The Eagle and the Badger

Chapter Seven: Confusion

Lucia pushed her curry around her dinner plate, unable to summon an appetite for a dish she'd learned to like very much. She listened with half an ear to Amanda, in full lecture mode, trying to convince Mike of the importance of magical theory.

"Doing the spells is all very well," she insisted, in a carrying voice, "but magic isn't just about waving wands and saying some words. You have to understand the principles . . ."

"Principles, schminciples," Mike scoffed. "When you can turn a toad into a toadstool the way I did last class, maybe I'll take all the blather seriously."

"I would have Transfigured my toad if only - "

Lucia sighed. This was an ongoing and very familiar argument. Amanda did tend to be a bit of a know-it-all, and Mike loved to provoke her. She couldn't really be that indifferent to ideas, could she, or she'd never have been Sorted into Ravenclaw.

Glancing across at the Slytherin table, Lucia saw Scorpius getting up. To her relief, his posse didn't follow suit: waiting for pudding, no doubt. She'd taken the precaution of sending her brother a message, telling him she wanted to meet him after dinner.

"See you in the common room," she told her friends, and hurried after Scorpius. Before she could take more than a step or two, she felt a hand tugging at her sleeve.

She turned to see Claudia Vector, the thick octagonal lenses of her glasses glittered in the candlelight.

"I suppose you've heard about the note that Hufflepuff girl received," she said with no hint of emotion.

Lucia nodded, striving for patience. Scorpius was standing near the door, and she was afraid he might get tired of waiting for her.

"Of course. Hasn't everyone?"

"Have you thought about who might have sent it?"

It was a strange question, and the intentness of the girl's stare made Lucia uncomfortable.

"Well, er, no, not really," she answered, resisting the urge to look at her watch.

"Someone told me what the note said," Claudia went on. "Who do you suppose would use a word like that?"

Lucia didn't have to ask what word her dorm mate meant. She didn't want to be rude, but in a moment she might have no choice. She glanced again at the door, relieved to see Scorpius still there. He was looking at his own watch.

"How should I know?" Lucia replied, but when she turned back to Claudia, the peculiar girl had already melted into the crowd leaving the Great Hall.

As she hurried after Scorpius, it occurred to Lucia that this conversation - if one could call it a conversation - was the longest she'd ever had with her taciturn dorm mate.

She threaded her way through the lingering clusters of students to join Scorpius, who pushed himself away from the doorframe and frowned down at her.

"I was beginning to thin you'd blown me off. Come on."

Without waiting for a response, he strode off, and Lucia hurried after him, almost having to run to keep up. After a few minute he ducked into an empty classroom.

"Lumos."

Light sprang from the tip of Scorpius' wand, and he proceeded to light a lamp that swung from the ceiling. To Lucia's surprise, the flickering light revealed her familiar, who'd silently materialized at her side.

Scorpius turned to face his sister, arms crossed, ignoring the white cat, whose round green eyes were fixed on him.

"Well? What's so important?"

"It's - well - " Now that Lucia was face to face with her brother, she found herself struggling for a way to begin.

She took a deep breath. "Let's sit down," she suggested, taking a seat at one of the empty desks. After a moment, Scorpius did the same.

Even in the dim torchlight, Lucia noticed with a pang the lines of tension in her brother's face. How long had it been since she'd seen him smile? Even on the train, among his friends, he hadn't struck her as really relaxed.

She took another breath and forged ahead. "it's just that I've been thinking about our father lately, and I was wondering - what do you know about his disappearance?"

A shadow crossed Scorpius' face. "Why would you think I know anything? I was seven when he left us, for Merlin's sake. I used to ask Mother, but it was obvious she either didn't know or wouldn't say, so I stopped."

With his forefinger, he traced the ancient initials carved into the desktop. After a few moments' silence, he looked up at Lucia.

"Father left us ages ago. Why bring it up now?"

Lucia leaned forward a little, her eyes holding her brother's gaze.

"I remembered what you used to say about growing up to be a great wizard, so that you could find Father and bring him back to us. You must believe he's still alive."

Scorpius shrugged and his mouth twisted into a grimace. "I don't know what I believe. Sometimes I think he must be dead; sometimes I wonder if he just didn't like being with us and left for greener pastures. Mostly, I try not to think about it, since there's nothing I can do."

His voice rose on the last word, and he crossed his arms again, his face reflecting his frustration.

Lucia looked at him sadly. "But you do think about it, don't you?"

Her voice was soft. "Is that why you always look so unhappy?"

Scorpius snorted. "You think I look unhappy, do you? "

Lucia nodded, feeling a bit more confident now. Scorpius might be annoyed with her, but least, Scorpius hadn't bitten her head off.

"Yes, you do. I wish you'd talk to me sometimes. I don't mean giving advice, I just mean talking, like we're doing now. Father may be gone, but we're still a family."

Even if I am in Ravenclaw, she added silently.

Scorpius' expression softened. "If it means so much to you, I'll try to find more time to talk to you, all right?"

"That would be nice." Lucia smiled at her brother.

For the first time that evening, he gave her a half-smile in return.

"How did Mother take your news?" he asked, without sarcasm.

"News?" It seemed so long since school started, she couldn't think which news he was talking about. Then it dawned on her.

"Oh, that. All right, I think. I mean, she knows it wasn't my fault."

"And Grandfather and Grandmother Malfoy? Did you tell them?"

To her relief, Scorpius didn't smirk when he asked her this.

She sighed. "Of course, I had to tell them. They - weren't pleased."

She didn't care to go into detail about the cold little note her grandmother had sent. Lucia still wrote weekly out of a sense of duty, but rarely got a response.

Scorpius shook his head, a small smile twisting his lips. "I can imagine."

Silence fell, and Scorpius began to rise. It wasn't until Calypso got up and stretched that Lucia realized her familiar had been sitting on her foot.

"Wait," Lucia said. "I just wanted to say - "

She stopped, uncertain again, then forced herself to go on.

"I just wanted to say, you shouldn't blame Mother for what happened - our father leaving, I mean. If we don't know why he left, it's not fair to assume she did something to drive him away."

Scorpius stared at his sister for a moment, then shook his head again.

"I can see why you're a Ravenclaw," he said, not unkindly. Then he did get up.

"Take care of yourself," he said as he headed for the door.

"I will. It was good to talk to you, Scorpius," she added as she followed him out of the classroom. "Try to be happy, won't you?"

Scorpius only snorted as he strode off toward his dungeon common room.

Lucia sighed and set off toward Ravenclaw tower, Calypso trotting sedately at her heels.

ooOoo

"It's horrible, this waiting for the other shoe to drop," Hugo complained as he and Trevor kept a wary eye on their surroundings. They were on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts along with the rest of the Hufflepuff first years, with Sukie Lawrence in the middle of the group.

Watching out for the girl wasn't difficult, as the Hufflepuffs tended to travel in a bunch even before she'd received the threatening note. What was hard was knowing that something bad could happen at any moment and there wasn't much a fledgling witch or wizard could do about it.

"Yeah," Trevor agreed, as though reading Hugo's mind. "The bloody git could have enchanted that statue to bash her head in as she walks by and - "

The two boys started up the stairs, keeping close to the rest.

"Er, Trev? Sukie's surrounded. The statue would get Glinda, not her. Besides, she's already past it."

Passing the potentially homicidal pmarble figure, Hugo unconsciously quickened his pace a bit.

Trevor shrugged. "You know what I mean."

Hugo did, and the thought was disconcerting. What made Hogwarts Hogwarts was the fact that you never knew what to expect. Magic was like that, full of surprises, and the ancient castle's age-old enchantments kept life within its walls interesting. Add a lot of kids who could do magic to the mix, and the result could be exciting, unpredictable -

And sometimes scary, especially when you didn't know very much magic yourself. Hugo had expected many things from the wizarding school, but feeling vulnerable wasn't one of them.

The Hufflepuffs reached the corridor where the Defense classroom was located. When Hugo and Trevor caught up with the others, they were milling about, looking confused. No one else appeared in the corridor except for Lucia Malfoy, who was turning this way and that, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Hi, Lucia," said Hugo, joining her. "Where is everyone? Are we early?"

Lucia consulted her watch. "Yes, a bit. I wanted to spend a few minutes going over my notes before class, but I don't know, something seems off . . . I hate to admit it, but I don't quite remember where the classroom is. Do you?"

Hugo looked at her. "Er - now that you mention it, I thought I did, but - I'm not quite sure."

He looked about. His housemates, still keeping Sukie in the center of the pack, were hovering uncertainly at the end of the corridor.

"We can just wait till Professor Chang comes along," Hugo suggested.

Lucia shook her head. "I'd rather try doors till we find the right room; I really want to review those notes."

She moved toward the nearest classroom, with Hugo following. The door was unlocked, but the room was clearly the wrong one, as cobwebs hung in every corner and dust lay thick on the floor.

Cobwebs seemed to have invaded Hugo's brain, too, as he was having trouble concentrating. He and Lucia backed out of the unused classroom and they moved slowly along the corridor to the next one. Hugo wondered if the Ravenclaw girl felt as fuzzy-minded as he did. What was wrong with him?

The next room along was locked, as was the next, Hugo saw his housemates still milling about uncertainly, no doubt waiting for their teacher to appear. There was just one more door on this side of the corridor, and Hugo followed Lucia toward it. His feet felt heavy, as though he were trying to wade through treacle.

This door proved to be unlocked, and though at first glance the classroom didn't strike Hugo as familiar, he and Lucia stepped inside. At once the door slammed shut. Had the corridor really been that drafty? Hugo tried to remember but quickly lost his train of thought.

His mental fog was even thicker here than outside, and Hugo made a mighty effort to clear it up. Lucia, he noticed, looked the way Uncle George did after a few too many Firewhiskies.

"Er, Lucia - we should probably go - go find - go find the, you know, room."

He was rather pleased with himself for being able to articulate this complex idea.

After quite a lengthy pause, Lucia nodded, and the befuddled first years moved slowly to the door. It was locked.

"Merlin!" Hugo said, his voice sounding unnaturally loud in his ears, "how did that happen?"

Again, a pause. "Erm - magic?" Lucia offered. She was feeling quite sleepy now and forced her feet to take her over to one of the dusty desks, where she sat down and rested her head on her arms. She was vaguely aware that the desktop was dusty but could not summon the energy to care.

Hugo was rather sleepy himself, but he had the feeling they should stay awake, though why, he couldn't have said.

"Luce?" he said, sinking into a chair beside her, "Try to - stay - awake, all right? I - I don't think it's a good idea - to - to go to sleep."

Getting the words out was very hard, but the effort seemed to clear Hugo's head a little.

Lucia's eyes were now firmly shut, but she stirred slightly at the sound of Hugo's voice. She was clearly sound asleep, however, and the next moment she began to whimper and twitch, as if in the throes of a bad dream.

Hugo touched her on the shoulder. Whatever was going on in her unconscious mind, he was pretty sure it wasn't good. She had to wake up. And if talking would help them with their confusion, he ought to think of something to talk about. It was so hard to thin.

Lucia's whimpering had changed to a sort of keening wail, and her mouth moved. convulsively. The sight and sound chilled Hugo's blood. He shook Lucia's shoulder this time, desperate to rouse her, and at last she lifted her head to look at him, her eyes dark and cloudy.

"Oh!" she gasped. "That was - that was - awful."

Hugo gathered himself. "You're - all right now. It was - only a dream. Let's talk for a bit, all right?"

The strategy seemed to be working, as the words came more easily now.

But what could they talk about? He could ask about her dream, but he didn't want to remind her.

"Erm - how do you like Defense so far?" That was lame, but it was all he could think of. The important thing was to keep talking.

There was a pause while Lucia seemed to grope for an answer.. "S'all right, I suppose. I - like Professor Chang."

Her voice sounded a little stronger by the end of that statement, and Hugo took heart from that.

"Me, too. She's a lot better than the teachers my parents had. Except for Professor - Lupin, and he turned out to be a - werewolf."

Lucia's eyelids kept drooping, but at least she was still sitting upright. She seemed to realize it was her turn to say something, as after a moment, she said, "Yes, I know. My mother told me about - all that."

"Oh, yes, your father was in the same year as my mum and dad, wasn't he?"

Hugo was vaguely aware he'd ventured onto rocky terrain, but it was too late to back away now.

Lucia nodded sagely. "Yes, that's so, but I don't think they were - friends, exactly."

Even at less than his most acute, Hugo recognized an understatement.

"No, I don't believe they were."

Hugo was not about to tell this girl what he'd heard about her father, so silence fell. Hugo felt his brain turning to sludge again and cast about for something more to say, but it was Lucia who spoke first.

"We must be - late for class. I don't want to be late."

She looked at her delicate silver watch. "That's odd. The hands haven't moved. At least, I think - didn't I wind it this morning?"

She shook the watch, as though that might help.

Hugo looked at his own watch. "Maybe I forgot, too."

He tried the knob and held the watch to his ear, but it didn't tick. How could two timepieces go bad at once? It was hard enough framing the question, never mind trying for an answer, so Hugo let it go. He knew there was something else he wanted to say to Lucia - what was it, again?

"Er - Is it weird for you, not being in Slytherin?"

Lucia thought for a moment - it was so hard to think - then nodded. "I suppose it is, a bit. My brother doesn't like it, you know, but" - she leaned toward Hugo and lowered her voice - "don't tell him, but I think Ravenclaw's nicer than Sly-thytherin."

That took quite an effort, and Lucia sat back and closed her eyes. There was somewhere she was supposed to be . . . what was it, again?

Hugo touched her arm. "Don't go to sleep, all right? We need to stay awake. We need to get out of here, I think."

It was becoming more and more difficult to maintain clarity, even by talking, but Hugo had a vague sense that it was important to stay conscious and try to focus. He heaved himself to his feet and approached the door, but Lucia's sleepy voice arrested him.

"It - must be strange for you, too. Not being in Gry-ffi-ffindor, I mean."

He turned back. "Yes, it was at first. My family doesn't mind, though. Hufflepuff's all right."

He turned back to face the door, recalling dimly that he knew a spell that could open locks. He'd even managed it a few times. Now, what was that spell?

He pointed his wand at the lock. "Al - aloho - alohorum!"

Nothing happened it. He tried again, trying to articulate more clearly. The word didn't sound exactly right, but he had to try. They'd been locked in here for quite a long time, hadn't they?

"Alohum - "

Lucia got to her feet and shuffled over to the door.

"I don't think that's it," she said.

She patted her pockets, locating her wand with some difficulty, and pointed it at the lock. "Ohomora!"

Hugo tried the door, but the lock held. He considered trying to kick the door open, but even in his befuddled state, he could tell it was far too thick to give way.

"There's a spell for blowing things up," he said to Lucia. "I don't suppose you know it?"

A picture of a garden shed exploding into splinters entered Lucia's mind. What was that spell Scorpius had used? Con - con something.

"Better stand back," she warned Hugo with a wave of her hand. She pointed her wand.

"Confricto!"

The door remained stubbornly unharmed.

"Bother," she said crossly. The effort of remembering the spell seemed to have taken a lot out of her, and she returned to her desk. It felt so nice, putting her head down; all she needed was a little bitty nap . . . The thought of sleep brought vague but disturbing images to mind, and she struggled to fight the urge to close her eyes. It was no use . . .

"No, don't!" Hugo begged, giving up on the door. "We have to think. Actually, I think we need to yell. C'mon, help me out here."

He tugged at Lucia's sleeve, and she shot him a resentful glance. Why was this boy trying to ruin her nap? Then his words penetrated the haze.

"You're right; I don't want to stay here any more."

It had taken her a while to realize it, but this room was distinctly creepy. She got up, and the two moved as close to the door as they could.

"On the count of three, we'll shout 'Help', all right? Ready? One, two, three, 'HELP!'"

Shouting at the top of her lungs actually made Lucia feel a bit better, and she added her full voice to Hugo's once more, then waited. Silence stretched on, and after a third attempt, her throat hurt and she a feeling of hopelessness crept over her. Hugo's shoulders were slumped, she noticed, but his expression was grim, and he urged her to try once more.

"One, two, three - "

The door flew back, nearly knocking the two first years flat.

"Come on," Professor Chang ordered, grabbing their hands and pulling them out of the room.

The moment they emerged into the corridor, their heads felt clearer.

"What happened to you?" Trevor asked, hurrying over. All the first year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were hovering, some looking curious, others worried.

"It's a long story," Hugo began, but Professor Chang cut him off.

"Never mind that now; you lot, inside."

She pointed toward a nearby open door, which was now clearly recognizable as leading to the Defense classroom. The rest of her students, with a few backward glances, disappeared inside.

"Professor Chang - "

"Later, Mr. Weasley. I assume there was no harm done?"

The two first years shook their heads, but Lucia wasn't ready to let the matter drop.

"What happened to us, Professor Chang? What was that room, and how - "

"Not now, Miss Malfoy. See me after class." Professor Chang turned and strode into her classroom, and Hugo and Lucia had no choice but to follow.

Hugo was quite familiar with what the young Potters and Weasleys called Command Voice," which Uncle Harry used once in a while to stop one of the kids doing serious mischief. He thought it must have something to do with being an Auror, though come to think of it, his gran used it sometimes, too.

As he slid into a seat, Hugo snuck a glance at his watch, which was now seemed to be working perfectly.