The Nine

Chapter 15: The Newfie Calling

Before anyone had known it, two weeks had passed, and the Newfoundland trip was knocking on their doors. Still, none had bothered to ask Nakuru about her last vision, assuming it was too terrible for her to want to remember, but curiosity grew amongst them. What could have been so horrible?

The Gryffindor gang found themselves in Professor Jupiter's Alchemy class that morning, all to their dismay- and paired with Slytherin to boot. Professor Jupiter arrived to class, seemingly more bubbly than usual. She was the first Alchemy professor the school had ever hired, and was rumoured to become the new head of Gryffindor House after Professor McGonagall's retirement.

"Alright students," she started, "I know that you, Gryffindors, are leaving for Newfoundland at noon. So I've decided to be fair, and only give you one textbook to read while you're on vacation- seeing as Professor Snape has decided to be, well, not-so generous..."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Bloody scumbags," he said as he looked at the Slytherins in antipathy.

Aubrey shook her head. "Oh shut it Ron."

"Ms. Riddle, do you have something to say?" asked Jupiter.

"No, ma'am," Aubrey replied, punching Ron in the arm.

Professor Jupiter continued. "And since I'm the only teacher you'll be seeing today, I am to give you your assignments for your five other courses. When I call your name, come and get your work. Harry Potter..."

As Jupiter began handing out textbooks to the still sleepy Gryffindors, Gwen handed Aubrey a small parcel. "Don't open it 'till Christmas," she said with a grin.

Aubrey looked worriedly at the package. "Will it explode or make me foam at the mouth?" she asked.

Ron shook his head. "No, I saw her wrap that one," he replied. "No harm at all."

Salinas looked as though she was about to burst. "I can't wait!" she exclaimed as she sat down in her seat, carrying a very large mound of books.

"You and your advanced classes," Harry chuckled as a few of Salinas' books toppled over.

"Newfoundland! Newfoundland!" chanted Nakuru as Aubrey shot her a glance of disgust.

"I hate you," said Aubrey.

"I'm sure you do," Nakuru replied with a grin.

When the bell sounded, the miserable Slytherins departed for their second classes. Aubrey stood in the doorway, waiting for Salinas to pass. "Bring me somethin' back from home?" she pleaded.

"There'll be souvenirs fer everybody," Salinas assured her.

The class emptied, and the six Gryffindors headed towards the Entrance Hall. Hagrid stood tall amongst the group of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors; the crowd was talking feverishly. "Everyone that be goin' on the Newf'nland trip, gather o'er here!" said Hagrid.

Nakuru and the others bounded excitedly to the rest of the group. Suitcases were stacked neatly in a pile by the doors, and coats were being conjured for everyone. "Hey, Sal!" called Eve from amidst the crowd.

"Where are yeh?" Salinas shouted back, unable to spot her shorter friend.

"With the Hufflepuffs, yo!"

Nakuru pointed Eve out, who was now slinking through the crowd.

Eve grinned. "It feels great to be goin' back, don't it, Sal?"

Salinas nodded with a smile. "Yeh, s'real great."

Cora tapped Nakuru sharply on the shoulder. "They're starting to send people over with the portkeys!" she said. "Come on, let's go!"

Nakuru had hoped to say goodbye to Chris before their departure, but it looked as if he was too late. With one last glance around the Entrance Hall, Nakuru followed the others outside to the busses.

As they stepped outside into the frostbitten air, the group spotted Hagrid, who was handing groups odd knickknacks, such as old boots or pop cans. As they stepped up to receive their own assigned portkeys, Hagrid handed Gwen a fluffy Hawaiian alien. "Jus' fer ol' time's sake," he said with a smile.

Gwen gasped with delight. "Hee! It's Stitch!"

The group all handled the fluffy toy, and suddenly found themselves surrounded by swirling colours. As quickly as they'd been flung into the blur, it ended, and they found themselves standing outside a small bus station with the words 'Esper Busses' printed in large, black letters.

A large bus was to their left, with a sign in the window, 'Hogwarts Trip'. Nakuru followed Gwen and Ron onto the bus, before stopping to see Salinas, who was staring around, absorbing the Newfoundland surroundings. "Glad to be home?" she asked with a smile.

Salinas nodded. "Yeh have no idea."

As they clambered into their seats, a familiar voice came from the front of the bus. "Welcome back to bus 9568!" said the man in a gruff-sounding voice.

Cora pointed at the man as if to say something. "You're...you're...uhm..."

"Heyyou!" Gwen exclaimed loudly.

Hermione and Harry raised their eyebrows. "Who?"

"We've been on his bus before, when we were coming to Hogwarts," Nakuru explained.

Cora smiled. "I remember that. He dumped water on us when we were asleep."

The man smiled and nodded. "Good memory," he said. "So you all be headed for Orion Caves, eh? That place is loaded with them Screebats. Nasty buggers."

Hagrid motioned for the bus to go ahead from outside. "I'll be thur shor'ly after you. Jus' gotta get these here Screes under control."

Heyyou nodded, and the bus took off from the station. Salinas looked animatedly out her window, as did Eve in the seat behind her. Salinas was sitting beside Harry; across from them were Hermione and Nakuru; behind Salinas and Harry were Eve and Cora; and in the last seat, behind Nakuru and Hermione, were Ron and Gwen.

Gwen pulled some candies and odd-shaped knickknacks from her pocket, showing them off to Ron. "Your brothers and I modified the Sniffling Suckers this morning before class," she said with a grin.

Ron shook his head. "What did you do? Make it last longer, or less?"

"Neither- we added uncontrollable sneezing to the mix." Gwen grinned as she shoved the Sniffling Suckers back in her pocket. "And these," she continued, "are the Foaming Fudges, and Tantrum Toffees."

"If you were to ever join them in business, the world would be doomed," said Ron with a chuckle.

Hermione ignored the juvenile banter from Gwen and Ron behind her. She turned to Nakuru. "Immature, wouldn't you say?"

Nakuru shrugged. "I dunno- they're my friends. It's all part of the package, really." From the way Hermione rolled her eyes at her answer, she could sense a bit of jealousy. "Besides, I think those two are great together."

"Together?" Hermione repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, ever since my last vision, those two have been really close." Nakuru shrugged and pulled out her wand. "Wingardium leviosa," she whispered, pointing the wand over her shoulder. Suddenly, two small toffees floated into her hand, and she shoved them into her pocket. "For later," she added with a smile.

Hermione opened one of her textbooks and began reading, trying to ignore the growing loudness of the bus.

Harry turned to Sal, who was still gazing out her window like a smitten schoolgirl would look at a member of the Quidditch team. "It's really beautiful," he said as he looked out on the Newfoundland landscape.

Salinas nodded absently. "S'been too long," she said with a smile. "It's real nice out 'ere. Good place to raise a family."

Eve smacked Salinas' head from behind. "Don't get so sentimental, Sal! Weh."

The bus turned onto a small path, barely large enough to let anything pass through. The road was laden with trees and undergrowth, and a dense fog surrounded the area. Ahead, one could make out the opening to the large caves. As they neared, the rocks seemed to be a sparkling black colour- something none had seen before.

As they bus stopped, they were told to step off. "Have fun out there," said Heyyou as they passed.

Nakuru nodded. "Thanks again."

Outside, the ground was covered in a very fine layer of snow. "It looks like powder," Cora said as she kicked up some snow on her boots. "Seeing snow for the first time was fun and all, but it's really become overrated."

Salinas smirked. "Yer lucky it's not wet n' muddy out 'ere."

The group stepped up to the cave's vast opening, and peered inside. The single tunnel kept going for as far as their eyes could see, and disappeared into the darkness. "We're taking the Screebats in...there?" asked Ron nervously as he took a step back.

"Correct y'are, Ron," said Hagrid as he shoved a cage into Ron's arms.

Cora cringed as she took her cage of Screebats. She jutted her arms out as far as she could to avoid any contact. "These things are so disgusting," she said.

"I think they're kinda cute," said Gwen.

"Righ', now," started Hagrid, "When we go in, you'll all follow me. We'll reach an open chamber o' the cave, an' release these 'ere Screes. When we let 'em go, I want yeh's all to take note of their 'haviours an' anythin' else yeh might notice."

Silently, the class followed Hagrid into the darkness. Every so often, Nakuru could make out people whispering 'Lumos' under their breath, as they went deeper into the cave- apparently the light from Hagrid's torch was not reassuring enough.

Hushed voices could be heard somewhat ahead of the group as they saw Hagrid's torch pass around a corner. "Was it just Hagrid ahead of us?" asked Hermione quietly.

"Aye," replied Eve as she stepped in something sticky.

The eight found themselves at an intersection. "Hagrid turned right," asserted Harry. "Come on."

Cora shook her head. "But there are voices comin' from the left. Maybe someone turned the wrong way?"

"If we don't follow Hagrid, we'll never get out of here," insisted Hermione. "I've read up on these caves before... Apparently, it's some sort of labyrinth. It was used in ancient times to guard the entrance to a secret city."

"Yes, but the city was said to have been destroyed eons ago," Nakuru interjected. "The city itself was named Io, and the labyrinth guarding the entrance to the city was named the Orion Caves. Only at a certain time of the day will a pathway to Io be revealed."

Hermione nodded. "Precisely. The tunnels lead to the Screebat Sanctuary, Belladonna, or right back to the entrance. So we're probably hearing voices from the rest of the class."

Cora shook her head. "I don't like it in here. What if we all get lost in here."

Ron tapped Cora on the shoulder lightly. "Look in your pocket. Everyone's got an apparition charm to lead them back to the entrance if we get lost."

"Are you guys comin'?" asked Hagrid suddenly from around the corner. "The rest of the class is waitin' fer the last o' the Screes."

Nakuru jumped suddenly, and followed Gwen and Ron down the remainder of the tunnel. "I wish people wouldn't pop up like that."

Salinas held her hand to her heart, as if feeling her heart rate. "Me too, b'y."

As they entered a large chamber of the caves, Hagrid set his torch into a holder on the wall. "Alrigh'. This chamber is known as Belladonna. This is th'only other exit in the caves."

"That you know about," said Ron in a hushed voice.

Hagrid continued. "This is th'only time o' day that this chamber is visible to the human eye. It's b'cause of the light shinin' through the tunnels reflecting off the rocks."

Hermione looked at Nakuru excitedly. "Do you think that Belladonna could be the entranceway to Io?"

Nakuru shrugged. "Could be."

"Now," Hagrid said as he took a cage of Screes, "open the cages and let them bats go."

Doing as instructed, the class opened their cages simultaneously. As the Screebats were released, they gathered in a large formation high above the class. Hagrid smiled as he watched the class' reactions. "When they're in groups like this, they're called what, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron scratched his head absently. "Oh, they're called...a charm."

Eve smirked. "I can see why- look," she said pointing towards the high ceiling of the cave. "They're emitting some kind of aurora."

Hermione distractedly looked around the chamber, looking for a sign of light. She tapped Nakuru fiercely on the shoulder. "On summer vacation, I'm going to see about coming here," she said with a smile.

Hagrid nodded towards the tunnel leading back to the entrance. "Well, we've done what we came teh do," he said with a smile. "So now we'll head on o'er to the gif' shop an' get some souvenirs."

"Aren't we staying in Newfoundland any longer than this? I thought the trip was supposed to be a couple days at least," objected Hermione.

Hagrid smiled. "Dun' worry. We'll be stayin' at the Ramada Hotel fer a night 'r so. We're not goin' ome yet, 'Mione."

Salinas had a stupid grin on her face. Nakuru raised her eyebrow curiously. "What you smiling about?"

Salinas shook her head. "You don't wanna know..."