The First Curse
For Teddy Lupin, it had been one of the best moments of his young life. He spent the whole game worrying that the Lions would lose the game and maybe even the Cup. And then, when everything seemed lost, Alma Krauss got the Snitch! That’s what makes Quidditch the greatest game in the world, he thought. You’re never really out of a game. You can always get the Snitch.
When the older students started singing, he sang along. Once he learned all the words, he sang with gusto. He didn’t care what anyone thought. He was a Lion, and the Lions were winners!
When he reached the Entrance Hall, there was a huge queue, as every student in the school was either going upstairs or downstairs. Feeling a burst of energy and joy, he let out a loud wolf howl, playing up his role as the werewolf. If everyone was going to tease him about being a werewolf, even if he wasn’t one, he may as well play it up for laughs. So, he let out a big howl. Some Slytherins and Ravenclaws around him glared at him, but he didn’t care. He was a Lion and the Lions were winners!
Nolan Marrett, for one, had had quite enough of the Famous Teddy Lupin. Always carrying on and thinking he was better than everyone. And here he was, singing and howling like the whole castle was his. Like he was the Seeker who caught the Snitch. It made Nolan’s blood boil.
As Teddy made for the stairs, Nolan fired off a bat boogie hex. He smiled with satisfaction to see a direct hit on his rival.
The Gryffindor First Years responded with a volley of water balloon charms which landed indiscriminately among the Slytherins. Aiden Thompson used this counter as an excuse to fire a bat boogie hex at his old rival, Patrick Wren.
The tit-for-tat quickly escalated into an all-out brawl between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors, with some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs drawn into the fighting as well. Spells were fired up the stairs and down and down, back and forth across the halls.
The large double doors flew open, and into the Entrance Hall came the prefects, Liam Wren in the lead. His voice, magically magnified, echoed off the stone walls. “Alright, party’s over. Wands down!”
In his anger, the aura of the Dragon Wand swelled, filling those around him with fear and dread. Those who hesitated, even slightly, to put their wands away found themselves wrapped up from head to toe in their own shoelaces. Aiden got his wand stashed just in time. Jones was too slow and was soon lying flat on his back, his arms pinned tightly to his sides.
The Ravenclaws who were merely observing the quarrels began scurrying upstairs to avoid being caught up in the punishments and recriminations. Slowly, the room quieted down. Stacy and Lara began to clean bat boogies off some of the combatants. Liam, Paul, and Dave, Sadie, Gillian and Alma spread out among the crowd, quieting the last of the hotspots.
Liam loomed over Nolan Marrett and the other First Year Slytherins. Looking in their eyes, he sensed that they had played a part in the fighting. He was about to interrogate them when he heard Dave call out, “Wren! Get that one!”
Liam looked up and saw Reginald Dennison sprinting for the door to the Straight Stairway which led down to the Slytherin common room. Liam stretched out his left arm, and the Dragon Wand’s magic enveloped Dennison, bringing the young boy to a halt. Reginald tried to fight back against it, but he found himself sliding backwards along the stone tiles towards Liam.
But then, Liam heard a cry that pulled at his very soul; a summons that never in his life would he forsake; the call of Lara Guishar: “LIAAAAM!” He released Dennison and ran to her side.
A large crowd had gathered at the foot of the Grand Staircase. It parted to allow Liam to pass to its center. There, on the stone floor, lie Gillian. She was curled in a fetal position, shivering, lashes closed over her bright blue eyes.
“What happened?” cried Liam. “She was right beside me!”
Lara’s voice cut through his alarm and despair. “Liam! Heat!”
“Oh! Right on.” He knelt on the stone floor. With his left hand in the air above Gillian, he cast his heat spell down upon her. Fear burned at his throat like bile, for her eyes remained closed, and the shivering would not stop.
Lara knelt beside Liam, on his left side. Her eyes bore down on Gillian, her mind racing through everything she had been taught in three years of Healing Arts class. “Paul,” she said, without looking up, “I need some space to work.”
“You heard her!” said Paul. “Everybody back up! Give her some space!” The crowd gave way, until there were only a few Fifth Years surrounding Gillian. Paul and Dave stood on either side of her. On the first step of the grand staircase sat Alma and Sadie, leaning against one another, pale and stricken. Stacy knelt at Lara’s side and waited for instructions.
Lara bit down on her lip. Liam’s heat spell, which she herself had once experienced, was clearly having no effect on the curse. “We have to keep her warm. I need a blanket.”
Immediately, Alma turned and, with a wave of her wand, summoned the tapestry from the wall. Stacy, with a wave of her wand, transfigured it into a thick wool blanket. Lara levitated Gillian off the floor and carefully wrapped the blanket around her before gently settling her back on the floor.
Lara’s hands slipped under the blanket and felt along Gillian’s thigh. Her hand flinched backwards as if stung. She grabbed Liam’s left hand by the wrist and swept it under the blanket.
Gillian’s skin was ice cold. “How …?”
Lara interrupted him. “Liam, heat!”
He nodded. With a grim expression, he pressed his fingers into Gillian’s thigh. His heat spell, he knew, was more potent when touching a girl’s skin. At last, the curse began to give way. Liam pressed on, bearing all the magical energies he could muster down onto Gillian’s soft skin.
Lara had both hands under the blanket now. She moved them one way and another. When she found a cold spot, she would grab Liam’s wrist and move his hand where she wanted it to go. Higher and higher up Gillian’s thighs they went until at last they reached a place on a girl where Liam’s hands had never gone before, not even with Vanessa. He looked sheepishly at Lara, but Lara did not hesitate. She pulled aside the last strip of fabric and pushed Liam’s fingers onto the tip of Gillian’s genitals.
Here, the cold was so intense that it burned his fingertips. Liam felt a malevolent will pushing back against him, trying to daunt him. In response, the spirit of the Dragon Wand reared her head and gave a warning hiss.
In his ear was a voice, like Gillian would often speak to him, but it was a man’s voice, low and cold. Leave us! This girl is mine.
Like Hell she is! Liam’s right hand went to his belt and clutched the Dragon Wand. He felt a tremendous surge of magic, like a curling ocean wave. It shot through him, down his left arm and straight into Gillian. The blast of heat overwhelmed the icy cold. With a ghostly wail, the curse fled Gillian’s body.
“Atta boy, Wren,” said Dave.
Paul slapped his hand down on Liam’s shoulder and gave him a firm shake. “I don’t know what you just did, but you did it!”
Gillian stopped shivering, and her skin returned to normal temperature. The place were Liam’s fingers lay was soft and slightly damp. He lifted his hand and set it lower down on her thigh. As he did so, he heard Gillian’s voice in his ear. Don’t stop. I like it.
This thought must have broadcast out to the group, as some awkward laughs followed. Alma embraced Sadie, who had begun to weep.
Into the Entrance Hall came McGonagall and Gregor. The Headmistress surveyed the scene and remarked with a thin smile, “Water and slime everywhere, students wrapped up like Cornish game hens, a three-hundred-year-old tapestry hopelessly transfigured. And, at the epicenter of the chaos is Wren of Hufflepuff.”
“Go easy on Wren, Professor,” said Paul. “He saved Jill’s life, he did!”
McGonagall’s eyes sharpened. “Saved her life? What happened?”
Lara stood to give the report. “She was hit with something bad. I’ve never experienced a curse like that before. I think we got it, but Madam Pomfrey needs to check to be sure.”
Gillian slowly sat up. “I’m fine. I can stand.” Liam helped her to her feet, though she leaned heavily on him.
McGonagall was quickly to Gillian’s side. “You’re going straight to the Hospital Wing. Come. I’ll escort you.”
Gregor intoned deeply, “I will begin the interrogations. Who struck Roycester?”
Lara hesitated, dreading to say what she sensed was true. Dave said quickly, “It was that Slytherin brat, Reginald Dennison. I saw him do it.”
A prefect’s word was good enough, but Bell, who was standing in the crowd nearby, said, “I saw it, too, Professor. It was Dennison!”
Gregor surveyed the onlookers. His gaze settled on Aiden Thompson. “Have Calais and Felwich bring Dennison to my office. I will speak to him there.”
“Yes sir.” Aiden turned and left.
“Now, how did this begin?”
Liam helped Gillian up the stairs to the Hospital Wing. Once Lara and Madam Pomfrey had disappeared behind the hospital bed curtain, he went back downstairs to help Professor Gregor. He paired with fellow prefect Dave to interview students about the causes of the riot. Soon, there was a consensus list of main participants, including Teddy Lupin, Nolan Marrett, Patrick Wren and Aiden Thompson. Professor Gregor assigned them all detention. Those, like Jones, who spent upwards of an hour staring at the ceiling, tied up in their shoelaces, were credited with time served. Professor Gregor did not issue them any further punishment.
All four Slytherin prefects escorted Reginald Dennison up to Professor Gregor’s office. They stood by him in silence for over an hour, until Gregor had finished downstairs.
Reginald was sitting in a wooden chair in the anteroom of Gregor’s office. Gregor, standing, glared down at him. “What curse did you hurl at Roycester?”
“I don’t know,” said Reginald, sullenly. “It just came to me.”
“Did this curse come from a Dark Magic book? Perhaps one from your father’s collection?”
“I don’t know! I don’t have any of my dad’s books!”
“Why did you attack her?”
“I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t even aiming at her.”
Gregor let out an exasperated hiss. “Multiple witnesses have told me that you did target her. She was right in front of you when you fired that curse!”
“It wasn’t her! I wasn’t aiming at her!”
“Who were you aiming at?”
Reginald stared down at his knee. “Took. I was aiming at Ben Took.” Gregor knew Ben Took was in the Hall at the time of the fighting, but witnesses reported that he was trying to calm things down and separate combatants. Gregor did not have a clear picture of where everyone was standing during the melee, and so, could not immediately ascertain if Dennison was lying or not.
Instead, he turned to his prefects. “He has a book or a scroll of Dark Magic. Turn that room upside down. Find it!”
The Sixth-Year prefects had no enthusiasm for the task. “Haven’t we searched for this already? He probably just cursed her because of the game,” said the boy.
“We don’t need your help,” said Morwena. “We will take care of this ourselves.”
She and Umberto ordered Aiden and the others out of the dormitory. Rhiannon watched over them as Umberto and Morwena went through every trunk and every set of drawers. They pulled the sheets and blankets off the mattresses and checked between each mattress and box spring. Q and James made a circuit of the room, checking for loose stones or tiles.
Aiden, irritated with himself for earning detention, stood leaning against the stone wall with his hands in his pockets. “Whatever they’re looking for, it isn’t here,” he huffed. “Dennison stashed it somewhere, didn’t he?” he added with a glare to Jason.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Jason.
The search continued until dinner. Aiden and the others were left with a mess to clean up and beds to be re-made. At least, magic made cleaning up an easy task.
The prefects found nothing. No book, no scroll, not even notes. Dennison had destroyed all the notes he made of the curses from Wicked Vengeance in the days prior to the riot. The forbidden book continued to elude Professor Gregor and the prefects.
Liam ate a quick dinner, then he and Lara went up to the Hospital Wing to check on Gillian. She was sitting up in bed, finishing an apple crumb tart. “Hullo,” she said cheerfully. “I’m really fine. Everybody’s making a big fuss over me, which is cool and all, but I wish I didn’t have to stay here overnight.”
“For us, it was scary,” said Lara. “I didn’t know what to do. I was grasping at straws.”
“Well, something you did worked, ‘cause I’m fine.”
Lara held out her hand. Gillian’s eyebrows did a quick hop. With a smirk, she set her freckled hand in Lara’s. Lara closed her eyes a moment. It looked, to Liam, as if she were praying. Then, her eyes were open again, and she let go of Gillian’s hand. “That was a close call. I hope next time we’ll be as lucky.” Lara turned and left without another word.
Liam stepped close to Gillian and took her hand. The two started communicating telepathically.
It’s weird when she does that, said Gillian.
What? Make cryptic remarks? She does that all the time.
No, I mean, she dives inside of you. Has she ever done that to you?
No.
She did it to me once before, but it was an accident. This time, she meant to do it. She was looking for something, and listening.
Listening for what?
The voice.
The man’s voice? asked Liam.
Yes! You heard it, too?
Yes.
He told me I was bad, that I needed punishment. Her blue eyes were suddenly full of worry. You don’t think that, do you?
Of course not! Remember, I kicked its ass. Kicked it right out of you.
I remember. You yelled at it. She smiled, and there was a light of mischief in her eyes. Do it again. She pulled his hand under the blanket and settled it high up on her thigh.
You’re gonna get me in trouble.
You’re not gonna get in trouble. You’re the hero. You get the girl. That’s the rules.
Liam grinned and pushed his heat into her. She closed her eyes, and a dreamy expression filled her face. I can’t believe you were doing this to Sadie when she was twelve.
She wasn’t twelve! She was thirteen!
Oh, that’s so much older. She let out a soft sigh. Are you gonna kiss me, or are you gonna make we wait ‘til Chrismas?
Liam grinned and blushed. You want me to kiss you?
Well, if you’re gonna touch me down there, you may as well kiss me.
Should we close the curtains or something?
She gave his hand a gentle push and broke the telepathic connection. “McGonagall’s here.”
Liam slipped his hand out from under the blanket and jammed it in his pocket. McGonagall came up to the bedside. “How are you feeling, Roycester?”
“I’m fine! I hate that I’m missing the party.”
“Don’t worry. Your return will warrant another celebration, I’m sure. Madam Pomfrey wants to keep you overnight for the sake of precautions.” McGonagall turned to Liam and said, “You did well today, suppressing the riot and providing first aid to Roycester.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Still stung by her earlier comments, he added, “If I’m in the middle of something, Professor, it’s not ‘cause I started it. It’s ‘cause I ran there.”
“Yes, indeed. You are a credit to your House. Every year, there is a student who seems to be at the heart of all the important goings on at Hogwarts. Too rarely is that one a Hufflepuff. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to meet with Professor Gregor about today’s events.”
As she turned to leave, Liam called out to her. “Professor! What’s gonna happen to that punk kid, Dennison?”
McGonagall gave him a thin smile. “Of course, I cannot discuss it with you. However, let me assure you, I’m going to throw the book at him.” With a wave to Madam Pomfrey, McGonagall swept from the room.
Liam turned back to Gillian. He slipped his hand under the blanket and along her bare thigh. Now, how about that kiss?
Her blue eyes sparkled. Yes, please.