Could she do her best for Jill, wondered
Sparrow, as she followed all but one of her crew into the library.
She could certainly try, and
there wasn’t exactly a deadline to all of this, or grading or –
it was an attempt to be there for someone, not a final exam.
She
sat down at the table with everyone else. One thing she was certain
of, as she slouched in her chair, was that while she had demanded
some manner of counselor for her and her friends and the entire
school, what Sparrow had encountered in Jill’s dream could be
beyond mere counsel
– clearly beyond any sort of Draught
of Peace.
It might have been healthy for Jill to finally release all the
tension she might be feeling, but then Sparrow would definitely have
to find a counselor who could actually survive the resulting blast,
and Sparrow wasn’t certain she could – she was certain she would
try, but it was bound
to be a bad idea.
Who, then?
She felt a sudden sharp pain in her earlobe,
and she yelped, glaring at Jocasta next to her. "What the hell!"
Jocasta was grinning like a cat. "I have proven it works," she purred.
⋄⋄SAVE
THAT FOR THE BEDROOM, IF YOU PLEASE.⋄⋄
††††† ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT ANYONE
ELSE TO BE OVERHEARING THAT? †††††
≠≠≠≠
AHEM.
≠≠≠≠
Iphis
was looking decidedly annoyed. He had the history textbook laid open
on the table before him, but he was glaring at Sparrow. "Distracted,
captain?"
"So many distractions these days,"
said Sparrow. "Just...personal troubles, nothing to bother you.
I mean, unless it’s getting in the way of things here…" She
looked around. "One of our number has not arrived? We haven’t
nailed things down with History yet, we need everyone here."
"Workshop," grumbled Iphis.
"Surely nothing is so important to make
that it could not be put aside for a moment?"
"I have given such advice and not been
heeded." Iphis sighed, looking down at the book, but his eyes
were clearly not reading anything. "Busy busy busy, so many
tasks...not different than any of us, I suppose." His expression
betrayed a deeper worry than his words let on, but he said nothing
more.
"Surely you of all people could convince
him to come out of that glorified closet?" said Jocasta.
Iphis looked up, meeting Sparrow’s eyes. Both
of them cracked a smile, and Iphis wound up looking down again as he
giggled. Jocasta frowned in confusion. "Why are you two
laughing? What did I say?"
"Muggle expression," said Miranda. Even she had a
faint smile.
Iphis composed himself. "Even I can’t
manage to fetch my beloved. I barely even get an answer when I Send."
Jill coughed. "You don’t see him coming
to bed?"
"To my bed?" said Iphis. "In my
dorm, in my house, which requires a riddle to access, let alone all
the other logistical issues? Your experiences of the speed and ease
with which one moves in with their loved ones are not universal."
"Does Ravenclaw house not have a Dorm Room of Requirement?" said Sparrow.
"Cormac and I have not sought it,"
said Iphis. "Yet even if we had, if we had made the decision to
move in together...still my bed would have been empty, in the past
few days. We have barely seen each other at all."
"What?" Sparrow sprang to her
feet, slapping her palms on her table as her chair was scooted a foot
backwards. "What the hell could keep someone in their
workshop that much? Never mind, I’m going to find the answer
myself. I will not be ignored." She gave Jill and
Jocasta each a peck on the cheek, then marched out of the library.
All the way to the Great Staircase, she
wondered what had been preoccupying Wren these days. They had seemed
faintly annoyed with Iphis, they were clearly avoiding the crew,
they...had specifically removed themself from any discussions of the
Ancient Runes.
Was that what it was?
Ancient Runes, the subject that Iphis had been
unable to let go of since last November. Which is to say that if Wren
was avoiding the runes, they were avoiding Iphis.
That certainly couldn’t feel good.
Sparrow reached the stairs. Instead of climbing
or bothering with the Ascendio spell, she waved her wand and cast her
shield in a wide flat disc,
which she stepped onto. Then she jerked her wand upward, and the disc rose, so swiftly that Sparrow was
forced to bend her knees with the acceleration, nearly toppling
backwards. Worse, she nearly smacked into the underside of a
staircase as it shifted to block her path, and then as she moved her
wand to direct the disc to the side, the disc tilted slightly, once
again upsetting Sparrow’s balance.
It was only by luck and sheer determination
that Sparrow managed to reach the seventh floor without falling. This
was what she got for haste.
She
hurried through the necessary ritual to find the Room of Requirement,
occasionally brushing rudely past the occasional student who was in
the way, before at least seeing the door appear before her. She
dashed inside – this time it was a small foyer, she’d
only been asking for something that would help her reach Wren’s
workshop without forcing her to barge in directly.
She politely knocked at the
door.
No answer.
⋄⋄WREN,
MY
FRIEND, MAY I ENTER? ⋄⋄
Still no answer.
⋄⋄WREN,
IF
YOU’RE DEAD IN THERE, I WILL BE VERY CROSS WITH YOU. ⋄⋄
Still nothing.
Sparrow closed
her eyes, and concentrated on her image of Wren.
In a few moments, the picture in her mind became more solid, a
humanoid shape silhouetted against the glow of a forge. Still moving.
Hammering something, in fact. ⋄⋄
WREN?⋄⋄
∫∫∫∫∫∫
OH,
SORRY, I WAS A LITTLE DISTRACTED. WHAT DO YOU WANT? ∫∫∫∫∫∫
⋄⋄KISSES
FROM MY GIRLFRIENDS,
BUT THAT GOES WITHOUT SAYING. MORE IMPORTANTLY I WOULD LIKE TO SEE
WHAT YOU’RE WORKING ON IN THERE, IF I MAY. ⋄⋄
∫∫∫∫∫∫
OH...ALRIGHT.
I DON’T LIKE SHOWING SOMETHING UNTIL IT’S DONE, BUT COME ON IN. ∫∫∫∫∫∫
The vision in Sparrow’s mind faded. She
grabbed the door handle and pulled.
Inside was a workshop worthy of the name – a
wide bench covered in bits of wood all lined up, tools hanging neatly
on a peg board, buckets and boxes and containers of all sorts,
multiple standing cabinets with doors and drawers. The distinctive
smell of sawdust in the air, though not a smidge remained on any
surface. And sitting at a table, bending over a piece of metal with
their wand held delicately in their hand, was Wren.
Looking slightly fancier than just yesterday –
some loops of gleaming gold dangled from their earlobes, their school
robe appeared to bear a bit of gold embroidery at the lapels, and
their hair was even longer, tied in a braid down their back. They
looked up, seeming slightly annoyed, but their expression softening
when they caught sight of Sparrow. "Hey, buddy ol’ pal, what’s
up?"
Sparrow crossed her arms. "How much have
you been avoiding Iphis?"
"I’ve been busy!"
said Wren, looking annoyed.
"You can’t even let him into your
workshop?"
"Very busy," said Wren.
"But you let me come in and interrupt
you."
Wren turned back to their work. "You’re
not all that distracting. I’ll just
keep working here."
"Wren." Sparrow sighed. "Look,
I’ve already guessed it has something to do with the Ancient Runes.
What’s got you worked up about them? You’re using them,
they can’t possibly be that bad."
Wren looked up in alarm. "You should probably leave."
"Wren –"
"No. Go on, get lost. Vamoose. Amscray."
⋄⋄DO
I NEED TO ORDER YOU, AS YOUR CAPTAIN, TO TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON?⋄⋄
∫∫∫∫∫∫
I
WILL NOT OBEY THAT ORDER. I CANNOT OBEY THAT ORDER. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
FORCE ME.
∫∫∫∫∫∫
Sparrow let out a long and weary sigh. She
pulled up a stool and sat upon it, silent for a few moments, only
meeting Wren’s gaze, as they too seemed to lose the wind from their
sails. They turned back to their work and said not a word.
"It’s really that dangerous?"
murmured Sparrow.
Wren looked up again and nodded.
"Then why –"
"Fine in
carvings," said Wren. "Carvings can’t slip away from you.
It’s...no, I’ve even said too much of that
already. Look. I know Iphis, I know he would have told you ages ago
if he thought it was safe. But if he kept the matter even from me, he
knows it can’t possibly be. He said...he said it was a language he
would not utter here. He said he was joking, but I know he wasn’t,
because I know what he uttered that – shit. Never mind."
"Back in the library," said Sparrow.
"When he told everyone to cover their ears."
Wren’s wand
clattered to the table as they
slapped their forehead.
"Dammit! DAMMIT! This is why I told you to leave! Now we might
be screwed! Because now you know what the runes can do, which means
it’s not possible to study them out loud without activating them –
no, I know what you’re going to say, magic needs intent.
The runes don’t. If you’re
ignorant of their power they’re clearly fine, but if...if you’ve
even guessed correctly what they can do…"
Sparrow caught
sight of a bandage on the back of Wren’s hand. "That’s
why you’re avoiding Iphis. He
would see you’ve been messing with the language too."
"Might be
no other way to get this stupid Remember Ball
to work," said Wren. They
gestured to the piece of
metal on the table. "I’ve been trying without it, but…"
They
gestured to the stone of the walls. Sparrow could see scorch marks,
here and there, that had resisted any cleaning spell. "It’s
rough work."
"You were supposed to be working on shield
charm accessories," said Sparrow.
"That stuff is easy," said Wren. They
pointed at their earrings. "Could do it in my sleep. So I’ll
have it ready for when Budge needs us. Don’t
worry."
Sparrow snorted."You sound like someone
who keeps putting off their big essay."
"It’ll be fine," said Wren. "I
just...I needed to get this done first."
"For me?"
"And for me," said Wren.
"Not...entirely selfish, but...I have my own desires about this
thing, I’ll admit that."
Sparrow took a deep breath. "Set it aside,
my friend."
"What!"
"We have more immediate priorities."
She pointed to Wren’s earrings. "I want some of those. Or any
kind of wearable thing, earrings might get snagged. I want you to
apply your creativity to those."
"But, Sparrow, your parents…"
"Won’t get killed," said
Sparrow. "Necessarily. Just mind-wiped, possibly, maybe. It’s…"
She felt tears coming to her eyes. "They’ll
be fine. But I want my friends here to be fine too. I want you to be
fine. Alright? Don’t – don’t keep getting yourself hurt. I
can’t allow that. I literally can’t allow that. You know all about that.
Please. Just leave my worries about my parents aside and come back to
your Iphis. Please."
Wren sighed. "You know...I was thinking
you were the only one who could release me from the obligation I had
chosen. Lucky you showed up, eh?" They smiled. "I’m sorry
I made you worry. And...I’m sorry I let you know about what the
runes could do. I may have just ruined our ability to study them
safely, which means if we’re not proficient in them, or if we lose
any proficiency...our marks on the OWLs might not come out perfect."
"Wren." Sparrow stood up from her
stool, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. "You’re
anticipating the test by your standards. You know what the
exam will actually be like? It will be so boring
for us that the biggest danger will be falling asleep."
"No guarantees," said Wren.
"Maybe not." Sparrow let her hand
fall. "And anyway, before you bust your brains trying to make
that Remember Ball work, you could come up with something that helps
us communicate securely with people in London so we can tell if
anyone there is in peril. Have you built a Wireless yet?"
Wren reached over and pulled open a drawer.
Therein lay many larger pieces of metal, all inscribed with runes.
"Haven’t got a proper focusing crystal yet," said Wren.
"Not sure how."
"How does one acquire a crystal?"
said Sparrow. "Hmm, I bet there’s a book about it in the
library. Oh yes, the library, where we are all studying history
today. Are you coming then? I’m sure Iphis will be happy to see
you."
Wren grimaced. They held up their bandaged
hand.
"You need to be honest
with him," said Sparrow.
"But –"
"You and Iphis are some of the most clever
and productive Wizards I’ve ever seen," said Sparrow. "Your
collaboration has already produced things that can make a Wizard
wonder. But that’s not going to continue if you two remain
separated by resentment and fear. Do you understand?"
"There might be resentment anyway,"
said Wren. "He’s going to be really mad at me."
"Sure," said Sparrow, "I know
someone who’s run from that fear, once she knew there was someone
who really cared about her. But I didn’t give her the Silent
Treatment when she was away. I didn’t want her to think I didn’t
care about her. You know? You’re making Iphis think you only care
about your work. Surely you care about him, enough to trust that he wouldn’t
hate you?"
"I –"
"He is your partner in all things, Wren.
You have found steadfast love. Show me you believe it." She held
out her hand.
Wren grumbled, but at last they put their work
down and stood, taking Sparrow’s hand. "My own words against
me. You fiend."
Sparrow only grinned, as they exited the
workshop.
…
The library drew near. Wren seemed to be
slowing down.
"I know you’re nervous," murmured
Sparrow. "But you’ll get through it. I know you."
"This isn’t the first time I’ve ever
been in a spat," murmured Wren. "Back in November and
December, you remember, after you broke Jocasta’s wrist…"
"I know you didn’t hate me even then."
"This is different." Wren sighed.
"This is...Iffy’s been with me longer than you have, you know?
Not just in terms of who met who first, but I’ve spent summers with
him. We’ve been partners for years, even
before we understood it. He came to me with his deepest pain, well
before anyone else. I know he trusts me. And...I feel like he’s
broken my trust, and it’s going to be obvious I’m a hypocrite
about being mad at him – Sparrow, this kind of relationship isn’t
supposed to break, and I might have broken it. He could hate
me."
"But if you’re never honest with him,"
said Sparrow, "you’ll never be able to get past that fear. I
think the only way out here is through the flames."
"No doubt," murmured Wren.
⋄⋄AND
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH – WE ARE BLESSED WITH A MODE OF COMMUNICATION
THAT WE KNOW TO BE UTTERLY SINCERE. WHATEVER YOU SAY THIS WAY WILL BE
THE TRUTH.⋄⋄
∫∫∫∫∫∫
I
FEEL PRETTY FOOLISH LETTING THE MATTER COME TO THAT. ∫∫∫∫∫∫
Jocasta appeared in the hall. "You two!
Finally! Come in, you’ll catch your death of cold." There was
a small thump of air as she took the form of a fly and
disappeared.
Sparrow squeezed Wren’s hand. "Ready?"
"Ready as I’ll ever be," grumbled
Wren.
The two of them stepped through the doors.
Down a ways, at the table where they’d been,
sat Jill, and Miranda...and Iphis, still poring over the history
textbook.
And then there was a tiny buzzing sound past
Sparrow’s ear, and a small thump of air as Jocasta appeared
once more, sitting cross-legged on top of the table, resting her chin
in her hands. She looked amused and intrigued.
But then her eyes flicked to the sight of Wren’s
bandaged hand, and her expression became nonplussed. She glanced at
Iphis.
Iphis at last looked up, along with everyone
else –
And he must have caught sight of Wren’s hand
as well, for his eyes suddenly blazed with ultraviolet light. He sprang to his feet,
knocking his chair backward. He marched toward Wren –
But Wren had let go of of Sparrow’s hand, and
was striding forward to meet Iphis, their eyes glowing orange. The
two of them stood there, tall and proud, unblinking, unmoving.
Unwilling to yield, it seemed. Wren’s shoulders trembled, but they
shed not a tear. At last they nodded their head to the stacks, and
took Iphis by the hand, leading him out of sight, orange and
ultraviolet eyes alike alight.
While Jocasta looked deeply concerned, and
Miranda looked suspicious, Jill was utterly bewildered. "What in
the hell was that?" She looked to Sparrow. "Sparrow, what
the hell happened in the workshop?"
Sparrow collapsed into a chair, letting out a
long breath as the tension from her shoulders finally relaxed. "You
know how I said I didn’t want to be doing anymore drama for a
while? I think I’m not going to be able to avoid it with this
crew."
…
There had been no further drama that Sparrow
encountered that day, although, with Iphis and Wren not returning to
the library, there was a tension that hung in the air between the
rest of the crew, be they studying or dining.
So it was that, when Miranda asked Sparrow and
her girls to wait a moment before departing the library at the day’s
very end, Sparrow had reason to worry that there was some conflict
about to spill over into open
words. Yet Miranda only spoke with a voice of hesitant humbleness,
when she asked, "Is it alright if I sleep with you three
tonight?"
Jill, Jocasta, and Sparrow exchanged glances.
"I am not sure," said Jill. "I might just melt you,
ice queen."
Miranda chuckled. "As if you could. But I
have been informed that you three share dreams, and I have
experienced the same. I find greater peace in someone else’s head
than in my own. But those whom I usually turn to will not be
available tonight, and I am sorely troubled by a recent discussion
with McGonagall. I wonder if I might trouble you to make use of your
own dreams."
Jocasta raised her eyebrows. "You think
you can find peace in our heads?"
"In our souls mixed all together,"
said Sparrow. "It seems to work for you at least, Jo."
Jocasta shrugged. "I’m open, then."
"If it offers you some relief," said
Jill, "than I will permit it. Captain?"
"I’m not going to bring orders into
this," said Sparrow. "I think it’s worth a shot."
Miranda rose from the table, and bowed. "I
will meet you when it is time, then. Thank you."
The rest of them rose, and bowed in turn. Then
they all departed – Miranda trailing far behind, soon wandering
down a side corridor and away.