"I really am sorry, Hagrid," James insisted, still trying to keep his voice low. "I just fancied a late night fly! I hit something and fell off. A bird or a bat maybe! Yeah, a bat! A really big one! I didn't mean to--"
Hagrid shook his massive head and held up both of his slab-like hands. His striped night shirt fluttered in the moonlight. "I don' wanna hear it! It's absurd, I tell yeh. Why, if I wasn't such good friends with yer parents I'd march yeh straight to the headmaster m'self! As it is, you can bet yer britches I'll be havin' a looong talk with yer dad about this. Late night flying, for Merlin's sakes! And on one o' those daft American scrams of all things!"
"It's called a skrim, actually," James suggested meekly, glancing down at the board in his hands.
"I don' care what it's called!" Hagrid roared, clapping a hand to his unruly hair. "It dumped you through m' roof and nearly killed you in th' process! How'm I gonna explain this? When'm I gonna have time to fix it?"
"I could help you, maybe?" James offered, raising his eyebrows hopefully.
"Werrl," Hagrid shook his head, deflating slightly. "Yeh certainly should, I wager. You scared the daylghts out o' poor Trife. He's still under th' bed, shivering like a leaf in a storm."
"I could come out this weekend," James suggested eagerly. "Maybe bring a few friends with me? I bet we could get your hut fixed up straight away!"
Hagrid heaved a giant sigh. "All right, all right, then. Off with yeh before I change m' mind. Be here bright n' early Saturday morning. And yeh'd better hope it doesn't rain between now n' then or I'll be in a right nasty mood indeed!"
James nodded enthusiastically. "You got it, Hagrid! Sorry! I've, er, learned my lesson. Really!"
Hagrid waved him on impatiently. "That'll be the day," he groused, turning back to his hut. A moment later, the heavy wooden door slammed shut behind him, shaking the walls and echoing into the dark.
James turned toward the castle, only now realizing how sore he was from his fall. Scratches smarted on his face and pine needles were matted into his hair. He reached up to shake them out.
"James!" a voice hissed from a nearby bush. "What happened?"
Scorpius clambered out of the bush, followed by Lily, her face very pale in the moonlight.
James gestured vaguely back toward Hagrid's hut. "I fell through the roof. Nearly splattered myself all over the Forbidden Forest."
Scorpius shook his head irritably. "Not that!" he said. "The Snitch! How'd you miss it? Albus and the Slytherins won!"
"I'm fine, actually, thanks for asking," James said pointedly, stalking past. Lily ran to catch up to him and grabbed his free hand.
"Easy for you to say," Scorpius groused. "If Gryffindor loses the Night League, Longbottom will probably shut us down, Somnambulis or not. The guy loves his plants, but that only goes so far."
"Professor Longbottom guided you down with his wand," Lily said quietly, still gripping James' hand. "He was watching from the grandstands and saw you fall. You were too far away to levitate but he did the best he could. We knew you were all right when Hagrid started yelling. He went on ahead to make sure the others got straight back to their dorms."
"What did you tell Hagrid?" Scorpius inquired sullenly.
"I didn't tell him anything about Night Quidditch, if that's what you're asking. The secret's safe. But I'm going to need your help this coming Saturday morning if you want it to stay that way."
"Why?" Scorpius demanded, looking askance.
"Let's just say I hope you know how to handle a hammer."
Scorpius sighed irritably. "Malfoys have an aversion to manual labour," he muttered.
The three skulked into the courtyard and ducked through the inset rotunda door. James trembled, tired to the bone, although he knew he would feel greatly refreshed after a draught of Scorpius' Somnambulis potion, a flask of which he kept hidden in the dormitory.
The halls were eerily still in the pre-dawn darkness. Not a breath of air moved and very few torches were lit. James' own breathing seemed to echo back at him from the cold walls. Bruised, sore and chilled with sweat, he shivered, dislodging pine needles from his hair. All around them, the castle seemed to stretch off into darkness, creaking and moaning with the wind.
"What was that?" Lily whispered suddenly, clutching James' arm.
"Nothing," James answered, although he had heard it, too: a dull thump down a dark hallway. "Just a classroom door blowing shut. Don't frighten yourself."
"I'm not frightened," Lily squeaked. James understood her nervousness. Suddenly, the thought of all the empty, dark rooms lining the corridor weighed down on him. He imagined leering, shadowy shapes behind each keyhole, watching them pass.
Lily tugged on his arm. "Let's go this way!" she whispered, pointing toward an intersection. Tall stone arches lined the cross-corridor, hung with flickering lanterns.
"It'll take us longer," Scorpius complained tiredly. "We'll come out on the far side of the stairs."
"It's worth it," James said, leading his sister into the light of the corridor. He leaned close to her. "Would you feel better if we ducked under the Invisibility Cloak?"
She shook her head, pressing against him as they hurried along.
A sudden gust of wind rushed past them, making all three students jump. Paintings rattled all down the corridor and the lanterns flickered wildly. The farthest lantern blew out completely, throwing the end of the corridor into darkness.
"James!" Lily squeaked again, squeezing his arm ever tighter.
"Let up, Lil," James breathed, staring hard at the dark lantern. "You're going to cut off my circulation. It's nothing. Just… just a little wind."
"In a windowless corridor," Scorpius added, glancing around behind them.
Lily pointed at the floor in front of them. "Where's all that water coming from?"
James felt his heart sink as he looked down. The floor was indeed glistening with water. Ripples ran from beneath a distant door, forming a long, murky puddle down the corridor.
"Leak in the bathroom," James whispered, trying to inject a note of hope into his voice.
Slowly, they began to inch forward again, their feet smacking lightly in the deepening puddle.
Another breath of wind sighed along the corridor, swirling the lantern flames and rattling the paintings. The second-to-last lantern flared, guttered, and fell dark.
"All right," Lily quavered, "Now I'm frightened."
James shook his head, frowning deeply. "I've seen this before," he whispered. "It's just Cedric performing his Spectre of Silence routine. I saw him earlier this evening with the Grey Lady. He did the same thing to Rose, Ralph and me once."
A third cold gust breathed along the corridor, snuffing another lantern. The far end of the corridor was now a mass of shadows.
"Cedric," Scorpius rasped through his teeth. "If that's you, I don't care if you're already dead. I'll find a way to kill you again."
Another gust, harder than ever, rippled through James' hair and robes, sighing in his ears. Lily let out a sharp little scream and clutched her head. A chorus of whispers seemed to fill the hall. Half of the remaining lanterns guttered into darkness.
"Cedric?" James called into the shadows, his voice shaking noticeably.
In answer, a fat, ghostly shape swooped through the closed door on James' right. It leered at him, stuck out its tongue and spat a loud raspberry. All three students leapt backwards before they recognized the familiar shape.
"Peeves!" Scorpius cried, barely keeping his voice below a shout. "What is wrong with you?"
"Serves nasty students right for being up in the dead of night," Peeves replied musically, crossing his arms and jutting his nose in the air.
"But the wind and the whispers!" James gestured around the suddenly dark corridor, shaking with rage. "That's just mean! You scared us all nearly to death with that whole lantern thing!"
Peeves opened one eye and cocked his head curiously at James. "What lantern thing?"
Behind the polterg
eist, a glimmering shape suddenly reared up from the wet floor, seemingly made of water. It exhaled harshly, filling the corridor with cold wind, and swiped at Peeves. The Poltergeist shredded away like smoke, leaving only a short, startled screech in its place. The shape lunged forward, solidifying in the darkness, flinging water from its streaming arms. The exhaling breath became a voice.
JAAAAMMESSSSSS!!!
Lily screamed again and ran, dragging James with her by the hand. James slipped on the wet floor, stumbled, and fell to his knees.
"Go, Lil!" he called when she stopped, stunned, and looked back at him. "Run to the common room! Go now!"
A cold mist blasted over James' shoulder. Ghostly arms spread around him, seemingly made of water and smoke. The rattling, breathy voice roared again, sounding somehow delirious with joy: LILLLYYYY! I'VE MISSSSED YOOOOUUU!
Lily saw the shape behind James and her eyes grew wide. The watery figure seemed to be rising over him. Lily spun and ran, her strawberry-blonde hair flying behind her. The watery shape blasted over James' shoulder, buffeting him and filling his face with a stinking, misty backwash. He scrambled forward, dropping the Invisibility Cloak to the wet floor. Finally clambering upright, he flung out his arm, aiming his wand at the amorphous figure where it bore down on Lily.
He opened his mouth to fire, having decided-- without even really thinking about it-- on a freezing charm, when a figure bolted into sight from a side corridor, skidding to a halt between James and the water creature.
"There we are!" Filch cried triumphantly, pointing at James with his cane. "It's about time I found you!"
"Get out of the way!" James shouted, still aiming his wand. Behind Filch, the watery shape fell onto his sister, finally assuming a fully solid-- and decidedly female-- shape. Pale arms grabbed Lily, spun her into a smothering embrace.
"Drop your wand!" Filch roared, still pointing his cane at James, his arm vibrating with tension.
James shook his head, still moving forward. "Get down!" he cried. "She's right behind you!"
"Oh no," Filch shook his head furiously, sighting James down the length of his cane. "I won't be falling for that old trick."
Behind Filch, the horrible water-woman lifted Lily and passed a hand over her face. Lily went limp in her arms. James couldn't make out the woman's features with Filch in the way, but he had a horrible idea of who it must be.
"Lily!" James called desperately, raising his wand to fire over Filch's shoulder.
"Expeliarmus!" Filch roared, so loud that spittle flew from his lips. A bolt of red light spat from the end of his cane and James' wand wrenched out of his hand. It struck the ceiling and clattered to the floor twenty feet away.
James boggled at the old man, stunned in spite of everything. Filch was a Squib! Squibs couldn't do magic!
Filch grinned, obviously enjoying James' shock. "Immobulus!" he called next, relishing each syllable. Another jet of light sprang from his cane, striking James and freezing him to the spot. James eyes bulged, both in surprise and horror. He strained to see past the advancing Filch. The water-woman was escaping, her dark hair still hanging wet against her back in ribbons. Lily's head lolled pathetically in the woman's strong arms. A moment later, both of them dashed out of sight.
James tried to call out to Lily once more, but his lips were as numb as stone.
Filch nodded at him slowly, smugly. "Weren't expecting that, I'll wager, were you? Nooo, it's a new day, my pet. A new day indeed."
"Hey Filch," a voice asked from a nearby doorway. James couldn't see the speaker, but he recognized the voice. Filch grunted and turned, wrestling his cane upright again. James heard Scorpius step forward, his feet slopping on the sodden stone. "Has anyone taught you this one yet?"
A blast of red light lit the corridor and Filch exclaimed with mingled rage and surprise. His cane clattered to the floor. A moment later, the man himself crumpled full length, unconscious.
"Liberatio!" Scorpius exclaimed, pointing his wand at James. The freezing spell fell away and James nearly collapsed under his own sudden weight.
"Come on!" Scorpius called urgently, already running along the corridor, his feet kicking up cold splashes. James launched forward to catch up.
"They went to the right!" he gasped, firming his grip on his wand. "What happened to you?"
"I was right behind you when Filch showed up," Scorpius gasped. "I ducked out of sight behind an arch. Waited until I could Stun him. What was that thing that took Lily?"
Before James could answer, a scream echoed piercingly from ahead. It was not Lily, and yet the sound of it chilled James' blood. The two boys ran harder, finally reaching the end of the corridor and flinging themselves around the corner. What they saw stopped both of them in their tracks.
Silhouetted against a single guttering torch, two figures wrestled violently. One of them was the water-woman, her hair flinging in wet ropes, her gown spattering droplets in every direction. The other, incredibly, was a writhing, hissing, monstrous snake, easily ten feet long but extremely lithe, its body gleaming yellowly in the torchlight. Lily lay in the foreground, still unconscious, face-down on the stone floor.
James darted forward, heedless of the screaming, hissing battle, and scooped his sister into his arms. He lunged back with her, meeting Scorpius, who helped Lily to her feet. She began to moan groggily. Running footsteps approached heavily from behind. James glanced back expecting to see Filch, but was instead surprised to see Zane, his eyes bulging, his breath coming in heavy gusts.
"What in the world is that!?" he wheezed, pointing at the struggle before them.
James shook his head in bewilderment.
Ahead of them, the snake twined viciously, coiling around the struggling water-woman. Its jaw unhinged, hissing directly into its adversary's face, and the figure caught it by the throat, barely restraining it. They seemed to be caught in a trembling stalemate. Then, suddenly, the woman fell apart, cascading into loose water. She splashed into a broad puddle, stretched into a rivulet, and streamed away toward a large grate. The snake fell to the floor, writhing and splashing in the receding puddle.
"Chase that one!" Scorpius cried, pointing at the snake and lunging after the streaming water.
"Are you crazy!?" James replied.
"Go!" Zane gasped, pressing a hand to his side. "I'll stay with Lil. I'm all chased out after hearing you guys screaming like banshees and running around to find you! Go, go, go!"
James nodded, feeling dazed and off-kilter. He began to run after the retreating snake.
As he chased it into a new corridor, he heard the monstrous creature's slithering retreat. Great, swooping scrapes betrayed its location as it slipped down a shallow staircase. James ran toward it, asking himself at every step what he would do if he caught it.
He reached the staircase and was dismayed to see that it ended in an enclosed landing with only a single narrow door-- a mop closet most likely. The snake was nowhere in sight. James stopped, considering his options. His heart pounded like a kettle drum in his ears.
He began to inch down the stairs, straining his eyes in the darkness for any sign of the snake. It had to have gone into the closet. But how? Snakes couldn't turn door knobs. Could they?
James fumbled with his wand, clutched it in his fist, and pointed it low at the door. With a trembling hand, he reached out, touched the doorknob, and drew a deep, shaking breath. Finally, as hard as he could, he wrenched the door open. It banged sharply against the outer wall.
Huddled in the bottom of the closet, shaking and slicked with sweat, was Nastasia. She looked up at James with her eyes.
Slowly, dumbfounded, he lowered his wand.
"Don't tell anybody," she said, dropping her eyes again. "And I'll tell you everything."
Stunned speechless, James pocketed his wand. He reached down and took Nastasia's hand, helping her to her feet. She trembled violently, her purple hair matted into a wild strew. Slowly, they made their way back up the stairs.
"Well do
esn't this just complete the picture," a voice growled lividly as they emerged into the corridor. "Look, Mrs. Norris. Two more mice for the trap."
James looked up, unsurprised, to see Filch standing before him, his clothes sopping wet from his encounter with the floor, his cane pointed firmly in their direction. Before him, Scorpius, Zane and Lily stood miserably. Mrs. Norris purred luxuriously as she circled their feet, hemming them in. Lily met James' eyes with abject terror, pleading with him silently.
"Well now," Filch said thoughtfully, cocking his head to one side, a hateful grimace cinching the corner of his mouth. "I wonder if it's too early… to wake the headmaster?"
As it turned out, rather unsettlingly, the Headmaster was already awake. Grudje sat placidly behind his desk, fully dressed, mildly surveying Filch and the students as they filed into the circular office. The hearth was dark and cold, leaving the room pearly grey as dawn seeped into the sky beyond the single window.
Filch nodded curtly, triumphantly, glancing from the headmaster to the line of students, as if no explanation was necessary. Indeed, Grudje asked no questions, merely looked calmly from face to face, seeming to catalogue each for future reference.
"They had this with them," Filch growled, stepping toward the headmaster's desk and dropping a mass of damp cloth onto its corner.
"I see," Grudje nodded slowly. "The famed Invisibility Cloak. Indeed, rather damning. Your vigilance is commendable, Mr. Filch."
"I'd not have caught them at all if not for your special, er, gift, Headmaster," Filch brandished his cane and smiled thinly at the students. "They Stunned me, I'll have you know. Fortunately, in the end, they were no match for Mrs. Norris and I. In decades past, rapscallions such as these would have gone unapprehended and unpunished."
"Mr. Grudje," Zane spoke up, addressing the headmaster. "Filch doesn't know the whole story. We can explain! There was this watery lady --"
"Quiet yourself, young man," Grudje interrupted gently, rising from his chair. His stringy grey hair hung against his sallow cheeks as he turned, stepping toward the window. "This is not the Wizengamot. Your testimony is neither required nor desired. Mr. Caretaker, have you explained to the students your rather expanded powers?"
James Potter and the Morrigan Web Page 29
