The Hunting Party
Claire Quillan, ‘Q’ to her friends, was enjoying her summer away from school. Upon returning to East Barnet, she cut her hair short and dyed it black. She found her local crew hanging out in the café by the park. Jayson, his head shaved, a skull earring in his left ear, said, “Hey, look who’s back from Prissy Girl School.”
“Hey,” said Q, low and cool, as if nothing at all had changed between them. There was a tense moment, as no one else made a move to greet Q or welcome her back. Then, they were laughing and giving her hugs.
“What’s Prissy Girl School like?” asked Jayson.
The East Barnet gang had, on their own, decided that Q was going to an all-girls school. Q said nothing to disavow them of this notion. “You would not believe the prisses at my school. They are ridiculous!” She described her rival Francesca and the other girls of her year before moving on to descriptions of Morwena, Tess, Pauline and Vanessa.
“Vanessa would make you sick, the way she flaunts herself around, the way the boys drool when she walks by.”
“I thought you went to an all-girls school?” snapped Zoe.
The retort caught Q off guard, and she paused. Jayson bailed her out. “Zoe, where there’s an all-girls school, there’s one right nearby that’s all-boys. They’re always mixing. It’s to keep the rich boys from picking up East End girls.”
Everyone laughed at this, including Q. The thought of a rich private school boy dating Q was absurd to all of them.
She went to the movies with them and made snide comments all the way through the picture. They hung out at the park and, when it rained, in the pool hall. Zoe remained distant, but the others were warm and welcoming.
One morning, when it was just her and Jayson walking through the park on the rain-wet lawn, Q asked, “What’s up with Zoe? She keeps snapping at me.”
“It’s hard, having you leave us for this other school. We just get used to you being around, and then you’re gone again. If you were going to school with us, it would be different. Maybe you and Zoe would have been a thing.” He jammed his hands in his pockets and blew a jet of steam from his mouth. “You got a girlfriend at your prissy school?”
She could have lied, but honesty seemed the better course. “Yes. Stacy’s not like those other girls. She’s totally chill. She’s always real, you know? She never puts on airs or tries to be something she’s not. I miss her. Maybe next Christmas, I’ll bring her around, and we can catch a game. Stacy knows nothing about football. It’d be good for her.”
“Sounds like a prissy girl to me,” said Jayson.
After a couple weeks, a letter arrived from Hogwarts, via owl. With it was a small box that rattled when Q shook it. Her parents weren’t home at the time. She opened the letter and saw the congratulations. She had been elected prefect. That’s what’s in the box – the Pin.
She crammed the letter and the box in the top drawer of her dresser and left the house. When she was home for dinner that night, she said nothing about it to her parents.
A few days passed. Q was out late with her friends. They turned the pool hall into a makeshift dance club and took turns playing music through tiny Bluetooth speakers. She got back home a few minutes before midnight to find another letter on her bed. It was obviously another owl post. The envelope was thick yellow parchment, the type the school always used. The address was handwritten in ink. There was no stamp.
What do they want now? She wondered. She was too tired to even open it. She stuck it on her dresser, changed into knit shorts and a tank top and went to bed.
The next morning, the light from her window a dull grey, Q awoke to the sound of voices in the hallway. One of the voices was Professor Gregor’s.
Oh shit! thought Q. She got out of bed and threw on her bathrobe before venturing out into the hallway. She could hear Professor Gregor’s deep voice booming away in the kitchen. Her mother spotted her and called, “Claire! Your friends are here.”
Into Q’s view came Umberto Calais and Jim Clarke. “Oh, hey,” said Q sheepishly.
Umberto gave her a cross look. “Get dressed,” he hissed.
“Jim, come with me.” She led the way back down the hallway to her room. She left the door slightly ajar as she got dressed. Jim spoke to her through the crack in the door.
“Did you not get the professor’s letter?” he asked.
“I was out late. I didn’t read it. What’s going on?”
“We’re heading up to the school. We’re going to tear the whole castle apart, looking for Dennison’s creepy book. At least, that’s what the consensus is. Gregor hasn’t told us yet, just that it’s a ‘special project.’”
“How are the three of us going to cover the entire castle? It’ll take us days!”
“It’s not just three of us,” said Jim.
Q pulled the door open. She was wearing black jeans, a faded t-shirt of her favourite punk band, and a denim jacket.
“Best wear your coat, luv,” said Jim. “It’s pissing rain up in Scotland today.”
Her mother was at the door, now. “Claire, you didn’t tell me you were made prefect. That’s wonderful! Your grandmother will be so pleased.” She gave Q a firm hug which Q wriggled out of as quickly as she could.
Q made a thin smile. She thought, rather than said, You mean the woman who disowned you for twelve years after you married Dad?
In the kitchen, Q was proper and polite. “Thanks for picking me as prefect,” she said to Gregor. “And, thanks for inviting me on this thing. Sorry I overslept.”
“We have a full day ahead of us,” said Gregor. “There are scones and pumpkin juice in the car.”
“Brilliant. Um, Mum and Dad, see you later.”
In the driveway was a black Mercedes sedan with a long sloping bonnet. “Nice wheels, Professor,” quipped Q.
“Thank you. Definitely not standard Ministry issue. You’ll find that I’ve had some ‘custom modifications’ installed.”
The seats were trimmed in black leather. Jim opened the door and motioned for Q to get in first. As she crossed the threshold of the door, the illusion broke. She was suddenly in a small room. More than a dozen students were seated upon a U-shaped sofa which ran along the three walls, one of which covered back passenger-side door.
Q sat down and scooted over, leaving enough room behind her for Jim and Umberto. She found herself face to face with Aiden Thompson.
“Hullo Q,” he said. “Congrats on making prefect.”
“Thanks.”
Morwena Felwich leaned forward and extended her hand. “Yes, Claire, we are so proud of you and Jim. You’ll represent our House well.”
Q shook Morwena’s hand, feeling a little guilty how she had parodied the older girl to her East Barnet friends. Morwena was wearing jeans. This was the first time Q had ever seen her wearing something other than a dress.
Everyone else wore jeans, too, along with sweaters and raincoats. Lara Guishar, sitting next to Morwena, said, “Would you like a scone? We have tons.” She leaned forward, offering a plate.
“Sure.” Q took a scone and leaned back in her seat. She looked nervously at the assembled group. Stacy’s not here, thought Q. She felt a brief pang of longing. “Sorry to make you all wait,” she said. “I didn’t get the letter.”
Morwena said, “It’s quite alright. We’re throwing this together at the last minute. Things like that were bound to happen.”
There was an opening across from Q through which she could see the front seat. Professor Gregor got into the car. He eased down the driveway and onto the city streets. Though it was early, there were still too many Muggle cars about to do real magic. Gregor would have to drive normally for a while.
Q looked around the sofa. She recognized everyone present. Next to Aiden was his sister, Sadie. Then came Lara, Morwena and Freya. Next to Freya were two Ravenclaw prefects, Ronald Reuel and Q’s peer, Michael Dawlish. Then, a pair of Gryffindor prefects: Alma Krauss, and another peer of Q and Jim’s, Gurpreet Kaur. Next to Gurpreet was Paul Hewson and Dave Evans. They were talking to a tall, red-haired young man Q recognized but had never spoken to – former prefect and Quidditch captain Todd Roycester. Todd’s sister Gillian sat snug and cozy under the arm of her boyfriend, Liam Wren. Next to Liam, gazing out the window, was Liam’s younger brother, Patrick.
This is quite the hunting party, thought Q. We’ve got every House represented. We’ll be able to go anywhere in the castle!
She caught Liam’s eye and said, “We’re going to look like a clown car getting out of this thing.” Liam smiled and nodded. It was a joke only another Muggle-born would understand.
Gregor made his way to a predetermined point and then the landscape outside the window to Q’s right became a blur. Q began to chew on her scone. Someone offered her a cup of pumpkin juice. By the time she had finished her breakfast, they were back at Hogwarts.
As Jim had predicted, the rain was pouring down. They exited the car in a long line and ran into the castle. Once they were all assembled in the Entrance Hall, Gregor held up his hand. The group was immediately silent.
The professor spoke in the deep measured tones of his lectures. “We have come back to campus today to search for a book. As many of you may know, at the end of last term, one of our party was hit by a dangerous Dark Magic curse. I have traced the curse to a book called Wicked Vengeance.”
He pulled from his cloak a thin, leather-bound notebook. “The book in question looks remarkably like one of these notebooks common to students here. It will have no writing on the cover or spine. Only when you open it will you see the words Wicked Vengeance on the frontispiece. I have reason to believe the book is still here on campus. We must find it before another student comes to harm.
“I want every part of the school searched: every classroom; every common area; every secret place. You were each selected so that we can reach into every area of the campus.”
His high brow furrowed into deep creases. “I must warn the witches among us: this book is a collection of curses specifically for female victims. In my research, I have learned that if a woman or girl as much as touches this book, she could suffer harm. So, I say to you: you are here because I need your intelligence, your creativity, your wisdom, and your attention to detail. But if you find a book as I have described hidden somewhere, do not touch it! Call over a male colleague to verify. I mean no slight – I only wish to keep you from harm.
“It is ten o’clock now. Meet back here in two hours. The elves will provide a hearty lunch. We will take an hour for lunch and then continue our search until 3pm. Go and look with care!”
Patrick rounded on Aiden. “If this is about Dennison, why are you here?”
“I’m here at Professor Gregor’s invitation,” said Aiden, coolly.
Before another word could pass between the boys, Freya came to Aiden’s aid. “Who put you in charge of this, Patrick? We’re all on the same side! We’re as ticked at Dennison as everyone else.”
Morwena loomed over her sister’s shoulder, her dark eyes glowering. Todd Roycester took Patrick by the shoulder and led him away from the Slytherins. “Hey sport,” he said, “You’re a Gryff, too, right?”
“Yeah!” said Patrick.
“So am I. I know all the secret places. You wanna come with me?”
“Yeah!”
Morwena spoke softly to Freya and Aiden. “Alright, you two, we need to caucus.” Any gathering of Slytherin witches and wizards that is not a social function is called a caucus. The three joined Umberto, Q, and Jim.
Umberto started it off. “Now we know what we’re searching for - Wicked Vengeance. Have you heard of this book, Morwena?”
“I have. Its reputation is atrocious. And, I happen to know for a fact, the Dennisons had a copy of it.”
“I’m sure Gregor knew that too,” said Umberto. “We’re tasked with searching the Halls. We need to go through every inch of it.”
“We can presume that he did not go into one of the girl’s dormitories,” said Morwena smugly. “But every male dorm must be searched.”
“Plus every bathroom,” continued Umberto. “Every study room, every bookshelf. Every loose board and stone must be checked.”
“Claire, Freya,” said Morwena, “take Professor Gregor’s warning seriously. You should be partnered with a boy.”
“I’ll be with Aiden,” said Freya.
“And, I’ll be with Jim,” said Q.
“There is a secret place that I need to check,” said Morwena. “I doubt that Dennison knows the password to this particular room, but Professor said we must check every secret place. If I do find something, I will get help.”
“When you’re done, find me in the conference room Downstairs,” said Umberto to Morwena. “Dennison took an interest in that room as a First Year. He may have gone back there to hide his book. Q and Jim, you search Downstairs. Aiden and Freya, Upstairs.”
The group broke into pairs and dispersed. The last to leave the Entrance Hall was Sadie and Lara. They hadn’t planned to be together during the hunt, but it had worked out that way. Sadie was unusually quiet; Lara thought she looked upset or depressed.
“Do you want to check the library?” asked Lara.
“Sure,” said Sadie.
The two walked side by side up the stairs. They were met at the door by a ghostly apparition of Madam Pince. “If you select a book, record it in the log!”
Lara laughed, but Sadie stayed sullen. “I’m sorry,” Sadie mumbled. “I’m not good company today.”
“What’s the matter?” asked Lara.
Sadie cringed in pain. She looked to be on the verge of tears. “I want to help Jill. I love her. I really do. But this whole thing with her and Liam is eating me up.” The volume and pitch of her voice rose, echoing through the quiet library. “Do you know what they’re doing? The two of them? They’re … they’re ….” She faltered.
“They’ve become lovers,” said Lara, matter-of-factly.
“You know?” Sadie’s brown eyes were wide. “They told you?”
Lara shook her head. “I’ve known for a long, long time that this would happen.”
“Oh! Your prophecies. How weird. And awkward.”
“Yes, when you are glimpsing into other people’s sex lives, it’s very awkward.”
“How did you find out? When did you know?”
“Do you remember visiting me in the Hospital Wing after Liam and I got sprayed with acromantula venom? You spoke to Liam while Gillian stayed with me.”
“I remember.”
“Gillian took my hand so she could communicate with me telepathically without you and Liam hearing her. As soon as she did, my prophetic powers activated, and I got a glimpse of her future. And, because of the telepathic connection, she saw it as soon as I did. It was of her and Liam making love in a field.”
“That just happened!” said Sadie. “You know how I know that? Because I had to cover for her! And when she got back, I had to make the Potion for her!”
“The Potion is quite difficult,” said Lara. “Most women get it from an apothecary.”
“She didn’t want her parents to know. If she went into town to get the Potion, it would’ve gotten back to her family. I guess I did it right, ‘cause she didn’t get pregnant.” Another thought occurred to Sadie, and she said excitedly, “You know what? When we were younger, whenever Jill would give Liam a hug, she would laugh. Sometimes, she would laugh just being near him. I bet she was thinking of what you told her, of the prophecy!”
“When we were twelve, it must have seemed pretty silly,” said Lara.
Sadie sighed. “Of all the boys, she had to pick Liam. It just isn’t fair.”
Lara draped her arm around Sadie’s shoulder. “You loved Liam first, before any of us.”
Sadie’s voice cracked. “All we did is kiss a few times. And then, it was over! I kept thinking he would come back to me, but he isn’t going to, is he?” Lara shook her head no. “Am I ever going to find a boy who loves me?”
A cool, foreboding aura suddenly flared around Lara. Her eyes became wide and unfocused, and her voice, low and stern, said, “Are you asking the cards?”