black down there."

"Well," Sofia began, using her hands and amulet to cast a shield of illumination around them, "maybe this will help. Let's go."

Without another word, they began their descent to what they presumed was the basement, completely missing the books magically unscrambling to spell out something perhaps a bit more foreboding: BEAST MEN.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Unveiled and Derailed