~The Big Five at Hogwarts~

Chapter 13

Okay, so I had epic writer's block all week, and then I suddenly sat in front of the computer and started to write. This is what came out of it. Enjoy!

Elsa

        “He’s using magic. That has to be it,” Jack whispers urgently. It is the “scheduled Free Time”, as Mr. Flimwater had put it, and Jack, Hiccup and I are standing on the grass near the castle. Hiccup is recounting the events of his breakfast to us. I’m not sure where Merida and Rapunzel are, but by now I’ve decided not to even try guessing what goes on inside that thick skull of Merida’s.

            “The only way he could’ve done that is if he used the Unforgivable Imperius curse. Would he really do that?”

            “Hey, people will do crazy things when their desperate,” Hiccup told me.

            “Desperate for what? Ugh! I hate that we don’t know anything about this Cribrune,” I sigh.

            “We could know more about him if…” Hiccup trails off and Jack seems to pick up on what he’s getting at.

            “Do you really think we could sneak into the Headmaster’s office and spy on him?” he asks.

            “Actually,” Hiccup says, “I was just about to say we could look him up in the library.”

            “Well, that sounds boring, so how about we just try the spying thing first,” Jack suggests with a triumphant smile. There’s a sort of glee in his eyes, as if he’s enjoying this. I don’t like it one bit.

            “Do you mean breaking into the most secure room in Hogwarts, violating the rules and risking being caught when we don’t even know if this man is up to anything?” I can’t believe what I am hearing.

            “Elsa,” Hiccup interjects, “I know what I saw. And I saw a man who was influenced by something, magic or otherwise.”

            “Besides,” Jack grins, “how else will we find anything out, unless you want to rifle through books for an hour?” There Is actually nothing in the world I’d like to do more, but something about that crooked smile of his convinces me to nod my head slowly.

            “Okay,” I whisper, “but we’ll have to do it tomorrow.”

        Jack seems to be the only one genuinely happy. Hiccup tries to plaster on a smile, but I can tell he is nervous. And I have a queasy feeling in my stomach. For once, I wish Merida was here. She would have enough confidence for all of us. That’s when we hear the bell ring, so I rush off towards the Astronomy tower. As I am running I hear Jack comment behind me,

            “She sure has a thing for leaving abruptly, doesn’t she?” I turn around and glare at him.

            “Hey, just because I don’t give a heartfelt goodbye every time I leave, doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with me.” To be honest, I have never realized it before he says that, but I really do often leave suddenly. I wonder why. So I start to think about it, turning, away from Jack and walking the way I’d started. Typical Ravenclaw, always overanalyzing things. But maybe, just maybe it is because I want to leave someone before they leave me.

* * *

No one is in the corridor, except for the occasional roaming staff member as we walk quietly across countless numbers of staircases, making our way towards the Headmaster’s office. It is only Jack, Hiccup, and I again, because we still haven’t seen Merida or Rapunzel since we arranged our meeting. Just as we turn the corner, Jack, who is leading the way, bumps into the curly haired Seeker. She doesn’t seem to have been paying attention, and she looks excited. Rapunzel is following her, looking uninterested as she doodles something on her hand. But they both are startled to have crashed into us.

“What are you doing here?!” Jack cries. I swiftly clap my hands around his mouth from behind.

“Be quiet, we’re not supposed to be in here during free time!” I whisper. Jack jerks his face away from my hands and mutters,

“All right, all right, Sorry.”

“You won’t believe what I saw, but I can tell you later,” Merida responds to Jack’s previous comment, “what about you?” Hiccup answers this.

            “We’re going to see if we can find out about Cribrune by getting into his office.”

            “You mean McGonagall’s office,” Rapunzel finally looks up from her hand.

            “Yes, of course. Now let’s go!” The five of us make our way to the opening of the large circular staircase.

Hiccup walks up to the large golden gargoyle crouching just inside of the circular chamber. Apparently at the beginning of the year, McGonagall had given him the password to her office. I hope that Cribrune didn’t change it.

            “Dougal 1935,” Hiccup states the password clearly and loudly to the gargoyle. It soon jumps out of our way and we all crowd into the compartment. It’s small, and so I am a little too close for comfort to Jack. I think I might be elbowing him in the chest, but he doesn’t say anything about it. We start spiraling upwards. Jack’s breath makes the hair on the top of my head tingle when he does speak.

            “So, I think only one person should go into the office alone while the others stay in here.”

            “Why didn’t you tell us that before we all crammed in here?” I ask. Merida is flattened against the wall, and Rapunzel’s hair is getting in Hiccup’s mouth.

            “Hey, you guys could get caught down there and I wouldn’t be able to help up here.” I can hear the smile in his voice. Then I say,

            “Oh, so you want to be the one sneaking around?” The spiraling has finally stopped, so he is finally able to exit the chamber and I can breathe again. The other three look relieved as well; now there’s a little more room. Although Merida still looks like she’s hugging bricks. Jack creeps towards the huge set of wooden doors. There shouldn’t be anyone behind them, but he should still be careful. Before he’s opened them farther than an inch, however, I hear a voice from below.

            “Wait a second,” It says, “who’s up there?”