The Eagle and the Badger

Chapter Eleven: Lost and Found

No one Hugo talked to seemed to know whether Hex was really going to perform, though s stage was near completion at one end of the hall. Clearly, some form of entertainment would soon begin.

Titters and pointing from a group of older girls reminded him of how ridiculous he must look, and he cast about rather desperately for his mates. He didn't see them in the rapidly growing crowd, but he did notice that the lights had suddenly got brighter. He had to laugh when several couples broke apart, evidently feeling as exposed as he did. i

Hugo walked around aimlessly for a while until he spotted Lucia - or at least, a small person in a hag costume - slipping out of the hall.

Without knowing exactly why, Hugo pushed his way through the crowd to follow her.

"Luce! Wait up!"

The girl turned around. Even through all that makeup, Hugo could see the worry on her face.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "The show's going to start soon, I think."

"I know. I'm just going to look for Mike. She hasn't come back, and - "

"You don't think something's happened to her, do you?" Hugo asked. Lucia didn't answer right away. The Hufflepuff boy looked so concerned that she was sorely tempted to tell him about Mike's note. However, she'd made a promise.

"Erm - no, I'm sure she's fine, it's just - "

A commotion in the hall drowned her out. Through the clapping and cheering, Hugo thought he heard instruments being tuned. It was Hex, it had to be. He was desperate to get back inside. And yet, Lucia was a lot more worried than she was letting on, he was pretty sure. He made a quick decision.

"I'll come with you," he said. "She's probably back in your common room. Didn't Ruth say she was going to fix her costume?"

Lucia nodded. "Yes, I'm sure you're right. But don't miss the music on my account."

Hugo didn't argue. Instead, he followed as Lucia headed for the stairs. He struggled to keep up, as his high heels made it impossible to walk fast. He'd forgotten he was wearing them. How did girls ever manage in these infernal torture devices?

He stopped, took off the shoes, and stuffed them into his borrowed purse. They barely fit, but it would have to do.

He hurried after Lucia, who was nearly running up the stairs. Neither of them saw anything unusual as they raced up flight after flight toward the Ravenclaw common room.

It couldn't take Mike this long to sew her tail back on, Lucia was thinking. Something must have gone wrong.

She and Hugo reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, where Hugo stopped.

"You go ahead," he said. "I'll wait here."

Lucia was nearly mad with impatience by the time she managed to solve the eagle's riddle and get into the common room. Minutes passed, and Hugo spent them trying to think of where to look next, if it came to that.

Lucia returned, a frown deepening the wrinkles on her green-tinged forehead.

"She's not there, and her costume isn't, either. Her sewing kit was on her bed, but then, it was there before we left for the party, so I can't be sure she was even here."

Hugo's heart sank. The castle was so enormous, they could search for hours or days without finding Mike. She could have been trapped by a vanishing stair, or maybe the enchanted room had somehow opened again, or . . .

He pushed the grimmer possibilities out of his mind. By now, Lucia's friend had probably returned to the party, and they'd simply missed her in the crowd.

Calypso materialized again out of nowhere and sat down at Lucia's side.

"Callie," Lucia crooned as she gave her familiar's silky ears a scratch, "I wish you could talk. If you've seen Mike, I wish you could tell us where."

The cat marched along beside them as they descended the stairs, then disappeared around a corner.

They decided to do a quick search of each floor - as if such a thing were possible in the huge castle - before heading back to the Great Hall. No point in missing something obvious. Hugo only hoped they wouldn't get lost or run into trouble themselves.

As they rounded a corner on the sixth floor, they nearly collided with Professor Kindle.

"Whoa," he said, grasping their shoulders to steady them. "What are you two doing here? The party's down there." He pointed to illustrate his statement.

"We're on our way back to the party, actually," Hugo said brightly before Lucia could think of a plausible explanation. "Lucia here wanted to see if her friend had gone back to her dormitory."

"Hmmm," said the Potions professor, stroking his beard. "You're not a Ravenclaw, are you, Mr. Weasley?"

Hugo blushed. He didn't want his teacher to think he'd snuck into the wrong common room or, worse, been in a girl's dormitory.

"Er, no, sir. I just went along to - hear the Eagle talk."

That was so lame, he was sure it would arouse Professor Kindle's suspicion, but their Potions master merely looked at his watch.

"You'd best get back to the Great Hall; you heard the rule about loitering in the corridors tonight."

"Yes, we know, but if you should happen to see Mi - Miss Carmichael, would you tell her to meet us there? Thank you so much."

Lucia smiled sweetly at Professor Kindle, forgetting she was still wearing the ghastly fake teeth.

Professor Kindle didn't turn a hair. "Nice costumes, you two; now, be off with you."

They waited until he was gone, then continued their search on the fifth floor until they almost literally ran into a blank wall.

"What happened?" Lucia asked with a touch of anxiety. She could have sworn she knew this corridor and there had never been a barrier there. If Mike had somehow got trapped on the other side . . .

"Don't worry,' said Hugo. "I think I know what to do."

He tried to remember what Rose had said about this sort of obstacle, which could appear anywhere at any time. Hoping he had the spell right, he muttered some words Lucia couldn't quite catch, he turned around three times, and the corridor reopened in front of them.

Peeves chose that exact moment to swoop over their heads and douse them with a bucketful of cold, dirty water.

"Naughty children, up to no good, how delightful it would be to report you to Filch! But he's gone, alas and lackaday. I'll just have to fetch more water. Don't go anywhere!"

With a maniacal cackle, Peeves flew off again.

"Merlin, I hate poltergeists," Hugo grumbled, trying in vain to wring out his now-sopping skirt. "Much as it pains me to say it, I think he has a point. At the rate we're going, we're never going to find your friend. Not without help, anyway."

Lucia was trying to wring water out of her robes but soon gave it up as a bad job.

"I suppose you're right," she said. "Let's see if she's gone back to the party, and if not . . ."

She didn't want to think about the implications of Mike's not being there.

"If not, we'll get help," Hugo said.

Lucia felt a twinge of guilt about withholding the truth from someone who was going so far out of his way to be helpful, but she merely agreed to Hugo's plan and followed him down the stairs.

ooOoo

"And now, let's give a hearty Hogwarts welcome to our very special guests. Straight from their American tour, it's Hex!"

Cheers erupted in the Great Hall as the tall Gryffindor boy, dressed as Minister Kingsley down to the shaved head, stepped aside and a quartet of musicians in glittering robes and masks appeared on stage in a cloud of swirling purple smoke.

"Ooh," cried Sandy, "How did they do that?" She jumped up and down, clapping frantically, apparently not expecting an answer.

"Can you believe it?" she shouted over the noise as Hex launched into its first set.

"Er - no, I mean yeah," yelled Trevor, who was standing right next to her, "but you're mashing my toe."

"Oh, sorry!" Sandy removed her foot - clad in one of Ernie's stout boots - from Trevor's more delicately shod toes. Space to stand was at a premium, as the audience crowded together as close to the stage as they could get.

The music was too loud for conversation, so it wasn't until Hex's first number ended and the cheers died down that Trevor had a chance to ask Robbie, on his other side, "Where's Hugo? I can't believe he's missing this."

The other boy had just enough space to shrug. "In this crowd, who can tell? I'm sure he's here somewhere."

Hex began a second song and partygoers - many of whom had now shed cumbersome portions of their costumes - spread out a bit so that they could dance.

Weaving through gyrating bodies like a Chaser dodging a Bludger, Trevor searched the room for an unconvincingly feminine form but failed to spot Hugo. The ghostly Lily waved to him, and he hurried over to her.

"Have you seen Hugo?" he shouted, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

Lily shook her head. "No, not in ages. Why?"

Trevor shrugged blouse-clad shoulders, risking a split seam. "Just wondering."

Perhaps Hugo had gone back to the common room. Trevor said goodbye to Lily and slipped out of the Great Hall. He crossed the entrance hall, which was empty except for a tall figure in a werewolf costume. The beast growled menacingly at Trevor, who mimed maidenly flight and hurried down the stairs to the dungeons.

He tried the password ("candlestick"), but nothing happened. "Bugger," he muttered, annoyed at having to waste time searching the still life for some new item. Minutes ticked by as he tried one possible password after another.

"It's 'grape leaves'," someone spoke behind him. It was Lynette Bagley, their prefect. "Had enough of the party already? Go ahead in."

Trevor climbed through the round hole and gave Lynettet a hand.

"I wanted to stay and hear Hex," Trevor explained, "but I lost track of Hugo, and I thought he might be here. I don't suppose you've seen him?"

"Sorry, no. Good luck finding him, but mind the curfew, and no loitering in the corridors," she warned before hastening off toward the dormitories.

Probably needs the loo, Trevor guessed. A quick glance around the common room was enough to show that Hugo wasn't there, and Trevor tried his own dormitory. That proved to be empty as well, and there was no evidence that Hugo had been there.

Where could he have gone? Trevor sat down on his bed for a moment, trying to think, then decided to return to the party. Perhaps Hugo had gone outside for a breath of fresh air and was now with his friends again, enjoying his favorite band.

On the way up the stairs, he nearly tripped over a svelte white cat, which stalked away and disappeared. He was sure he'd seen it somewhere before.

ooOoo

Inside the Great Hall, pandemonium reigned as Hex opened a set of their greatest wireless hits. Hugo and Lucia searched the seething mass of revelers, trying to spot a black cat or a mouse or a brown-haired girl in Ravenclaw Quidditch regalia.

"There's Amanda," yelled Lucia above the din. She darted off in her dorm mate's direction but got nowhere, halted by a wall of large boys dressed as Muggle footballers.

"Let me try," said Hugo. He grabbing Lucia by the hand and managed to carve a path for them through the crowd.

Unfortunately, neither Amanda nor Ruth, who was with her, could shed any light on Mike's whereabouts.

"I haven't seen her," shouted Amanda over a deafening version of "Wicked, Wicked Witch."

Hugo and Lucia looked at each other, unaware they were still holding hands, and without a word, they headed off toward the entrance hall again. To their surprise, when they got there, Ruth was right behind them. Her bewhiskered, pointy-nosed face wore a worried frown.

"Where have you looked for her?" she asked. "Where could she have gone? It's not like her to go off by herself." Ruth's drawn-on whiskers drooped.

"We don't know," said Lucia, trying to sound unconcerned. "I've checked the common room and the dormitory and the only person there was Claudia, reading as usual. I asked, and she hadn't seen Mike either."

Though would she say if she had? Lucia couldn't be sure.

"Let's look outside," Hugo suggested. "It's awfully hot in there; maybe she just needed some air."

Before they could open the huge oak doors, however, Lucia's familiar skidded across the floor in their direction, her tail bushed and her green eyes round and glittering.

"Oh, there you are, Callie," said Lucia. "Did something scare you?"

When she reached down to pet the cat, Calypso launched herself at her mistress and began pawing frantically at her robes.

"Callie!" Lucia gasped. "What's wrong with you? Stop it!"

With a frustrated m'rowr, Calypso grabbed the hem of Lucia's robes in her teeth and began to tug.

The sight was both comical and disturbing, and Lucia didn't know what to make of it.

It was Hugo who caught on first.

"Luce," he said, "Remember what Professor Chang told us? I think she's trying to get us to follow her. Maybe she knows where Mike is."

The cat confirmed this hypothesis by dashing off for a few feet, then running back and tugging on Lucia's' robes again.

All thoughts of alerting an adult forgotten, the three first years set off at a near-run after the cat, who led them up stairs and around corners until they lost track of where they were. The corridors were empty except for a few couples huddled together in dark nooks. Lucia wanted to ask whether they'd seen a girl in a cat suit but decided against it. They wouldn't appreciate the interruption, and besides, it was unlikely they'd have noticed Mike.

Calypso continued to bound ahead of them, occasionally stopping to make sure they were following, until she finally turned into a corridor that didn't seem familiar to any of the first years. It was pitch-black, and all three lit their wands and made their way cautiously forward until they reached a stairway leading down.

Calypso had already started down the stairs, her white tail waving like a beacon in front of them.

ooOoo

Trevor nearly tripped over a snogging couple under a bush. He wheeled just in time and loped across the lawn in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. No one in the Great Hall had seen Hugo for ages, and Trevor was running out of ideas. If Hugo wasn't here, or in the Great Hall, or in Hufflepuff quarters, where in the name of Merlin could he be?

"Halt!" a familiar voice called out, followed by frantic yapping and baying.

Trevor froze. Running would only provoke Figg's pestiferous sidekicks.

"What do you think you're doing out here at this hour?" the gamekeeper demanded while the dogs strained at their leashes. At least they were on leashes. Trevor took a couple of cautious steps backward.

Figg pointed a skinny forefinger. "Party's in there. No one's to be wandering about the grounds."

Figg's orders would have created more of an impression had his voice not been quite so high-pitched and reedy. Trevor turned to face the man, trying to ignore the animals, which were nearly strangling themselves in their effort to break free.

"Sorry, sir," he said, hoping he sounded contrite. "I was just looking for a friend of mine. He seems to have gone missing. Hugo Weasley, about this high" - Trevor held his hand at shoulder level - with brown, curly -"

Figg interrupted. "Haven't seen him. Get along with you, now; curfew's in twenty minutes."

Trevor had no choice but to walk back to the castle. If he didn't see Hugo after another tour of the Great Hall, he'd round up some of their housemates and mount a search, curfew or no curfew.

The party was winding down. Hex had made their usual dramatic exit (fireworks courtesy of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes), to wild cheers, and partygoers were beginning to drift away to their common rooms and dormitories.

Ernie and Sandy were having a last goblet of punch when Trevor hurried over to them.

"Hey, you two, have you seen Hugo? Did he ever come back?"

They shook their heads in unison.

"No, sorry, we haven't seen him," Sandy said. "We assumed he was with you. Is he missing?"

"Seems like it," Trevor said. "I checked outside, but I didn't see anyone except Figg and those hellhounds of his."

Just then, the lights began to blink on and off, signaling the end of the party.

"Curfew in ten minutes!" Professor Flitwick called out from the stage in an Amplified voice. "Good night, everyone."

The Hufflepuffs trooped back to the common room. If Hugo wasn't there, Trevor thought, he could always sneak out later, or even tell Professor Witherspoon if absolutely necessary.

ooOoo

Even in wand-light, the stairway was so dark the three first years had to grope their way down, barely able to make out the next step, never mind anything farther ahead.

It wasn't until they neared the bottom that Hugo, who was in front, stopped suddenly, almost causing Lucia to bump into him.

"Look," he said, "there's something -"

Lucia peered around him while Ruth desperately tried to see over her shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked anxiously. "Is it her?"

"Stay back," Hugo ordered. There was definitely something at the bottom of the stairs, but he couldn't quite make out what it was. He hurried down the last few steps and knelt beside the dark shape.

Even before he spoke, Lucia knew. "It's Miker, isn't it?"

She nearly flew down the last few darkened steps, risking a nasty fall, with Ruth close at her heels.

"Mike!" she gasped, kneeling beside Hugo.

The Ravenclaw girl, still in her cat costume, lay unmoving, her face in the light of their wands almost as pale as Calypso's fur

ooOoo

"I am sorry, Miss Malfoy, but Miss Carmichael is not to have visitors until she regains consciousness and a degree of strength. That may take some time. Moreover, it's past curfew."

Madam Pomfrey stood with her arms folded across her chest, although her expression softened a bit when she saw the distress on Lucia's face.

"But can you at least tell me if she's going to be all right?" Lucia begged.

"Your friend has sustained several injuries, including a sprained ankle, lacerations, and a cracked skull. The latter is, of course, my chief concern. However, I see no reason to doubt that she will make a full recovery with proper treatment and some peace and quiet. Now, off to bed with you."

Ruth had sped off to alert Madam Pomfrey the moment the three first years had discovered Mike lying at the bottom of the staircase. It seemed to take ages for the matron to return, wand at the ready, to take charge of the situation. After a quick assessment of Camilla Carmichael's condition, she Levitated her and directed the floating girl toward the hospital wing at a pace no one would have suspected she could manage.

Lucia should have been relieved by Madam Pomfrey's words, but she couldn't help wondering if whoever had sent Mike a death threat might actually have attacked her. Did someone really want her dead? It seemed impossible, but then again, given the contents of the note, could Mike's fall really be just a coincidence?

"Well?" Hugo and Ruth pounced on Lucia the moment she stepped outside. She gave them a tremulous smile.

"Madam Pomfrey says she'll recover, but no one can see her for now. And she says its past curfew. I haven't exactly been keeping track."

She turned to Hugo.

"Thank you for helping us look for Mike. I'm sorry you missed the show, though."

Hugo shrugged. "You're welcome, but I can't see that I helped much. If anything, you can thank Calypso for finding her. That's quite a cat you have."

Lucia's familiar was sitting at her mistress' feet. At Hugo's words, she began purring like one of Granddad Weasley's Muggle motors.

Lucia and Ruth turned to head for their dormitory, but Hugo stopped them.

"Er, Luce - could I have a quick word? I know it's late, but - "

Ruth took the hint and kept going.

"I'll catch up," Lucia promised her friend. She didn't like the idea of either of them walking back alone, not after what had just happened.

"What is it?" Hugo looked so serious.

"I was just wondering - I don't suppose your friend got a note similar to Sukie's, by any chance? She is Muggle-born, right?"

Lucia hadn't seen the question coming, and it took a moment for her to think how to answer. In the end, she opted for the truth.

"I'm afraid she did. She made me promise not to tell, but since you helped find her, perhaps she won't mind too much."

Hugo nodded. "This is getting serious, or at least it may be. I"m going to ask if anyone in Gryffindor has had a note like that. I'm thinking we should probably share what we know; we don't want any more of our friends getting hurt."

"Of course not," Lucia was quick to agree. "But Sukie hasn't been hurt, has she?"

Hugo shook his head as they began to move toward the stairs. It wouldn't do to be caught wandering the corridors, and Ruth was waiting.

"No, not really, but this thing tonight . . . "

He didn't have to complete the sentence. As he and Lucia parted company, another thought nagged at him: There were now at least two targets of the unknown Muggle-hater. Who would be next?

ooOoo

When Hugo got to the Hufflepuff common room, he was surprised to see all nine first years sitting in their usual circle, still in costume and looking very serious. Nine pairs of eyes swiveled toward him as he climbed through the entrance, tired and wanting only to get to bed. He couldn't very well ignore his friends, though.

"Where've you been?" Trevor demanded at once. "We were just about to go searching for you. We were worried."

Hugo didn't want to lie, but he didn't feel free to tell the whole truth, either.

"Er - sorry. I - was helping Lucia Malfoy search for one of her friends, actually."

"Did you find her?" Sandy asked.

"Er - yeah, we did. I probably should have told somebody where I was going, sorry. Well, I'm off to bed."

Sarah Soloway yawned widely and eyed Hugo's clothes, which were actually hers, suspiciously.

"Did you fall into the lake while you were looking for this friend?"

So much had happened since his encounter with Peeves that he'd forgotten all about getting soaked.

"No, Peeves got me. I'm afraid these'll need cleaning. Sorry, Sarah."

"No worries - I've had my own problems with that blasted poltergeist. All our clothes are going to need cleaning before we give them back. That's what house-elves are for, right?"

Hugo winced. He could just imagine what his mum would say to that, but he kept his mouth shut. It was late, and he had much more on his mind than house-elf rights at the moment.

Sarah made her way toward the girls' dormitory, followed almost at once by the rest of the girls.

Marco, Gabe, and Ernie soon said goodnight as well, but Trevor stayed behind.

"You look done up," he said, when everyone was out of earshot. "Now, tell me what really happened."

Hugo sighed." "It's a long story, but Lucia's friend Camilla - you know, Mike - went missing before Hex arrived. Turns out she'd fallen down a flight of stairs and had to go to the hospital wing."

He really hated keeping things from his best friend, but agreeing with Lucia to share information didn't necessarily mean sharing with everyone. They were going to have to figure all this out, but not now.

"Sorry to hear that," Trevor said. "Is she going to be all right?"

Hugo nodded. "So Madam Pomfrey says. She wouldn't let Lucia see her, though."

Trevor nodded. "So, you found her?"

"In a way." Hugo proceeded to tell the story of Lucia's familiar.

"I hate to bring it up at a time like this," Trevor said when Hugo finished, "but we do have classes tomorrow."

Hugo groaned. "Thanks for reminding me."

The two boys went off to bed, and despite his worries, Hugo was so tired he fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow.