"Blattam… Immutare!"
A purple bolt leapt from Laosa's wand. James squeezed his eyes shut, certain he was about to be blasted into cockroach-hood. Instead, the bolt struck the door, splitting it and peppering him with splinters. He risked slitting one eye and peering up.
Laosa's wrist was being gripped from behind by a pale white hand, raised just enough to offset her aim. A face, smiling and framed by satiny black locks of hair, peeked over the Crone's shoulder calmly.
"Actually, Madame," Tabitha Corsica said with a smug sigh, "I'm afraid that most of these… are with me."
"I suppose the truth would make a better story," Corsica said as the gathering left Crone Laosa's quarters (Crone Laosa herself fuming curses and shaking with fury behind them) "if it wasn't so sadly obvious. When I saw you in the greenhouse during this afternoon's lesson, Mr. Potter, I knew immediately that you were up to no good. You are as easy to read as a Beedle the Bard picture book. I simply followed you and your little clique of troublemakers." She laughed lightly.
"It can't be that easy," James seethed as he stalked ahead, following the spark of his own wand back to the dwarven tunnel. "No one simply walks into the cellars of Alma Aleron."
Inexplicably, Zane snickered behind him.
"Ah," Corsica said, turning to Zane and Nastasia, as if remembering they were there. "This is where we leave you. You will both accompany Madame Laosa to the surface. Good day to both of you."
Zane's grin transformed immediately into an alarmed frown. "You're sending us with Crone Laer…" he caught himself and glanced behind him, spying the old woman's pale face and blazing eyes as she hobbled up to them. "Er… Madame Laosa, I mean. And a more handsome and capable escort have I never met! Why, a delight! A pleasure, to be in the company of…" he coughed, running out of steam in the face of Laosa's withering stare.
"Save it for the Chancellor," she growled, her voice like sandpaper. "I've already sent word that I will be delivering you to the surface. In your present forms, unfortunately."
"Oh thank God," Zane declared, wiping his brow theatrically. "Lead on then, Madame Crone."
Laosa ignored him. As she passed Tabitha Corsica, however, she pinned her with a steady, piercing gaze.
"You seem a far sight young to be a professor, my pretty," she muttered, leaning close and narrowing her eyes. "There's something about you that speaks of treachery." She sniffed, as if scenting the air around Corsica, tasting her aura. Her thin lips curled into a tight smile. "I understand treachery." She nodded. Then, with a swirl of her ancient, mouldy robes, she swept on, leading Nastasia and Zane into the shadows.
"We'll talk," Zane called, turning to trot backwards. "Have your people call my people!" He waggled his eyebrows and pantomimed talking on a Muggle telephone. James knew that he was talking about the Shard and nodded wearily.
"Shall we?" Corsica announced cheerfully. "Mr. Potter, you'll take the lead, if you please. I have an excellent sense of direction, but it seems a waste not to utilize your Compass spell. Surprisingly intrepid of you, I daresay."
"Stop calling me Mr. Potter," James said, his voice echoing as he ducked into the cramped dwarven tunnel. "You're barely older than me. And you aren't a full professor. You're just a substitute."
Corsica clucked her tongue behind him. "Sticks and stones, Mr. Potter…"
Further back, Rose spoke up. "James is right. It is dead suspicious that we found you here, er, Professor. Seems awfully convenient just to say you followed us."
"Alas," Corsica answered, "I should thank you and your friends for making it so terribly convenient for me. Following James and Mr. Dolohov from the greenhouse was no challenge. Spying the rest of you skulking outside the Great Hall was even easier. And slipping into the Great Hall to spy on you was a mere matter of timing and misdirection."
"It was you," James sighed, "you were the person we heard slipping through the doors right before Zane and Nastasia showed up."
"She didn't sneak in after us, you git," Scorpius' voice came out of the darkness. "She cast a diversion-- the noise of the main doors opening-- to get us to look backwards while she ducked in through the teacher's entrance up by the head table."
"I see there is some Slytherin in you after all, Mr. Malfoy," Corsica said indulgently. "Like your father, and his father before him. A proud lineage, every one. Until you, of course."
"Oh dear me," Scorpius commented loudly. "Tabitha Corsica thinks I'm a disappointment. However will I bear the shame?"
"It's Professor Corsica," the tall girl corrected, her voice going hard. "Don't forget that all of you are in terrible trouble. Mr. Filch will have to invent entirely new spells to discipline the four of you. Unless he leaves it up to me, of course. He has been quite busy of late."
"So how did you know to ask about the Morrigan Web?" Surprisingly, it was Ralph who asked this, his voice strained as he navigated the cramped tunnel, bringing up the rear.
"Ah, Mr. Dolohov," Corsica sighed. "You and your friends talk quite a lot, and rather loudly. You made your purpose here very clear-- to seek out someone known as Crone Laosa and interview her about something called the Morrigan Web. Once I followed you through the cabinet, I simply circumnavigated you, passing ahead as you lot argued about how to proceed. Finding Madame Laosa was a no challenge-- her purpose here, as you've seen, is to confront trespassers. Once I identified myself as a professor and ambassador of Hogwarts, she welcomed me into her quarters. As, apparently, you witnessed. The real question," she changed her tone, making it low and suspicious, "is why a group of students is seeking information about a magical weapon of terror."
"We're students," Scorpius said blandly. "We're hungry to learn."
"The Headmaster may find such hunger very suspect," Corsica replied immediately. "If you haven't noticed, he tends to be on the suspicious side."
Torchlight flickered ahead. James followed it down a series of worn stone steps, finally coming out into the larger, older corridor of the Gowrow. He stopped, spying the iron barricade ahead.
"How'd you get around that?" he asked with a frown.
"She Apparated past it," Rose sighed, coming alongside and stretching her spine.
"What about the monster?" he asked, turning to glare back at Corsica. "Even if you snuck past it once, we almost became dinner. If anything, it's even hungrier now."
"I don't see it," Rose said, approaching the iron door carefully and peeking through the bars.
Corsica was unfazed. "If you were nearly devoured, it was because you were clumsy and noisy. I slipped past because I am stealthy. If we remain quiet-- a challenging feat for the lot of you, I admit-- we shall have no problems with the Gowrow. Although," she added speculatively, "I did rather wish to see it. Was it red?"
"It was green," Scorpius answered. "Green with orange eyes."
"Ah, those are the especially vicious ones," Corsica nodded, impressed. "But such is life. Shall we?"
"We can't unlock the door," Ralph said, almost challengingly. "We had to destroy it and repair it afterward."
"Of course one cannot magically unlock dwarven doors," Corsica chided. "Dwarves are far too clever. And frankly I am surprised you were able to open it by force. But no matter. My method will suffice. I cannot Apparate to the cavern below-- we simply do not know it well enough to avoid splinching. But this…"
She vanished with a crack, reappearing several feet down the corridor, on the other side of the iron barricade.
"…is simplicity in itself," she finished with a cold smile. "I shall return for you, one by one, using side-along Apparition to--"
"Protego Maxima!"
There was a sudden flash of light. A pulse of magic appeared before James, separating him from the barricade. Next to him, Rose recoiled in surprise from the sudden wall of shimmering blue light. Glancing aside in alarm, James was shocked to see Ralph standing straight, his wand outstretched and his face grim.
"Shield charm," he said firmly, his dark eyes glaring at Corsica. "The strong
est one of all. You taught it to me yourself, Tabitha, my first year, when I was in your Fang and Talons club. Do you remember?"
"I do," Corsica answered, cocking her head. "I have to admit, Dolohov, I didn't think you had it in you to use it. Especially not like this. What are you up to?"
Ralph ignored her question. "Tell us what the third key is," he demanded. "The third thing that identifies the Morrigan Web. Tell us and I'll drop the shield charm."
"Ralph?" James asked, shocked at the sudden ferocity on his friend's face. "What about the… you know?"
"Don't worry, James," Corsica smiled. "Mr. Dolohov doesn't have the courage to follow through on his threat. The shield will drop before the Gowrow returns." She turned back to Ralph. "Don't be ridiculous. You and I both know you aren't Slytherin enough to do this. It is folly."
"Tell us the third secret of the Morrigan Web," Ralph demanded again, brandishing his wand more firmly.
Tentatively, Corsica reached through the bars of the barricade. She winced as her fist passed into the shimmering blue light. "Not bad, Mr. Dolohov," she admitted, gritting her teeth with effort. "But I can still force my hand through. I taught you better than this."
"Try forcing your whole body through," Ralph suggested. "We'll be taking you home in a paper sack."
"You can perform a Protega Maxima?" Scorpius asked Ralph, impressed. "So we can pass through from this side, but she can't get back from hers?" He frowned. "Why didn't we use that against the Gowrow?"
"It takes great power to block anything larger than a person," Corsica answered. "And despite the size of Mr. Dolohov's wand, he is not a wizard of great power. Drop the shield, boy, and let us leave this place. I won't ask again."
"Neither will I," Ralph stated coldly. Raising the fingers of his left hand to his mouth, he whistled piercingly. The noise of it rang along the corridor.
In response, a dull roar, faint with distance, echoed out of the dark.
"Ralph," Rose squeaked suddenly, her eyes going wide. "What are you doing?"
Corsica smiled. "I won't answer your question, Mr. Dolohov. You will look a fool when you falter. And you will falter. Lower the charm now and perhaps we may salvage a shred of what passes for your dignity."
Ralph merely glared at the witch on the other side of the barricade, his face stony, shining in the light of the shimmering shield charm.
"He won't let her get eaten," Rose quavered, tugging James' sleeve. "Will he?"
"No one knows she's here," Scorpius replied thoughtfully. "If she were never to return, no one would have the slightest idea we had anything to do with it. Frankly, I could imagine letting the beast eat her whether she answers the question or not."
"Shut up, Scorpius," Ralph said, renewing his grip on his wand. "Time is running out, Tabitha."
Sure enough, the stone floor seemed to vibrate with the rumble of the Gowrow's approach. It roared again, much closer this time, ending in the terrible, inhuman shrieking that made James' hair stand up.
"You are making a fool of yourself," Corsica answered coldly. She stepped closer to the iron barricade, peering through it with stubborn determination. "You never had strength of conviction. That's why you failed in the All School Debate. That's why you persist in clinging to those of weak judgment and simplistic ethic. You are a large boy with a tiny mind. Desist now before I am forced to break you."
Ralph did not flinch. "It's coming, Tabitha."
"Ralph," James muttered nervously. "We can figure out what we need to know elsewhere. You don't have to do this."
Rose nodded fervently. "James is right!" She lowered her voice to a mortified hush. "Ralph, you're attacking a teacher!"
"She's no teacher," Ralph replied, disgust oozing from his voice. "She's a mad, twisted little girl with delusions of greatness. Her best weapon is the arrogance that no one will challenge her. Faced with real opposition, she crumbles."
"I'd answer his question if I was you," Scorpius commented idly, stepping close to the barricade. "I think he's going to do it. He's crazy mad at you. You can see that, right?"
Dust sifted from the ceiling as the floor shuddered. The Gowrow was very close.
"Scorpius," Rose warned. "Get back from the shield. Remember, she can--"
It happened so quickly that James barely saw it. Rose reached to pull Scorpius back from the edge of the shimmering blue shield. Tabitha Corsica, however, had anticipated this. She shot her arm between the iron bars of the barricade, rammed it through Ralph's shield charm, and grasped Rose's wrist in an iron grip. A flat CRACK struck the air and Rose vanished along with Tabitha Corsica. An instant later, both of them reappeared ten feet further along the corridor, standing amidst the dwarf skulls and broken bits of armour. Rose gasped in shock, realizing that she'd been side-along Apparated through the shield to the other side of the barricade. Corsica pushed Rose away and straightened, her icy eyes still glaring at Ralph.
"I warned you, Mr. Dolohov," she said. "Now lower the shield."
"Ralph!" Rose cried, running back toward the barricade and wrapping her fists around its bars.
"Tell us the third key to the Morrigan Web!" Ralph demanded, his face suddenly strained. His temples glistened with sweat.
"I won't," Corsica answered firmly. "You've lost. Lower the shield."
The Gowrow roared again. Its shadow appeared at the end of the corridor, slithering and flailing just around the bend.
Rose's eyes were wide and terrified. She spun around, throwing her back against the bars of the barricade and staring back toward the approaching shadow.
"It's over, Ralph!" James shouted, grabbing his friend's shoulder and shaking him. "Let them back through!"
Scorpius nodded. "He's right. Drop it, Dolohov."
But Ralph did not. His arm was like a statue, gripping his wand and maintaining the shimmering blue wall.
"It'll eat you first," he said, his eyes narrowing at Corsica.
Corsica shrugged impatiently. "And then who will take poor Miss Weasley to the other side of the barricade? You? Do you want to watch her die because you were stupid enough to challenge me?"
The Gowrow appeared. It struck the wall as it flung itself around the bend, furiously brandishing its tusks and teeth. Tabitha Corsica did not look back at it.
"Ralph!" Rose screamed over her shoulder.
Ralph lowered his wand. The shimmering blue curtain fell away.
Tabitha Corsica strode forward, gripped Rose's upper arm, and vanished with a crack. The Gowrow slammed onto their footprints, gnashing its teeth in dumb rage. Frustrated and starved, it thrashed forward and hurled itself against the barricade. The iron screeched at the impact, rattling in its old moorings but holding firm.
Rose grabbed James from behind, panting with terror and clinging to his arm.
"Stupefy," Tabitha Corsica's voice called. A flash of red struck Ralph in the back, knocking him to his knees. He dropped his wand and crumpled to the stone floor unconscious.
"Poor Dolohov," Corsica muttered, stepping out of the shadows and nudging Ralph with her foot. "He never should have tried. He really shouldn't have."
James almost struck out at Corsica with his own wand. He glared at her, then at the unconscious shape of Ralph on the floor.
"Don't," Scorpius muttered, sensing James' thoughts. "It's over."
"Malfoy shows sense," Tabitha agreed with sigh. "For once."
Rose shuddered as the Gowrow threw itself against the barricade again, clanging against the iron with its curved tusks, its claws clattering viciously against the stone walls.
Scorpius shook his head. "It really was a good gambit," he admitted, ignoring the tall witch and her pointing, threatening wand. He shook his head. "Pity it just didn't work."
19. HAGRID'SDETENTION
The next several days were filled with the worst sort of anxiety.
The return trip out of the Alma Aleron cellars had been almost disappointingly uneventful. With the Gowrow trapped on the other side of the iron barricade, Tab
itha Corsica had simply entranced it with a child's lullaby charm until it fell into a deep, snoring sleep. Sneaking past it had been silently hair-raising, but relatively easy. Ralph, the last to be side-along apparated past the barricade, had resumed consciousness by then, although his wand had been confiscated by Corsica until the return to Hogwarts.
No one had spoken during the entire return trip, knowing the worst was yet to come.
Since then, Tabitha Corsica had surely told Headmaster Grudje everything that had happened. James didn't know which detail boded the worst for them: that they'd been searching for information about a magical super weapon, or that they had attacked a professor in the process, threatening to feed her to a monster if she didn't reveal what she knew.
This would not be merely a matter of punishment, James knew. This would surely result in expulsion, or worse.
"Ralph here will get the brunt of it," Scorpius whispered as they huddled at a table in the library late one night, ostensibly studying. "He's the one that pulled a wand on Corsica. Not us. Besides, it seems she's had a bat in her bonnet about him for years."
"Even so, we can't just let him take the blame," James said, keeping his head lowered over his History of Magic essay.
Scorpius shrugged. "I'm pretty fine with it, actually."
"I don't care what happens to me," Ralph muttered morosely. "Maybe it'd be best if I did get expelled. I could go back to my dad. Together we could tell the Order what we know."
"Nobody's getting expelled if we can help it," James said, with rather more determination than he felt.
"That's all well and good," Scorpius said with a low, humourless chuckle. "But Grudje doesn't seem to have any trouble getting rid of the people he wants gone. He's already eliminated Revalvier, Longbottom and McGonagall."
"And let's not forget," Ralph added darkly, "Professor McGonagall ended up in St. Mungo's after being attacked by a bunch of W.U.L.F lunatics."
"Ugh! It's the suspense that I can't stand!" Rose rasped, gripping her Astronomy textbook so hard that it vibrated. "I just wish they'd get it over with!"
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