Bagsy Beetlehorn and the Corvid Trials (The Bagsy Chronicles 2)

Mistress Foncée

Bagsy got off the train, leaving her luggage in the pile on the station.

'Your belongings will be carried up to the castle for you,' Professor Hilkins, the ancient Transfiguration teacher who seemed as frail as a leaf, had announced in his soft voice. 'First years this way, please. Everyone else, to the carriages.'

Bagsy followed the procession towards a line of horse drawn carriages. Only, no ordinary horses were drawing them. Instead, a skeletal winged horse with eyes like an ocean's abyss was waiting to carry them along.

'Wooooah... I forgot how cool these things are,' Bagsy heard a familiar voice say ahead of them and spotted the top of Winifred's bald head.

Itsuki nodded in agreement. 'Yeah, that is cool. Carriages pulling themselves! Still can't get over it.'

Bagsy frowned, wondering if Itsuki had very poor eyesight or was deliberately ignoring the bat-winged horsed. Pushing the question aside, Bagsy clambered onto one of the carriages and sat down, glancing at the ones in front and at the ones filling up behind her, hoping she'd made a mistake and would catch a glimpse of Mezrielda somewhere. She sat as tall as she could in her seat, craning her neck around, but found no sign of her. When the carriages started moving, creaking as their wheels crunched over dirt and leaves, she kept up her search, eyes desperately trying to find her friend.

When they arrived at the great hall and sat down at their house tables, Bagsy stretched upwards, peering over the other students' heads to look at the Slytherins, and tried to hear the sharp, condescending tone of Mezrielda's voice above the loud chatter of the others. When she looked over to the Slytherin table, no Mezrielda was sitting amongst them.

'Bagsy!' Greenda said merrily, sitting down opposite her, and filling her vision instead.

'Hi, Greenda,' Bagsy responded with a smile. Neve, Teresa, Itsuki and Jon were sitting to Bagsy's right and discussing what the best flavour of Bertie Botts every flavour beans was, so she was free to listen to Greenda during the feast and ignore the excited conversation they were having. She felt far more comfortable talking, and mainly listening, to just one person, but still couldn't shake her concern for Mezrielda.

Bagsy looked at the professors' table at the front of the room and saw the usual faces. Professor Wattleseed, the young and good-looking Herbology Professor, was sitting next to Professor Kim, the young and good-looking flying instructor.

'What's going on there?' Greenda asked, nodding at the staff table.

Bagsy shrugged. 'I guess they're friends,' she said innocently.

Greenda frowned, looked back at Bagsy, before returning her gaze to the staff table. 'No, not those two. I mean her.' She pointed at an unfamiliar face at the end, belonging to a tall and lithe woman, with features more severe than Mezrielda's. Her skin was tan but seemed pale compared to her jet-black hair that fell below the table and to her feet, coiling on the floor like a snake. Yet even her hair seemed light compared to the darkest black of her long, sweeping dress. The woman, as if sensing she was being watched, fixed the most mesmerising violet eyes on Bagsy, who'd never seen eyes such a colour, and felt her insides turn to ice in a way she couldn't describe. She looked at her hands quickly, hoping the new woman hadn't noticed her staring.

'She is very odd...' Greenda trailed off, furrowing her brow. 'I can't describe how, though.'

They didn't get much more chance to discuss it because Professor Fitzsimmons, the head professor of Hogwarts, was approaching the podium to make their beginning-of-term speech.

So far, Bagsy had tuned out and ignored Professor Fitzsimmons' speeches. Feeling guilty, she pushed thoughts of Mezrielda's absence out of her mind so she could finally pay some attention.