Chimaera of Judgement

CHAPTER FORTY: Greenhouse Of Horrors

"-EXIT?!"

Smooth sheets were under his palms when he awoke this time, not sand or water or anything sticky. His head swam as he blinked around, and he squeezed his eyes shut again.

"Don't rush," Professor Peele soothed. "No one should be expected to recover from that so quickly."

"Urgh," Albus moaned, laying back down on the hospital bed. "Did anyone get the number of that wildebeest?"

"Wildewhat?" Longbottom's voice. "Son, I think perhaps you really should get some rest, now. A well-deserved one, at that!"

"Yeah, you were brilliant, mate!" Rose. "We could almost see your brain working furiously!"

"Mmmh," he mumbled, nodding vaguely. Then he propped himself up on his elbow excitedly. "Hang on - d'you mean it? Did it work?"

"Fantastically," laughed Dryden, beaming down at him with a fierce pride he'd never seen in the teacher's face. "My boy, I knew I could get you in and out without a worry, but for you to have bested the Mentacles all on your own - and so quickly!"

"Quickly? How long was I under?"

"About twenty-six minutes," said Madam Pomfrey, pouring a wealthy gulp of sleeping potion into his mouth before he realised what she was doing. "And I'll thank you all not to do things like that to my patients from now on if you can resist the temptation!"

The strains of laughter washed over Albus has he fell back into the pillows, quickly sinking into oblivion. Seconds before he did, he felt a hand on his chest, and a voice thick with emotion whispered into his ear.

"I can't begin to - oh, thank you, Albus, thank you so much, I'll never forget this! Never! I promise!"

o o o

The sun was much lower in the sky the next time Albus opened his eyes. Nearly all of Sunday had passed without him - what was happening in the castle, where was Jezabel? But the old matron had other ideas, and would not let him go until she confirmed that no lasting damage had been done to his mind while adventuring in someone else's. Twilight had fallen before she was satisfied, and he immediately set out to find a familiar face. Rose only happened to be the first he came to.

"There you are, Al!" she piped up, grinning from ear to ear and causing her monocle to glint in the light from the Gryffindor fireplace. "Had a good siesta?"

"Ha ha. What's going on, where is everyone, where's Jezabel?"

She laughed at his anxiety. "Calm down, calm down. She said she fancied a walk. Anyway, aren't you going to have a bit of supper first... or at least take off that stupid hair, now?"

"Oh-" In his haste to escape the hospital wing, he hadn't realised Rose's hair was still tied around his finger. He pulled at the loop and it became unravelled - and before he could stop himself, their heads collided.

"OUCH!" his cousin shouted, holding her freely-bleeding nose. "Wh-what was that for?!"

"Sorry!" he moaned. "That must be what happens if you activate the spell when standing right next to the other end!"

"Must be," she growled, waving her wand at it, muttering "Episkey" and causing it to dry up. "Now I've the stains to prove it."

He frowned at her, trying not to laugh as Rose checked her shirt for nonexistent bloodstains. "I am sorry. At least it's comforting to know Dryden's not so barmy that I was working without a safety net in there."

"Fine, fine. Now, about that supper... want to finally make use of our knowledge of where the kitchens are located?"

As it turned out, the Hogwarts house-elves were twice as accommodating as they had been told, and it didn't take long before Albus and Rose's stomachs were bulging with mince pies, pullets and fresh fruit. They were laughing and chattering away as they made their way up from the kitchens, both clutching a few pasties and a bottle of butterbeer apiece.

"Really - you, decked out like some kind of Roman warrior?" she laughed. "That's a sight I'd give a Galleon to see!"

"Oh, shut up. I just wish I'd found Jezabel in there."

Rose now looked confused. "So then... you don't think that was her? The blonde harlot, I mean."

"Somehow, I doubt it," he said flatly, taking a thoughtful swig. "It sounded more like that was the Mentacles - you know, giving me the final test before I solved its puzzle once and for all. Maybe I didn't need to actually meet Jezabel to save her, maybe winning Bellatrix's little game was good enough?"

"Could be, Al... could very well be."

"Or maybe the archway was supposed to represent her, metaphorically? Maybe by passing through it I reached the 'goal' of her mind, and she was able to-"

"Al... d'you see that?"

Blinking at the sudden interruption, he turned to the window Rose was indicating and peered out across the darkened grounds. "The Forest. Lovely. Glad to know they haven't burned it down while I was asleep."

"Big lunkhead," she hissed, pointing again. "That fluttery bit, right?"

Albus couldn't believe it; not because Rose had been wrong, but because it was so unlike her these days. Nevertheless, he was forced to admit Jezabel had reconsidered and returned to Headmaster Snape's final resting place on the edge of the lake.

"Why is she there again?"

"Guess her walk is over," said Rose, patting Al on the shoulder. "I won't wait up."

"Eh?"

Her tone was unmistakably mocking. "You are going down there to talk to her, aren't you? Funny, but you never seem to understand that I have known you for our entire lives."

"Why don't you run along and enjoy another episode of 'The Ryan Macmillan Comedy Hour'? He probably misses you."

Both cousins were surprised and embarrassed that they stuck their tongues out at each other in perfect harmony.

o o o

"This seat taken?"

Albus had known she would jump when he approached, but the wand sparks flying at him were unexpected. "WHOA!"

"Oh, heavens!" she panted, reaching a hesitant hand toward him. "Did I- did I burn you?"

"No," he laughed, smoothing his hair out. "No, just startled me, that's all."

"Okay," she sighed, smiling at him as she moved over a few inches. "And to answer your question, I don't think you can reserve seats atop a tomb."

Albus grinned and hopped up beside her. "Thanks, then. Pasty?"

"Oh... er, thank you." She took a small bite. "Mmm... wow, apparently I'm famished, I hadn't noticed."

"You can have these, too, then. I just ate half the castle."

"Thanks." She'd scarcely taken another bite when her head jerked up. "And thank you! Oh yes, yes, I was going to thank you for earlier the first chance I found, but I forgot, so-"

"Easy," he chuckled. "Don't give yourself a hernia over it. Besides, it was my pleasure. How many chances does a wizard get to have a look around inside somebody's entire brain?"

It was hard to tell by moonlight, but he thought Jezabel began to blush. "Yes, I- I felt you. Saw you in there. It was... well, I'm not sure how to describe the feeling of having three minds living in one head."

"Three?"

"Myself, you, and... and the Mentacles," she said softly. "That's what the teachers told me they were after you awakened me, and it certainly sounds like everything I've ever read about them. But the latticework of the mind trap, all it contained, almost felt like its own consciousness. You first entered my mind working through the fringes - that's when I felt you the strongest."

"Hmm." He took the last swig of his butterbeer and let the bottle roll from his fingers and onto the grass. "I really wished I could have found you in there, let you know I was doing my best."

"Me too! I wanted to talk to you, wanted to warn you to escape, but then you were slipping into the puzzle, and... and it became harder to communicate with you. I couldn't up until you had already solved it, and by then what help could I have possibly been?"

"You communicated with me? Wait..." His eyes squeezed shut as he considered the possibilities. "That blurb on the archway, just before that animal and I fled! Was that you trying to give me a message?"

"The archway? Oh, Albus." When his gaze went back to her, he could see it was wavering between pity and amusement. "You still didn't figure it out?"

"The animal... oh no!" He sat up straight. "Jezabel, nothing came back out with me, did it? It's kind of vicious-looking, what if Mr Peele or someone killed it before I could- I was going to make sure it survived, and this is-"

"Albus!" she laughed. "It's okay, that animal is fine!"

He blinked. "Really? It's real? What happened, where is it now?"

And though it bewildered him, she now looked a bit sad. "Right in front of you."

"What? Right in- oh. NO!" His eyes drew wide from shock at finally piecing it together. "It was you the whole time?! That's impossible! All along I was trying to find you, and- cripes."

She had just begun twisting a strand of hair around a thin finger, but stopped when his tone of voice changed so abruptly. "Hmm?"

"I... I'm sorry I stabbed you," he whispered, feeling quite sick as he relived that moment in his mind. "Merlin, I can't believe I hurt you like that! Jezabel, I am so very, very-"

"Stop that. You did what you thought was right at the time - defending a herd of graceful creatures from an anathema of unimaginable horror. I'm sure I'd have done the same on instinct."

Both fell silent for a time, staring out at the lake. The murky waters hid many secrets - legends as twisted and confusing as what he had endured inside the Mentacles. Finally, just before he decided to apologise again for good measure, she spoke up. "You saved me from my own mind. I... can't thank you enough. And before you start, I don't care how many times you stabbed me, because you came through in the end - you risked your life to project your consciousness into mine in the first place! Don't apologise - never apologise for that! I owe you my life, and- and sanity!"

"But I hurt you," he said once more. "And... and I would have let you wander off and bleed to death if I hadn't just so happened to stumble upon you again. What kind of idiot am I?"

"You leapt into a game in which you didn't know the rules because you felt it was your duty," she pressed. "Others might see that as idiocy. I think your courage is unmatched."

Now his own cheeks were feeling warmer than usual. "F-fine," he stammered, rubbing his palms on the knees of his trousers. "Let's call it even, then."

"Even? Even with what? Nothing I could ever have done would compare with what-"

"Saving my life - from being ended by a plummeting Slytherin! We've both saved each other's lives now, so... so let's leave it be from tonight on, okay?"

He knew immediately that she was unsure about this proposition, but they both remained deadlocked, searching the other person's eyes for hints at their mindsets. Jezabel stared down at her hands and cleared her throat modestly, bit her lip for a moment, then looked back up at him.

"HA HA HA HA HA!"

He stared at her for an extremely perplexed moment before he realised the laughter had not sprang from her lips - she, also, was amid some confusion. When they heard it again, their gaze shifted.

"Is that coming from near the castle?"

"Sounds like it," he said, rising to his feet. "What could-"

"OH!"

There was no time to think - Jezabel was secure in his arms, forehead inches from the smooth marble surface of their seat. As she pulled away to look up at him again, he staggered back until he found stability against the tomb, and held more tightly to her shoulders to help her regain her balance.

"I- I'm so sorry, I tripped, I- OUCH!"

"What's wrong?" he asked urgently. "Am I-"

"My ankle!" she choked, eyes screwed up against the pain. "It... what did I do to myself?"

"Oh no..." He chanced a look down, hoping against hope that he wouldn't see what he saw, but he knew before he looked. A pained smile flashed briefly across his face. "Damn, I forgot about the bottle. Jezabel, I'm really sorry, that was totally thoughtless of me to-"

"Hush, please," she said through her teeth, her own hands moving up his biceps to help him steady her. "I should have looked where I was going, avoided it - how could I have been so clumsy?"

"Don't say that about..."

A sudden chill on the night breeze went unnoticed by both of them as Albus took in the pale features of Jezabel's face, wondering why he felt so differently about it just now. Something was off... what was it? Her dark, fetching eyes began to dart between his own and the castle, indecisive. It wasn't the eyes; they had always been that way.

Then they heard the scream, and their attentions came back to the here and now.

"We have to check it out," he blurted, starting for the wood.

"Yes, that can't be- HNNGH!"

"Crap!" Two steps brought him back to her side. "Your ankle, right? You don't think it's-"

"No, not broken," she gasped, gingerly putting pressure on it. "OUCH! It must be sprained, though, it hurts like nothing I've... well, perhaps I have experienced much worse pain than this, but it's bad enough that I don't think I can walk. You go on ahead."

Albus gaped at her. "Leave you behind? No, ma'am, that's not an option - not when people are screaming out here! I'll... well, I'll carry you again, wasn't so hard last time."

Unfortunately, as Albus deduced while racing through the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, this was not like last time. In the castle, he had been going downstairs a lot, racing through wide open corridors of smooth stone. Here, he was on consistently level ground, dodging branches, brush and gnarled roots at every turn. By the time they emerged, he was shining with sweat and his friend had somehow Transfigured herself into pure lead, but he refused to put her down and admit that he wasn't as athletic as he'd believed himself to be.

"What's that light?" she whispered into his ear. As he looked on, a few panes in Greenhouse Two lit up, and he heard another cackle. "That voice, it seems so... so-"

"ALBUS POTTER!"

The chilly breeze seemed to find him again, invading every vein and artery. Whoever had gone completely crackers was interested in he and he only.

"Jezabel, I need you to try and walk."

She drew back slightly to get a better look at him, long hair whipping into his face from the wind. "What are you thinking?"

"I need you to go to Longbottom's office, or- or Dryden's, or someone. Let a teacher know what's going on."

"No."

"You have to, we have to get some help."

"Yes, we do." Her lip was trembling, but her eyes had become emboldened. "I'm not letting you go in there and- and sacrifice yourself to whoever's in there! What if it's the madman attacking the students?"

"Sounded more like a woman to me. Anyway, there's no point arguing - we have to take action, I can find out who it is!"

"Albus, p-please, let's just go inside, you can't-"

"I'm not going to throw my life away if I can help it," he said quietly, setting her down on the grass with the greatest care. "Maybe I can, I dunno... reason with her? Talk her out of it? Either way, one of us has to stay and one of us has to go, and you're not exactly in dueling condition."

"Why do you have to stay at all?!"

He shrugged, drawing his wand and ignoring her frightened whimper. "Because... because whoever it is called me by name. It's got to be me, at least this time, it does. Please go."

Hours crept by in the span of the next few seconds. For one brief instant, he felt her fingernails cutting into his arm as she willed him to see reason, silently hoped he would reconsider his foolhardy plan. Then he was watching her hobble off toward the front doors, tresses billowing behind her.

"ALBUS! ALBUS POTTER!"

His breath fogged the doors of the greenhouse; he really had been exerting himself. Wand held lightly between his fingers, he reached out and opened the door.

"Well, well, well," came a high, nasty voice from the other side of the large, musty room. He did not close the door behind him, but left it open a crack. "You decided to pay us a visit after all, you worthless, putrid little toad! 'Welcome to my parlour, said the spider to the fly'!"

"Awfully corny thing to say," he shouted, ducking behind a thick sapling he knew to produce fruits that caused one's chin to sprout peat moss when eaten. "Next time, why not try something like, 'I'll get you, my pretty', or 'You haven't seen the last of-'"

"Shut up!" came the shriek, and a potted plant some five feet to his left exploded; he shielded his eyes from the falling pottery. "Don't you tell me what to do, you meddling bastard! You're always there, pretending to be some great friend to the people! When have you ever been a friend to me, eh? Answer me that!"

"I don't even know who you are!" he shouted, wiping soil from his face. "Your voice, it's- it's so weird! What's happening to you?!"

"I'll tell you what's happening."

Albus was sure his heart stopped. The voice that had been so far away moments ago was now behind him, and before he could react, hard, strong fingers clamped down on his throat.

"Power."

"Wh-what?! NO! No, it- it can't be you, Dorika!"

Two pouty lips curled into a sinister smile as the third-year lifted him from the ground as if he were a rag doll. "Why can't it? I'm too nice, is that it? Too saintly and understanding? Yes... yes, it does make for the perfect cover. Unfortunately, you've been sniffing around rather a lot lately - making it harder and harder for me to have any fun. And you've suspected me all along, despite what you said, haven't you?"

"I..." This was all too much. Perhaps he'd entertained the theory once or twice, but to actually find out firsthand that Dorika Dunsmore was the one trying to kill off the students? "I considered it," he gasped, feeling the moonlight begin to dim as her absurdly firm grip tightened around his neck. "But... but I... you..."

"That's right," she whispered, pink eyes blazing as she brought him nearer to a huge, dung-filled planter. "It will all be over soon. When you lose consciousness, I'll put you in here where you will slowly suffocate to death. A good time had by all, wouldn't you agree?"

"N... no, you c-can't..."

"And you won't!"

In the next moment, his attacker released him as she screamed in pain, backing up against another shelf full of gardening tools. Albus sank to the floor, taking great gulps of sweet oxygen as the world continued to distort all around him, blood rushing in his ears as it struggled to reach his brain. Once his head felt like it was on straight again, he looked up and caught the last of a heated conversation.

"...never find it!" Dunsmore was saying. "And as for you, I'll never forgive you for my arm, and for interrupting my revenge on Potter!"

"I'd like to see you tr-"

"AVADA KED- KEDAVRA!"

The green light that erupted before him drove all fog from Albus's brain, and he immediately bolted to his feet, willing with every membrane of his form to prevent that light from reaching its target, but he was too late - the figure by the door of the greenhouse flew backward, shattering a glass pane as it toppled out of sight.

"Nn... no," Dorika gasped, and Albus was confused by her tone of voice. It sounded more and more unreal, like overlapping wireless stations. "No, what's... what's happening, where am I? YOU MUST SUCCUMB! What... G-get out! Get out of me!"

She fell straight into him, and in the fraction of a second before the back of his head connected with the floor, he saw a white mass streaking from Dorika's back and toward the starry ceiling. After that came nothing but darkness.

END Chapter Forty