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

The Duel

There was a loud grumble in the girl's dormitory that night.

'Bagsy, go eat something, I'm trying to sleep,' Teresa hissed unsympathetically, putting a pillow angrily over her head to help block out the sound.

'You're being louder than Bagsy right now, Teresa,' Paloma muttered.

'Sorry,' Bagsy murmured guiltily. She'd missed dinner and her rumbling stomach wasn't keeping just herself up anymore.

'Eat some of Teresa's ants,' Primrose snickered. 'It's probably better than whatever gruel your family affords.'

Rebekah, from her bed, laughed.

Bagsy curled up beneath the sheets, clenching her fists angrily as she pulled the quilt her sister had made for her tightly around herself. She didn't bother telling Primrose her family were actually rich. For one, Primrose wouldn't believe her, for another, Bagsy didn't want people to know. She didn't think it was very fair that her family had so much money when the Glints' home was barely standing.

Mezrielda would be back tomorrow. Bagsy told herself this over and over again. Tomorrow was Sunday, the last day before lessons began, and she'd be able to hang out with her all day. They'd chat, or play games, or practise flying, or, as Bagsy had been longing to for a very long time, discuss the blood eyed beast. She had hidden the book Mezrielda had given her earlier that day. Or, yesterday, depending on how late it currently was. The book was tucked away below her bed.

Someone tapped Bagsy on the shoulder and she let out a yelp.

'Shut up...' Teresa mumbled sleepily from her bed in protest.

Bagsy widened her eyes in the darkness to see who'd come over to her.

Neve smiled empathetically down at her, holding out a chocolate frog. 'I didn't eat all mine on the train,' she explained.

Bagsy nodded her head gratefully, taking a bite and letting out a sigh of relief. 'Thanks, Neve.'

'Don't mention it,' Neve whispered, tip-toeing back to her own bed.

The next morning sunlight hit Bagsy's face and roused her from a deep sleep where she'd been floating below Hogwarts lake, unable to get back to the surface.

Teresa, a ball of energy, was already dressed and bouncing on the balls of her feet as Neve tiredly got ready. 'Come on, Neve, I'm hungry,' Teresa whined. Neve, pushing large round glasses onto her snub nose, nodded and followed a chipper Teresa out of the dorm. Paloma, Rebekah and Primrose were already gone.

Bagsy quickly dressed and hurried to the great hall, her stomach rumbling again. Once inside, her eyes instantly turned to the Slytherin table, but Mezrielda wasn't there. Bagsy sank into her seat sadly, pulling a croissant onto her plate.

By mid-day, she was sitting in the courtyard, head resting on her hands, waiting for her friend to arrive. The noise of water lapping gently in the fountain, the smell from the freshly cut grass she was sitting on and the sunlight bathing the whole picture in an amber glow didn't make her feel any better. She just wanted Mezrielda to be there already.

'Aaawwww,' a voice mocked from behind Bagsy, who felt her breathing tighten. She looked over her shoulder to see Primrose, Rebekah and a boy whose name she didn't remember. 'No friends or money,' Primrose teased. Bagsy looked away, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Maybe if she ignored Primrose she'd go away.

'Don't feel like talking?' Rebekah's low voice asked. Bagsy felt someone poke her left shoulder, and she let out a yelp of pain and shot to her feet. The scar the blood eyed beast had left on her shoulder stung like hot wax and Bagsy clasped it with her right hand, tears pricking her eyes. 'I didn't poke you that hard...' Rebekah trailed off, a guilty look briefly taking home in her eyes.