◊◊ HURRY
IT UP AND GET BACK ON THE BRIDGE. ◊◊
It was a
rare clear night, this Saturday in early February. The moon, a mere waxing
crescent, shone weakly upon the empty tower. Someone, whoever it was, perhaps
McGonagall, had managed to repair the thing very quickly indeed.
The
bridge, on this night, was still attached to the rock upon which the tower had
stood. Violet had said that the next time the bridge would move was tomorrow.
So, with three of Sparrow’s friends still occupied, Headmistress McGonagall
away, Professors Clearwater and Slughorn currently supervising a more dangerous matter than mundane matters of broomsticks, and Professor Longbottom unable to stay awake this late, it was left to Sparrow,
Jill, and Jocasta to handle the gathering of dew.
Jill and
Jocasta were on the prototype longbroom, the one that only moved when four hands held it. Jill had wanted to be on her own broom, but as Miranda was now out of the picture, she had decided that it was up to her to make sure Jocasta had a steady platform. No sudden movements or slips. No sense dropping the bottle, eh?
As for
Sparrow, she was standing right above them on the bridge, gathering what she
could from the undersides of the railing, and keeping an eye on the two.
She was
keeping her other eye on the sky, just in case Professor Clearwater appeared
somewhere.
Currently
Jocasta was standing on the end of the broom, so as to get at a particular
patch on the side, which was vexing enough, moreso because Jill was letting it
happen.
◊◊ JOCASTA!
WILL YOU SIT YOUR ARSE DOWN! ◊◊
Jocasta
smirked. “Yes, mistress.”
“Relax,”
said Jill. “If she falls, I catch her. I know Levicorpus well enough.”
◊◊ WELL
I CAN’T DECIDE WHAT PERIL WE MIGHT BE IN, BUT YOU REALLY SHOULDN’T BE TAKING CHANCES
HERE. ◊◊
“I’ll be
fine,” said Jocasta.
No
sooner did she speak these words than the bridge began to move. Jocasta yelped,
and, in attempting to sit down quickly, overbalanced and fell.
She was
caught in a moment by Jill’s quick wandwork. But as her wand hand was thus
occupied, and Jocasta's hands were nowhere near the broom, it was impossible for Jill to shift the broom away from the path of the approaching bridge.
Which is not to say she gave up trying. And indeed, as Jill pulled upward on the stick with all her might, the broom was rising millimeter by millimeter.
Unfortunately, this was not enough time to get clear, and now the bridge was sweeping the broom towards the cliff.
In that
moment, Sparrow could not think what to do, save for tossing the Fetching Stick
into the air once more and sending it off to get help. Who knew what sort of
help would come in time? Meanwhile her girlfriends would either fall or be squashed if
she couldn’t some up with something, and no matter what sort of shield she
cast, it found no purchase on thin air.
And Jill
had been able to catch Jocasta, certainly, but had not managed to develop any
fine control over the spell, and the most she had been able to do was slowly
draw Jocasta up to the broom itself, so that the girl could hang onto the end.
This solved one problem, but until the girl was back on the broom, it couldn’t
escape the closing trap. And Sparrow couldn’t buy them any more time.
Unless a
shield which found no purchase on air could find purchase on itself.
Sparrow
pointed her wand at the inside of the angle where the bridge was swinging
toward the cliff, and cast the shield once more.
This
time it was not a flat plane, nor a dome. It was a bubble, hanging in the air to
the side of the bridge, swiftly caught by the closing angle and holding, sending
the bridge to a shuddering halt –
As long
as Sparrow herself could hold out. There was such a thing as jamming a door to
keep it from closing, sure, but most people jammed the end with the lock, not
the one with the hinge. That end tended to break whatever it caught, or at
least mangle it. The shield charm was only holding for more than a
fraction of a second because it was cast by Sparrow Jones. .
Yet even the Shield Maiden of Hogwarts would not last very long against the weight of an entire bridge. Her
mind was already breaking from the strain. She shut her eyes, in a futile
effort to ease her splitting headache.
By all
that was holy, this bridge would not beat her. This was the life of her friends
at stake. She was not going to lose any of them ever again. She would rather
see this blasted bridge turned to splinters.
And
maybe it would turn to splinters if she held on long enough. It sounded like it
was cracking.
††††† OPEN YOUR EYES! †††††
◊◊ JILL?
◊◊
††††† I SAID OPEN YOUR EYES, DAMMIT! †††††
Sparrow
opened her eyes.
The pain
in her head was gone. Jocasta was back on the broom. Jill was pointing the grey
wand at the same place Sparrow’s shield was holding. Her eyes were glowing red.
“I’ve
got an idea,” said Jocasta. “Jill, hand me your main wand if you please?”
††††† BIT BUSY! SORRY! †††††
“Then I
shall have to risk getting burned,” said Jocasta, and she had Jill’s wand out
of the girl's pocket in a moment. She held it next to the bridge. “Sparrow, if
you could toss your own wand my way?”
◊◊ AND
LOSE THE SHIELD? ◊◊
“Trust
me.”
Sparrow
tossed her wand out of her hand. It flew over the bridge and down to its place
right beside Jill’s wand.
The glow
from Jill’s eyes faded. All of a sudden she looked exhausted and confused. She
shook her head rapidly and blinked. “Alright,” she said, “now what?”
“We fly
this thing out of the way,” said Jocasta. “And then retrieve your wand.”
“Wonderful,”
said Jill. “Sparrow threw away the only easy method of separating those things,
and I am in no position to meditate.”
“You can
certainly try it!” said Jocasta.
Jill and
Jocasta swung the broom around so that Jill had a hand on the wand, while
Sparrow had a hand on her part of it, so that, when the wands came apart, they
would not fall into the gorge and be lost. Jill closed her eyes and breathed
slowly in and out, as she had practiced.
Perhaps
it was a matter of the bridge being held in its halfway position for far too
long, hanging with one end attached to nothing, such that when the wands
separated, the bridge lost the only source of friction holding it up. Or,
perhaps, it was simply that the bridge truly wanted to kill the children.
Either way, Sparrow suddenly found herself accelerating downward along with the
bridge, and in that very moment –
Perhaps
it was that Sparrow had cast the spell alone, or perhaps it was Jill who had
cast the spell along with her, if the results were any indication. Yet all
Sparrow knew in that moment was that she, at least, had cast the one spell that
had never failed her, the one she could cast nearly on instinct these days,
almost as a reaction, a reflex – whatever it was, the bubble that appeared
beneath the falling bridge expanded rapidly enough that it shattered the bridge
beneath where Sparrow was standing, and sent her flying away from her friends.
It was
somewhat pleasant to be soaring through the night sky. Less so to be falling
while doing it. Oh well, maybe it would be nice to be a ghost. Maybe she could
haunt the Minister of Magic to death. Or maybe she could haunt the disused
courtyard. Or the tower. Not that anyone could get to it. Ah, and there was the
massive crash of the bridge meeting the earth at last. She would not sound
nearly as loud when she struck the earth, but the consequences would be far
worse. Her shield spell could not save her now – It could stop a spell, it
could stop a rock, but if it tried to stop the ground, the sudden stop from a fall
this high would be the end of her anyway. What a pity, what a pity. The Shield Maiden of Hogwarts had discovered something her one mighty talent couldn’t save
her from. So sad. It would be nice to be a ghost.
What was
that red and green glow in the distance, and why was it getting close so
quickly? Was there a meteor bearing down upon her, after everything else that
happened?
Not quite.
Jillian Patil and Jocasta Carrow came rocketing out of the darkness, one bathed
in a red glow, the other glowing green, the end of their broom a roaring
inferno. Jocasta put out her arms and snatched Sparrow right out of the air –
Which is
to say, two girls crashed into a third at high speed, leaving the momentum of
the three girls now much less than the broom itself, which shot out from under
them and off into the distance, leaving three Wizards in midair with nothing
but their wands to save them.
Sparrow
thought it was a pleasant thing to be here in midair with the people she loved.
Would have been nicer if they’d been on a broom, or maybe a bridge or a rock or
something, midair was frightfully cold. Goodness, it was windy too. Where was
that wind coming from? It was coming from below. Why was it coming from below?
And why
was it stopping? And who was shouting at her? Didn’t sound like Jill.
Levi-something? Well that was a new one to her, no wait, she’d just been
thinking of casting it tonight when –
The full
weight of the situation came back to Sparrow when she touched lightly down upon
the earth and discovered that she was in a position which made it very clear
that there was something very wrong with her shoulder.
Which is
to say, her mind was filled with a silent scream.
“Ow!”
said Violet's voice. “Goodness, I can barely cast a spell with that noise ringing between my ears.”
◊◊ VIOLET?
◊◊
“Surprise.”
There before her stood Violet and Cormac, both looking like a great wind had mussed their hair. Which it probably had, since they were both holding brooms.
◊◊ HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO FIND US OUT HERE? ◊◊
Violet grinned. “The Fetching Stick knows what it’s about. A very good dog
indeed. Too bad I can’t give it a scratch behind the ears, but maybe it enjoys
being thrown.”
“She’s
in pain,” said Cormac. “Please be serious.”
“What,
is it that bad? It doesn’t look bad.”
“Hardly
for you to judge! It’s not your collarbone.” He fished in his pocket. “Also you
can’t see what happened under the skin there but when Jill and Jocasta caught
her – you two aren’t screaming in pain so I’ll get to you next – what on earth
were you thinking anyway?”
“Catch
Sparrow,” said Jill.
“More
painful than we expected,” said Jocasta.
Cormac
took a disc of glass out of his pocket. Its outer rim was wrapped in gold, and
the metal was etched with tiny runes. “Catch Sparrow. At high speed without
even trying to slow down. Or casting a cushioning charm in the first place.” He
peered through the disc at Sparrow’s shoulder. “Hrm, yep. Broken collarbone.
Cracked in a few places but not – oh goodness, this one is broken clean through.
Violet, go and fetch Madame Abbot on the double.”
Professor
Clearwater’s feet thumped heavily as she landed on the earth right next to
Cormac, who jumped, and dropped his glass disc.
Unfortunately
Sparrow was startled as well, and her sudden movement caused her a fresh wave of
pain, which had everyone clapping their hands over their ears in a futile
effort to block their headaches. That is, until Jocasta pointed her wand at
Sparrow’s shoulder and said, “Ossium
Emendo!”
The pain
vanished, along with the screaming, leaving only faint echoes in Sparrow's mind.
She lay on Jocasta’s lap and and looked up at the sky, preferring to let the sound
of her companions drown the echoes out.
“I
imagine,” said Professor Clearwater, “That you are not relishing the idea of
having to explain these injuries to the Hospital Wing, nor having to explain why
you use such a tricky healing spell when Brackium
Emendo works as well.”
Jocasta
shook her head. “I would rather keep my mouth shut about both things. But as
for the risky choice, I prefer something that works in moments rather than hours. Cormac, what are you
doing with that glass? I don’t need any mending myself. Go check on Jill.”
“You
sure don’t,” said Cormac. “How on earth did you avoid breaking any bones?”
“I
didn’t. Will you please check on Jill?”
“Of
course, of course.”
“My injury isn’t that
bad,” said Jill. “I just can’t move my arm. And it hurts, quite a bit. Ow. But for
a Quidditch player who has Bludgers flying at them all the time, this is hardly
a new experience. I can bear the pain.”
“Let me
see,” said Cormac, “let me see. Ah, multiple fractures as well, in the upper
arm. Easier to deal with than the collarbone, I suppose, but still a problem.
Not something you should ignore, Tough Girl.”
“I’m not
dumb enough to ignore it, it’s just that Sparrow and Jocasta here had the worst
of it because of my panic. So maybe I’m more concerned about the well-being of
my girlfriends because I need to be.”
“Enough of
tearing yourself down,” said Jocasta. “Let me see your arm, please. Thank you. Ossium Emendo!”
Within a few seconds Jill could
move her arm as well as she ever could. She swung it around a few times just to
be sure, ignoring Jocasta’s protests. “It’s fine,” said Jill. “You’re
really good at this.”
“Yeah,”
said Cormac. “About that. Isn’t bone-healing N.E.W.T.-level magic?”
“It most
certainly is,” said Professor Clearwater. “I am most curious as to how you have
mastered it already.”
“I’ve
had practice,” said Jocasta.
“And
you’ve had practice keeping your mouth shut while your bones are broken?”
“Plenty
of practice with that.”
“That
spell you used,” said Violet. “They only use it at Saint Mungo’s when they have
no time for something slower and safer. It’s way too easy to mist-cast and
cause too much bone to grow. How on earth did you hear about it?”
“Now
there’s a good question,” said Miranda, as she hopped off her broom. “Let us
say, we are all terribly precocious.”
“You!”
said Jocasta. “You are supposed to be brewing a potion!”
“So am
I,” said Cormac. “And so is Violet here.”
“Oh
wonderful,” said Professor Clearwater. “You’re all here. I shall go and inform
the others where you are.” She climbed onto her broom.
“Wait,”
said Jocasta.
“Hm?”
“If you
knew the bridge was dangerous, why couldn’t you watch us?”
“Two
visions,” said Professor Clearwater. “One of a collapsing bridge, one of an
exploding potion. Hard choice of priorities. I had to trust that you three
wouldn’t be quite so reckless. Maybe I ought to insist on that more often. At
the very least, I do insist on you
sticking together, so as to save me from further headaches. And then maybe we
can send that wonderful stick of yours towards someone else who can help, not
just me.” She took off without another word.
Sparrow
watched her go, feeling very much like a teacher who had been reprimanded for
the actions of the students under her charge.
“Catch,”
said Miranda.
The
Fetching Stick flew into Sparrow’s hand, shaking her out of her reverie.
“Potion,”
said Jocasta. “Where is it. Did it work.”
Miranda
took a glass bottle out of her pocket, filled with a golden liquid that glowed.
“Finished, not sure if it worked yet. Maybe we have to wait. My arm feels a
little better.”
“You had
enough time to make it after all. Thank goodness.”
“I
wouldn’t say that,” said Cormac.
“Explain.”
“By the
time Professor Clearwater came running in the potion was as golden as Miranda
wanted, but we couldn’t put the finishing the touches in that Slughorn recommended.
Maybe that ruined it? No way to tell yet.”
Jocasta
rested her face in her palm. “Great.”
“It is
not as though you needed me that much,” said Miranda. “As far as I can tell,
you mastered that particular bone-healing spell over a month ago.”
“Oh,”
said Cormac. “You knew about this, then.”
“I suggested it to her in the
first place. I have been practicing the slower version for quite some time – ”
“What!”
“ – to
heal the mice I rescue from traps now and then. Or trying to practice, it's delicate wandwork and I couldn't get it any better than I can do anything else with the wand, but, you know, the mouse will die if I do nothing, so I keep trying and getting nowhere, and then Jocasta helps me figure out what I'm doing wrong, so then I asked her if she could do it faster and...I am rambling. My apologies."
“And you
mastered it in that space of time?" said Cormac.
Miranda shook her head. "Jocasta did. I did not. It works half the time for me. I don't dare try it on any creature that can speak."
"My my my," said Violet. "How long have you two known each other?"
Jocasta shrugged. "Couple months, why?"
"You mastered a spell like that in a couple months. Good heavens. Why have you not mastered every spell in the book by now?"
"Because have been practicing
that specific subject for many years, and only that specific subject, and don’t ask me why, thank you very much.”
“But
where – ”
Jocasta's eyes flashed green. • DON’T EVER ASK. YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE
ANSWER. •
“Try
me.”
“Not a
chance,” said Jocasta. “Miranda – ”
“You
didn’t cause me any trouble tonight,” said Miranda. “I am sorry that I pushed
you away earlier.” Miranda glanced at Cormac, who was giving her an expectant
look. “That was deliberate. I didn’t want you to worry about me. Clearly that
was a miscalculation on my part.”
“It’s
fine,” said Jocasta. She looked away.
“Is it?”
Jocasta
said nothing.
“I am
sorry that I could not be here for you tonight.”
“Hard to
be here for me when you needed to make that potion,” said Jocasta. “For
what it’s worth – I can’t hate you, Miranda. Certainly not after how you and
Jill saved me. And I have my loved ones here, and that is enough. I’m safe,
Jill is safe, Sparrow is – Sparrow? Oh dear.”
Goodness,
the stars were getting wavy and watery.
Jocasta
helped Sparrow back to a sitting position. “Don’t want to be crying while
you’re laying back, girl. You might choke on snot there. Are you alright?”
◊◊ ALRIGHT? HOW COULD I POSSIBLY BE
ALRIGHT? IT HAS BEEN AN AWFUL DAY. I ALMOST LOST YOU. AGAIN. ◊◊
• YOU ALMOST LOST YOUR COLLARBONE. I THINK THAT’S MORE
IMPORTANT HERE. •
◊◊ DON’T
SAY THAT! DON’T YOU EVER SAY THAT! I CAN REPLACE A GODDAMN COLLARBONE! I CAN’T REPLACE
YOU! ◊◊
• I – SPARROW, I’M SORRY. •
◊◊ WHY
ARE YOU SO RECKLESS? DO YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR LIFE? ◊◊
• I DON’T KNOW. •
◊◊ WHAT
DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW? ◊◊
• I JUST DON’T, OKAY? IT’S NOT A BIG DEAL. •
◊◊ HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY NOT BE A
BIG DEAL? YOU ALMOST DIED. ◊◊
• AND I ALMOST GOT YOU KILLED, BACK IN DECEMBER. FAIR’S
FAIR, RIGHT? •
◊◊ NO!
NEITHER OF THOSE ARE FAIR! I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU! DON’T YOU GET IT? I COULD HAVE
CALLED YOU A SWORN ENEMY FOR THE WAY YOU GOT ME STUCK IN THE FORBIDDEN FOREST BUT
I DIDN’T BECAUSE I WANT TO HAVE YOU AROUND! I LIKE HAVING YOU BY MY SIDE! I LIKE
BEING BY YOUR SIDE! ◊◊
• I DON’T UNDERSTAND
WHY. •
◊◊ YOU
KNOW WHY. I TOLD YOU ALREADY. ◊◊
• OH, FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR GRAND QUEST? •
◊◊ NO.
BECAUSE YOU TRUST ME. BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME. AND YOU LOVE JILL. YOU KEEP BOTH OF US
ON EARTH. SO WHY – ◊◊
• SOMETIMES THERE’S NO GOOD ANSWER, SPARROW. SOMETIMES
THERE’S ONLY BAD ONES. ONE OF THE BAD ANSWERS CAUGHT UP WITH ME TONIGHT, IN A BAD
PLACE. I STOPPED CARING FOR JUST LONG ENOUGH THAT I COULDN’T SAVE MYSELF. •
◊◊ THIS ALL SOUNDS LIKE A BIG DEAL. ◊◊
• YEAH, WELL, NOW THAT I DESCRIBE IT LIKE THAT, IT
SOUNDS BAD. BUT HEY, I’VE SURVIVED THIS LONG!•
◊◊ BUT
WILL YOU? ◊◊
• AS LONG AS YOU’RE AROUND, MAYBE. CLEARLY YOU WON’T LET
ME DIE. •
Jill had
not spoken as she rose, nor as she had dusted herself off. She did not speak as
she gathered both Sparrow and Jocasta into a fierce embrace. Perhaps she did
not need to. Nor did Cormac or Violet, when they joined the hug, nor did
Miranda when she put an arm around them all.
At least
not until Violet said, “Were were not supposed to hear that conversation?”
“Nope,”
said Jocasta, as they all separated.
“Well,”
said Violet, “maybe if we figure out this Sending thing we can figure out how
to make that reliable. I am assuming you don’t want any commentary then.”
Jocasta
shook her head.
“I have
but one question,” said Miranda. “Jocasta, remind me how well you do in Care of
Magical Creatures?”
“Not very
well.”
“And
why?” Miranda gave her a searching look, as if to imply she knew the answer.
“That’s
two questions.” • I MISTREAT THE ANIMALS SO THEY’LL BITE ME SO THAT I CAN
GET A HORRIBLE INFECTION AND – • “Stop that!”
“Hm. I
thought as much. I really should have seen this sooner.”
“Seen
what!”
“Suicidal
ideations. This is a job for Madame Pomfrey. Or…maybe Slughorn, depending. Or
both, probably. If you wish to take the Draught of Peace, it will take both of
them to make a proper dosage.”
“Oh
what,” said Jocasta, “You’re going to try to fix me, is that it?”
Miranda’s
eyes flashed blue.
°°° JOCASTA, MY DEAR GIRL. I HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO OVERT
OFFERS TO FIX ME PLENTY OF TIMES. WE HAVE DISCUSSED THIS. YOU OUGHT TO EXPECT I WOULD AVOID SUBJECTING
YOU TO ANYTHING WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT. I APOLOGIZE FOR INSINUATING THAT I WOULD OVERRIDE
YOUR WILL. DO YOU TRUST ME? °°°
• ALWAYS. •
°°° ARE
YOU WILLING TO ACCEPT MY AID? °°°
• I WOULD HAVE TO BELIEVE THERE’S ACTUALLY A PROBLEM HERE. SO, MAYBE. •
Miranda let out a deep breath. “Let us
figure out a way into the castle, then, and get back to bed. There has been quite enough excitement for one day,
thank you very much.”
“And let
us remember,” said Cormac, “that we are here for each other. Jocasta, if you do
wish to talk about what you’re going through, please feel free.”
Jocasta glanced at Jill, then at Sparrow, before fixing Cormac with a steady gaze. "There is only so much I would tell you. But I can offer scant details tomorrow during library time. As for now, now is bedtime."
◊◊ I THINK
WE’RE GOING TO BE BUSY BEFORE BEDTIME JUST A BIT LONGER. ◊◊
For a great portion of the
castle was also out of bed, visible in lit windows and on battlements, having heard
the almighty crash of hundreds of tons of metal and wood. And a fair few of
those people had by now managed to reach Sparrow and her friends. First of all
came Hagrid, who had seen the whole mess happening in front of him and had been
running to the place he saw the red and green lights fall to earth. For a great portion of the castle was also out of bed, visible in lit windows and on battlements, having heard the almighty crash of hundreds of tons of metal and wood. And a fair few of those people had by now managed to reach Sparrow and her friends.
Close behind him came Professor
Budge, followed by Madame Abbot, Professor Longbottom, and Professor
Clearwater.
Everyone
was relieved to discover that the children were alright. It took some time to
explain that the whole thing had happened because Jill and Sparrow forgot how powerful
a spell they cast together could be, and that they had been very lucky for
having Professor Clearwater to keep an eye on things, but besides Sparrow’s broken
finger there had not been a great deal of damage to anyone, and anyway Jocasta
had healed that quite nicely, no trouble at all, thank you, just some scrapes
and bruises to show for it, sorry to cause such a disturbance, someone should
really have considered fixing that awful bridge to a more sensible time
schedule.
All of
the children got some Pepper-up Potion from Madame Abbot, for they were all
cold and wet. Jocasta got a scolding from Madame Abbot for even thinking of
trying to heal a bone fracture at her age, and some grudging praise for
managing it without causing greater injury. Likewise Jill and Sparrow got a
hundred fifty house points taken away from Hufflepuff for destroying a portion
of the castle. Sparrow earned one hundred points for managing to briefly halt
an entire swinging bridge with a simple shield spell.
If
anyone wondered why Sparrow’s cries of pain sounded quite a bit louder than
they should have for a broken finger, well, nobody said anything. They were
just relieved to see that everyone was alive. Annoyed, exasperated, yes, but
relieved.
If
Professor Clearwater took offense to the little white lie about how much damage
Sparrow had actually suffered, she did not show it.
And so the children were
led back to the castle, adults close at their side, and all the castle went
back to their rooms to have whatever peace was left to them this night.
...
That
night in the Sixth girls dormitory, there were three girls to a bed. Admittedly
the room only had one bed, but if
there had been twenty, the three would have been in one anyway. Two objecting
to the protests of one, who was now between them, the two with their arms
draped over her as if to keep her there forever.
Yet, at
a certain point in the evening, Jocasta shrugged their arms off anyway, and
strode to the door.
The
remaining two girls noticed at the same time. Sparrow dashed to the door and
stood in front of it.
“Let me
go,” said Jocasta, glaring down at Sparrow.
Jill
came up behind her. “I wouldn’t object, as long as I was permitted to go with
you. Will you let me?”
Jocasta
turned and glared at Jill. “Leave me be.”
“Why?”
“Because.
Just forget it, okay? I’m fine.”
“After
all we’ve talked about, after all that’s happened this evening, after all
that’s happened today, you think
you’re fine?”
“Well…no.
But I’m fine right now.”
“I doubt
even that. What’s got into you?”
“Nothing!”
Jocasta folded her arms. “Everything is fine. I’m just an idiot who ruined a
healing potion of someone I care about.”
“You
kinds of sound like you’re in a position to let yourself get nudged over the
edge again.”
“Not
like I could. Although if I did, I suppose I would go splat after all.”
“You
wouldn’t transfigure yourself to safety?”
“Can’t."
"How is that possible?"
"I don't know. Maybe can't is won't. I don't want to transfigure myself anymore. Ever since that business with the spider. I
don’t…even know what I am anymore. You know? Transfiguration was everything to
me and in a little moment I ruined it.”
◊◊ WHAT,
DID YOU GO IN THERE HOPING TO GET CAUGHT? ◊◊
“No I
didn’t, I just – ” • YES. •
◊◊ I DID
WONDER WHY A GIRL WHO HAD SURVIVED FOR FOUR-ODD YEARS AS A FRAGILE INSECT WOULD
SUDDENLY BE LAID LOW BY A THING SHE KNEW WAS DANGEROUS. ◊◊
“What’s
it to you?”
◊◊ EVERYTHING.
◊◊
††††† EVERYTHING. †††††
“Well,
I’m nothing now.”
“Excuse
me?” said Jill. “The girl who masters a bone-mending spell at age 14 is
nothing?”
“I don’t
even count that one.”
“Why
would you not – ”
“Because
you know exactly where all my practice for that sort of spell came from, Jill,
and if I was going to call that a matter of pride I’d think I was forgiving –
never mind. Look, all I want to do is take a walk through the halls in darkness
and clear my head.”
“And possibly
fall over a staircase railing?”
“No!” • MAYBE. •
“Maybe I should come with you.”
Jocasta
shook her head.
“Then
maybe you should stay here.”
Jocasta
shook her head again.
“Look,
last time you wandered around the school at night you almost died and tonight
you almost died again. I’m not going to let that happen a third time. If you
believe at all that it was right for me to save you either time, you will let
me come with you.”
Jocasta
huffed. “You’re being overdramatic here.”
“I have
every right to be! What do I have to do to keep you by my side? French kiss you
for twenty minutes? Hug you and never let go?”
“You
wouldn’t be hugging anything, would you? I’m nothing.”
◊◊ YOU
ARE DISCOUNTING YOURSELF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE, MY DEAR. ◊◊
“How do
you mean?”
◊◊ ARE
YOU NOT ONE OF THE TWO TOP DUELISTS IN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL? ◊◊
“That
comes from a bad place too.”
◊◊ AND
IT IS ALSO HOW YOU MET JILL. IT BECAME A GOOD THING AFTER ALL. AND THINK OF IT –
YOUR TRANSFIGURATION SKILL CAME FROM YOUR FATHER, AND LIKEWISE IT BECAME A GOOD
THING. I AM TAKING A WILD GUESS THAT THE BUSINESS WITH BONES CAME FROM THE SAME
PLACE – ◊◊
“Do NOT
go there.”
◊◊
—AND IT ALSO BECAME A GOOD THING. THESE GREAT SKILLS – ◊◊
•I SAID DON’T GO THERE! •
For a
moment there was only silence.
• I’M SORRY. •
◊◊ I THINK
MY TRANSGRESSION HERE IS GREATER THAN YOURS. ◊◊
• YOU SEE THE LINE I TOLD YOU NOT TO CROSS? •
◊◊ MORE
CLEARLY THAN BEFORE. WHAT HAPPENS IF I CROSS THAT LINE? ◊◊
• I WEEP FOR YOUR PAIN, WHEN YOU SEE WHAT HORROR LURKS
WITHIN MY MEMORY. •
◊◊ JOCASTA,
WHAT THE HELL DID YOUR FATHER DO TO YOU? ◊◊
Jocasta sighed. She shook
her head, then linked arms with Jill and nodded to the door.
Sparrow
stepped away at last.
The
space that showed through the doorway was the Hufflepuff common room. No reason
to expect anything else, yes? But as Jill saw fit to lead the way, she vanished
in the moment that she was over the threshold, before Jocasta had crossed it –
for the Hufflepuff common room was replaced by the Slytherin common room.
Sparrow
peered through the doorway into the sudden gloom of a room she had never seen
and had never been allowed to see. It was a curious contrast to the Hufflepuff
common room – where hers contained many silver fixtures that caught even the
slightest bit of starlight, lending an air of home and comfort to all but the
darkest nights, the Slytherin common room saw fit to have a hearth fire burning
all night – surely a touch of home in its own way? And yet, with no other light
in the room, with the firelight playing over the silver fixtures, with their
shadows dancing upon the walls, it all looked sinister enough.
To the
tall blonde lass sitting before the fire, the place must have felt like home.
What could she think, then, when a sudden silver light shone upon the masonry
above the fireplace, pouring out from a door that she had never seen before?
Perhaps it was as sinister to her as the hearth fire was to Sparrow.
And the
fact that two people were standing in that doorway – what could she think of
that? And that one of them was whispering furiously to the open air?
And if
the poor girl before the fireplace could hear just what Jocasta whispered, she
would be even more confused. “You will let me through,” whispered the
mysterious girl in the doorway. What on earth could that mean? The doorway was
open, surely? How on earth were these sinister figures blocked? Had they opened
up a door hoping for passage to one place, and got another, after all? Or was
she speaking to the person she could see in the room, the girl who was before
the fire, clearly visible? Asking to be let through – as if blocked by some
castle ward, and only needed to be invited in – was she a vampire? The girl by the
hearth fire was frozen in place, not daring to move.
Did the
eyes of vampires glow green? No, they glowed red, right? Whatever this
apparition was – wait, what was she saying? “You will let me through to the
Hufflepuff Common Room or I will tell the school administration that this doorway
exists.”
In that
instant, from Sparrow’s perspective, the Slytherin Common Room was replaced by
the sight of Jillian Patil, eyes glowing red as brightly as Jocasta’s glowed
green. Perhaps from the perspective of the girl in the Slytherin common room,
her fright had been replaced by confusion as the door vanished.
And as
for anyone in the Hufflepuff Common room – Thank goodness there was none but
Jill, nobody else to wonder what on earth a girl was doing, appearing out of
the wall and then turning back to whisper furious curses at it.
Jill’s
eyes ceased glowing at the sight of Jocasta. She grabbed the Slytherin girl –
the proper one, her Slytherin girl this time – and dragged her through the
doorway before it could change its infernal mind.
Leaving
Sparrow behind once again.
She
flopped onto the bed and thought of nothing except grumbling, for a while. Then
she settled herself under the covers and thought of grumbling at Jocasta when
she returned.
But as
she relaxed, and considered the horrible day, she felt grateful to have magic
around. If there was no such thing, why then, Jocasta would have died long ago,
and Miranda would have died today. Surely letting everyone have some would save
more lives. Then again, considering how foolish she had been today – she and
Jill and Jocasta together – perhaps letting nitwits like her have access to
magic was a bad idea after all. The day’s events would not have happened
without them – not the transfigured villagers, not the decaying shoulder, not
the moving bridge, not the broken bridge, not the broken collarbone. None of
it.
And yet.
If for whatever reason Jocasta had been on a bridge anyway, she may very well
have stumbled off it for lack of care, magic or no magic, and then – there
would have been no catching her at all.
Might as
well look on the positive side of this whole business, then, and think about
how to educate people in it, as a body of students far larger than anything
Hogwarts ever handled. Ah, but that was a question for the coming years. For
now, the first thing to do was survey everyone.
As in,
everyone in the entire world.
Without
being caught.
What a
goal to set, eh?
Ah, but
that was later and away. In the here and now, her girlfriends – plural? Yes? –
were out for a long time. Sparrow began to wonder what was taking them. She
began to worry. She should not have let them go after all. Jocasta must have gotten
herself in trouble again. But why did no silent scream come to her mind, from either
girl? Did both girls get themselves killed in a moment? Would they come to her
side as ghosts?
Sparrow
was about to throw the covers off and dash out the door when it opened. Here
came Jocasta and Jill, arms linked as they had been, faces no longer lined with
worry, eyes no longer glowing. Jocasta settled herself under the covers and
snuggled up next to Sparrow. Jill went to the window and sat upon the
windowsill, looking out upon – nothing, perhaps. The windowpane still did not
permit real viewing. Sparrow wondered what it would, if it could. Perhaps it
could not.
At long
last Jill came back to bed, and settled herself under the covers, on Jocasta’s
other side, and snuggled up close to her.
And
Sparrow began to drift off to sleep again.
But
Jocasta had one last thing to say.
• SPARROW? •
◊◊ HM?
◊◊
• DO YOU THINK
I NEED FIXING? •
◊◊ OH, GOODNESS. PERHAPS WE ALL DO.
MAYBE EVEN CORMAC. HE DID THE EYE THING TOO, DIDN’T HE. ALRIGHT, THAT’S FIVE FOR
THE REPAIR SHOP. ◊◊
††††† HEY.
†††††
◊◊ WHAT. ◊◊
††††† HEALING.
NOT FIXING. WE’RE HUMAN BEINGS. NOT LAMP STANDS. AND NOBODY CAN FORCE A HEART INTO
BEING HEALED. MY FATHER ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT YOU CAN’T GIVE SOMEONE THERAPY WITHOUT
THEIR CONSENT. †††††
•
WHAT, IS IT ILLEGAL? •
††††† I MEAN
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE. †††††
◊◊ A MATTER OF CHOICE, YOU MEAN. ◊◊
††††† BINGO.
†††††
◊◊ AND JOCASTA, I IMAGINE THAT YOUR
OWN HEART BROKE BECAUSE CHOICE WAS TAKEN FROM YOU AT A TENDER AGE. ◊◊
•
IF THAT WAS ALL, EVERY CHILD WOULD HAVE A BROKEN HEART. •
◊◊ WHAT THEN? ◊◊
•
AHEM. •
◊◊ RIGHT. LOCKED DOOR. VERY WELL.
TELL ME IF AND WHEN YOU WANT TO OPEN IT. IN THE MEANTIME – WE WILL ALL HAVE TO DO
WHAT WE CAN FOR EACH OTHER. WHATEVER WE CAN. ◊◊
• YOU BOTH DO MUCH FOR ME. MORE THAN I DESERVE. AFTER WHAT
I DID TO MIRANDA – •
††††† HEY. †††††
• WHAT?•
††††† YOU REMEMBER
KISSING PRACTICE WITH SPARROW IN THE DUNGEONS, RIGHT? †††††
• HOW COULD I FORGET. •
††††† AND WHAT DID SPARROW SAY ABOUT DESERVING? ††††††
• I HARDLY RECALL. •
◊◊ I SAID,
WHO WOULD EITHER OF US BE IF WE SAW FIT TO DECIDE WHAT YOU DID AND DIDN’T DESERVE?
WE’D BE JUST AS AWFUL AS THAT PERSON I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO MEET. ◊◊
††††† THERE
ARE TIMES WHEN SUCH JUDGMENTS HAVE TO BE MADE. BUT LOVE TENDS TO TOSS THAT QUESTION
OUT THE WINDOW. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S A MATTER OF SOMEONE’S SURVIVAL. †††††
• I FIND THAT HARD TO UNDERSTAND. •
††††† THINK OF IT THIS WAY: DO YOU LOVE ME? †††††
• YOU KNOW
IT. •
††††† AND
DO YOU LOVE SPARROW? †††††
• YES. •
††††† AND
WE BOTH LOVE YOU AS MUCH AS WE LOVE EACH OTHER. WHAT DO YOU THINK I WOULD DO IF
YOU OR SPARROW WERE TO DIE? †††††
• BLOW
EVERYTHING INTO TINY PIECES? •
††††† I
WOULD SPARE THE SCHOOL AT LEAST. NOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK SPARROW WOULD DO IF YOU
OR I DIED? †††††
◊◊
TURN INTO A LITTLE BIRD FOREVER, AND FLY AWAY TO THE STARS. ◊◊
• EQUALLY TRAGIC OPTIONS. WHAT ARE YOU GETTING AT? •
◊◊ IF
YOU LOVE SOMEONE YOU HELP THEM SURVIVE. NO CONDITION, NO BARGAINING, NO MEASUREMENT OF DESERVING.
NOT OUT OF RIGHT OR WRONG. NOT OUT OF OBLIGATION. JUST OUT OF ATTACHMENT. AND
THAT’S ENOUGH. ◊◊
• BUT IF I’M A HORRIBLE PERSON – •
††††† THEN MAYBE WE CAN BE HORRIBLE TOGETHER. †††††
• I COULDN’T DO THAT TO YOU. •
††††† COULD YOU STOP US? †††††
• WELL NOW YOU’RE JUST BEING PUSHY. •
††††† ANSWER THE QUESTION. COULD YOU STOP US FROM LOVING
YOU? †††††
• YOU’RE MAKING THIS SOUND LIKE THE KIND OF ROMANCE
WHERE SOME TWERP DOESN’T STOP SENDING YOU LOVE LETTERS. •
††††† FAIR POINT. BUT YOU KNOW SPARROW HATES ROMANCE.
†††††
◊◊ SAPPY
NONSENSE POORLY COMMUNICATED UNTIL YOU SEND SOMEONE A DOZEN FLOWERS THAT THEY
DIDN’T WANT. ◊◊
• DIDN’T YOU BREAK UP WITH COLIN RUSKIN OVER
THAT? •
◊◊ HE COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY I WAS MAD
AT HIM. SO I KNEW THAT HE WAS LOVESTRUCK AND NOT THINKING STRAIGHT. ◊◊
• YEAH, AND THEN YOU TURNED DOWN FELICITY CHO
LAST YEAR – •
◊◊ SHE
WAS BLAMING ME FOR THE FACT THAT SHE FELL IN LOVE. ◊◊
• OH, IS THAT WAS IT WAS. YOU LEFT ME WONDERING
IF I HAD A CHANCE AT ALL. •
◊◊ IS
THAT WHY YOU DRAGGED ME INTO AN ALCOVE AND KISSED ME WITHOUT ASKING? JUST TO
GET OVER YOUR CONFUSION? ◊◊
• AMONG OTHER REASONS. I THINK YOU WERE LEADING ME ON
SINCE OCTOBER. •
◊◊ NO,
SEE, NOW YOU’RE BLAMING ME FOR YOUR OWN FEELINGS LIKE FELICITY DID. WHAT I’M
TRYING TO GET AT IS – IF SOMEONE LOVES YOU IT’S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY. THEIR
FEELINGS TO DEAL WITH. RIGHT? ◊◊
• FINE. SO WHAT? •
◊◊ SO
– SO – SO I DON’T KNOW. I’M FALLING ASLEEP. ◊◊
• YOU’RE LEAVING ME HANGING HERE. •
◊◊
DON’T EVEN JOKE ABOUT THAT. ◊◊
††††† JOCASTA – DO YOU LOVE ME? †††††
• FROM NOW UNTIL THE END OF ALL THINGS. •
††††† BUT I’M ALSO A HORRIBLE PERSON. †††††
• SO? •
††††† SO,
THERE YOU GO. I MEAN – †††††
◊◊ YOU DON’T HAVE TO EARN LOVE. ◊◊
• WHAT!? •
◊◊ LOVE ISN’T SOMETHING YOU CAN EARN. ◊◊
• THEN WHAT IS IT? •
◊◊ A GIFT. GIVEN FREELY. ◊◊
††††† TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. †††††
• I TAKE. AND I GIVE YOU MY OWN. •
◊◊
THEN, IF YOU ARE HORRIBLE AS YOU SAY, THEN LET US BE HORRIBLE TOGETHER. ◊◊
• AS YOU WISH, MY DEARS. AS YOU WISH. •
Sleep came at last, and a peaceful end to an awful day.