The Eagle and the Badger

Chapter Eight: The Lethe Effect

"Where were you?" Ruth whispered as Lucia sat down. "I thought you said - "

"Quiet, please," said Professor Chang. "We're already late getting started."

Hands shot into the air, and Gabe Link didn't wait to be called upon.

"What was that all about?" he demanded. "Why couldn't we find the classroom? It's not our fault if we're late."

"Yeah," echoed a Ravenclaw boy. "We were all confused and then you came along and we weren't. What sort of trick was that?"

Apparently, the boy believed their Defense teacher was somehow responsible for her students' inability to find their classroom.

Professor Chang sighed and bowed to the inevitable.

"All right, hands down, and a point each from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw for calling out. As you can see, your classroom did not actually change location, as they sometimes do. For a few moments, you were simply unable to recognize it. I shall have to confirm this, but I am quite sure you have just experienced what the ancients termed the Lethe Effect."

She had their full attention now.

"The term is something of a misnomer as, according to the texts, the spell seems to cause confusion in addition to a degree of memory loss. In other words, the effect works something like a combination of the Confundus Charm and Obliviation."

"Then someone did put a spell on us!" It was Gabe again, red-faced with anger.

"Mr. Link! You are out of order. Two more points from Hufflepuff, and kindly remember your manners.

"I can assure you," she continued, addressing the class, "that none of your contemporaries produced the Lethe Effect. It is the product of a number of spells working together, but the Effect first appeared many centuries ago in this very corridor, which is now imbued with the magic. It has not been possible so far to eradicate the Lethe Effect entirely; however, it can be kept at bay for decades and even centuries. You won't be bothered again, and your brains should be in good order."

There was a good deal Professor Chang wasn't telling her students, but as long as they were safe, these first years didn't need to know all the details.

Most everyone seemed satisfied with her explanation, but then, most everyone hadn't been locked in a room where - where -

There was something Lucia wanted to ask, but she couldn't think what. All she could summon were cloudy images, frightening images . . .

"Miss Malfoy!"

Lucia blinked and stared at the Defense teacher, whose eyes seemed to bore into her.

"Erm - yes, professor?"

"I asked you to recite the three basic principles of self-defense. Can you remember them?"

Lucia struggled to gather her wits. Hadn't someone just been asking about some spells? "Er - vigilance, knowledge, action." Was that it?

Professor Chang got up, walked to the blackboard, and waved her wand. At once the words appeared in bold block letters.

"Vigilance, knowledge, action. Who can explain what these three words mean, in terms of defense against dark magic?"

Several hands went up.

"Yes, Mr. Macmillan?"

"Vigilance means being on the alert for dark magic, because we might be faced with it at any time - like that Lethe Effect. Knowledge means learning ways to defeat it, and action means using them without hesitation when necessary."

Robbie looked rather smug when he finished his recitation, and Professor Chang suppressed a grin as she awarded five points to Hufflepuff.

"How would being vigilant help us with something that only happens once a century? And we didn't even know about this Lethe Effect, much less any way to defeat it, so we were sitting ducks!" Again, Gabe Link spoke out of turn. anger plain on his face.

"Five more points from Hufflepuff and detention every evening for a week. My office, eight sharp, beginning today.

"Now, his deplorable outburst notwithstanding, Mr. Link is correct in that there was nothing any of you could have done to anticipate or counteract the Lethe Effect. In time, with a great deal of study and practice, you may learn the spells that could undo it. Now, let us turn our attention to something you can do now, namely, perfect your shield charms."

Her students knew the drill by now, so they got up and moved to stand against the walls, allowing their teacher to Vanish the desks and conjure a thin but surprisingly shock-absorbent floor mat.

"Choose partners, please, Ravenclaws with Hufflepuffs, and take your places. Remember. only non-harmful jinxes."

Complying would be simple for Hugo, as Jelly-Legs was the only jinx he'd learned so far, and his execution was iffy at best.

Lucia was already paired with Susan, so Hugo walked over to the rabbity-looking boy - David Pinkerton, he thought the name was - who seemed rooted to the spot, and the two faced off.

Hugo elected to defend first, and his shield held longer than it had last class; then again, his opponent's Stinging spells mostly went wide of the mark. Hugo's first attempt at a Jelly-Legs failed to penetrate Pinkerton's weak and wavering shield, but his second try caught the Ravenclaw squarely and he crumpled to the mat with a surprised grunt.

"Sorry," Hugo said, holding out his hand with a rueful grin, but it was no good; Pinkerton's legs refused to work. The boys had to wait for Professor Chang to come over and reverse the spell.

"What are you apologizing for?" Pinkerton asked as the two prepared to face off once more. "You're supposed to try to do that. It's not your fault if I'm pants at Protego."

"You two, less chat and more spell-casting," warned their teacher.

Hugo concentrated, and his next shield was even stronger than the last. He was working so hard to maintain it that it wasn't until his partner lowered his wand and turned away that he noticed a disturbance on the other side of the room. He lowered his wand and saw, to his astonishment, that Sukie Lawrence lay unmoving on the floor, while Gabe Link had his wand trained on her partner, Claudia Vector.

The last traces of Hugo's shield dissipated as he tried to grasp what was going on.

"Expelliarmus!" Professor Chang barely raised her voice, but Gabe's wand shot out of his hand and into hers. She reached the trio in one long stride.

"Explain yourselves at once," she snapped. "Who did this to Miss Lawrence?"

Without waiting for an answer, she knelt beside the girl, whose eyelids didn't even flutter, and after assessing the situation, she waved her wandº.

"Enervate!"

At once, Sukie stirred and rubbed her eyes. "Where am I? What happened?"

She struggled to sit up; Professor Chang reached out to help her, but Gabe got there first, hauling the dazed-looking girl to her feet.

Professor Chang looked at each of the three in turn, frowning. "Well? Miss Vector, you were Miss Lawrence's partner. I don't suppose you Stunned her, by any chance?"

Her dark eyes bored into Claudia's pale ones, and her voice was deceptively soft. If the girl felt intimidated, she didn't show it.

"It appears that I did." There wasn't a hint of cheek in the girl's flat voice.

"I see," said Professor Chang. "And did you hear me say you could Stupefy your partner?"

Her tone was matter-of-fact, almost casual, but no one was fooled. Their teacher was angry enough to spit flames.

"No," said Claudia, "but I didn't hear you say not to. You said to use non-harmful spells, and I don't believe Miss Lawrence was harmed, was she?" Professor Chang's lips tightened. "Be that as it may, Stupefy is an advanced and potentially dangerous spell and therefore has no place in our first year curriculum. In future I shall provide a list of permitted spells for our dueling practices. Ten points from Ravenclaw and detention every night this week with Mr. Link. Are you all right, Miss Lawrence?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sukie said, rubbing a still-smarting elbow.

"Good. Now, Mr. Link, why were you pointing your wand at someone other than your partner?"

Gabe's face reddened. "I saw her! I mean, I heard her say Stupefy and then I saw Sukie fall. She did it on purpose! She must be the one who sent that note!"

Professor Chang shot a quick glance at the clock. The large hand was on the vampire and the small hand on the Red Cap.

"Our time is up for today. You three, remain behind; I'm not finished with you. The rest of you, be sure to copy your assignment from the board, then you may leave. And Miss Malfoy, Mr. Weasley, be in my office right after dinner; I need to speak with you."

A few students seemed reluctant to miss whatever fireworks might be in the offing, but their teacher shooed them out the door and restored the classroom to its normal state with a few quick waves of her wand.

"Mr. Link, Miss Vector, Miss Lawrence, sit down."

Hugo and Lucia left along with the rest, both filled with questions. No one seemed disposed to hurry away.

"I'd really like to know what's going on in there, wouldn't you?" said Hugo.

Lucia nodded, but she looked rather worried. "Yes, that was certainly - interesting. What was Claudia thinking? That poor girl could have been hurt, falling so hard."

"I doubt it," Hugo replied. "That mat does a pretty good job of cusioning falls. But yeah, your dorm mate is definitely strange. For a minute there, I thought Professor Chang was going to hex her."

As the rest of their classmates tired of waiting for something to happen and drifted away, the two lingered behind, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the events of the afternoon.

"About what Gabe said . . . You don't think there could be anything in it, do you? I mean, you must know Claudia pretty well; is she some sort of Muggle-hater?"

Lucia shook her head. "That's just it; I scarcely know her at all. She doesn't really talk to any of us, except a little to Amanda and an older boy we don't know. I've noticed she does like to show off her magic at times, though. I'm sure that's all it was."

They reached the head of the stairs and began to descend.

"You're probably right," Hugo agreed. "Gabe's become very protective of Sukie. He's Muggle-born too, you know, and I think he's a bit worried for himself. Watching out for her takes his mind off that, I suppose."

Lucia didn't turn to look at him, as she tended to be cautious on stairs nowadays.

"You know a lot about people, don't you?"

Hugo shrugged. "Do I?" He was suddenly stuck for words, and the two first years were quiet until they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Lucia agreed to meet Hugo after dinner, and it wasn't until they had parted ways that it occurred to her to wonder if the Hufflepuff boy's memories of what had happened before class that afternoon were as hazy as her own.

ooOoo

Neither Lucia nor Hugo got much peace the rest of that afternoon, as their housemates demanded blow-by-blow accounts of what had taken place inside the locked classroom.

The Ravenclaws were forced to give up first, as Lucia finally convinced them how little she remembered.

"It's like a dream," she told Mike, Ruth, and Amanda, who'd pulled their chairs into a semicircle facing her. "All I see is a jumble of images. I'm sure Professor Chang will want to ask us about it, too, but I don't think I'm going to be much help."

Hugo fared slightly better - he distinctly recalled entering the room, trying to wake Lucia, and and yelling, for example - but he, too, soon ran out of clear details.

Trevor looked thoughtful as Hugo finished his brief narrative.

"How long do you reckon you were in there?" he asked.

Hugo stared at him. "I don't know - my watch stopped. at least, I think I remember that . . ." He trailed off, uncertain. "Why?"

"Because," said Trevor, "even from the little you've told us, it sounds like you were in there quite a long time, but it couldn't have been. I saw you and that girl- Lucia - go in, and you weren't there more than a couple of minutes before we heard you yelling and Professor Chang opened the door. Three minutes, tops."

The rest of the Hufflepuffs had begun to return to homework or their endless game of Merlin's Cave, but they perked up when they heard that.

"Really?" said Hugo. "That's - really weird. The whole thing was weird, but maybe Professor Chang can explain the time thing when we see her."

At dinner, to Lucia's surprise, Claudia Vector sat down between Amanda and David Pinkerton, who edged away from her, looking scared. Evidently, she knew that none of the other first years would venture to question her about her duel with Sukie Lawrence. As usual, she said nothing beyond "Pass the carrots, please."

Lucia was rather glad when the meal drew to a close and she could leave. She was anxious to hear what the Defense teacher could tell her about why she was still unable to remember much about what had happened to her before class.

Hugo was waiting for her just outside the Great Hall, and the two of them began the long climb to Professor Chang's sixth floor office. Calypso appeared out of nowhere, purring loudly and nearly tripping Lucia as she wound between her mistress' legs.

Lucia stopped to pet her familiar. "i love you too," she crooned, "but I'm not sure if Professor Chang likes cats. Go chase mice for a bit, all right?"

With a swish of her plumy tail and a rather indignant-sounding "Mrowr," the white cat turned the next corner and disappeared from view.

Hugo watched Calypso as she stalked away. puzzled. He thought he'd seen her somewhere else that day but couldn't think where.

"It's a good thing Filch retired," he said as they mounted yet another flight. "I don't think his cat and yours would have got on very well."

Lucia had heard all about Mrs. Norris, the ill-tempered caretaker's feline spy, and she had to agree.

Hugo had the directions to Professor Chang's office written down, but it was still a relief to round the last turn and see a door with a bronze nameplate bearing their teacher's name.

Hugo rapped tentatively and then, when no one answered, more firmly.

"Come in," Professor Chang called, her voice muffled by the heavy door.

Hugo held the door open for Lucia, who hovered on the threshold for a moment to admire the Defense teacher's office. It was unexpectedly handsome, with a highly polished mahogany desk, bronze lamps, and a pristine Oriental carpet in which blue was the dominant color. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with impressive leather-bound tomes.

Professor Chang looked up from her copy of Auror Times and smiled.

"Come in, Miss Malfoy, Mr. Weasley. Have a seat."

After a moment's hesitation, Lucia chose one of the high-backed chairs across from Professor Chang's desk, and Hugo seated himself in the other.

"I suspect you have some questions about this afternoon's - adventure." The ghost of a smile touched the professor's lips. "I shall try to answer them, but first, how are you feeling?"

She looked from Lucia to Hugo, and they looked at each other.

"Mr. Weasley?"

"Fine, I guess," Hugo answered. "Still shaky on some of the details. One moment I think I'm sure about what happened, but then - "

"Things go out of focus? I see. And you, Miss Malfoy?"

Lucia took a moment to respond. "I think I'm a bit worse off than Hu - Mr. Weasley. It's like a dream, just a jumble of images, a lot of them - very unpleasant." She made a little face.

"Professor Chang?" Hugo spoke up as the Defense teacher looked intently at Lucia. "I seem to remember trying to wake Lucia up. So perhaps she was dreaming."

"Perhaps so." Professor Chang rose and went over to a tall cupboard in the corner. She withdrew a vial, from which she poured a few drops into a tiny goblet, then handed the goblet to Hugo.

"Here, drink this. It appears you haven't been too deeply affected, so your memories should come clear in a moment or two."

Hugo drained the goblet, grateful there wasn't more of the potion; It was horribly bitter.

After just a few seconds, Hugo began to recall more about his imprisonment in the enchanted room. Professor Chang never took her eyes off his face as the memories gradually returned.

"Better now?" she asked finally, as Hugo sat back in his chair. "Tell me what you remember now."

Hugo recounted the tale, beginning with his inability to find the Defense classroom and Lucia's decision to search room by room. The look on Lucia's face made it clear that she was hearing all this as if for the first time.

"And then, I started feeling we really had to get out, and our Unlocking charms didn't work. That's when I told Lucia we needed to start yelling; someone was bound to hear us. And you did."

To his surprise, the Defense teacher responded with a chuckle. "Actually, I'm not sure I deserve credit for your rescue. The moment I arrived in the corridor, a cat appeared and grabbed the hem of my robes in its teeth. For such a dainty little thing, it proved surprisingly strong - and stubborn. I thought it best to follow where it was leading, and it took me straight to the locked room. I believe someone said the cat is your familiar, Miss Malfoy."

"Calypso?" Lucia eyes were wide with astonishment. "That's - amazing."

"Impressive, yes." Professor rose once more to fetch the vial, then conjured something and poured just one drop onto it. She handed the tiny cube to Lucia.

"It's a sugar cube; let it dissolve in your mouth."

"But - Professor Chang, why did you give Lucia less potion than you gave me? Her memory's a lot foggier than mine." Hugo was aware he was being rude, but curiosity overrode manners. It also rankled a bit that he'd had to take his potion straight.

Professor Chang was unfazed by Hugo's outburst.

"It seems you were better able to resist the Lethe Effect. Had you fallen asleep, as she did, reviving your memories would have been a trickier business.

"Having all those bad dreams flood back into your mind at once would not be - beneficial," she said, addressing Lucia. "The drop of potion is sufficient to start. I shall instruct Madam Pomfrey to give you a drop a day until your mind clears completely. Meanwhile, I want you to go to her for a sleeping draught tonight. That should keep you from dreaming at all. If you should experience nightmares again, see her at once and she will give you more."

"Now, let me explain what I believe happened to the two of you. As I told your class, the Lethe Effect is very ancient magic, but its manifestations are usually mild. According to the histories, something occurred in 1941 to intensify the Lethe Effect in one place - that classroom - which was enchanted to imprison anyone who might venture inside, to alter their sense of time, to befuddle their wits and lure them to sleep. No one knows who accomplished this, or why. While we cannot be sure the spells have been undone completely, the room is now sealed, and you will not be troubled again."

She was vastly relieved when the two first years accepted this without question, because if they hadn't, she'd have been forced to equivocate. She had no intention of scaring these nice children the full story.

Reliable sources agreed that in April, 1941, two Gryffindor boys had gone missing. It had taken three days to find them in a locked classroom that had fallen into disuse. They were alive - barely - but they spent the rest of their days in St. Mungo's, raving about being trapped in cave and subjected to unspeakable terrors. No amount of treatment was sufficient to restore them to their right minds.

"Does anyone know who invented the spells, or the combination of spells, in the first place?" It didn't really matter, but she was having trouble thinking of what to ask.

Professor Chang smiled at her fellow Ravenclaw. "The texts differ on that score, apparently because a number were eager to claim credit for something so inventive. As for the changes wrought in 1941, no one admitted to giving the Lethe Effect its nasty twists." There, that should do it.

Hugo looked at Lucia as their teacher spoke and was surprised to see that her eyes were half closed. Well, it had been a long day . . .

Lucia screamed, making him jump and start toward her, but Professor Chang was already kneeling by her side.

"Miss Malfoy," she urged. "Open your eyes."

Lucia's face was drained of color, and she opened her eyes with a little groan.

"You were dreaming," Professor Chang told her as she rose to her feet. Her voice was sharp. "Tell me what you saw."

Lucia rubbed her eyes. "It was - horrible. When you said that about a cave - well, I was there, and - "

She stopped, not at all wanting to invite the monstrous images back into her consciousness.

She stopped, shuddering. Hugo had been listening in fascinated horror. He could certainly see why Lucia had been wailing in her sleep. He was glad, very glad, that he had been able to resist the urge to fall asleep himself.

Professor Chang looked grave. "You should go to Madam Pomfrey without delay," she said. "If there are no more questions - "

"I do have one," Hugo said, feeling a bit guilty for keeping Lucia from her sleep potion. "Why was time so messed up in that room? I mean, Trevor - Mr. Roberts - told me just a couple of minutes went by from the time we went in until you freed us, but inside, it seemed like ages. And both our watches stopped - "

The Defense teacher nodded. "That's a good question, but I'm afraid I can't give you a very good answer. The Lethe Effect, like certain drugs, seems to distort one's sense of time, so that your friend's 'couple of minutes' might have been less, or more. As for the rest of it, whoever altered the spells in 1941 must have played some tricks with time, perhaps just to prove that he could.

"Now, if that's all, I really must - "

She had half risen when Lucia spoke up. "I just wanted to say, it's not quite true that one can't do anything to fight off the spell. Hugo did try to fight; I remember that now. He kept trying to wake me up and make me talk, and it was his idea to yell. If it hadn't been for him - "

She gave a little shudder. By this time, Hugo's cheeks were distinctly pink.

Their teacher looked at him with a curious little smile. "Yes, you make a very good point, Miss Malfoy. Well done, Mr. Weasley. Never stop fighting, even when the odds are against you. And do give that cat of your a nice treat, won't you?"

ooOoo

Claudia Vector finished her lines and was dismissed well before Gabe Link did, which was a good thing. Professor Chang did not relish the idea of the two of them in close proximity.

When the door closed behind Gabe, she sank into her chair and closed her eyes. It had been a long day.

Reversing the Lethe Effect and sealing up the unused classroom should keep the magic at bay for a century, at least: plenty of time to work out a permanent solution. The incident (with names changed, of course) might even be worth at least a journal footnote, which might alert some future teacher to the possible danger

She felt less sanguine about the kerfuffle that one stupid prankster had managed to kick up among her first years. The Lawrence girl would be a decent enough student with a little more self-confidence, and feeling like a target wasn't going to help with that. Add the Vector girl's grandstanding and Link's quick temper . . .

Teaching. She liked it fine, most days, but at times she longed for the relative simplicity of life as an Auror. You caught bad guys, you brought them to justice and that was that until the next time.

Then again, maybe the two professions weren't all that different.