Briallen Bevin and the Snatcher's Cave

Chapter 9: The First Disappearance

Marisol, Briallen and Toby were sitting quietly at their desks in History of Magic, taking a quiz about the beginning of the current wizarding government. It had been just a few days since Briallen's first detention. Abruptly, Professor Motaleb, the Transfiguration professor, entered the classroom and walked quickly to Professor Trajan's desk while trying not to distract the students. Briallen nudged Marisol and they both leaned forward in their seats to try to listen in on the two teachers' conversation to see if it was about anything interesting.

"No, Pomona, she wasn't in my class either this morning. According to Jessica Marriott, she hasn't been seen since last Friday!" whispered Professor Motaleb as he rubbed his hands together nervously.

"I'm sure she's okay, Fahim," whispered Professor Trajan as she patted the nervous teacher on the arm. "We always have a few kids who run back home after the first week."

"Yes, well, I'm still informing Cal right away and then I'm owling her parents."

"Wait until lunch at least. Let's not upset the students and, who knows, maybe she'll show up."

"Let's hope."

The nervous Professor left the classroom just as quickly as he had entered and shut the door quietly behind him. Marisol and Briallen looked at each other knowingly and nodded. Once class had ended, Marisol, Briallen and Toby went immediately to their favorite study room in the library. After closing the door, they sat down and were silent for a few minutes.

"I know the girl they were talking about," said Marisol quietly.

"You do?" asked Toby as his eyes shot up from his book.

"Yes, she's in my house, in our year. Jessica Marriott - the girl Professor Motaleb was talking about - spent the entire weekend asking everybody in Wenlock if they had seen her best friend, Christabel Lewis. I don't like her at all. I don't like either of them. They're snotty little princesses."

"That's a mean thing to say about a girl that's gone missing," said Toby in a condemning manner.

"Who says she's missing? She probably just ran away to The Village for the weekend to get some attention. I'll bet you anything she's sitting in the Bubbling Cauldron, drinking pumpkin juice and bragging to anyone who'll listen about how much money she has."

"I don't think so," said Briallen suddenly. "I don't think she ran away and I don't think she's going to show up at lunch."

"Why not?" asked Marisol. "I'm the only one of us that's lived with her so that automatically means I know her a little bit better than you."

"Marisol! What's wrong with you today?" snapped Toby as he glared at Marisol.

"Just forget it, Toby. We're all cranky right now because we've just started at a new school," said Briallen as she rubbed her eyes. "And I don't think Christabel is coming back anytime soon because of what I saw Friday night during detention."

"What?" asked Marisol.

"Friday night, me and Lucan were sent to the north wood's wall to patch it up with Mr Eldred. Well, Mr Eldred did one half and we did the other - the side closest to the lake. We had almost finished our side when we heard this strange noise. It sounded like somebody was dragging something. I thought it was a hinkypunk at first but Lucan said hinkypunks make a different sound. So, we found a hole in the wall that we could look through and we saw somebody, out in the woods, dragging something behind them.

"We thought it was just some old wizard taking his trash out or something but what if it wasn't? What if it was somebody dragging Christabel's body out there? I mean, I heard a lot of stories about the north wood before my detention. Some kids say that there are werewolves and others say there's some sort of... man-eating monster living out there. That's why the wall is there. To keep us safe."

Toby stared at Briallen. "I think you've seen too many scary movies, Briallen. I asked Benjamin about the north wood's wall a couple of days ago and he said it's there to keep us off of somebody else's property."

"But what if that's a lie?" asked Marisol, excitedly. "It would make sense wouldn't it? They tell us something boring to keep us from something exciting!"

Toby groaned and leaned back in his chair as he ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "I really don't think so Marisol. The most boring story is almost always the true story."

"Not in the magical world. In our world, the most unbelievable story is almost always the true story."

"Maybe," said Briallen as she tapped her fingers on the table. "Honestly, I think both stories are possible. We should ask around. Maybe start making a list of possible reasons Christabel disappeared and possible reasons why there's a wall around the north wood. If there's something dangerous out there I think we have the right to know."

"I'll keep the lists," said Toby as he took some parchment and his quill out of his book-bag and began writing.

"Okay. I'll see you guys later, though. There's somebody I need to talk to first." Briallen left the library, her brain scanning all possible reasons Christabel went missing. She really hoped there wasn't something dangerous out in the woods that was snatching kids - her mom wouldn't like that. If her mom found out, she'd be back at Surry County Elementary before the first autumn leaf fell to the ground. But then... it was all very exciting and Briallen loved a good adventure.

She ran down the staircase to the main floor, through the hallway of armor and into the entrance hall when she realized that she hadn't heard her favorite suit of armor reciting poetry like it always did. Briallen went back to the armor-lined hallway and walked slowly to the suit of armor she knew could speak.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" asked Briallen tentatively. She knew it could hear her just fine because it understood the teachers whenever they yelled at him. "Why aren't you saying your poetry today?"

The suit of armor shook but didn't speak. Something was not right. She ran her hand over the mouthpiece of the helmet and felt something behind the hinges. Standing on her tip-toes she looked to see what it was she had felt.

"Aco-plaster! Why would somebody glue your mouthpiece closed?" Briallen asked the suit of armor. It was a pointless question, she knew, but the armor shook more violently than before.

She stepped away from the suit of armor and took out her wand. After Friday's detention, in which she had gotten some of the aco-plaster on her, she had learned a new spell that dissolved glue-like substances.

"Deffigere!" said Briallen sharply as she pointed her wand at the suit of armor.

Nothing happened. Maybe I'm not doing it right, she thought as she prepared herself to try again.

"Deffigere!" she said more forcefully but, again, nothing happened.

"What the hell are you trying to do to that poor suit of armor?" asked the handsome olive-skinned boy that made Briallen's heart flutter.

"Gavin! Somebody glued his mouth shut and I'm trying to unglue it. I don't understand why my spell won't work though. It worked just fine when I cast it on myself a few days ago..."

"What did you do that you had to use an unsticking charm on yourself?" asked Gavin Ellison, his eyebrow raised. Briallen felt her heart racing faster than ever before and she had to use every once of concentration she had to focus on what Gavin was saying so that she could properly respond.

"Detention, okay? Now, help me out. You're a sixth year - do you know any other spells that might work?"

"Maybe, but why bother? It's just a suit of armor. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this is just some stupid first year's idea of prank, no offense. They chose the perfect suit of armor though - this one is annoying."

"Just... please help me Gavin? Pretty please?"

He sighed in resignation. "Fine. You're making me late for lunch with Kara, though. If she asks me why I'm late, I'm blaming you."

"Whatever, just do the spell already."

"Eager much?" asked Gavin as he took a step back and held out his wand. "Deligare!" Gavin put his wand back in his pocket, stepped up to the suit of armor and attempted to lift the mouthpiece. "Ugh! Somebody used more than glue to shut this one up. It's been magically shut as well. Wow, this is a better prank than I thought..."

"Yeah, what a great prank. Thanks for the help," she said as she waved him away. Gavin shrugged and left Briallen in the hallway. He was gorgeous but she had other things on her mind. The possibility of something bad happening at the school had turned her into a conspiracy nut - she'd seen those shows on the television about the people who believed in conspiracies and how it made them paranoid of everything. Briallen felt that was what she was experiencing now: paranoia. She only wanted the glue on the suit of armor to have something to do with Christabel Lewis' disappearance.

She stared at the suit of armor sadly before remembering what she had originally intended to do. For the second time, Briallen took off running for the dining hall. She entered the dining hall inconspicuous, not wanting to let anybody know what she was doing. To them, she was just visiting her grandfather, who was sitting at the teachers table with Professor Trajan and Motaleb, enjoying his lunch.

Briallen walked right up to the teacher's table and stopped in front of her grandfather. "Dean Bevin, I have a question." Cal Bevin laughed and nodded. "Okay. I know about Christabel Lewis and I just wanted to know: has she been found yet?."

Professor Trajan raised an eyebrow. "I take it you heard my conversation with Professor Motaleb this morning?"

"Most likely. Not to mention, one of Briallen's friends is Marisol Escudero, who is a Wenlock like Miss. Lewis," said Cal Bevin seriously. "And no, Briallen, we have not yet located her. Don't worry though - we have many people searching for her at the moment. She will be found."

Briallen nodded and looked over the professors. She wanted to tell her grandfather what she had seen Friday but she knew he would just dismiss her thoughts on Christabel's disappearance as the product of an over-active imagination. After all, she was only an eleven year old girl.

"Is there anything else, dear?" asked Cal Bevin as he looked at his granddaughter curiously.

"Um... yes. I was wondering who all has access to aco-plaster and in what year do we learn sticking charms?"

"All professors have access to aco-plaster and you will learn sticking charms in your fourth year. Should I be concerned by your choice of questions?"

Briallen smiled nervously and shook her head. "No, I'm just curious is all. Would've been easier to fix the north wood's wall with magic."

"Yes, but if we always fixed things with magic we wouldn't have as many things for students to do during their detentions."

Briallen's eyes widened. "That's why Mr Eldred finished his half of the wall so quickly! He used magic, didn't he?" Dean Bevin smiled. "Oh, that tricky old goat! He had me and Lucan thinking he was a sprightly old man."

"Lucan and I, dear, and I suggest refraining from called Mr Eldred a 'tricky old goat' because he is tricky and you do not want him to hear you calling him a goat for he will get revenge."

Briallen grimaced and nodded before she turned to walk away. She sighed as she walked outside. In the distance, beyond the small patch of grass that Miss Winsome used for flying lessons, Briallen could see several kids in the air on broomsticks. Part of her wished she was out there practicing her flying but right now her project was Christabel Lewis. She felt like Nancy Drew as she turned down the path to the north wood's wall and gate, and even though a girl was missing, which possibly meant her mother would have her sent home, she was excited about the mystery.

She continued along the path and stopped when she reached the second fork. Going left would take her to the north wood's wall while going right would take her to the locked gate.

Briallen turned right and continued down the path to try every spell she knew on the gate's lock.

She sighed as she ran her fingers along her wand. She had tried 'alohomora', the unlocking spell, but it did not work. Not that she was surprised because what was the point of locking something the Muggle way if anyone first year and above could unlock it with a simple spell? And all of the bars on the gate were long, vertical and straight with no perpendicular bars for her to climb up. She could not see any other way at the present time to get beyond the gate. Frustrated, she kicked at the pebbles in the pathway.

Then she heard voices coming towards her from the north wood's wall. She knew it wouldn't look good if she were caught by the gate again and so she ran down the pathway towards the school. Up ahead, however, Miss Winsome was coming her way and she didn't want to run into her either. Briallen stopped and looked around for a place to hide. The hedge maze was just to her right and she took off for it, stopping in a place where she was sure nobody would see her but where she could still hear the professors.

"Ah, Miss Winsome, you look lovely today," said a male voice that Briallen recognized as Mr Eldred's.

"Thank you, Ira," replied Miss Winsome with false cheerfulness. "And what are you and Professor Motaleb doing out here? I thought you had fixed the north wood's wall already."

"I did. A girl has disappeared, though, and we were just double-checking to make sure she couldn't have somehow made her way into the north wood."

"Ah, I doubt she would have gone through the north wood anyway. First years learn about all the vicious creatures that live in there on their train ride to Bergamot."

"Vicious creatures? The most vicious beast I've ever seen in them there woods was a rabid raccoon, about ten years back. Blasted him to high heaven, I did. Haven't seen anything more dangerous than that little bastard ever since."

"Not even a werewolf or two?" asked Miss Winsome in a teasing manner.

Briallen could not hear Mr Eldred's response to the question and was not even sure he did respond when Professor Motaleb spoke up.

"And what are you doing out here, Mara?"

"Oh, just going for a walk between classes. I've been here for two years and I still haven't explored the hedge maze..."

"Be careful. People get lost in there all the time the first time they go through. Wouldn't want to be late for your next class just because you couldn't find your way back."

"Don't worry, I have an excellent sense of direction," Miss Winsome replied curtly.

Briallen heard the sound of pebbles crunching and the sound was coming closer to her.

Just my luck! She just had to choose to go where I'm hiding, thought Briallen as she looked around to see if she could escape quickly to the other entrance.

There was no other way but to go further into the hedge maze, however. She walked as quietly as possible at first, just in case Miss Winsome was on the other side of the hedge wall and could hear her before she felt safe enough to run.

Briallen did not realize her mistake until it was too late. She looked at her watch. It was almost two o'clock and their afternoon break would be over soon and classes would begin. Briallen had not bothered to pay attention to where she was going while attempting to avoid Miss. Winsome and had become thoroughly lost as a result.

For the third time, Briallen walked past a hedge with red twigs. She angrily snapped a twig off and threw it on the ground. She whimpered as she turned another corner and was taken aback when she suddenly saw the lake before her. She knew that it was at least a hundred yards from the hedge maze to the lake shore.

Oh, great, so this stupid maze ends at the lake!

Feeling defeated, she sat down on the lake shore and looked around. She could see the boats they had used to travel across the lake at a dock a couple of yards away, however, there was a small cliff and the hedge keeping her from walking to that part of the shore.

She wondered if she could just swim to the dock as she surveyed the distance from where she was to where the boats were. Briallen reached out and touched the water and then quickly pulled her hand back. Not only was the water freezing cold but it felt incredibly slimy. Not to mention she had no idea what sort of creatures resided in the lake. She learned of many weird animals since coming to Bergamot, many of the dangerous, and she didn't feel like taking a chance.

Briallen stood back up and went to go look at the hedge wall opposite the wall nearest the boats to see if there was a way out on that side. She squealed in happiness when she noticed there was just enough empty ground between the hedge and shore for her to go around, so long as she held on to the hedge.

After taking a breath, Briallen grasped onto the hedge and stepped around as quickly as she could. She almost fell backwards into the lake but managed to catch herself just in time and landed on her knees just outside of the hedge maze.

Briallen jumped up. "Yes! I made it out!" she shouted happily to the empty woods. Her voice echoed back as she looked around her. She was in a forest but it was not very thick and did not seem very threatening.

I wonder if this is part of the north wood? she thought as her curiosity got the best of her and she began to walk along the shore. Before she knew it, Briallen found herself standing almost opposite of Bergamot, which was a good mile away - if she swam, that is. It was already starting to get dark, she had missed two classes and had no way of finding any help just then as she was in the middle of a forest.

Nice mess you've gotten yourself into this time, Briallen. Just a week into school and you're already in danger. Mom will not be happy.

She shivered and pulled her robes tighter around her as she continued her walk along the lake shore. Two hours later, it was pitch black outside and Briallen was alone and scared. She knew she had began to cry but she could barely feel the tears on her cheeks as the mountain wind had numbed them.

Briallen was sobbing so heavily that she did not even notice the lights up ahead until she had entered The Village. She stopped immediately, wiped her eyes and looked around. She had wandered into an area of The Village that looked to consist mostly of private houses. The torches lining the sidewalks flickered in the wind and Briallen sniffled, feeling better now that she was somewhere familiar. She walked up to a store that said 'Teddies and Toys Galore' and looked inside the window. She could just make out the shapes of the dolls and teddy bears in the window and the glow of candle light in the back.

Briallen tried to open the shop's door but it was locked.

"Most of the shops are closed, sweetie. And what are you doing here? I thought Bergamot students only came out to The Village on the weekend."

Briallen turned around to see who had spoken to her. A squat old woman in pink robes stood behind her . The woman's thick gray hair was pulled back in a messy bun that the wind shook from side to side. She looked friendly enough to Briallen.

"I got lost in the woods. Do you have a phone I could use?" said Briallen before remembering that there was no electricity out here. "I mean - is there some way for me to contact the school so I can get a ride back?"

"I could owl Cal Bevin, the Dean, but it would just be faster if I took you up there myself. Come along," said the old woman as she waddled off towards a small open wagon with a horse attached to it. She pulled herself into the driver's seat with some difficulty and then turned back towards Briallen. "Well, are you wanting to get back to school or not?"

Briallen nodded and ran over to the wagon and quickly jumped in. She had not even sat down when the old woman raised the reigns and the horse took off. Briallen flew backwards onto her rear and the horse sped towards the school. Ten minutes later, the helpful old woman was walking Briallen through the front doors.

"Mm, warmth... " mumbled Briallen happily as she started in the direction of the dining hall., not noticing that the old woman was following her.

She walked into the dining hall to find almost all of the students and teachers there, eating their dinner. She flippantly made her way over to Toby at the Withers table, sat down, put some food on her plate, and smiled at her friends. All she wanted was to eat her supper and forget about what had happened to her that afternoon.

"Oh. My. God. Briallen," said Chante who was sitting across from her. "You have no idea how worried everybody has been about you! When you didn't show up to Transfiguration, Professor Motaleb totally freaked out!"

Kimmy cut in. "No kidding! He started going on about how kids were disappearing and then he gave us a lecture on how dangerous it was to go off on our own and how we should always walk in groups and blah, blah, blah."

"I think your grandfather wants to see you," whispered Toby as he motioned towards the teacher's table. Briallen looked over at her grandfather to see the squat woman standing in front of him and motioning towards her.

Briallen sighed and put down the chicken wing she had just began to eat. She stood up and made her way to her grandfather, stopping next to the old woman.

"Briallen, Mrs. Wadle tells me that she found you in The Village, lost," said Cal Bevin slowly as he stared at Briallen who, in turn, was staring at her feet.

"Yeah. I decided to explore the woods during the afternoon break and I guess I got lost. I didn't know how far I'd gone until it started to get dark and by then I had gone too far to turn back so I just thought I could keep on following the lake back to the school. I forgot it went by The Village. I mean, I wasn't really lost. I could see Bergamot the whole time."

Cal Bevin leaned back in his seat and contemplated what he should say to his granddaughter. "You went to explore the woods right after you asked me about Ms Lewis. You knew we were looking for her and yet you still wandered away?"

"I didn't mean to, Grandpa," mumbled Briallen. Luckily she had cried plenty while she was scared and alone and was able to keep her tears back this time.

"You had me so worried, dear," said Cal with a long sigh. "I thought something terrible had happened to you."

"Why would you think that? You all just think Christabel ran away."

"Christabel Lewis had been heard complaining quite loudly about how unhappy she was here at Bergamot - the same can't be said for you. And I know that if you did want to go home you would come and tell me right away, correct?"

"Yes... I really am sorry, Grandpa. I was so scared and I didn't know what to do."

"It's alright. You're here now and you're safe and that is what matters. We will discuss this tomorrow, however. Meet me in my office at one."

Briallen nodded to her grandfather and returned to her table.

"So, what detention do you have now?" asked Toby.

"I didn't get one... and that's what worries me."