Confrontation by the Straight Stairs
In the Hufflepuff common room, there was a tense silence. Liam paced. A dozen others waited, sitting in chairs and leaning against the walls. Earlier, there had been conversations, but those had died out as the clock struck ten.
Stacy murmured what all of them were thinking. “Philip should be back by now.”
The portrait of Colonel Pikelman called out, “Captain! Incoming!”
Barely a second later, six yellow birds swept into the common room, crying, “Liam! Lara! Help! Liam! Lara! Help!”
“Okay people,” said Liam loudly, “that is our sign. Wands out! Let’s go!” He charged into the hallway.
As Colonel Pikelman spoke, Belladonna leapt to her feet. At Liam’s command, she shot forward so that she was right at his heels exiting the Den. Her brother Benedict groaned. There she goes, so here I go, too. He joined the queue forming at the door.
A hand touched his sleeve. He turned, and there was Lara, next to him. Her brown eyes were clear of visions. “Our hour has come,” she said. “Stay by my side!”
The others parted to let the two Healing Arts students go ahead of them. As soon as Lara’s feet hit the hallway, she was running. Benedict strove to keep up with her. Ahead of them, the birds were calling, “This way! This way!” Behind him was the rumble of many feet. The Hufflepuffs were rushing to the aid of one of their own.
Ahead of them, Liam was shouting. “There’s something on the floor here. Don’t trip on it!” Lara and Benedict kept close to the wall as they ran. Ahead of them, Benedict could see Philip kneeling on the floor at the edge of a torch’s yellow circle. Benedict spared a half second to glance at his sister. She was still beside Liam, her wand drawn, a fierce look in her eyes.
Well, she’s as safe there as anyplace, I guess, thought Benedict. He gave no further thought to her. His whole mind was now on the body of the girl lying on the floor. Pauline Langlet! What happened to her?
Lara was already casting a diagnostic spell. They all heard her hiss, “Oh, Mahglin!” She tugged at Pauline’s blouse, untucking it from her skirt and exposing a patch of pale skin to Benedict’s eyes. Time to get to work, he told himself. He cast an analgesic charm on her, and then a warming, anti-shock spell. A third charm that he had only just learned revealed to him Pauline’s blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate.
“Her vitals are really low,” he said.
Lara did not answer. She was bent over that patch of skin, chanting some incantation. Benedict watched in horror as something black began to ooze out of Pauline’s bare skin. He thought at first that it was blood. More and more came out of Pauline and rose into the air, weaving like a charmed snake to the movements of Lara’s wand. Her commands to it became louder and more forceful. Suddenly, the black blob broke free and with an unearthly wail, faded and vanished.
Lara slumped against the wall. Her face shown with sweat. Her eyes on Benedict, she whispered, “Hospital Wing.”
Benedict needed no further prompting. He levitated Pauline off the ground and cast another anti-shock spell on her. “Are you coming?” he asked.
“In a minute. Don’t wait.” She looked exhausted.
Benedict turned to Philip. “Hark, come with me.”
“Yes.” The two went up the straight stairs to the Entrance Hall, and then up the Grand Staircase to the second floor. Here, Benedict stopped to take another reading of Pauline’s vitals. Her numbers were cratering.
“I’m losing her,” he said.
“This happened before,” said Philip.
“What did you do?”
“I … I kissed her.”
“Well, kiss her again! Give her a great big one.” Philip bent his head once more over Pauline. Benedict watched with satisfaction and wonder as Pauline pulled back from the brink.
“You better stay with her, Hark,” he said. “Least til we get this sorted. As of right now, your love is the only think keeping her alive!”
Lara sat on the floor and built up her strength for a full minute before rising slowly to her feet and climbing the straight stairs. Liam watched her go, and then turned his attention to more pressing matters. He said to the two Fifth Year prefects, “There’s an alcove up ahead about fifty metres. It’ll give you a good view of the entrance to the Slytherin common room. If you get a clear shot at Reginald Dennison, take him down.”
“I don’t know who that is,” said Destiny.
Travis said, “I do.”
“But don’t try to be a hero,” warned Liam. “If the Slytherins come out of there in a big group, get back here.”
Meanwhile, the other Hufflepuffs had discovered the object in the middle of the floor was a magically frozen student. Stacy gently lifted the mask to reveal his face. Belladonna said, “This is Jason Carter. You know Reginald Dennison? The boy Lara calls Mahglin? This is one of his friends.”
“So, who hit him with Petrificus Totalus?” asked Fortney.
“Hark, most likely,” said Stacy.
“But if Hark did this, who hurt Pauline?” asked Fortney.
“Dennison did,” said Bell. “Mahglin.”
Things were not adding up for Fortney. “But they’re all Slytherins!”
“Pauline is Muggleborn,” said Stacy.
Fortney exploded. “Are you serious? We’re still dealing with this crap? It’s 2011 for God’s sake!”
Liam, having joined the circle around Jason, said, “We’re dealing with it, alright. Whatever this was ….” He pointed between Jason and where Pauline had lain. “… it’s not over. When they get here, do not be surprised one bit if they start fighting among themselves.”
Into the shocked faces of his Hufflepuff friends, he added, “Loyalty to one another is not their strong suit.”
Behind him, there were footsteps. “Liam!” said Travis. “They’re coming.”
“Alright,” said Liam, “make a line between them and our little prisoner. Keep your wands out, but no spell work unless I give the orders. I’m going to try and talk our way through this.”
The yellow birds pursued both boys, but they went after Dennison with fierce determination. They ripped his mask to shreds. There was a cut on his face and deep gashes on his wand arm. One bird had pulled strands of his hair up from the roots.
Finally, he hit on a counter charm. One bird after another disappeared into mist. When he was in the clear, he ran for the common room entrance. Two more birds were waiting for him there. He blasted one, but the other still pursued him.
He found the Hearth Room full of people – Morwena Felwich, Tess Covenshire and Rhiannon MacDougal were there, as were Jim Clarke and Claire Quillan. Off to the side, near the stairwell, Umberto Calais was talking with Arnold Brent, Pierce Mageford, and Blake Ellsworth. All turned to look at Dennison as he entered.
The remaining bird rose, preparing for another attack, but Rhiannon held out her hand and said, “Come here!” It flew right to her, settling on her sleeve. She stroked it with her finger.
“What happened to you?” asked Morwena. “Where have you been? And, where is the rest of your cohort?”
“We were attacked,” said Dennison. “It was Wren.”
Morwena’s eyes bored into him. “Wren of Gryffindor?”
“No,” said Dennison. “The older one. The prefect.”
“You are such a liar,” said Rhiannon. “This isn’t Wren’s work. It’s Hark’s bird. And unlike Liam Wren, Philip does not have a quick temper.” She towered over Dennison and shouted, “What have you done? Where is Pauline?”
“I haven’t seen her!” said Dennison. He seemed more afraid of the bird on Rhiannon’s arm than Rhiannon herself.
“Liar!”
Pierce Mageford spoke. “Wren of Hufflepuff, you say? The guy beats us once in Quidditch, and now he thinks he can rough up our Fourth Year?”
“It wasn’t Wren, I tell you!” said Rhiannon. “It was Philip Harkenborough. Philip was with Pauline, and Pauline is not here! And I want to know why!”
“You’re bleeding,” observed Morwena. “Give me your arm.” Dennison offered her his wand arm. His shirtsleeve was torn and bloody. She cast a healing spell on his arm and another on his cheek. When she had finished, she said, “You say it was Wren? Take me to him.”
“We’re coming, too, Felwich,” said Brent.
“You are of course welcome to come,” said Morwena. “But Wren is my peer. I will speak with him.” To Umberto, she added, “We’re still missing four Fourth Year boys. Please stay behind and see if anyone shows up. If they do, question them.”
“I will,” said Umberto.
To Jim and Q, she said, “Come with me.” Tess and Rhiannon came also. They exited the common room with Morwena and Reginald in the lead. Much to her surprise, it was indeed Liam Wren waiting for her at the foot of the straight staircase. A line of Hufflepuffs were at his side, all with wands drawn. Of the Sixth Years, she noted Lara and Philip were absent.
“Evening, Felwich,” said Liam. No affectionate term that night. He meant business.
Morwena answered in kind. “Wren, what the hell is going on? My Fourth Years were attacked. Four of them are still missing. And Pauline hasn’t returned from the library yet.”
“Pauline is in the Hospital Wing,” said Liam.
“The Hospital Wing? What happened?”
Belladona, still at Liam’s side, stepped forward. Casting an accusing finger at Dennison, she shouted, “She said it was Mahglin!”
“Liar!” shouted Dennison. But then, he fell to the floor screaming.
Fortney cried “Protego!” but Liam’s voice overpowered his. “Hold up, Badgers!” he shouted. Liam waved the Dragon Wand and set a thick magical barrier between the two camps.
Morwena swirled around. Rhiannon held out her wand, a murderous look in her eye. “Rhiannon, stop it!” Rhiannon lowered her wand. Reginald was shaking violently. Morwena knelt down and cast an analgesic spell over him, then she sent him into an enchanted sleep. She followed that with a protective bubble to protect him from further attack.
She was forming a question for Belladonna when she happened to see, through the legs of the Hufflepuffs, another body on the floor. “Who have you got there, Wren?” she asked.
Liam looked to Bell, who answered, “Jason Carter.”
“May I see him?”
“He’s alright,” said Liam. “Right now, he’s mine. I’ll hand him over to a teacher, but to no one else.”
This assertion elicited an angry growl from the Seventh Year boys. Morwena glared at them as she got to her feet. She turned to Liam, flushed and angry at being so contradicted. “Have you summoned a teacher?”
“No. I haven’t had the chance yet.”
“Well then, let’s send someone to DeVere,” said Morwena. “He should still be in the tower. How about Tess and Stacy?”
Liam turned to Stacy and said, “Do it.”
Stacy obediently went with Tess up the stairs. You couldn’t have sent me with my current girlfriend? Stacy wondered. She tried to work out what this meant, whether Tess was the most trusted lieutenant to send on this mission, or if Morwena desired to have the two junior prefects still at her side.
Tess asked her, “So, what happened to Pauline?”
“I’m not really sure. Philip put out a call for help and we all came running. Pauline was lying on the ground. Lara did something and then sent her with Philip and Bennie up the stairs to the Hospital Wing.”
Tess shook her head. “And Dennison did this?”
“Yes, that’s what I gathered.”
“Rhiannon is going to kill him.”
“She may have to take a number. How are you at riddles, by the way?”
“Oh, I don’t think it will come to that,” said Tess.
When they reached the base of the tower, Tess pulled open the first door she came to. A group of Fifth Year boys were bent over a chess board. They were awestruck to find Tess Covenshire in their midst. Under their gaze Tess radiated charm and beauty.
“Hi,” she said. “We need some help. Can someone get DeVere for us?”
The junior prefect stepped forward. “I’ll get him.” He slipped passed the girls and went into the next room. DeVere came out a moment later.
“Hello girls, what can I do for you?”
“It’s Dennison,” said Tess.
DeVere sighed. “Lead on.” As they hurried back down the stairs, Stacy filled in DeVere on what she knew. When she described the black cloud emerging from Pauline, he said, “An exorcism! A lot to ask of a Sixth Year Healing Arts student.”
Downstairs, Morwena turned to Belladonna and said, “Who called Dennison Mahglin? Lara?”
“Yes. She’s the only one who does.”
Morwena nodded. She pulled her Witchter ball from her pocket and checked in with Umberto. He reported back that he had not seen Aiden, Terrill or Freddy. To Liam, she said, “I’m still missing three Fourth Years.”
Laying her wand on the palm of her hand, she called out, “Freddy Jones!” The wand spun but did not give a definitive direction. “Aiden Thompson!” This time, the wand pointed towards the Hufflepuffs. The name “Terrill Reese” gave the same result.
Liam, watching this, said, “There’s some torches back there that have been knocked out. Let’s relight them and check for those two.”
Morwena turned to the Seventh Year boys. “Gentlemen, could you watch over Dennison for me, please? I’d like to see that no further harm comes to him.”
“Oh, we’ve got this, Felwich,” said Pierce. He gave a cold look to Rhiannon. Her arms were tightly crossed over her chest, her wand still in her hand.
Liam and Morwena walked side by side past the line of Hufflepuffs into the darkened corridor, relighting torches that Dennison had doused earlier that evening. They quickly found Aiden and Terrill, lying flat on their backs in a darkened storage room.
Morwena released them from the spells that bound them. Aiden sat up quickly and said, “Pauline! He’s going to attack her!” Seeing the grim faces of the prefects, he said, “He did it already. I’m sorry. I tried to stop him, but he attacked me.”
“It’s best that you weren’t involved at all in it,” said Morwena. “Come! Get up. There’s quite a group of us over here now.”
The foursome returned to the straight stairs just as DeVere was coming down with Stacy and Tess. He checked first on Dennison. “I put him into an enchanted sleep,” said Morwena.
“That’s good,” said DeVere. “That will keep him quiet.”
“Our prefect has assigned us guard duty,” said Arnold, wryly.
“Splendid. Keep it up, please.” DeVere moved on to Jason. The Hufflepuffs parted to let him pass. With a wave of his wand, he released him from Philip’s spell.
“I didn’t do it!” cried Jason. “I didn’t hurt her.”
“You will tell what you know to Professor Gregor when he gets here. In the meantime,” he said to the Hufflepuffs, “I want these three separated. We can’t have them coordinating and synchronizing their versions of events.”
To Morwena, he said, “Have we heard anything from Pomphrey?”
“No, sir.”
“No news is good news, though, right?” said Tess.
“Not with stuff like this,” said Liam.
“Wren is, unfortunately, correct,” said DeVere. “If the situation were under control, they would have sent someone down. With no message and no messenger, we can only assume all hands are on deck.”
Morwena flushed, and a tremor ran through her, the only sign of the turmoil and fury growing with in her.