The Eagle and the Badger

Chapter Twelve: Insinuations

Of course, it proved impossible to keep the Ravenclaw girl's mishap from becoming the latest subject of gossip and speculation. By noon the day after Halloween, the whole castle was buzzing. The Carmichael girl had tripped over that tail of hers, silly girl; someone had spiked her punch and she'd taken a tipsy tumble; she was the victim of a hex. This last was all too possible, but Lucia fended off all the questions by saying, truthfully, that Mike didn't remember how she came to fall and was doing fine, thanks for asking.

On the way to Defense, Claudia Vector sidled up to her dorm mate.

"What do you suppose happened to Camilla?" she asked. The way she spoke, the question sounded more like one the Ravenclaw eagle might pose than an expression of genuine concern.

"Haven't you heard? She fell down a flight of stone steps and was badly injured," Lucia answered rather snappishly. "She's still in the hospital wing, if you'd care to visit."

In class, she relieved her ill temper by sending Sarah Soloway's wand flying across the room before the Hufflepuff could throw up a shield.

Lucia was glad that Professor Chang made them change partners for every practice; it forced them to stay sharp. Sarah had become a favorite partner, as she was always well-prepared and focused, keeping Lucia on her toes.

"Nice reflexes," Sarah gasped as she failed to hold onto her wand for the third time in a row. "Been practicing, have you?"

Lucia grinned. "Not really. I'm just in the mood for a duel."

With a glance at their teacher, who was busy correcting Galen Bolt's wand moves, Sarah muttered, "Yeah, I heard about your friend. Sorry about that - is she all right?"

"Thanks," said Lucia, also keeping her voice down. "She will be. Shall we have another go?"

It wasn't just Claudia's insensitivity that had riled her. She'd swallow a plateful of toad tongues sooner than say it to Mike, but she couldn't suppress the thought that someone had deliberately caused what they'd both tacitly agreed to call an accident.

She felt helpless, and feeling helpless made her cross. If only Mike could remember more, they might know for sure if someone had caused her fall.

"In cases of serious head injury," Madam Pomfrey had said In answer to Lucia's anxious question, "it can take a very long time for memories to return, if indeed they ever do."

It was awful, thinking they'd never know for sure . . .

"Gotcha!" Sarah crowed, as Lucia's wand went spinning into the air.

ooOoo

By some miracle, the day of the year's first Quidditch match, between Gryffindor and Slytherin, dawned clear, though strong gusts of wind threatened to make broomstick control a challenge.

After lunch, Hugo and his friends made their way down the lawn to the stands, a few of them sporting Gryffindor colors. Hugo wore the red-and-gold scarf his Aunt Ginny had given him for his eleventh birthday. Of course, she'd taken it for granted he'd be in Gryffindor. Well, he could still root for them, as long as they weren't playing against Hufflepuff.

A sudden gust snatched Sandy's hat off her head, and all the Hufflepuffs gave chase except for Marco, who shook his head as he watched his shrieking, whooping housemates in hot pursuit of the errant tam.

"Thanks, Trevor." Sandy smiled at the boy, who bowed and handed it to her with a flourish. Hugo watched them with a light heart. It was great just to be having fun, forgetting any worries about creepy messages and mysterious mishaps.

Half an hour later,he found himself wishing he was still running around instead of huddled inside his cloak, trying to ignore the wind blowing down the back of his neck. He tugged his knit cap farther down over his ears and turned his attention to the game as groans erupted from every side of the stands except the Slytherins'. They were ecstatic, as their team had just scored its fourth straight goal. Even from this distance, Hugo could see the disgusted expression on the Gryffindor Keeper's face.

Trevor nudged him. "That'd be me, if I were playing," he said.

"Rubbish," said Hugo. He was searching the sky for the Snitch, which so far neither Seeker had caught sight of. Then he saw it, hovering just above the ground near the Slytherin goal. He held his breath, wishing he could use some sort of mind-speech to alert Albus.

Supernatural powers proved unnecessary, however, as the Gryffindor Seeker's broom suddenly shot into a dive. Scorpius Malfoy, the Slytherin Seeker, plunged after him just a millisecond too late. He was forced to watch along with everyone else as Albus circled the field in triumph, clutching the little golden ball in his raised fist.

Hugo jumped to his feet along with most of the other Hufflepuffs, whistling and cheering as happy Gryffindors swarmed onto the pitch and his teammates hoisted the winning Seeker onto their shoulders.

James Potter wasn't among them; Hugo spotted his cousin hovering near the Gryffindor stands, hands in his pockets, looking down at his boots.

Hugo felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It's their problem, mate; you can't work it out for them."

"I know," sighed Hugo, grateful that Trevor understood.

Lucia felt sorry for Scorpius, who vanished off the pitch the moment the final whistle blew. Little as she cared about Quidditch, she'd been hoping her brother would catch the Snitch. She wasn't sure how he'd take the loss.

She let the others' conversation roll over her as they walked back toward the castle, clutching their cloaks around them. In the milling crowd ahead of them she saw two of Scorpius' friends, Alex Harper and Septimus Nott. Where was Pucey? she wondered idly, then decided he'd probably gone in search of her brother. She had no idea what sort of relationship the four boys had, but she hoped the annoying Gordon Pucey would know what to say to ease Scorpius' disappointment.

ooOoo

"One word, and I'll turn you into a garden gnome," Rose warned, scowling at her brother, whose grin faded at once. He'd caught sight of Rose as she tried to sneak into the castle unnoticed, her hood far too small to hide a most peculiar sight.

"Erm, sorry, but what happened to your - "

Rose grimaced and motioned to him to follow her into a quieter corner, where she faced him, trying vainly to conceal her hair. It was no use.

"You know you're the three-hundredth person to ask me that, don't you? Obviously, someone hexed me."

Rose sounded thoroughly disgruntled, and who could blame her? Her normally soft, long curls had been transformed into taut springlike projections sticking out in all directions. Hugo had to struggle not to laugh, she looked so ridiculous.

"Gryffindors let the win go to their heads, did they?" he asked when he could trust himself to speak.

In his preoccupation with threats to Muggle-borns, Hugo had nearly forgotten that random acts of aggressive magic were a normal part of Hogwarts life, especially in Gryffindor and Slytherin. When he was little, his cousins' stories were enough to make his hair stand on end.

Rose shook her head, causing the corkscrews to rattle menacingly. "Not this time. It was that son-of-a-harpy Gordon Pucey. He got me when I walked off the pitch, but I'm happy to say Al got him back. He won't be able to sit down for at least a week."

Hugo recognized the name as belonging to one of Scorpius Malfoy's friends. Lucia had said he was a bully (though she hadn't mentioned her brother's refusal to rein him in). As he wished Rose a speedy recovery and left her to join his friends in the common room, he found himself wondering what Gordon Pucey's views on blood status might be.

Maybe he was just an equal-opportunity prat; then again, hexing a pureblood didn't rule out making special targets of Muggle-borns.

ooOoo

It seemed like no time at all between the first Quidditch match of the year and the second. Even the normally staid Ravenclaw common room began to hum with suppressed excitement as admirers hovered around members of the team, who seemed to spend nearly all their time together, even at meals. In fact, Quidditch talk tended to dominate mealtime conversations.

"No amount of cleverness is going to make up for the fact that our Beaters have less muscle than Flobberworms," declared Amanda at breakfast a couple of days before the match.

"Their Keeper's weaker, though," chimed in a second year boy sitting beside her, "so if your sister and Forrester can avoid the Bludger - "

"Yes, we know how the game is played, Dunstan," said Amanda dismissively, turning back to her porridge.

Lucia was rather glad the team members were sitting together at the end of the table, too far away to hear. She was quite sure the two Beaters, Maurice Pagan and Mohan Jain, wouldn't appreciate being compared to Flobberworms.

As she was reaching for a piece of toast, her mother's owl, Dagmar, landed in front of her, shook her outstretched leg impatiently for Lucia to take the attached letter, and took off without condescending to wait for a treat. Lucia unfolded the parchment and began to read.

Dearest Daughter,

I hope this finds you well. It was good to hear that you are making progress in your studies and that you have been able to make friends. You haven't said much about their families; would I know them?

I know the Christmas holiday is still weeks away, but I wanted to prepare you for a change in plans. Under normal circumstances, you and Scorpius would be taking the Hogwarts Express and we would spend the holiday together at Villa Malfoy. However, an opportunity has arisen for me to join some old friends on a tour of the Greek islands.

Were this simply a social occasion, I would of course have declined. However, these are very influential people, with whom a connection promises significant advantages to our family. Knowing them may make a real difference to both your future prospects and those of your brother.

You are welcome to join us, of course, but I'm afraid that you and Scorpius would be bored, without suitable companions of your own age.

Talk it over with your brother and let me know what you decide as soon as possible, so that I can respond to the invitation.

Much as I will miss you, I am sure that Christmas at Hogwarts must be very pleasant in its own way.

Affectionately,

Mother

Lucia read the letter twice, then folded the letter with a heavy heart. What "decision" could she and Scorpius make except to do as their mother clearly wished? She wondered who these "old friends" were and what sort of advantages they might offer her family.

Lucia turned to share her news with Mike and was startled to see her best friend staring at a piece of parchment with a peculiar expression on her face.

"What is it?" she asked. The Carmichael's letters usually brought smiles to their daughter's face.

Mike's answer was short and to the point. "This."

She thrust the missive at Lucia, who took it, wondering what could have made Mike glower so. She could never have anticipated the words she read.

Dear Miss Carmichael,

Someone close to you knows more about your "accident" than she is saying. Beware of false friends, if you value your life.

A True Friend

It was impossible to mistake the note's meaning. Someone was accusing her of attacking her own best friend or at least, of knowing who did. She sat frozen, her mind racing but words refusing to come. At last, Mike said the one thing she would never have believed she would.

"Well?" Mike's tone was demanding, almost hostile. "Can you explain this?"

Shocked, Lucia looked into her friend's unsmiling face. "You can't think I had anything to do with your fall. You can't."

Neither of them noticed as dishes disappeared from the table and students began to leave the Great Hall. Finally, Mike sighed.

"No . . . No, I don't think that. But . . . "

There was a long pause. "The note doesn't say you tried to hurt me. It says you know who did, or at least, who might have done. Do you?"

Lucia had never seen this stern expression on Mike's face before, and it bothered her. Of course, she knew what Mike was implying. For a brief moment, she wished Scorpius was in any other house but Slytherin.

"No!" she said, finding it increasingly difficult to keep her temper. "I don't know, or I would have done something - told someone."

Mike looked startled at her harsh tone, and Lucia softened it. You believe me, don't you?"

She didn't realize she was still holding the note until Mike held out her hand for it without answering.

"We'd better get to Potions," was all Mike said as she rose to go. Still feeling sore and depressed, Lucia followed the other girl down to the dungeons.

"Stir!" hissed Mike, whose own brew was already achieving the desired apple-green color. Lucia started and began to stir again, but it was too late; the solution in her cauldron turned from an oily greenish liquid to a gummy, mud-colored mass.

"Pity," said Professor Kindle, who was checking his students' progress. "You've been doing so well. I'm afraid this sample is a total failure."

"I'm sorry, professor. Could I possibly make it up?"

Lucia hated the idea of a bad mark. She must learn to keep her mind on what she was doing, even if she had an excuse for being distracted.

"Half seven, this room," said Professor Kindle. "And from the look of things, you'll have company."

His eyes rested on Sukie Lawrence, who looked near tears as she backed away from a cauldron that was emitting a thick cloud of acrid smoke.

Sure enough, Sukie, along with a Hufflepuff boy and Galen Bolt, a fellow Ravenclaw, turned up outside the Potions dungeon after dinner that evening.

"What'd you do?" Galen asked Lucia. "You're usually brilliant at Potions."

That was an exaggeration, but Lucia didn't bother to argue. "Erm - loss of concentration, I suppose," she admitted. "You?"

Galen frowned. "I'm not sure, though I did think my frog's eyes looked a bit off."

The blonde Hufflepuff girl giggled. "How can you tell if those nasty things are fresh.?" She shuddered dramatically.

"I think I messed up the directions, but then, I always do. Clockwise, anticlockwise - how does anyone keep track, especially when everyone's talking?"

Since Sukie and her friends were responsible for a good bit of the talking, Lucia thought this was a case of cauldron calling the kettle black.

Just then, Professor Kindle whisked around the corner, frowning at his watch.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, boys and girls," he apologized. "Had to have a word with the headmistress. Come along in."

The Potions master unlocked the heavy door and led the way into the pitch-dark dungeon, flicking his wand at the torches. He

placed his bag on the battered old desk and sorted the students into pairs.

"Miss Malfoy, Miss Lawrence, take this table; Mr. Bolt, Mr. Ferengi, over here. Before you go fetch your ingredients, please review the directions carefully, and let me know if you have any questions. There is no point repeating mistakes - or making new ones, for that matter."

That brought rueful smiles from everyone but Marco, who stood with his arms crossed and his lips pressed together.

It's not as though Professor Kindle forced us to make up the class, Lucia thought. The Hufflepuff boy could simply have taken the failing mark. She didn't know Marco at all outside of class, but he did seem to complain a lot.

Lucia quickly found herself wishing she could work alone. Being paired with Sukie made it hard for her to prepare her own ingredients with precision while the Hufflepuff girl mangled hers. After five minutes, she had to intervene.

"Don't be afraid to hold your eyeball firmly, or you won't get an even cut."

Was it her imagination, or did Sukie seem even more nervous than usual? Her hands were shaking a little as she tried to follow Lucia's directions. Then again, Sukie tended to treat even the most innocuous herbs as though they would explode in her face.

"Right," Sukie said, just before the slippery little object squirted out from between her thumb and forefinger. "Oh, bugger!"

That brought guffaws from the boys and a head-shake from Professor Kindle, who helped Sukie retrieve the elusive orb. "Mind what you're doing," he said with a hint of impatience, and Sukie gave him a guilty look as she tightened her grasp on the newt's eye.

"Sorry, sir," she mumbled.

Within half an hour, Lucia had produced a perfect Wart-Remover, and under her guidance, Sukie's was at least green and liquid.

As they cleaned their cauldrons and packed away their knives, Sukie leaned toward her partner and blurted out, "I need to talk to you. Alone."

Curious, Lucia agreed, and the two girls walked together out of the dungeon and headed toward the stairs.

The two boys were at their heels, and Sukie pulled Lucia aside to let them pass. She waited until they were out of sight and, to Lucia's surprise, took a seat on the stairs. Lucia resisted the impulse to look at her watch. How long was this going to take? She really needed to finish her Charms essay. She didn't want to be rude, however, so she sat down as well.

"What's so important?" she asked, trying not to sound impatient.

Sukie looked even more nervous than before; she twisted her hands together and hesitated for a long moment before answering.

"I shouldn't be talking to you," she finally blurted, taking Lucia completely by surprise.

"Whyever not?" she asked, unable to think of anything she'd done to offend the other girl.

Sukie took something out of her pocket and handed it to Lucia.

"I got this at breakfast. An owl brought it."

Lucia heard the words with a sense of dread. She didn't have to read the piece of parchment to know what it said. Nevertheless, she did so, then handed the note back to Sukie.

The scared-rabbit expression on the Hufflepuff's face infuriated Lucia; then she felt guilty. In the other girl's place, she'd probably be frightened, too.

"You don't honestly think I'm involved in harassing Mugglei-born students, do you? Why would I be?

"Oh, don't answer that," she sighed, before the girl could open her mouth. "You think because I have a brother in Slytherin, and the note you got was written in a way that made Slytherin seem guilty, and my brother's name begins with an 'S' - "

The sheer illogic of it was so obvious to her. Surely the girl wasn't stupid enough to take the note writer's insinuations at face value.

Sukie's frightened look gave way to defiance. "I don't know who sent that note - either note. I just know your brother's in Slytherin and there can't be a single person in this castle who hasn't heard what he thinks of people like me - like us! He hates us! He doesn't think we should be here . . . "

Out of steam, she slumped forward and rested her head on her knees, looking away.

How could this girl possibly know Scorpius' opinions about blood status? They weren't the sort of views you'd want to advertise. Then again, gossip seemed to be a way of life at Hogwarts. Or was Sukie merely guessing, based on anti-Slytherin prejudice? In any case, Lucia couldn't blame the girl for worrying.

On impulse, she reached out and placed a hand on Sukie's sleeve, then withdrew it quickly when the girl flinched.

"Look, Sukie," she said. "I'm not going to hurt you. No matter what that stupid note says, I don't know who's guilty, but I'm sure my brother has nothing to do with any of this, if that's what you're thinking. Whatever he says, he wouldn't hurt anyone. I'm sorry you're scared, and i don't blame you" - she thought of Mike, lying at the bottom of a dark stairway - "but the real culprit's bound to be caught and punished."

Sukie shrugged and stood up. "If you say so. Thanks for the help with my potion, though."

With that, she walked off, leaving Lucia to follow, hoping the "real culprit" would indeed be discovered soon. Meanwhile, she definitely needed to talk to Scorpius again, and not just because her mother had asked her to.

Then she thought of something, and she ran to catch up with Sukie.

The first opportunity Lucia had to speak with Scorpius came after breakfast the next day. Ignoring his friends' smirks, she tapped him on the shoulder.

"We need to talk," she said firmly. "As soon as you're finished."

Scorpius heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Give me ten minutes, and I'll meet you in the entrance hall."

Lucia hovered impatiently near the door, casting frequent glances at her watch, until her brother finally joined her.

"What is it?" he asked without preamble. "I have to get to Potions - "

Lucia cut him off. "This," she said with equal curtness, shoving the note she'd borrowed from Sukie into his hand. As she'd guessed, it was nearly identical to the one Mike had received, except that it referred to a certain "first-year Ravenclaw" instead of a "friend".

He read it with a look of disbelief.

"What kind of rubbish is this?" he asked. "Someone's playing tricks on you, Lucia."

"No, I don't think so," she insisted, ignoring the implication that she was just a gullible child. "I'm sure you heard about the note Sukie Lawrence got, and she's not the only one." She didn't want to mention Mike by name, so she chose her words carefully.

"One person got a death threat and was actually injured. The notes were signed with serpents, made to look like S's for Slytherin - "

"Or Scorpius?" her brother scoffed. "Surely you don't believe this dragon dung." He tapped Sukie's note with a long, slim forefinger. "As for your 'knowing' anything, how could you?"

Again, the implication stung. He wasn't saying she was innocent; he was saying she was naive.

"No," said Lucia, rather crossly, "I don't, even though you've made your opinion of Muggles pretty clear. But if this thing goes much further, you and your friends and anybody else in Slytherin who's known to have the same ideas (she almost said 'same stupid ideas' but managed not to) may be caught up in it.

"And when it comes to my friends getting hurt, I don't much care what happens to the person who did it."

With that, Lucia took back the note from her open-mouthed brother and stalked off toward the staircase. It didn't occur to her until later that she hadn't mentioned the holiday.

ooOoo

Even though Trevor would be sitting out the game on the Hufflepuff bench, Hugo noticed he'd hardly touched his eggs and toast. He racked his brain trying to think of something to say to take his mind off the game, but before he could come up with anything, Trevor got up .

"See you later," he said. "Pre-game practice."

"What do you think of our chances?" asked Gabe after Trevor was safely out of earshot.

"Fifty-fifty," declared Robbie with his usual certainty. "Our Beaters are stronger, but I think Morganstern's the better Keeper, and as for our Seekers, I'd say they're close to even."

Hugo wondered how his friend could be so sure, considering that the match hadn't occurred yet, but he held his tongue.

Back in the common room, Hugo quickly gave up trying to concentrate on his Potions homework and joined Ernie, Sandy, and Susan in a game of Exploding Snaps. They played until Trevor returned, brushing snow off his robes.

"Visibility's getting worse by the minute," he complained, removing his cloak and pulling up a chair. "So . . . they never cancel games on account of weather?"

Though Trevor's parents were magical, they hadn't attended Hogwarts, having emigrated after coming of age. Trevor was a quick study, but there were still things he didn't know about the school's ways.

Hugo and Ernie looked at each other and snorted.

"This is Hogwarts we're talking about," Ernie said. "My dad tells me they've played games in the middle of thunderstorms. I suppose they think lightning helps Seekers find the Snitch."

"If it doesn't kill them," Susan shuddered. "Maybe the snow will stop before the match. Shall we deal you in, Trev?"

Trevor put away his cloak and joined the game. Hugo felt a twinge of guilt about the load of unfinished homework facing him, then told himself that it was only Saturday; he had plenty of time.

On the way to lunch, Hugo literally bumped into Lucia. As he apologized, he remembered how upset she'd looked at breakfast the other day and asked her if everything was all right. She looked puzzled until he explained.

Lucia remembered what she and Hugo had said about sharing information. She probably should tell him about Mike's new note, but decided it could wait till they had more time to talk. He'd probably hear all about Sukie's, anyway.

"Oh, no, not really; it's just that something's come up, and I won't be going home for Christmas after all."

That would certainly explain the unhappy face.

"That's too bad," Hugo commiserated. "But my dad and his brothers and sister and my uncle Harry stayed here more than once, and they swear they had a great time. Of course, that was when Professor Dumbledore was headmaster. He loved celebrations."

Unaccountably, Lucia felt her spirits lift.

"That's nice to hear," she said with a grateful smile. "Good luck today."

"Thanks," he said. "You, too."