Quidditch practices made for boring nights. Not that I had anything against the sport, even if I didn't fully get the rules still. It just turned out that most people I knew played on the Gryffindor team, so when they all went down to the pitch, I was on my own.
Practicing magic worked better when Harry was around to give me tips. Hermione was somewhere, but the last time I saw her she'd been bent over a three-page essay assignment that looked soon to turn into four or five. I didn't want to bother her. Somehow, I ended up in the library, working on Herbology homework.
It was more of a matching game than an essay, coming up with the name of different magic plants based on a description of them. It was almost fun, at least as much as homework could be. I still took the first distraction that was offered and abandoned it as soon as someone came toward my table.
Susan Bones stood next to me with suspiciously straight posture. That had to hurt her back, given the size of her chest. I looked her in the eyes.
"Hey, Susan."
"Hi Percy." She paused. "What are you doing?"
"Homework." I gestured at the sheets in front of me.
"Oh. I guess I'll leave you to that…"
I swept the half-finished assignment off the table and into my book bag. "Would you look at that? It seems like I'm free. Was there something you wanted to do?"
Susan couldn't hide her excitement. "Want to go on an adventure?"
"Absolutely."
Less than a minute later, the two of us were out of the library and loose on the halls. Susan was walking with a bounce in her step. I was beaming. Isn't it great when someone gives you an excuse to stop doing homework, so you don't have to come up with one yourself?
"So what grand adventure are we setting out for?"
"I don't know!" Susan sounded excited by that. "The castle is full of all kinds of secrets! I figured that we could wander around and find some."
"Like the mice in the portraits."
"Exactly!"
I thought about the feeling I had back then. Something about the skittish mice had caught my attention even though I couldn't explain why. I still didn't know what I'd noticed. But I remembered the feeling.
"There." I pointed to a suit of armor.
Susan didn't even question me. She walked over to it and started going around in semicircles, passing back and forth in front of its stand. The unmanned armor had a pointy helmet with a slit-eyed visor. Its hands were wrapped around the shaft of a halberd, held out in front of its body. I joined Susan standing in front of it. We looked at each other, then at the hallway.
The coast was clear.
Experiment time.
We rapped on different joints. Susan introduced herself with her first and last names. I polished his sabatons. Susan introduced herself again, this time adding a curtsy. We tried taking his helmet off and found it stuck fast.
Occasionally, other students went by and gave us suitably weird looks. We didn't see any prefects or teachers, so no one put a stop to our antics.
"Can you say what's special about it?" Susan asked. She was running her hand along the back of the side of the breastplate, looking for a hidden button or switch.
"No," I admitted. "Just that it is special."
I was starting to isolate the feeling just a little bit. It wasn't giving me any hints about how to make the armor set give up its secrets, but I was confident I could spot other special spots around the castle. Whether or not I could figure out how to make them work was another question. As this was proving.
"How frustrating!" What Susan said didn't match her face. She was smiling. "Maybe if I sing to it, like the mice…"
"And I can dance."
The hallway was empty, so without thinking about embarrassment, I did a little shuffle. Susan broke. She doubled over from laughing.
The next minute she was knocked on the floor as the armor started moving.
I was so surprised that I stopped dancing. The armor went right back to his original stance, inanimate again. I got down and helped Susan up.
She waved me off quickly. "I'm not hurt, just surprised." She quickly turned excited. "Dancing, that's the key!"
I looked at the armor, then at her. "Your turn."
"Oh, I can't dance!" Susan said. She still looked happy, but a little bit embarrassed by the idea of busting a move.
"Everyone can dance," I told her. "You don't have to dance well. Nobody's going to judge you. Well, except maybe Sir Boogie over here."
Susan took a deep breath. She looked over both shoulders three times to make sure no one was coming. Finally, she bent her arms in front of her body and started turning her shoulders and hips side to side. It looked like the kind of dance you'd see on old rock concert footage from the days when Tutti Frutti was the hottest new hit.
"Don't laugh!" Susan said.
It was working. The suit of armor turned his halberd over flat and started kicking his feet out, using the weapon like a dancing cane. When I joined in, Susan forgot to be embarrassed, although both of us slammed to stop when we heard voices around the corner.
For half an hour, we would wait until we had the hallway to ourselves, then bust out our best moves and watch the armor spring to life. We tested what counted as a dance. As it turned out, the armor didn't care very much about the execution. As long as you were trying to dance, it would react. But it had no respect for the worm. That move was ignored entirely.
Finally Susan grabbed my hand, pulling me along. Her cheeks were red from laughing. "Let's see what else we can find!"
We spent a while in front of a portrait of a cornucopia full of fruit. I'm sure there was something special about it. Unlike the armor, we couldn't find the trick to activating it, so we moved on after a fruitless half hour.
Next, we found a tapestry that when you touched it, rolled up to the ceiling to reveal a hidden passage.
"Look at that, Percy— Oh!" Susan said.
We weren't the first ones to have found this trick. Less than three feet away, Ginny was draped over Dean Thomas, one of my roommates. The couple jumped apart when we appeared. For a moment, all four of us looked at each other.
"I thought you were at quidditch practice," I said.
"We were." Dean looked awkward. "It finished."
"Did we steal your spot?" Ginny asked, smirking as she looked between us.
Susan went bright red and clammed up.
"We were just exploring the castle," I said. "I didn't expect to stumble across a lip-locking session. I thought that's what the broom closets were for."
"Filch checks those. Plus, this is less dusty," Ginny said.
Dean had gone silent, looking at his shoes out of embarrassment. Susan was similar, so Ginny and I were holding our own conversation.
"Don't tell Ron. He'd be a total weapon about this."
"I can keep my lips shut."
"Good man!"
She pulled Dean away. No doubt relocating to a place where they'd be less likely to get caught. Susan and I chose to go a different direction. Once they were out of sight, Susan recovered a lot of her vigor. She was almost more eager now, trying to recover from the awkwardness.
I knew what I was sensing now. Enchanted objects had a little bit of Mist in them compared to the unenchanted ones. Considering what Hecate was the goddess of and the (limited) things I knew about demigod magic, that made sense. I wondered if some of the kids back at camp could have unlocked all these secret passages and hidden functions with nothing but their powers. Probably, I decided, but only the ones from Hecate's cabin. Hazel probably could have done it too.
Susan and I were stuck with trial and error, and even though we failed more than we succeeded, I wouldn't have traded that for any kind of skeleton key. It was more fun to puzzle the secret out. We found a chandelier that could be lowered to the floor and ridden like a merry-go-round, a chute disguised as discolored wallpaper that took you from the seventh floor down to the fifth, and more hidden passages than we could count. Most of them took you between rooms or classrooms, but a couple went to their own hidden spaces. With about thirty minutes until curfew, Susan and I sat side by side in one of these hidden rooms.
I had a light at the end of my wand, happy for the chance to use Lumos, one of the few spells I knew. Susan was flipping through a dusty book, taken from a dusty shelf, which was filled with a whole lot of other dusty books, in a room with four more dusty bookcases.
We'd sneezed a lot when we first entered.
"This one too!" Susan declared. "It's another rhubarb pie recipe!"
She snapped the book shut and looked at me with an impressive amount of excitement.
"I've checked three in a row now! I think all of these are cookbooks. And they're all rhubarb themed!" she said. "I'm going to try making this one. It must be good if it made it into this person's private collection. I've never seen so many rhubarb recipes in one place."
"Well, I can't say I have, either."
Susan hugged the book to her chest. We sat on the floor, ignoring how dirty our butts were getting. The floor was no cleaner than the shelves. This place was too well hidden for the house elves to clean. From the stale air, I suspected we were its first visitors in a long time.
"Before we go, would you mind… doing my hair?" Susan asked
"Just give me some light."
I put my wand away to free my hands while she took hers out, casting the same spell. I moved behind her and got up on my knees. Sliding my hands through her hair, I began to style it the way I had before. For a while Susan sat with her eyes closed.
"Sometimes, it just becomes a bit… too much for me," she finally said.
She laughed the way people do when they're trying to make something sound like a joke. Her shoulders tensed, before relaxing slowly as my fingers kept tugging on her hair.
"Before, I'd cry," Susan confessed. "It felt like the only thing I could do. But today, I had another idea. For some reason, I was able to do this! I didn't have to go to bed, I didn't have to cry, and I didn't even get a pit in my stomach. I'm really not sure why."
My fingers wove orange strands together. "Want to do it again?"
"Can we?"
Susan's voice bounced off the shelves of this stuffy, dark room. I put the finishing touches on her braid, then clapped.
"If you can find me, and I'm not super busy, I'll always go with you. Honestly, you'd be doing me a favor. Otherwise I'll be stuck studying or doing homework. Who'd turn down an adventure for that?"
As soon as she was sure I was done with her hair, she turned around and grabbed me. Susan clung to me as she said. "Thank you!"
About five seconds later, she realized we were alone, a boy and girl pressed together, and remembered what we'd seen earlier. She leaned back and jumped to her feet.
"We should go," she said, patting her robes free of dust. "Curfew."
That didn't stop her from thanking me one more time before we split up, as well as promising me a slice of rhubarb pie from her new book.
O-O-O
The reason for the Gryffindor's relentless Quidditch practices rolled around that weekend. Gryffindor versus Slytherin was a school-wide event. There was more bad blood behind this game than a Campers-verse-Hunters Capture the Flag match.
The stands were split into two groups. The Slytherins took over one sideline of the circular field, already singing songs that spent more time demeaning Gryffindor players than supporting theirs. Gryffindors were on the opposite side, with a mix of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws at either end behind the goalposts. There were very few neutrals. The two houses who weren't involved had picked sides on a person-by-person basis. While Gryffindor picked up the majority of the support, there was a healthy chunk who backed Slytherin, either because a Slytherin win would favor their own team or because of a personal dislike for Gryffindor. The commentator was a Hufflepuff who spent the ten minutes since I sat down describing all the ways Harry was an arrogant failure.
"Zacharias Smith," Hermione said, keeping a white-knuckle grip on her bleacher seat while looking at the commentator's box. "He was in the DA for a bit. A mistake on our part…"
"Not a friend?"
"Have you heard him?" Hermione sighed. "He was Harry's worst student, never learned anything, and seems to hold it against us now that we didn't take him to the Ministry last year. Not that he ever appeared or wanted to go, mind you. He just thinks he could have gained popularity if he was there. Of course, if he had been there, he would have high-tailed it to the nearest closet the moment the first curse was thrown."
Hermione sat forward, stowing her hands in the pockets of her coat. It was sunny with a slight breeze, still cold thanks to the time of year. Northern Scotland wasn't known for temperate Autumns.
"Here come the players." Hermione squinted at the tunnel. "Slytherin is out first. There's Urquhart, one of the Chasers, and… That's odd, Malfoy isn't playing Seeker!"
Lavender Brown sauntered up to them, wearing mittens to go with the wool fleece over her robes. "No Malfoy?" she asked. "Things just got easier for us. Cup, here we come!"
"It's strange though, isn't it?" Parvati Patil took a seat behind them at the same time as Lavender, leaning forward to join the conversation. "Malfoy never misses Quidditch."
"He's probably sick," Hermione said.
"When he was hurt the last time, he made the whole game get rescheduled," Parvati reminded them.
"I guess the prat doesn't have the sway he used to," Lavender said. "Either way, go Gryffindor!"
She shoved her hands in the air, waving her red mittens around like a flag. Hermione was getting nervous again as the Gryffindor team appeared. Two heads of bright red hair made it easy to pick out Ginny and Ron. Harry went to the middle of the field, meeting with Madam Hooch and the Slytherin captain. After a coin toss, Harry and the Slytherin shook hands. It didn't look friendly.
I was still thinking about Slytherin's missing member. Everyone else had moved on. The shrill whistle started the game and Ginny bolted into the opponent's half, carrying the Quaffle on a brave forward run.
I got up. "I'm going to check something."
Hermione looked at me briefly, then back at the game, one step away from biting her nails as she watched her friends play. Lavender booed me. "The game just started!"
"Do you really think Harry would lose to that guy?" I asked, pointing at Slytherin's substitute Seeker. "Maybe I'll be back in time to watch him catch the Snitch."
Parvati took my seat. She and Lavender jumped to their feet seconds later as Gryffindor notched the first points. Scored by Ginny, of course. She put a tidy shot through the left hoop that had the Slytherin Keeper diving after air.
I made it to the top of the stands where an unobstructed path went all the way around the stadium. Only, there were so many people here for this game that some had to settle for standing, so it wasn't all that unobstructed today. I squeezed my way toward one end of the field where the mixed support was.
In a surprisingly short time, I spotted who I was looking for mixed in amongst a section of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. I was on my way to them when I felt a weight settle on top of my head. Someone had put a hat on me.
A heavy one, too. One that roared a few seconds after being added to my outfit.
Luna Lovegood looked as innocent as ever, smiling at me with hands outstretched from lending me her hat. I could see it in the reflection of her pink sunglasses— a floppy wide brim that led to a thick neck wrapped in a red-and-gold scarf, crowned with a lion's head so real that it could have been alive. Luna tapped it with her wand again and the hat released another deafening roar, causing those around us to cover their ears.
"To improve your house spirit," Luna said.
I gave her a fistbump to show my thanks.
Now a lot more noticeable than I had been before, I squeezed my way past people's knees to get where I'd been going.
There were no open seats, so I tapped my new hat with my wand the way that Luna had. The roar was so loud that three unfortunate bystanders immediately sought different seats, including one next to who I was visiting.
I sat down beside Daphne while she looked at what was on my head.
"That's a fashion choice."
"Isn't it great? Someone just loaned it to me."
Tracey Davis leaned forward, still covering her ears out of caution that the lion would roar again. "Take that thing off or we're leaving."
"I won't make it roar again. Is that enough of a compromise?"
"Yes," Daphne said, before Tracey could say it wasn't. Glowering, Tracey crossed her arms and sat back, pretending her best friend and this annoying Gryffindor no longer existed.
"I think you're the only Slytherins sitting away from your house," I said.
"Recently, I quite publicly showed my allegiance to someone who is rather unpopular amongst my housemates. I think keeping a bit of distance is for the best."
Tracey scoffed and the reminder that Daphne had not just kissed me, she'd done it in front of a crowd, as an announcement. Daphne ignored her with the practiced air of a close friend.
"Is anyone giving you trouble?"
"Surprisingly, no." Daphne gazed at me. "If they had been, what would you have done?"
"Made them stop."
Daphne tried to hide how much she liked that answer.
"Slytherin house is disorganized right now," Daphne said. "Many of the older students are walking around in a daze, counting the days before they can join the Dark Lord. There are rumors that some of them already have. Younger students wouldn't dare mess with me. I know plenty of Jinxes, many of which leave no marks. As for those in our year, they've long treated Draco as their leader. This year, he's had shockingly little time or patience for them. They're quite confused what they should be doing."
"Morons, all of them," Tracey said. "What kind of Slytherin can't think for themselves?"
It was a rhetorical question, but I was tempted to point at the Quidditch team flying above us, who were getting dismantled without their usual leader. Ginny was making them look like first years. Slytherin's Seeker tried to hit Harry with a cheapshot while Hooch had her back turned, only to get juked. He nearly crashed into the stands.
"Where's Draco today?" I asked.
Daphne picked up on my tone, understanding why I sought them out.
"I have no idea," she said. "He told Snape that he was sick. Tracey saw him leaving the Common Room this morning."
"It was near the crack of dawn. He thought no one would be down yet. Never even spotted me in the corner," Tracey said.
"Disappearing has been a regular part of his routine this year," Daphne said. "No one can say where he goes. He always leaves alone. If he's confided in anyone, I haven't heard of it."
The score of the game had been steadily climbing. It was ninety-to-ten in favor of Gryffindor now. The Slytherin players were realizing that their only hope was their substitute Seeker catching the snitch before Harry. The Chasers and Beaters were feeling increasingly frustrated while focusing less on the game. Some of them even took to looking in the crowd.
After the fact, I would realize how much we stood out. Daphne and Tracey were the only green dots not grouped with the sea of it on the other sideline. I was wearing a lion on my head. Compared to the Ravenclaw blues and Hufflepuff yellows around us, it was hard for us to not catch the eye, even for a dumb-as-mud musclehead like Gregory Goyle.
For the first time that I'd seen, Draco's two guards were somewhere he wasn't. They hadn't taken the day off for any sketchy illnesses. Goyle was bearing down on a loose Bludger right above our seats, hauling his bat back.
I was still looking at Daphne, only vaguely aware of him. I didn't see that he was looking at us until I heard a crack!
Spectators dove away chaotically. It was Goyle's best hit of the day. Maybe that's because this target wasn't moving, unlike Ginny on her broom.
Daphne threw her hands up as last second protection but I was the real target. Wham! When she heard the noise, she slowly lowered her arms.
The Bludger had nestled in my palm. It was made of cold iron and enchanted with the spirit of violence. A little bigger than a basketball, I could feel it fighting angrily against my grip.
"You… caught it?" Tracey said. She was one of those who dove away, but was now climbing back into her seat, staring at the Bludger. "And you're holding it? One-handed?"
I shrugged. Looking up, I saw one of Gryffindor's Beaters flying full-speed. I cocked my arm and threw the Bludger back into the air, feeling like I was roleplaying as a Laistrygonian. The weight was about the same as a real cannonball. Anyone up for a friendly game of dodgeball?
The Bludger soared right into the path of Coote, the Gryffindor Beater who was flying in. He was a few years younger than me, with frizzy hair and a light brown skin tone. I'd never talked with him, but I'm pretty sure that he was planning to fly his broom straight through Goyle in revenge for that stunt, so Coote was good in my book.
He never had to take the foul as he suddenly found a Bludger conveniently in his path, right at the perfect height. Goyle blinked stupidly. Most things he did looked stupid.
Coote wound back and gave the Bludger the hardest hit of his life just a few feet away from Goyle. The crack the ball made when it hit his face made me wonder if Goyle was still alive.
Not only did he live, he actually stayed awake. Goyle kept on his broom, albeit with blood gushing off of his face. I made a mental note to check if he really had two eyes after this game, thinking of the last time I saw someone stand up to a hit from a metal ball like that. Although Tyson made the whole thing look a lot more graceful.
I felt someone touch my arm. Daphne was looking at me.
"Thank you," she said.
"Thank me later." I winked.
A sly smile formed on her face. "I believe I will."
Tracey was looking between us, torn between disgust and disbelief. A rising cheer started from the Gryffindor side of the stadium and when I looked up, Harry was racing the Slytherin Seeker for the Snitch.
The Slytherin had seen it first. He was ahead of Harry but wouldn't be for long. Harry was wringing extra juice out of his broom, his whole body hunched forward, hugging the length of the broomstick.
In that position, going at least a hundred and twenty miles per hour, his arm snapped out at the perfect time, plucking the flighty Snitch out of the air.
I guess we were in a Gryffindor section of the neutral crowd, or Slytherin lost their support when Goyle sent a Bludger at us. The people around cheered with many jumping to their feet, me included.
It hit my hat with my wand, adding a deafening lion's roar to the clamor. Daphne winced. Tracey doubled forward, clutching her ears and glaring.
"You promised you wouldn't do that!"
"Sorry," I said, although I'm not even sure she could hear me. "I got carried away."