Xchange Students

Xchange Students

Chapter 4: A Fray in the Forest

By the end of the week, Rogue and her friends were coming to terms with the everyday strangeness of Hogwarts. They were used to ghosts, including the one who taught History of Magic. They had become accustomed to moving portraits, shifting stairs, and owls delivering letters. The robes now seemed less awkward, as did the quills and parchment. They had even come to accept the absence of TV, though Marie was missing her weekly fix of "Buffy".

Some things still bothered Marie. Of all the teachers, only Professor Hagrid ever used their given names. Then, there was the way Peter's shyness had melted like a marshmallow in hot chocolate--the Ginny Effect, Bobby called it. It was pretty much established by now that Ginny and Peter were dating. What would happen to Peter's new self-confidence if Ginny dumped him?

Most of all, though the Hogwarts kids (except for some of the Slytherins) were courteous, even friendly, they kept their distance. At first, Marie had been a little hurt, thinking they didn't trust her. Then, when she looked closer, she realized they gave each other more space than her friends did, back home. Lavender and Parvati were best friends, but they didn't act toward each other as Rogue and her friend, Kitty, did. Rogue decided that what she'd heard about British reserve must be true.

The three Americans (or 'Colonials', as Nearly Headless Nick called them) were treated just like the other pupils with a few differences. They received an unexpected invitation to 'take tea' with Professor McGonagall in her private sitting room. There, amid chintz draperies and porcelain figurines, they drank Darjeeling tea from fine china cups and ate hot, buttered crumpets and fancy cakes. Professor McGonagall wanted to know more about Mutants in general, their own abilities, and those of their classmates and teachers.

They were summoned to Professor Dumbledore's study on Friday evening to send messages to their friends at Xavier's, and to read ones received from them. Kitty's letter to Marie started out newsy but, halfway through, degenerated into a ramble about Harry this and Harry that and the general wonderfulness of Harry. Dani's letter was more to the point. After a typically witty description of the past week, she added, "P.S. Kitty's got it bad for Harry. I think he's coming around. Hope so, he's a neat guy. And hot!"

There was no schedule for the weekend. The American students didn't know what to expect until Neville pronounced Saturday "a day to clear the head". Bobby, Marie and Peter were relieved. A week of struggling with new ideas had left the Mutants feeling beat. It would be good just to relax.

After breakfast, they went out to watch the Quidditch practice. Bobby and Neville exchanged explanations of their favourite sports. Once again, Bobby's head was whirling with new terms like "Seeker", "Quaffle", "Bludger", "Snitch" and "Chaser". Neville struggled to understand the meaning of "quarterback", "linebackers", "first down", "tight end" and the "Shotgun Formation".

The boys showed every sign of trading questions and answers throughout lunch, so Marie slipped away to talk with the girls. She wanted to find out more about Harry. She had only met him briefly, and she'd liked his smile, but she wondered if he'd be good for Kitty.

Ginny was clearly surprised by the news that Harry had taken up with an American girl. "Your friend's lucky Harry's even noticed her," Ginny said, in a wistful tone. "This Kitty must be really special." Ginny sighed, and looked down at her plate. After Peter put an arm around her and squeezed lightly, Ginny grinned and returned to her normal, cheery self.

Marie already knew Kitty was special, so she turned to Lavender, hoping for a more revealing reply. What she learned was both encouraging and intriguing. Harry's parents had been murdered by Voldemort, but the black magician hadn't been able to kill Harry. Harry had been reared by his mean aunt and uncle. Several times over the last five years, Harry played a pivotal role in important events around the School and in the larger Wizarding world. But, Lavender believed he had paid a price for his prominence among wizards: he seemed so much alone. "If your friend Kitty can bring Harry out of himself," Lavender said, "it will do him a world of good. He deserves to be happy."

After lunch, they all decided to go outside, again, as the sky remained clear and bright. Bobby brought his basketball with him, hoping for a little one-on-one with Peter, but Hogwarts had no basketball court. So, Peter suggested a game Roberto had invented last winter when the court at Xavier's was buried under a foot of snow--ice basketball.

Peter and Bobby explained the rules to their English friends, who led them to a small, partially frozen pond. Bobby froze it down to the bottom, ensuring a safe, smooth playing surface ("How does he do that?" asked Parvati). Neville conjured floating rings at either end for goals, while Lavender and the others transfigured everyone's boots into ice-skates ("How do they do that?" asked Bobby). There was some difficulty about picking teams, as there were nine players. Luckily, Parvati's sister, Padma, came along and decided to join in, noting, "Even Ravenclaws can't study all the time!"

In the end, Parvati and Padma teamed up with Bobby, Marie and Dean, while Neville, Lavender, Seamus and Ginny sided with Peter. Marie and Neville agreed that having two experienced players on one side cancelled out the advantage of Peter's height. Marie also noticed that Lavender seemed eager to be close to Neville, these days.

The game was friendly, with a lot of good-natured banter. There were disputes about the rules: Was Padma allowed to levitate the ball through the ring? There was a debate about tactics: Should Ginny's goal count? She had been perched on Peter's shoulder at the time. Peter's defence--that Ginny must have gotten there by magic--was not taken seriously.

Marie suddenly noticed a tall, dark figure standing by the edge of the pond. She skated over to stop gracefully before Professor Snape, treating him to the full gigawatt grin. "Hi, Professor! Enjoying the game?" she asked.

Severus Snape was having a difficult week. For as long as he could remember, no students, especially not those from Gryffindor, had gone out of their way to be pleasant to him. He hadn't a clue how to handle Miss D'Ancanto, yet something inside his scarred soul responded to her. He had forgotten, or never known, how it felt to be liked. The fact that her two friends had followed her example added to his confusion. It was not that they were disrespectful, far from it, but that they were neither hostile nor afraid. He found himself perplexed by D'Ancanto, reluctant to let this direct, strong-willed girl get the better of him.

"Well, Miss D'Ancanto, I see you are corrupting our youth with your American culture!"

"I need the workout, Professor. This place has ruined my diet. I'm getting addicted to treacle pudding!"

"A warming dish for a cold season, Miss D'Ancanto. Surely not even an American could live on quiche and salad in the midst of a Scottish winter?"

Marie laughed. "You're so right!" She looked at him, cocking her head to one side. "Professor, you are allowed to use my first name, you know. It's Saturday, and we're not in class."

Snape cleared his throat. "Quite. Well, enjoy your game...Marie." He turned on his heel and stalked off. Marie looked after him, murmuring, "See? That didn't hurt a bit, did it?" then she went back to the others.

"Marie," said Parvati, "Are you certain you're not a witch?"

"What?" she asked, puzzled.

Parvati grinned at her and rolled her eyes. "You seem to have the magical ability to transfigure Snape into a human being! Do you realise he almost smiled at you, even though he wasn't taking points from Gryffindor?"

"Go on!" protested Marie, above the other students' uproarious laughter. "Snape isn't that bad. Compared to Wolverine, he's just a big teddy bear!" Bobby and Peter were forced to agree; the craggy Canadian Mutant was a notoriously hard taskmaster.

"Will this Wolverine be teaching Harry?" asked Neville.

"Maybe. I don't know for sure," replied Marie.

"I see," said Neville, gravely. "If he is, I don't know which of them to feel sorriest for!"

That comment occasioned more laughter. Then, the students went back to their game. Even though no one played terribly hard, they all felt relaxed and clear-headed as they went in for tea.

Afterward, with the pale winter sun already low in the sky, they sat by the hearth in the Common Room. Peter, true to his Russian blood, loved chess, and had taken up Wizard Chess with a vengeance. He and Neville were in the midst of their umpteenth pitched battle.

Marie turned to Bobby, happy they were on their own for a moment. "Bobby, what do you think it is with Peter? I mean, he's really opening up."

Bobby grinned, then grew serious. "The other night, Peter told me he feels at home, here. We're way out in the sticks, which is just the way Petey likes it. Remember, he grew up on a farm.

"Think about the kids at Xavier's, Marie. Your folks aren't rich, but they aren't poor, either. My family's solid middle class, like Kitty's and Dani's. Rahne belongs to some important Scottish clan, and 'Berto's father is about the richest man in Brazil. Sam's dad was a miner, but he still earned more than Pete's.

"So, Petey feels like a hick most of the time at Xavier's. We all talk about things he hasn't had or hasn't done. But, here, it's different. The Hogwarts kids know even less about TV or fashion or--whatever--than Petey does. And, of course, there's Ginny."

"You can say that, again!" Marie exclaimed. "They hardly take their eyes off each other. Hands, I don't want to even think about!"

"That girl tells it like it is. She's upfront. When she wants something, she goes for it, so Peter understands and trusts her."

Marie felt reassured. Bobby knew Peter a lot better than she did. Peter was coming out of his shell, and Bobby thought that was good.

Just then, Lavender interrupted the chess game to speak urgently to Neville. "Sandra, here," Lavender said, indicating a First Year, "thinks there's some trouble. You know those Muggle-born twins, Kylie and Jason Barrett? Well, it sounds like a couple of First-Year Slytherins dared the twins to meet them in the Forbidden Forest after tea. Sandra was coming back from the library and she saw the Slytherins laughing in the corridor. She's looked everywhere, but the twins are gone! What shall we do? They must still be in the Forest--and it's getting dark!"

Neville frowned with concentration, then came to a decision. "We haven't time to get any teachers. Most of them aren't even here at weekends. We'd never make Filch understand, and I don't want to involve Hagrid, because he'd stop us from going into the Forest. We'll have to find the twins, ourselves.

"It'll be Seamus, Dean, Parvati, Ginny, you and me. We can't risk more. If half the Fifth and Sixth Years are missing at dinner, somebody will notice. We'd better get ready," said Neville.

As the Gryffindors dashed to the dormitories, Rogue made a decision: It was the same decision Harry would make a few hours later and three thousand miles away. When Bobby and Peter looked at her, she nodded brusquely, then pelted up the stairs.

Lavender watched Marie lace her boots and zip a camouflage jacket. "Marie, what are you doing?" Lavender asked, alarmed. "You mustn't go with us. The Forest is dangerous."

Marie looked Lavender straight in the eye, while she tied back her hair, leaving the white streak loose, like a badge. "Honey," Rogue said slowly, a hint of her natural Southern drawl emerging. "Don't worry your head about us. You ain't seen nuthin', yet."

Lavender backed off. "OK, er, Rogue. I admit we could do with the help. Come on, then, if you're coming!"

Marie took a deep breath. Why was it that every time she was challenged, the accent she'd worked so hard to lose crept back? When Rogue next spoke, her speech was as crisp as usual. "First time you ever called me 'Rogue'."

Lavender shrugged. "It seems right, somehow. Come to think of it, you've never called me 'honey' before, either."

Downstairs, Bobby was arguing with Neville. "How good are you at tracking in a wood? Logan taught us, and Wolverine's the best there is! You need us, Neville, and you know it!"

Neville shrugged, his hands palm-up. "I know, Bob, I know. But, you're guests. You understand I had to try."

"Yeah, I know. But, we're Gryffindors, too. No hard feelings?"

Neville nodded, unrolling a sheet of parchment on the table. "Harry lent this to me before he left," he explained, while touching the sheet with his wand. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Neville intoned.

The blank parchment turned into a detailed plan of the castle. Rogue stared, amazed to see small symbols moving around on the map. Neville indicated the dot labelled 'Argus Filch'.

"We're in luck! He's in the other wing. If we go quickly, we can slip out here," Neville pointed to a side door, "and nip straight across to the Forest."

"Let's do it!" said Rogue.

Neville tapped the map, "Mischief managed," and it was blank parchment, again.

They stole through the castle, quickly and quietly, finding the side door unlocked. "Kylie and Jason must have come this way," remarked Neville. "We should be close on their tail."

Unfortunately, they were not as close as Neville thought. Bobby spotted where the twins had actually gone into the trees. Bobby smirked, but refrained from saying 'I told you so'.

The forest was gloomy, oppressive, and obviously ancient. Rogue guessed it had been here since the days of Leif Eriksson--never mind Columbus! The place was alien, and yet, as they went deeper, she became aware of her heightened senses, senses she'd absorbed from Wolverine.

A little over a year ago, Rogue had been forced into a diabolical machine that nearly killed her. Wolverine risked his own life to touch her, transferring much of his life energy and healing powers to Rogue. His strength had revived her, saving her life, but that was not all she had gained from him. Rogue discovered the astonishing, new world revealed to her by Wolverine's gift, a world of sights, sounds and scents more intense than she had ever known. Even after Logan recovered and his powers ebbed from her body, Marie retained traces of Wolverine's acuity. Her senses of hearing and smell were keen, and her night vision was exceptional.

Here in the Forbidden Forest, night was falling fast. While the others peered helplessly into the darkness, Rogue could see precisely which path the twins had taken. She led the way.

But, it was Parvati who found the First Years. A boy and girl were in a clearing, back to back, wands out. They were surrounded by giant spiders. Parvati launched a bright orange fireball, which reduced the oversized arachnids to ash. More spiders lurked in the shadows, squeaking, twittering, and signalling each other in high-pitched shrieks.

Neville said, "Those things are Aragog's brood. They'll chase us all the while we're in here, but they won't follow us out of the trees. We can't shield and move too well, so we'll just have to keep going and hit them when they close in. Put the First Years in the middle, and stay together."

"Just a sec, Neville," said Rogue. "We can help. I'll cover the kids. Colossus, take point. Iceman, watch the rear. The rest of you can watch the flanks. OK, Neville?"

Neville nodded, "Good thinking, Marie."

Rogue shook her head, pointing to herself, then Peter and Bobby. "In here, it's Rogue, Colossus and Iceman."

Neville blinked, then shrugged. "If that's what you want. Right, everyone! Let's go!"

Peter slipped off his padded jacket and wrapped it around Kylie Barrett, who was shivering. His jacket reached to her ankles. "Steel doesn't feel the cold, but little girls do," Peter said. He transformed into his armoured form. Then, he pressed ahead silently despite his great size and mass. Rogue took the children's hands in her gloved ones. The others formed up, and they began to move.

The spiders attacked almost at once, from all directions. The defence was as spectacular a display as Rogue had ever seen. Parvati and Dean were determined and precise. Lavender was icy calm, while Seamus was almost reckless in his courage. Ginny fought fiercely. Rogue saw spiders flung against trees, erupt into flames, explode, implode, crumble to dust, shrink to the size of regular insects, and sink suddenly into the ground.

Out in front, Colossus, invulnerable to bite and sting, was opening a path with the crushing blows of his steel fists. To the rear, Iceman was freezing spiders in their tracks. Neville seemed to be everywhere, spelling the others with blasts from his wand.

They made progress, but slowly. The spiders attacked in waves. Lavender realised that their escape was taking far too long; she and her friends were becoming languid and weary. Something was wrong. Lavender dropped back near Rogue and the twins, searching for an unseen enemy.

She spotted the problem almost immediately. There was a short, thin figure standing under an ancient oak. She could feel the malice pouring from it. In a lull between attacks, she called to Neville, who ran over.

"What's up? Neville asked, panting.

"There's something funny going on, I can feel it!" Lavender indicated the thing under the tree with a jerk of her head. "I think that creature, whatever it is, is mazing us in this forest."

"Oh, it is, is it? Well..." Neville raised his wand.

Lavender stopped him. "Don't! Neville, we're lost in here. If we kill that thing, we may never get out. We need to persuade it, or force it, to show us the way."

"Persuasion?" said Rogue. "That's my department, people! Y'all stay put for a little. Iceman, we need a barricade!"

"Coming right up!"

The Hogwarts students, who had yet to grasp the full extent of Iceman's powers, watched in amazement as he stretched wide his arms, and formed a circular barrier of solid ice around the group. When it was chest high, the Wizards could fight off the spiders from inside, while Colossus ranged tirelessly around the perimeter.

Rogue climbed outside the circle and slipped into the trees, placing her feet noiselessly, as Wolverine had taught her. She approached the creature under the tree by a circuitous route.

Whatever it was, it was man-shaped, but less than four feet tall. It seemed to be naked, and its hide had the appearance of weathered bark. Right now, it was watching avidly as the spiders launched another attack on the ice barrier, only to be thrown back by a barrage of spells and the raw strength of Colossus.

Rogue mentally prepared herself as best she could, then pulled off her glove. The thing became aware of her just as she reached for it. It had a pinched, little face with huge hazel eyes that glared venomously at Rogue. It opened an unnaturally wide mouth full of sharp teeth. But, the creature was too slow, Rogue grasped it by the arm and felt the familiar disorientation as her power took hold.

Her/it's name was Jack--Jack o' the Green. She/it was the forest in some way. She/it could twist the paths and make the creatures docile or fierce at will. In the summer, she/it was benign, but mischievous; she/it led wandering young couples into quiet glades, so the forest could rejoice in their loveplay. But in the winter, she/it became malign and cruel, mazing travellers until they collapsed and froze, leaching their warmth into the soil, or setting some beast on them to feed the earth with gouts of hot blood. She/it wanted the warmth of these young bodies, and had roused the spiders to obtain it.

But, Jack was afraid of things like fire, open sky, and bright stars. Most of all, Jack feared metal--the presence of Colossus was a spike of bitter pain. It was this pain that Rogue seized, using it to submerge Jack's will beneath her own, taking command of the forest creature's powers. Rogue began to run and, as she did, she filled the minds of the spiders with fear, causing them to flee toward the safety of the shadows.

The students saw her coming, and were shocked by her transformation. Rogue's skin had a bark-like texture, and her eyes were deep green-brown. When she spoke, her voice sounded like the sigh of wind through trees. "Follow me, now," she breathed.

Colossus kicked a gap in Iceman's barrier and snatched up the twins. Everyone began to run after Rogue.

The nearer they came to the edge of the forest, the more Jack began to panic, and the harder it was for Rogue to keep control. Rogue felt herself slipping away. Something in her mind seemed to be screaming to turn back toward the sheltering forest. She stopped, swaying, struggling. Jack would not go forward, but Rogue could not go back. "Help me!" Rogue sobbed.

Then, Bobby and Ginny were at her side, grasping her arms, supporting her, encouraging her. Buoyed by love and affection, Rogue fought Jack's hold on her. Just moments later, they were in the open, with Hogwarts Castle looming before them, lights bright and welcoming.

Jack disappeared; the creature could not bear open sky. Rogue had never experienced such a complete and sudden withdrawal. She felt as if her mind had been torn in two. She held her head and staggered.

A giant figure appeared in front of her. "Here now, wha's goin' on, then?"

Rogue's eyes rolled up in her head, and she collapsed with a groan into Hagrid's arms.