Sasha Liliana Jackson & The Secrets of Hogwarts

Chapter Nine: The Vault of Cursed Ice

Sasha and Rowan had both decided to go outside together in the training field. Rowan thought that Sasha needed some time outside out of the castle, which Sasha agreed wholeheartedly. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled gently under their feet as they walked down the sloping lawns towards a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.
They were soon joined with Bill Weasley and Penny Haywood. Sasha soon broke away from the others and looked towards the open fields where many magical critters lie. Sasha had been offered to help the magical critters alongside Hagrid, and Sasha had accepted the offer excitedly. Sasha snapped out of her thoughts and turned to look at her friends with a small smile. She'd thought she'll be having school by herself, but instead she had ended up having friends. It was the greatest feeling to have once again. Sasha never felt like this ever since her brother had disappeared, but she's relieved to have it rekindled once again.
Sasha soon rejoined them and they all started playing Exploding Snap, though the game had made Rowan jumped in place a few times. They had been the few kids who had joined the Dueling Club and learnt about the Cursed Vaults from Professor Dumbledore. She perked up when she heard a familiar hoot and smiled as she watched as Hamish landed next to her. Sasha gently stroked Hamish's feathers, her owl ruffled his feathers. He clearly enjoys the feeling of gaining attention, along with him being handsome and he knows it.
Sasha and her friends were all listening and laughing to an amusing story of Bill's twin brothers playing an amusing prank on the neighbors on April's Fool Day when they saw a scrawny dust-colored cat with large red eyes running towards them. The cat's eyes were wide with terrified fear and she was shivering for some reason. If that cat was afraid, Sasha did not wanted to know.
"Mrs. Norris?" Sasha knew that the cat belongs to Mr. Filch. Usually the two are absolutely inseparable, something terrible must of happened. "What's wrong? Is something happening?"
Mrs. Norris nodded urgently and ran towards where she came from. She looked back at them with loud meowing and wide eyes, as if she was begging for them to follow her.
"Come on, let's see what had happened this time." They started standing up and started following Mrs. Norris into the hallway of the corridor. Hamish lifted off the ground and flew after them.
But that's when Sasha saw it. She almost felt herself collapsed if Bill hadn't caught her and carefully steadied her. There was ice sprouting all over the hallways and huge pieces of ice were blocking the doors. But what was really strickening was seeing so many students — including other Ravenclaws — had been trapped inside the ice.
"Oh my gosh," whispered Penny, looking stunned and horrified at the sight as well as Sasha.
Sasha could feel her heart beating hard in her chest. She never felt so terrified before. She pushed down her fear and started looking around the hallway. Sasha could feel herself shivering from the cold and her breath came out as white mist. It's not being cold that's frightening, it was the students who were trapped in the ice, and so were some of the professors. Sasha was horrified to see that Professor Flitwick was also trapped in the ice within the Charms classroom. Sasha felt as if this a nightmare come true. She turned to look over at her friends: Bill, confident and determined; Rowan, loyal and compassionate; lastly, Penny, brave and warm-hearted.
"Mrs. Norris..." Sasha's voice shook slightly, unsure of what to make of the cursed ice. But she remembered what her parents had taught her before Sasha had gotten a letter of Hogwarts. "We need to find the Vault of Cursed Ice."
Sasha was stunned to feel a wave sympathy and empathy radiating from Mrs. Norris as the cat looked up at her before Mrs. Norris all led them towards the corridor in the west tower.
"Sasha!" Hagrid's voice called from the end of the corridor. "How are yeh?" From the tone of his voice, it doesn't seem he's actually asking how Sasha was. It was more like "Are you safe?" or something.
"I'm okay," Sasha said to him. "But Professor Flitwick is not. Neither are our classmates."
"The cursed ice has spread through all o' Hogwarts," he said grimly. "Professor Sinistra and her students are frozen in the Astronomy Tower. The Ravenclaw Quidditch team is trapped in the Changin' Rooms!"
Sasha look at her friends and their terrified, but determined expressions was all Sasha needed.
"An' tha's jus' the start!" he continued, exasperated. "The professors are doin' their best ter help everyone, but there's only so much they can do! 'Any of th'm had gott'n trapped with'n the curse'd ice! With Professor Dumbledore off searchin' for the Curse-Breaker an' all."
"What Curse-Breaker?" Sasha asked him with a frown.
"I shouldn'ta said that," he said, looking awfully distressed. "I shouldn'ta said that."
"It's okay, Hagrid," Sasha said to him, calmingly. "Everything will be okay."
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Sasha and her friends followed Mrs. Norris up to the forbidden corridor, but she sent Penny to help the professors freeing the other students. As soon as they had entered the forbidden corridor, they were surprised to see that there was an ominous green light radiating from the left side of the hallway when there was nothing there.
Rowan managed to hide the staircase again with a Concealing Charm, but a quick Revelio helped to uncover it again.
Mrs. Norris hissed at the sight of the glowing green staircase. Sasha personally agrees with the cat. She rather get a professional adult to help them, but many of them had been frozen and one of them is too far away to get back in time.
Sasha and Mrs. Norris both nodded to each other before Mrs. Norris had zoomed off. Sasha, her friends, and Hamish all climbed up the glowing the staircase.
It was really colder in the staircase, like it's endless wintertime, but there's a dark magical energy in the atmosphere that Sasha could sense. Covering their ankles is a sinister mist; dense like a cloud, but its coldness pierced her feet, which are only covered by my socks and boots.
"It's really cold in here," Sasha whispered. "We should come back with more supplies."
"Don't you think people might of had noticed this staircase?" Rowan said, her voice slightly trembling with the cold and fear.
"Maybe that's why they called it the forbidden corridor," said Bill. "Because it's very freezing in here."
Sasha follow her upstairs, turning a few corners, until they're faced with the most majestic corridor Sasha ever seen. There are torches everywhere, but none of them has fire. On both sides of the corridor are suits of armors, all holding spears, shields and swords, but they all seem to be made of solid rock. The floor seems to be covered in some kind of frost and Sasha can barely see the carpet under it.
"Look," Bill said. "There are footprints on the ground."
Sasha crouched down and saw them, perfectly marked in the frost: a set of footsteps. Rowan looks at Sasha with deep concern, but then she nods at her and they continued on their path, following those footprints to whatever it is that they're leading.
"Do you think they're Merula's?" Sasha asked, as she gently traced the footprints on the ground.
"They're about the same size and height," commented Ben.
The corridor seems to never end, and the air just keeps getting colder and colder. Sasha can see our breaths in front of their faces, but she stayed close to her friends.
"What the heck..." Rowan says when the corridor finally reaches its end. In the final wall there's a big archway, they couldn't see what's on the other side. A thick mist is covering the passage.
Do you think it's wise?" Sasha asked. "Walking through it?"
"No," Bill said. "Let's try to push it away."
He pointed his wand to the mist and looks at them with determination.
"Flipendo!" A stunning bright white light comes out from her wand, hitting the wall of mist.
To her astonishment, the mist dissipated, revealing the most beautiful icy room, with frost covering all the walls and pillars, stalagmites and stalactites everywhere, and a huge frozen door, with a gigantic snowflake guarding it like a gate.
"It's incredible," Sasha murmured, walking with her friends to the door, standing right in front of the five steps which lead to it.
"Everything is covered in snow and frost," Rowan whispered, looking around, completely mesmerized.
"Do you think this is a Cursed Vault?" Sasha asked, staring at the huge door, her heart pounding hard in her chest.
"No time to be bedazzled," Bill said. "This place is dangerous."
"Wands in hand, guys," Sasha said firmly, agreeing with Bill. "Flipendo isn't working on the ice. Let's all cast Incendio together. On three."
One...
Two...
"Three!" Sasha shouted. "Incendio!"
Fiery lights come out from our wands, hitting the snowflake guarding the door. When their spells dissipate, the floor starts to tremble.
"I'm not liking this," Rowan cried.
"Again!" Bill shouted.
"Incendio!" They cast in unison and the snowflake starts to shatter, falling to the floor in pieces.
"We did it!" Rowan exclaimed, excited.
"Too soon to celebrate," Sasha advised warily, tightening her grip on her wand.
The floor starts shaking, this time a lot stronger, and they have to balance themselves so they don't fall.
"I am thinking," Rowan said. "Maybe this door wasn't keeping us out of the Vault. Maybe it was keeping something in."
"You're probably right Rowan," Sasha agreed quietly.
The frozen door once behind the snowflake releases a deep sound as it starts to open, and her heart seemed to freeze.
"Look out!" Sasha yelled as a big suit of armor comes out of the door, bearing a big frozen sword. It has no eyes, but Sasha sensed that it's piercing stare coming from where its eyes were supposed to be.
Sasha point her wand at it, trying hard not to chitter, a terrible cold dominating her from her toes to her head.
"It's the Ice Knight," Rowan whispered. "From your vision."
The Ice Knight raises his sword, striking it on the air, a wave of icy energy emanating from it, hitting Bill right on his chest. Sasha look at him in despair, as solid ice starts to grow from his feet, rising to his hips, trapping him on the floor. He manages to point his wand at the Knight, but the ice keeps growing.
"Let's test if Penny's Erumpent Potion works," Rowan said, drawing a big bottle from her bag, fiercely throwing it on the Ice Knight.
The glass exploded in flashes of green, covering the Knight in explosive greenish flames. The armor makes a crackling sound, but he quickly comes out from the flames, bearing only a rift on the chest.
The Knight raises his sword again, the same icy wave hitting Rowan straight in her face. Sasha's breath starts to fail as she see Rowan being covered in ice.
"Rowan!" Sasha yelled, complete despair possessing her. "Bill. Let's use Incendio!"
Two flashes of red lights erupts from our wands, one after the other, full hitting the Knight, who falls on his knee, appearing to be catching his breath. But before they're able to strike him again, he hits the tip of his sword on the floor, rays of icy light flickering through the ground, hitting Rowan and Bill.
Why hasn't she been hit?
Complete dread flooded her soul as Sasha see her friends being completely covered by that goddamn cursed ice and there's only one thing left to do.
Is it against the rules to duel against the Ice Knight?
Sasha raised her wand, aiming at the Knight, feeling her magic tingling my fingers.
"Incendio!" Sasha shouted, flames coming out from her wand and hitting him, another crack appearing on the armor. "Depulso!"
As the Knight is pushed back, Sasha aimed at him again.
"Diffindo!" A big cleft is opened where his stomach is supposed to be. "Expelliarmus!"
It worked!
His sword flew away from his hand, sticking right in a big pile of snow. As he reaches for it, Sasha has another spell ready. Her heart is racing so much Sasha feel like all Hogwarts can hear it. Sasha gathered some of the air she can before casting.
"INCENDIO!" Sasha yelled as loud as she can, feeling waves of energy flooding through her veins, a strong red beam emanating from her wand, exploding in a cone before hitting the Knight.
When the fire hits the armor, a lot of snow and ice flakes rise from the ground, like dust. Sasha wait with caution, wand in hand, prepared to whatever it is to come.
But when the dust dissipates, the Ice Knight is fallen on the floor, completely still.
Sasha quickly rushed towards her friends and started casting so many Incendios that Sasha had almost voiceless.
"Bloody heck!" Rowan cried out as Sasha pulled her out of the melting ice block. "That was intense!"
"Help me with Bill please!" Sasha asked her, rushing to free Bill.
Seeing Bill's freckled face peace into her heart.
Thank goodness they're all okay.
"You defeated a cursed Ice Knight!" Bill exclaimed excitedly, gently ruffling Sasha's hair like Jacob used to do when he was happy with her, it almost brought tears to Sasha's eyes. "You'll sure be the greatest witch ever!"
"I couldn't have done it without you, guys," Sasha said as she felt her heart flooding with joy now that her friends are safe again.
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Sasha never really thought the Cursed Vault looked like it doesn't seemed cursed at all. In fact, it just looks extremely inviting and fascinating. Sasha honestly imagined this vault as something icy and gloomy, a place with so much dark energy that they would want to run away from it instantly as well as outside.
But instead, when they entered through the ice doors, they find ourselves in a warm, comfortable hexagonal room, with an intricate hexagonal pattern on the floor, following the shape of the room. There are two suits for armor in each wall, but none of them is frozen and none of them is moving. They all seem to be made of solid stone. In the very middle, drawing their attention, it's something Sasha find hard to describe.
It's something between a sculpture and a cabinet, hexagonal as the room, but with thick golden glass all around it, apparently keeping something extremely shiny inside, they can see a bright light inside it. The top of the structure is rounded, and the warmth and magical energy emanating from it it's so strong that Sasha's immediately attracted to it.
"Absolutely amazing," Rowan said, looking from side to side with widened eyes.
"There's something strange about this column," Bill said, investigating the big structure in the middle of the room.
"Maybe there's something inside," Sasha whispered, her hand being attracted to the golden glass, like it's a magnet.
It happens so fast that Sasha had barely have any time to feel the warmth of the glass. Right when her fingertips touched it, all the six walls of the column open like a flower. In the very middle there's a lot of flickering golden energy, whirling and moving like a spell coming out from a wand. Floating amidst it all, there's a book and a broken wand.
"Not exactly the treasure I was hoping for," Bill says, scratching his chin.
"Maybe they're clues," Sasha said.
She reached out her hand to grab those objects, but as soon as her hand enters the golden energy, something happens.
Sasha couldn't see the room where she's standing anymore. Instead, it's like she's lost inside the bright light, a very audible voice speaking inside of her.
"Find the other four vaults, Sasha." His voice is so clear it's like he's standing right next to Sasha. "Find my room."
"Your room? I don't understand!" Sasha cried out, wanting so desperately to hug him.
"You can't let her get there first!" his voice continued. "Hurry!"
"Hey! Hey, Sasha! Snap out of it!" Sasha could hear Bill's voice talking to her, but it seems to be faded and distant.
"Who is she?" Sasha asked her brother. "Where are you?"
But all Sasha heard was silence.
The light starts to fade, getting transparent and weak, until I'm able to see the vault again.
"Sasha!" Rowan's voice is pure concern. "What's going on?"
"I heard a voice telling me to find the other vaults," Sasha told them, her heart racing inside of her. "My brother's voice."
Sasha grabbed the book and the broken wand, still floating in the air, but now there's no more magical yellow light.
"You guys must think I'm mad like him." Sasha rubbed her fingers over the cover of the book.
"We believe you, Sasha," Rowan said with a smile.
"I could believe anything after this," Bill said in a confused tone.
"What did your brother said?" Rowan asked Sasha.
"He said we need to find his room," Sasha told them. "That there are four more vaults and we have to find them before her."
"Before who?" Rowan asked. "Merula?"
"I don't know," Sasha sighed. "Maybe."
"It just keeps getting stranger," Bill commented.
"This is his wand," Sasha said, feeling the cold broken wood in her hands. "I have to take it."
"What does the book say?" Rowan asked, everyone getting nearer when Sasha open it and flipped through it. There was a lot of writing in the pages and drawings of the Cursed Vaults.
"Nothing," Sasha said. "It's just scribbles and drawings. But it seems like there's a hidden code."
"Do you think it's a clue to the location of the next Cursed Vault?" Rowan asked, excitedly.
"All I know is we need to get out of here before we get caught," Sasha said, her heart racing again.