The Chamber of Secrets
The Chamber of Secrets
Lily sat in History of Magic. Professor Bin's dull lecture was doing nothing to distract her from her frustration. He droned on about giant imprisonment. What he was talking about sounded kind of interesting, but every time Lily tried to listen, she felt her attention wander. It was like when she was trying to finish an assignment late at night and had to keep rereading the same paragraph because she hadn't understood any of it. Poppy was beside her resting her head on her textbook, eyes closed. James had leaned his head against Lily's shoulder, and she pushed him off when she felt a drop of drool hit her hand. James startled awake, bleary-eyed, and then looked at Poppy and set his curly-haired head down on his own textbook. A puddle of drool now collecting on "Magical Chronicles: A Comprehensive Guide to the Evolution of Wizardry." Sirius was working on his charms homework. Only Remus was dutifully listening and taking notes. Lily knew they were right; she should be doing something productive or catching up on sleep, but she couldn't focus or relax.
She was not progressing in Legilimency. She had been studying for weeks in all her free time. Regulus had given her a few books to help her, and she had swapped the cover with one off her astrology textbook when she studied them so none of her friends got suspicious. She even studied by wandlight while everyone else was sleeping, but she had made no progress. Severus caught her eye and quickly looked away. Lily felt a shiver run down her spine, remembering what Regulus had said. History of Magic was the only class, other than Potions, that they had with the Slytherins. Severus never talked to her during this class because the Slytherins sat across the room, and they weren't close enough to use Muffliato. Last time Lily had met with Regulus in the Room of Requirement, she had mentioned Severus, and Regulus had seemed startled.
"Snape? He's the one who's been helping you in Potions."
"Yeah," Lily had said Snape was her friend, but Regulus had seemed horrified.
"He's not your friend. Stay away from Severus Snape," he'd warned her. The way Regulus had said it frightened Lily. She felt certain that Severus was her friend; he had helped her so much. Regulus didn't understand, but she also felt like he knew something she didn't. Severus was clever, more powerful than any eleven-year-old had any right to be, but he also didn't follow the rules. She knew he hated the teachers and invented his own spells even though that was against wizarding law. She had always looked past it because she liked Severus, but was it really wise to trust him? He looked up again, and they made eye contact. The pages of
"The Psychic Connection: Harnessing the Power of Legilimency" flashed through her brain.
"Eye contact is traditionally the simplest way to establish a connection in Legilimency." Connection. She knew it was easy to read someone's mind the better you knew them. She had tried asking Regulus a bunch of questions to make the connection better. She knew his favorite color was green, he was born in April, and his biggest regret was letting his house-elf Creature cut his hair before his last family portrait, but those were all casual things. She didn’t know him. Not like she knew Severus. Severus had confided in her first about his parents and then about feeling like he didn’t fit in with the other Slytherins as a half-blood. They had grown up in the same neighborhood; she was his confidant. She knew him and somehow felt that it would be a lot easier to establish the connection with him. Legilimens. She thought a wave of images flashed in her brain. She saw herself playing at the park with Petunia, the grass was green, and Lily was making a single pebble float in the air then dropping it to the ground whenever Petunia looked over. Laughing at her annoyed expression, Lily’s laughter echoed through his mind, and the image shifted to them sitting in Slughorn’s dungeon, and Lily laughing at something Snape had said in Potions. That image blurred, filled with a dozen more, too many for her to focus on until she saw the Slytherin common room, high ceiling, and green walls, tapestries hanging from the walls. Lily saw Regulus, which caught her attention; she could only see the back of his head, but Lily was sure it was him. She let her focus narrow, tuning out the other thoughts. Severus had been sitting in the common room, looking at his potions book and pretending not to pay any attention as a good-looking boy with shoulder-length blonde hair dropped down in the chair across from Regulus, seeming frustrated.
"It's no use!" he whispered. "We've been through every book. This is Dumbledore. We're not gonna be able to get it open. Not this way! He's put jinx after jinx on the entrance. It's the Chamber of Secrets; he's not going to take any chances."
"So are you saying we give up?" Regulus said, sounding just as angry.
"Of course not!" The blonde boy said then leaned forward, elbows on the table, his voice so low that Severus had to strain to hear, "But I have another plan. What do you know about Helga’s dagger?"
"Lily!" Poppy shouted. Lily felt the world go black, and then suddenly it was brought back into focus, and she saw Poppy looking worried and snapping her fingers in front of her face. Lily took a shuddering breath, coming back to reality. The classroom was empty except Poppy, Remus, Sirius, James, and Professor Bins, who were all standing in front of her, looking nervous.
"I'm fine," she said, standing up.
"Alright." Professor Bins sighed, looking relieved. "You all better head off to your next class." They walked out obediently, headed for Herbology.
"What happened?" Poppy asked. "I just zoned out," Lily said. Sirius laughed.
"You were completely unresponsive for five minutes. Someone must have put a hex on you."
"Bet it was Snape," Remus said. "Did you guys see him watching her when class ended?" They all nodded.
"We'll get him back!" James said angrily.
"No!" Lily said. "Nobody put a hex on me. I'm fine." She insisted, but they all still looked worried as they walked down the grand staircase. Lily couldn't help feeling guilty as they stepped onto the grounds on their way to Herbology. She wasn't sure why she didn't just tell her friends the truth. She hadn't told them she was studying Legilimency because she had not wanted to betray Regulus, but after what she had just seen, she wasn't sure if she should trust him. Was he just using her to help him practice hiding things from Dumbledore? And what things was he trying to hide? What was the Chamber of Secrets or Helga’s knife? She felt sick. She wasn't sure why she ever trusted Regulus in the first place. She knew she should confide in her friends and have them help her figure it out, but she was too ashamed. She knew Sirius would be mad at her for talking to his brother, but it was more than that. Lily knew some kinds of magic were dark. Evil things no decent witch or wizard would do. Most Gryffindors hated people who practiced dark magic, and Lily knew lots of Slytherins did. Now that she thought about it, entering someone else’s mind without consent was a horrible thing to do. "The Inner Eye: A Guide to Legilimency and the Secrets of the Mind" had called it a serious violation punishable by the Ministry of Magic. Had she done something really bad? If her friends found out, would they hate her? They certainly wouldn’t trust her. How could they? She wouldn’t feel comfortable around someone who could read minds. No, she had learned a skill no decent person should know. She had been studying dark magic without even realizing it. She could never tell her friends and could only hope they wouldn’t find out on their own.
She felt a pit in her stomach as she followed her friends down the stone steps. She had kept her Legilimency study a secret because she had not wanted to betray Regulus, but she didn’t trust him anymore. She wasn’t sure why she had ever trusted him. He had said he was trying to save her, and she had believed him. She had known that he was dangerous but had always trusted that Regulus wouldn’t lie to her. But he had lied. He had told her that Dumbledore wasn’t the one he was trying to block, but based on what she had just seen, Lily knew that he was. James looked back at her, laughing at something Poppy had said, but his smile froze when he saw her face.
"What’s wrong? Are you okay?" he asked.
"Fine," Lily lied. She watched his face tighten with anger on her behalf. James was mad at Snape, thought he had done something to hurt her in some way. He had no idea that it was really her who had hexed him. No, not hexed, done something far worse. Regulus had said that it was a terrible thing to enter someone’s mind without consent, that no normal person would do it. Had she done something really bad? She had thought she was helping Regulus, but helping him with what? If her friends found out, would they hate her? They certainly wouldn’t trust her. The memory of Regulus entering her mind made her skin crawl. It had been horrible when he had done it to her, but at least he had told her and had been honest about it. She wouldn’t feel comfortable around someone who could read minds. Who would? She had learned a skill no decent person should know. She had been studying dark magic without even realizing it. She could never tell her friends and only hoped they wouldn’t find out what she had done. Sirius tensed as they passed a group of Slytherin boys. Lily met Regulus's eyes,
"Meet me in the Come and Go room in twenty minutes," she heard his voice in her mind. It had been so normal for him to send her telepathic messages, Lily had become comfortable with it, but not anymore. She felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck. Lily didn’t want him in her head. Was he reading her mind? Well, if he was, he would know that she was not going to meet him. She shot him a glare that he would not need to use Legilimency to interpret. She was angry with him and thought she had every right to be, but his face looked so hopeless, so devastated that Lily felt like she was the one who had betrayed him. She sat down with her friends at the Gryffindor common room. James made a face as Sirius started dishing himself some steak and kidney pie, he pushed his empty plate away and leaned forward like he was about to tell them a secret,
“Think I might get something else from the kitchens. Anyone fancy joining?” he whispered.
“Yeah,” Lily said, though she actually liked steak and kidney pie, she needed a distraction and wanted to see the house-elves. The others nodded, though Sirius shoved a few more bites in his mouth before standing up. A few people looked over as they left, no doubt wondering why they were leaving when they had just entered. As they walked, they discussed the house-elves who still needed to be helped. Sirius suggested that they just command the remaining elves to tell them what they wanted, but James argued that might not count because the clue had said they needed to earn the house-elves' trust, and he didn’t want to force them to do anything they didn’t want to. Lily tried to stay focused on the conversation, but her mind kept going back to what she’d done in History of Magic. She felt both guilty and curious. She wanted to know what Regulus was doing. He wanted to open the Chamber of Secrets, but Dumbledore had done something to stop him. She didn’t even know what the Chamber of Secrets was or what Helga’s knife was, but maybe her friends did. She felt like she needed to figure out what he was trying to do and stop him to make up for the fact that she had tried to help him. She turned her attention back to the conversation. Sirius was arguing with Poppy, who had just pointed out that many of the remaining house-elves were named after objects and suggested they try giving them the items that matched their names. Sirius firmly protested on behalf of Socks, explaining that offering any article of clothing to a house-elf released them from service and was deeply insulting.
“But maybe they want to be released!” Poppy was insisting. “I mean, look at Bash, he's old, and he’s been working all his life, he deserves a break!” Sirius shook his head looking exasperated,
“Poppy, you don’t get it, He wants to work! I actually have a house-elf. You don't. I know how they think, and I promise you if I ever gave Creature a pair of socks, he would jump off the highest balcony,” Sirius argued. James and Remus looked worried. Lily cut in before Poppy could respond.
“Have any of you ever heard of Helga’s Knife or the Chamber of Secrets?” she asked. Poppy, who had just opened her mouth to respond to Sirius, turned and stared wide-eyed at Lily. Remus, James, and Sirius were all looking at her too. “…what?” Lily asked, feeling uncomfortable. Poppy seemed horrified,
“Who was talking about the Chamber of Secrets?” She asked.
“Just some Slytherins,” Lily said.
“Who and what did they say?” James asked urgently.
“I don’t know, I just heard someone talking in the hall,” Lily said. She still felt a certain amount of loyalty to Regulus. She couldn’t forget the look on his face. He had saved her from the Dementors after all, and though she wasn’t going to help him anymore, it didn’t feel right to betray him either.
“What did they say?” James repeated now, sounding angry, though Lily didn’t know what about.
“Something about not being able to open it because Dumbledore had done something and that Helga’s knife might help.” They all gave each other knowing looks. “What?” Lily asked, annoyed.
“I’ve never heard of Helga’s knife,” Poppy said slowly.
“Me either,” Remus agreed. Sirius shook his head.
“You really can’t remember who said it?” James asked, looking very serious. Lily shook her head.
“Why does it matter? What’s the Chamber of Secrets?” They all looked uncomfortable.
“Lily,” Poppy said slowly. “Do you remember the Sorting Hat's song at the beginning of term? What it said about Slytherin.” Now she said it, Lily did remember; it had said something about a hidden chamber. She couldn’t remember exactly what. The hat had said something about making the children scream. Lily remembered feeling uncomfortable with that information, but in all the excitement, she forgot to ask about it.
“Yeah,” Lily said.
“Well,” Poppy continued awkwardly, “it’s really nothing, just a legend, but the legend is that Slytherin built a secret chamber in the school that only his true heir could open, and in that chamber, he hid a monster that would attack the students if the chamber was opened,” she explained.
“Has it ever been opened?” Lily asked. They all shook their heads except Remus, who was avoiding her eyes and looking at his shoes. “What?” Lily asked him. He looked up at her nervously.
“I think it’s been opened before,” he said.
“When?” James asked him, looking surprised. Remus shrugged.
“I don’t know, I just heard it had killed someone more that twenty years ago,” he said. Sirius nodded.
“I heard that too. In a bathroom, right?”
“Could be,” Remus said. Well, that wasn’t adding up; there had to be more to the legend. She couldn’t think of any reason Regulus would want to unleash a monster on the school. Or for that fact why Slytherin had hidden a monster in Hogwarts in the first place.
“If he hated the students so much? Why did he build a school?” she asked. They were definitely avoiding her eyes now. James started walking faster, like he could escape her question, and Poppy looked super guilty, but Lily didn’t know what was going on.
“Why?” Lily asked again, feeling frustrated. Sirius sighed. “Because the monster doesn’t attack all kids. Just the ones Slytherin didn’t want in the school,” he explained, not meeting her eyes. “Muggle-borns,” Lily said, feeling her mouth go dry. Everyone froze; even James turned back, but no one denied it, and that was confirmation enough. So that was it. Was that what Regulus was trying to do? Did he really want all the Muggle-borns out of the school so badly? She didn’t want to believe it, but she still remembered the look on his face when Slughorn had told him she was Muggle-born. He had saved her, but what about the other Muggle-born students? He had known about the Dementor attack and had not cared what happened to them. He didn’t hate her, no. She was an exception. Like she had been for Slytherin, but she didn’t want to be an exception anymore. Had that been his plan to release the monster to kill all the other Muggle-borns but spare her, lock her up in the Come and Go room like with the Dementors? Was that what she’d been helping him with? Lily felt tears crawl up her throat and threatened to come out her eyes, and she forced them back. She wasn’t going to cry; she was so done crying. So she held on to another feeling she felt swelling in her chest. It was close to anger but that wasn’t quite right. It was what she felt when she had refused to be in Slytherin's house. She wasn’t going to be anyone's exception. Not when she had done nothing wrong. She would not be grateful to someone who thought she was special, forgave her for being something that wasn’t even bad. She had not understood how important pure blood was in the wizarding world. It seemed like such a stupid thing to care about. So she brushed it off, tried to ignore it. Like if she acted like it didn’t matter then it wouldn’t, and sometimes it worked. It was easy to pretend it didn’t matter with her friends because they actually didn’t care, but most wizards did, and it still shocked her how much it mattered. She wouldn’t back down, though. She wouldn’t let them win. They didn’t get to decide she didn’t belong. “And the knife?” she asked, thankfully her voice didn’t break. James met her eyes looking determined.
“Never heard of it, but listen,” he whispered. “I don’t think it’s just a legend.” He shot a glance at Sirius. “We’ve been worried about the chamber for a long time.” He confessed. ““My dad warned me that someone threatened the ministry that the chamber would be opened this year, and he gave me this key,” James said, pulling a long black key out of his pocket and showing it to her. He slipped it back into his pocket. “We think maybe the key might lead to some kind of weapon. Something to get rid of the monster,” he said, looking at Lily hopefully. Lily stared back at him. James had told them before that his dad had given him a key with clues to find what it unlocked. This was how he’d found the passage and how he’d known to tickle the pear, but this was the first time he’d mentioned the warning about the chamber of secrets. This annoyed Lily a little as she felt this was a warning he should have shared with her considering the fact that she was the one actually in danger as a Muggle-born. But she was not going to start a fight, not when he was so eager to get rid of the monster. "What if it’s Hufflepuff's knife? What if that’s the weapon?” he asked, sounding excited. Poppy gasped and put a hand to her mouth.
“That makes sense,” she said, “Helga was famous for cooking charms. It makes sense that the clues would lead you to the kitchen!” She agreed, also looking excited.
“But we still don’t know what Helga's knife is?” Sirius confirmed. Their excitement ebbed away a little, and Poppy and James both shook their heads.
“Well, there’s one way to solve that,” Remus said, grinning and turning in the opposite direction.
“What’s that? Where are you going?” Sirius asked. Remus’s smile broadened.
“The library.” He laughed, as they all groaned.
“Why does it have to be me?” Poppy complained outside the Library doors.
“Because Madam Pince won’t recognize you!” James whispered, giving her a gentle shove towards the door.
“She hates me!” Sirius nodded solemnly. Madam Pince, who had never been considered friendly, had become increasingly cold to all the Gryffindors after they had disorganized her library at the start of term in a fruitless search for the pair. So, most of the Gryffindors tried to avoid the library as much as possible, but that didn’t stop her from giving them dirty looks when they passed her in the hallway.
“I’m not going alone!” She insisted, turning back and facing them, looking for some kind of support. Lily shrank behind Remus, trying to avoid her friends' eye, even though she had not been on the hunt for the Pear. She was not sure Madam Pince knew that from the glares she had shot her in the hall. The librarian was terrifying. Sirius was trying to scratch a stain off the sleeve of his robe like he hadn’t even heard her.
“I’ll come,” Remus laughed. They watched the back of the door as it swung shut and then waited and waited.
“What’s taking them so long?” Sirius asked, looking agitated. Lily and James both shrugged. They didn’t know, but neither one of them wanted to check. When they came back nearly a quarter of an hour later, their arms were empty.
“Where are the books?” Sirius asked indignantly.
“Someone else already checked them out,” Poppy said.
“All of them?” Lily asked, losing her last shred of hope that it was somehow a misunderstanding.
“All of them,” Remus confirmed.
“But that’s great!” James said. “We can just ask her who checked out the books, and we’ll have Slytherin's heir.” Poppy shook her head.
“We tried. She wouldn’t tell us.” Lily knew it was Regulus now. That it was time to tell, but she remembered his face and she just couldn’t. He had lied to her, was trying to kill her, but there was a part of her, the same part that had made her go to Slughorn’s party without Severus, that just wanted to be special. She wanted his trust, wanted his friendship. Even if he was trying to open the chamber, she believed him that he had been trying to save her. Maybe she could talk him out of it, and James, Poppy, Sirius, and Remus didn’t know she had used Legilimency. If she turned Regulus in, she felt certain he would tell them, and then what would happen? They certainly wouldn’t want to be her friends anymore. Would she be sent to Azkaban? Severus had told her about the wizard prison and the guards. Dementors. Lily had not seen them, but she remembered seeing the other kids' haunted expressions, and that was after just a moment. She didn’t want to go to Azkaban. Lily was too far in it now; she needed to find another way to stop Regulus.
“That old bat!” Sirius said, kicking the wall and then making a pained face and grabbing his foot.
“Lily,” James said, startling her as he put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes “Are you sure you don’t remember? Who you heard talking? Hair color, height, anything?” He wasn’t blinking, was he using Legilimency? Could he read her mind? Lily shook her head, holding her breath. Did he know she was lying? James seemed convinced; he sighed and let her go, then looked frustrated at the library door, but Lily caught Remus staring at her with a curious expression and knew he suspected her.
“So what do we do now?” Sirius asked. “How are we supposed to find out about Helga's knife? Ask a teacher?” But a teacher wouldn’t be likely to tell them how to find it, not if it was powerful enough to open the Chamber of Secrets. But they needed to get it before Regulus did; that was the only way.
“Or maybe a ghost? Someone who was alive when she was,” Lily suggested. James grinned.
“Lily, you're a genius!” he said and started running down the hall. They had no choice but to run after him.
“Where are you going?” Poppy shouted. “To the kitchens,” James said,
“but I thought you wanted to talk to a ghost!” Lily said, catching up to him.
A portrait of an old man in an orange hat shouted for them to
“walk in the corridors!” and James stopped, grinning.
“Not a ghost but someone who was alive when she was. Who better to ask than Helga herself?”
“But she’s not a ghost!” Sirius argued.
“No, she’s not,” James said, still smiling. “But she is a portrait.”
“Brilliant,” Remus grinned.
“But then why are you going to the kitchens?” Lily asked. They turned the corner.
“Well,” James said, “we still haven’t eaten, and I’m not actually sure where Helga's portrait is. Who better to ask than the house-elves! They know the whole castle!” No one argued with James' logic, and Lily was grateful they were getting food because she had missed breakfast to finish an assignment for the history of magic before class, and she knew her stomach would start complaining soon. They walked to the fruit portrait in the stone-lit corridor. James tickled the pear, then pulled the handle when it appeared, and the delicious smell of warm food wafted towards them as the door swung open, revealing the busy house-elves who all ran forward when they walked in.
“Back to workings! Back to workings!” Soot shouted, waving them all back with the towel. The house-elves returned to cleaning but kept looking over and smiling at them. Lily noticed that the Gryffindor table, which was normally cleared by this time, was set with five plates and an untouched cream and mushroom pie.
“Is that for us?” James asked delightedly. “How did you know we were coming?” he asked, amazed.
“We know where you sit, sir,” Squeaked Rue, blushing. Soot shot her a dirty look.
“And chicken and mushroom? How’d you know that’s my favorite?” James exclaimed, leaning in and taking a deep sniff.
“You be telling us many times, sir,” Soot said, folding his arms and looking resentful.
“Soot tells us to be making it for you!” Beans said. Soot glared at him.
“Thank you, Soot!” James said, grabbing the paring knife and dishing everyone up. Lily took a bite of the creamy pie, savoring the flavor.
“It’s really good, thank you,” she said, looking to the dozens of house-elves who were all watching them intently.
“Yes, thank you!” Poppy and Remus agreed. The house-elves all blushed, looking very pleased. Only Sirius had not taken a bite. He was moving the mushrooms around with his fork, looking like he wished he had finished his steak and kidney pie when he’d had the chance.
“You be liking this better, sir?” A couple of house-elves asked, coming over with a tray of sliced fresh bread, some meat, and vegetables.
“Oh yes,” Sirius said, accepting the tray and looking a little ashamed. James snatched a piece of bread off Sirius's plate and dipped it in his pie.
“So,” he said, swallowing, “Soot I actually had a question for you. Do you know where we could find Helga Hufflepuff's portrait?” Soot nodded.
“Certainly. Socks, Curry.” He snapped. The two house-elves left the dishes they had been stacking and hurried over, Curry’s pet mouse trailing after them. “Shows them the mistress's portrait,” Soot instructed. They looked excited, and Socks grabbed Lily by the arm with his tiny little elf hands, trying to pull him to his feet in his eagerness. Remus laughed, setting down his fork and standing up. The others followed, except James, who was still frozen in his seat. He was staring at the old house-elf Bash, who had taken over from Curry and Socks and was putting away dishes. It made Lily cringe to watch him try to bend. It was clearly agony on his fragile joints.
“Are you coming?” Lily asked James.
“I’ll catch up,” James promised, standing up and walking towards the dishes.
“Alright,” Lily said, then ran to catch up with the rest of her friends.
James watched Bash. The old elf's gnarled hands delicately cradled the porcelain plates. He was ancient, and his movements looked painful as he moved from shelf to shelf, climbing a tall ladder with one hand helping him up the rungs and the other holding a heavy copper pot. Then he climbed down after setting its handle on a sturdy hook and James cringed, expecting to hear his bones creak as the old elf bent to place a shining brass pan in a low cupboard. James walked up to the elf and took the colander from him before he could make another venture up the ladder. “Why don’t you dry, and I’ll put them away,” he suggested. James had expected Bash to protest, and he had already prepared his response, but the wrinkled elf only nodded, which showed how painful the bending had been for him. It took a few hours to finish putting away the rest of the dishes. James was able to figure out where most things went and only needed a few pointers.
“Thank you, sir,” Bash said when they were done. Then he slipped on a tiny apron.
“Where are you going now?” James asked.
“Making dinner, sir.”
“Oh,” James said. His own feet were aching from standing on the stone floor for so long. He could only imagine how Bash felt, and he didn’t like the idea of him doing more work without even a rest.
“Well, do they need you, or can you help me with something quick?” he asked. Bash looked up at Soot, unsure.
“He can be helping you,” Soot called from the kitchen, waving his hand dismissively and hurrying off to tend to a pot of water that was over-boiling.
“Great,” James said. Then looked around the room; he didn’t actually need Bash’s help with anything. He intended to make something up, something that would let the elf rest, but he didn’t know what. An idea struck him, and he looked at the long wooden tables.
“Do you have a bed or a pillow or something we could put on the table?” The elf waved his wand, and a mattress similar to the one James had on his four-poster bed appeared on the table.
“Nice!” James grinned. “Have you ever heard of a massage?” he asked. The elf smiled,
“of course, sir. I am good at massage. Lay down,” he said, clearly thinking James wanted the elf to give him a massage.
“Perfect!” James said, rubbing his hands together. “Well, actually, I was wondering if you could teach me to give you a massage? See, I’m thinking about maybe being a healer after school, and I’m trying to learn as much as I can,” he said.
“You be giving me a massage?” The elf confirmed, sounding confused. James nodded,
“if you wouldn’t mind. Just so I can practice.” “I not minds, sir,” Bash said tentatively crawling onto the bench to get onto the bed. He did it slowly; every movement looked difficult and labored, and James had to resist the urge to just pick up the tiny elf and set him on the bed, realizing that that would probably be offensive.
“Alright,” James said, rolling up the sleeves of his robes. He placed his hands on the elf’s wrinkled knobbly back, covered with a thin, worn tea cozy. James could feel the tension in his little old worn body. He was gentle at first, afraid he would hurt the frail elf.
“A little harder,” the elf said. James pushed his fingers harder. “Very good, sir, you are doing it right,” he said, trying to sit up.
“Did I do something wrong?” James asked.
“No, sir,” the elf squeaked, “you got it,” he said. James realized he was trying to get back to work. This elf, who was so worn and tired, didn’t know how to relax, not even for a moment.
“I’m supposed to practice for an hour, so my fingers can get used to it,” James made up; he thought it sounded legitimate. “Is that alright?”
“Is alright,” the elf said, lying back down so he could continue the massage. James asked for pointers, and the elf gave them to him, telling him where to rub and how hard. In the last twenty minutes, James moved to the elf’s feet. He noticed a single tear fall from the elf’s eye and drop onto the mattress.
“Did I hurt you?” James asked, worried.
“No, sir,” the elf said, wiping his cheek. When he had finished, the frail elf sat up and had tears in both his eyes. “Very good, sir,” he said, wiping his nose on his tea cozy.
“Thank you!” James said, smiling. “Would it be alright if I come back tomorrow and practice again?” he asked. The elf nodded, smiling up at him and wiping away the tears that were now flowing freely down his wrinkled cheeks, with the back of his hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” James promised. The elf nodded and went to get his apron. James left the kitchens feeling lighter. He couldn’t help smiling; he felt like he had really been able to help Bash. He had managed to get him to rest, and it had just been for a moment, but James intended to come back. He had no real interest in healing, but he wasn’t going to let the elf know that. He didn’t mind lying to the elf; no, he was going to come back every day until seventh year for the elf to take a moment to relax. He pulled out the folded parchment and sure enough found that Bash’s gray picture was now vibrantly colored. He stuck it back in his pocket and practically skipped back to the Gryffindor common room. He found his friends there in much less good of a mood. They were sitting in a circle on the floor talking in low voices.
“Where have you been?” Sirius asked accusingly when he spotted James.
“I was helping Bash,” James said, taking a seat on the floor beside Lily “what did Helga say?” he asked in a whisper.
“She wasn’t there,” Poppy said.
“What?” James asked, shocked.
“She wasn’t in her portrait or in any of the ones around. We searched for hours, only just came back to find you,” she explained.
“So what do we do now?” Remus asked. “James shrugged.
“I guess we keep looking.” Sirius gave him an irritated look
“What about homework?” he asked, gesturing at the assignment he was working on from Professor Culpepper.
“Not right now,” James explained. “Just whenever we have time. Even when we’re on our way to classes. We keep our eyes open and keep checking her portrait; she’s bound to come back sometime.