Puffskein's Panic
Ominis POV
We huddled in the still air outside the south entrance of the castle. The chill of the night slowly creeping into my hands, making the ends of my fingers sting with a growing numbness. I could feel my breath turning to steam as it battled with the air. I held the icy digits up to my mouth, blowing out warm puffs of air and rubbing them together as the bells began to toll.
Clang-Clang-Clang-Clang-Clang-Clang-Clang-Clang-Clang
“Nine O’clock, right on the dot. He should be here any minute now.” Larson whispered, his hot breathing tickling my ear. I shivered at the close contact.
“And, you are positive? He comes this way every night?”
“As smooth as clock work, walks out to the castle walls and goes into the turret.”
A minute passed between the last of the bells tolling and the eager sound of shuffling feet came from inside the door of the building. There was a creaking of wood grinding against stone as it opened. I didn’t need eyes to know that our target was sulking off to his nightly reprieve within the outer wall of the castle.
“Just as promised. You’ll need to keep your wand away if you don’t mean to spoil the surprise.”
Before I could utter a response, Andrew had cast a disillusionment charm and had roughly seized my arm, dragging me after him. Had our situation not been so precarious, I would very well have chastised the man. How dare he of all people drag me about as if I were a dazed child!
Ahead of us, the footsteps continued, squelching in the mud, and snapping dried leaves in half. The repugnant smell wafted into our faces as we followed close behind. Internally, I cringed, scrunching my nose but pressing forward, nonetheless. It didn’t take very long for Hobhouse to get to the Outerwall and the sound of another door, opening and closing. Andrew dropped my arm, and as agreed, I reached for the door handle pulling my wand out once more.
I slide inside like a ghost and clung to the wall, listening intently for Hobhouse to notice. There was some shuffling in the back of the room, the tell-tale sign of boxes being moved and sorted. A grunt of annoyance could be heard along with some expletives.
“Where is it? I left in right here?!” Hobhouse exasperated.
I took a step forward as my wand mapped out the room. There was discarded furniture lined against the wall, and various crates and boxes. A chair in the center of the room sat in front of what appeared to be a large mirror. It seemed that in the vast expanse that was Hogwarts, most of the storage was hidden away within the Outerwall’s of the castle.
Not so dissimilar to the undercroft.
I mused on the thought and then heard an excited cry from Hobhouse. The shuffling intensified as he rooted around in one of the crates. While in his distracted state he had yet to see me amongst the small room. Walking over to the side with most of the piled furniture, I took a seat in one of the armchairs haphazardly strewn against the wall and waited silently.
Hobhouse, having retrieved his prize made for the center chair. The sound of a vial being placed on the chair ricocheted as the glass gave a plink on contact. The target’s breath began to pick up and it sounded as if he was removing his clothes. I cleared my throat loudly, not wanting to see where all this was headed. The other boy whipped around in shock, fear oozing from his direction at having been caught out.
“Hello Duncan, nice night for exploration don’t you think?” I quipped.
“G-Gaunt? What are you doing here?!” There was a slight tremble in his voice, and I heard him make moves to hide the vial.
“Incarcerous” The words left my lips before Duncan could realize what was going on. The sound of the ropes slithering against the fabric of his rumpled clothing caused the boy to let out a yelp. He struggled against the binding, sprouting profanities. With his hands and torso bound, I sat up and stepped closer.
“Hmm, I would like to ask the same thing. In the Outerwall right before curfew, strange, isn’t it?”
Hobhouse gulped, no doubt attempting to come up with a pleasing lie. His musings were cut short as I reached next to him picking up the vial he had so ardently searched for and removed the cap. I wasn’t skilled in potions by any means, but whereas smells were concerned I was always dead on. The substance within the vial had a bitter scent. I could pick out various ingredients; lacefly wings, knotgrass, and…... I took a deeper sniff to be sure of my assumption before replacing the cap and turning to Duncan with a scowl.
“Why do you have a vial of Polyjuice potion Hobhouse?”
The room became eerily silent, except for the pounding heartbeat of the restrained Ravenclaw before me.
“Oh, is that what that is? I uh- I had no idea.”
“Do NOT lie to me.”
“I-I’m not lying.”
He was indeed lying and doing a terrible job of it. I grit my teeth and pulled him up from the floor, forcing him backwards until he was seating in the chair in front of the mirror. He had a slight tremble but was still pliable.
“Ah well, if that’s the case, then I suppose I’ll just turn this into sharp. He’ll be able to deduce the creator.”
I placed the vial into my pocket and began to walk away leaving Duncan in the chair. He began to struggle in the bindings once more, trying to loosen them enough to get to his wand.
“WAIT! Please, it’s just… UGH come back!”
I stopped my exodus and turned slightly, looking over my shoulder in his direction.
“Yes?”
“It’s not for anything nefarious. It’s for personal use, I swear!”
My eyebrows drew up in confusion. The fact that Duncan was in possession of a powerful potion such as this was sending out big red flags. The logical course of action would be to leave him here and get a professor, turning over the substance. However, there was still the matter of honor to tend to, and Andrew was due back at any moment.
“What personal reasons would you have for keeping a potion like this?”
He remained silent, leaving the question floating in the air. I walked back towards the boy, standing directly in front of him I began to twirl my wand, nonchalantly.
“Duncan, you understand the position you are in, correct? How vulnerable you are in this state, the things I could do to you, yes?”
I heard him gulp, and I began to circle him like a shark, slowly.
“I think I have been very civil; however, my patience only goes so far. I dislike liars, and I dislike dishonorable men. It seems you are both. Now, I’ll give you one last chance to be honest with me or I’ll have to do something drastic.”
As if on cue, the door opened once more, and the sound of Andrew and a slight mewling could be heard. Duncan turned his head towards the door and let out a desperate cry. He made to stand, but I let out another charm, effectively tying him to the chair itself. Andrew strode to my side, Puffskien under his arm.
“I heard these are your favorite Hobhouse, care for a cuddle?” Andrew laughed holding the fluffy creature out to the panicked boy.
“Please, please stop! Stop!” Hobhouse cried. The terror had tears streaming down his face as he refused to be still, searching for any means of escape. I could detect a faint smell of blood and deduced that it was coming from his wrists.
“Andrew, step back.”
Larson withdrew to the opposite side of the room, taking the pink puffball with him. I came back to Duncan’s side bringing my face close to his ear.
“Would you like to tell me about the poly juice potion now?”
The boy was openly sobbing now, his breath causing him to almost vibrate in his seat. A slight pang of guilt played at my conscious. He was truly terrified at this point.
“He had Polyjuice potion?” Larson asked in disbelief.
I nodded.
“Yes, he said it was for personal reasons.”
Andrew began laughing. The mix of the terrified sobs, and the laughter had a duality that made me uncomfortable. Larson must have seen the confused look on my face.
“Ominis, he has Polyjuice potion in a room with a huge mirror with a chair in front of it. What other clues do you need as to his personal use?”
The pieces began to fall into face, and any shred of remorse I had was swiftly wiped away. Not only was he harassing other students, he had brewed a Polyjuice potion to salacious reasons. Coming out here every night to do unspeakable things while shape shifted into his victims. It was almost too much to comprehend. I felt sick.
Whipping around Duncan, I took my wand and pointed it at his throat.
“Who?! Who is the Polyjuice potion on?” All the humor hand left my voice and acid dripped from my tone.
At this point Duncan has calmed down from his previous sobbing, not having the puffskien in sight. However, he still held some defiance, refusing to answer.
“I say we make him drink it.” Larson interjected. “Give it here.”
Without thinking, I reached into my pocket, handing the vial to the other boy. He handed me the puffskien, which quickly nuzzled into my chest. If this had been any other situation, I would have been happy to be holding the creature. I could hear the struggle between the two Ravenclaws as Andrew attempted to pour the concoction into the other boy’s mouth.
The creak of the chair, sliding against the stone, came to a halt as the sounds of the restrained one gasping and sputtering could be heard. Andrew quickly came back to retrieve the puffskien as we waited for the potion to take effect.
Larson let out a surprised gasp as Duncan gave out a high-pitched feminine groan, one that I had heard many times before. My heart began to beat rapidly, as adrenaline coursed through my veins. I had come here with the intention of scaring Hobhouse, to make him regret his past behaviors. Now in the light of things, I found he may have been worse than I originally thought.
“Who is it?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
I could feel Andrews eyes boring into mine. He made to step around me, his hand resting on my shoulder.
“It’s your sister.”
I grabbed the puffskien from Larson stepping in front of the transformed Hobhouse. He instantly began the panicked sobbing once more, this time in a voice that broke my heart.
“How dare you! You despicable, disgusting worm.”
Duncan gulped, “I-I’m sorry. I never meant any harm.”
My last bit of patience snapped as revulsion moved way to rage.
“You will never look in her direction again. You will not step within 10 feet of her. If you do, I WILL find out, and you will wish you were dead by the time I am done with you.”
I placed my wand against the puffskien, chanting the charm to duplicate the creature. Instantly, Duncan’s screams increased tenfold, as the room filled with dozens of puffskiens, all intent on getting as close to the restrained Ravenclaw as possible. The smell of urine permeated the chamber as I turned towards the door. The terrified screams bounced off the walls, as Larson grabbed my arm.
I shook him off roughly, inhaling the breath I had forgotten to take.
“What should I do with him?” He asked nonplussed.
“Guard him, I am going to get Professor Sharp.”
With the last bit of resolve I had, I grit my teeth and headed back towards the castle. A myriad of emotions fighting for space within my head. My feet speed up, I had 30 minutes to curfew, 30 minutes to sort out this mess, only 30 minutes to calm down before I had to be back at the common room to meet Aspen.