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the-al-chemist · 2 years

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Artemis Hexley and the Portrait of the Vault

Chapter 16: The Treasure Seekers

A/N: with just a week to go before the second Quidditch match of the season, the truth is discovered about Skye’s old broomstick. Meanwhile, Artemis helps out a friend, and encounters an old enemy. Lizzie Jameson belongs to @lifeofkaze and David Willows belongs to @that-scouse-wizard. Warnings: mild threat and injury.

“For why’s that dopey-looking Slytherin boy spying on our Quidditch practice?”

Skye had her hands on her hips, glaring at Barnaby, who was sitting in the Quidditch stands, watching the as the Hufflepuff team started their practice as they always did: balancing on their broomsticks on one leg. Artemis crossed her arms in front of her chest and tried not to fall off Tonks’ broomstick as she turned to scowl at Skye.

“He’s not dopey-looking,” she said, indignantly. “And he’s not spying, either. Just watching.”

“What for, though?”

“Because he’s my boyfriend, that’s why.”

It was true. Barnaby and Artemis had been boyfriend and girlfriend for three whole weeks now. Artemis was surprised that Skye hadn’t heard, given the usual speed at which gossip spread around Hogwarts, especially once Penny knew about it.

Besides, it was hardly like it was a secret. They’d been spending almost all of their free time together: eating meals in the Great Hall, revising in the library, feeding the various creatures in the paddocks. Artemis had to admit that she found Barnaby’s desire to help her carry her schoolbooks between lessons a little unnecessary, especially when they didn’t have the same timetable, but he looked so happy when she let him that she felt bad saying no.

Today was Sunday, and the two of them had plans to take Scully for a walk around the grounds. Before they could do that, though, Artemis had to go to Quidditch practice. It was the Hufflepuff team’s last session before their second game of the season, and it was already unusually tense. Perhaps Artemis shouldn’t have agreed to Barnaby’s request that he come along and watch, but it was too late now.

“Have you managed to find any clues about that broomstick yet?” Artemis asked Skye, in an attempt to change the subject.

“Naw, that Rath’s crafty, I’ll give her that,” Skye muttered. “But I heard several people mention that she stole it, so the truth is bound tae come out soon.”

“So, other people think she stole it, too?”

“Aye. I told yer wee pal Penny that it was a sure thing, and now everyone kens about it.”

Artemis frowned. That didn’t seem like a very good idea to her. As certain as Skye was that Erika Rath had stolen her broomstick, she had no proof, and Artemis couldn’t see why Erika would even bother stealing a broomstick from her anyway. Starting rumours couldn’t help matters one bit, could it? Before she could say anything more about it, however, Orion noticed the two of them talking, and quickly put a stop to their conversation.

“I applaud your wish to bond with each other,” he sighed. “As a family, our team has to connect in order to work together. However, the lion is a dangerous predator, and so is the team flying under its banner. If we do not focus on finding the balance within us that we need to succeed, the chances of escaping the lion’s claws are daunting.”

As always, Artemis nodded at Orion’s words, despite not fully understanding their meaning. From the ground below, Murphy McNully called up to them.

“The chances are already daunting,” he said, cheerfully. “Around a ten percent chance of success for you lot, I’d say. Hufflepuff haven’t beaten Gryffindor in a House Cup match for six years.”

“How dae you ken that? Ye have nae been here for six years!”

“Murphy might not, but I have,” said Orion, standing on two feet on his broomstick and from there lowering himself into a sitting position. He bowed his head to indicate that the others should follow suit. “And though a victory is improbable, I do not think that it is impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible in statistics, nor in Quidditch,” Murphy nodded. “You just need a decent strategy.”

“So, what do we do?” Artemis asked. Orion looked at her and smiled serenely before addressing the team once more, a more purposeful tone to his voice now.

“Our team and Gryffindor use different approaches to clear a way to the top,” he said. “While our strength lies in the workings of our team itself, there is no doubt that Gryffindor’s greatest asset by far is their Seeker. If we want to gain the upper hand, we need to employ the advantage that our balanced formation affords us. Chasers,” he looked pointedly at Skye and Lizzie, “our task will be to score as many goals as possible. The higher the points lead, the better.”

“Naw, ye dinnae say,” Skye rolled her eyes. Orion ignored her.

“We need to attack hard and fast. I usually prefer a less aggressive approach, but perhaps that in itself will afford us the element of surprise.”

“I assume it’s our job to target the defence and keep the Gryffindor Beaters off your tails, then,” said David Willows, the Beater, with a determined nod.

“Actually, I think that we will do without your protection,” Orion said. “Weasley is Gryffindor’s star player, but brilliance is nothing without room to shine. If he is busy dodging Bludgers, he will be unable to concentrate on catching the Snitch. Which brings me to you, Artemis.”

“I know, I know,” Artemis nodded. “Pay attention to the game, but don’t get too distracted. Find a balance, and find the Snitch before Charlie does.”

The rest of the team laughed as if she had said something funny. She scowled, not understanding the joke, until Murphy explained.

“Charlie Weasley has played nine house matches in his time at Hogwarts. He has caught the Snitch nine times,” he told her. “That’s a one hundred percent success rate.”

Artemis frowned. “Don’t I have one of those, too?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“Then I have just the same amount of chance of catching the Snitch as Charlie.”

“I admire your confidence, but none of us can outfly Weasley when he is soaring freely, that is an irrevocable fact,” said Orion, either not noticing or deliberately ignoring Artemis glaring at him. “The Beaters will allow us time to score, and keep the Gryffindor Seeker occupied while you search for the Snitch in peace. Until you spot it, keep monitoring our opponents. Feel their dynamics, sense their movements, and disrupt them accordingly. Distract them. Get in their way. Break down the walls of their defence. If we can disturb their game plan, they will be no match for us.”

The practice that followed was one of the most fun they’d had so far, in Artemis’ opinion at least. Being a Seeker, she was often far from the action, practising diving and dodging Bludgers, but today she was right in the thick of it: weaving between the Chasers to block their passes and luring the Beaters away from the other players. At one point, she even flew threw one of the hoops of the goalposts to confuse the Keeper Alex Gwithers, a move that was a foul according to Murphy, but was fun to pull off nevertheless.

By the end, she wasn’t sure that she had the energy for a Crup walk, but she pulled herself together when she saw Barnaby in the stands waiting for her. She had been looking forward to their date, after all.

Barnaby seemed to notice that Artemis was in need of a break, because he suggested that they went for lunch before their walk, and when they set off, they didn’t walk as far as Artemis had anticipated, taking a loop around the owlery instead of going as far as the lakeshore. It was probably for the best: although the distance was shorter on the route they took, it took just even longer for them to complete it than Artemis going to the lake alone, due to several interludes that were spent kissing.

By the time they got back to Hagrid’s hut, it was getting dusky, and Artemis was struggling to feel her toes. She gratefully accepted Hagrid’s offer of a cup of tea by the fire, although she didn’t enjoy Hagrid’s homemade rock cakes quite as much as Barnaby did.

They had only been there a matter of minutes before there was a knock on the door, and they were joined by none other than the Gryffindor Seeker himself, Charlie Weasley.

“Here to spy on us, are you?” Artemis asked him, an acerbic tone to her voice. She still hadn’t forgiven him for the events of Valentine’s Day weekend, nor for the way that he had been acting towards her ever since. At least Tonks had apologised that very same evening, even if she had obviously been instructed to do so by Rowan and Penny. Charlie had acted as if nothing was wrong when she saw him in Care of Magical Creatures, and after Artemis had scowled and snapped at him, backed away. The two of them had hardly spoken a word to each other since.

“No, I didn’t realise you were here. I can come back later, if you’d rather,” Charlie replied, faltering under the very hard stare Artemis was giving him. He swallowed hard, and looked at the ground. “Look, I’m really sorry about crashing your date the other weekend. Tonks sort of talked me into it. I know that’s not an excuse, and I shouldn’t have let her, but-”

“You were spying on us?” Barnaby asked, tilting his head to one side. “I just thought that you two were on a date, too. So, Tonks isn’t your girlfriend, then?”

“No, definitely not,” Charlie said, with a grin and a shake of his head. Artemis couldn’t help but laugh at the idea. At the sound of her giggling, Charlie turned back to her. “I really am sorry. I should’ve just said no to her, but you know what she’s like. Are we still friends?”

“I suppose so,” Artemis sighed. “As long as you don’t mind me having a master plan to beat you at Quidditch next weekend.”

“You know, I’m actually looking forward to it. You managed to find Skye’s broomstick yet?”

“No,” Artemis sighed. “Skye’s still adamant that Erika Rath took it. But I don’t see why she’d do it, and why she wouldn’t just give it back. It’s been two months, now.”

“Wha’ ‘as?” asked Hagrid, returning from his hob to hand Charlie a freshly brewed cup of tea.

“Since my new broomstick went missing,” Artemis told him. “It disappeared from the changing tents at the start of term. No one can find it anywhere.”

Hagrid’s bushy black eyebrows furrowed, and he turned away to rummage in a cupboard. From the cupboard, he retrieved a bundle of blankets, which he unravelled to reveal several gnawed and splintered pieces of wood and twigs. On one of the pieces, the name ‘Comet 220’ could be made out, engraved in gold lettering on what used to be the handle of what used to be a broomstick.

“Migh’ this be yer broomstick, Artemis?” Hagrid asked. Artemis nodded her head. “I did tell Madam ‘Ooch ter le’ yeh all know. Scully escaped at the star’ of the new year. I found ‘im with it on the Quidditch pitch. I did try ter stop ‘im, but it was too late… I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay, Hagrid, it’s not your fault. Scully can be a real menace at times.”

“Some reformed character,” muttered Charlie.

“He fell off the flying carpet. It’s a minor setback in his road to recovery,” Artemis said, and Charlie sniggered. “Oh, well. Looks like I’ll have to start earning some money so I can save up and buy one, after all. Charlie, how much does Ros pay?”

“Not enough for what you’re after,” replied Charlie, the smile slipping from his face.

Artemis scrutinised him. There was a look of resignation in his eyes. Something was bothering him, she was sure of it. She just wasn’t sure what.

“Charlie, what’s wrong?” she asked him, as the three of them walked back to the castle.

“Oh, nothing, really,” he replied. “I’m just poor, and it’s crap.”

“I can lend you some money, if you like?” Artemis offered, but Charlie shook his head.

“Thanks, but I couldn’t let you do that. Besides, I’m kind of in need of a fair amount of money. Lots of money, actually.”

“What for?”

But Charlie didn’t answer, just shrugged, shook his head, and avoided looking Artemis in the eye. Artemis looked at Barnaby to see if he knew anything about this, but Barnaby was lost in thought.

“You know, there was a lot of treasure in the Red Cap’s den last year,” he said, pensively. “I bet if you had all that, you could sell it and make loads of money.”

“That’s true,” Artemis nodded. “I’d say you could go back, but Rakepick and I aren’t exactly on good terms at the moment. I doubt she’d agree to lend out Sickleworth again.”

Barnaby frowned. “Why do you need Sickleworth?”

“To find the treasure, of course!”

“But we already know where it is. You don’t need a Niffler, Charlie, you just need someone small enough to fit down the tunnel to get it for you.”

“That’s a very good point,” replied Charlie, a small but mischievous smirk playing on his freckled face. “If only I knew someone really small…”

As his eyes settled on Artemis, she cocked an eyebrow at him.

“You want me to go back to the Red Cap’s hole with you, crawl down the tunnel, and steal the treasure?”

“No, I’m just thinking that it might be an option,” Charlie shrugged. Artemis looked at him sceptically, and his face turned sheepish. “I mean, would you?”

Artemis didn’t even hesitate before agreeing.

“Yeah, why not? It sounds fun. Is tomorrow okay? We can go once it starts getting dark,” she suggested, and Charlie nodded his head. He frowned slightly and looked at Barnaby.

“You don’t mind me borrowing your girlfriend for an evening, do you?” he asked him.

“Borrow me? What am I, a library book?”

The following evening was cold and clear. Even though it was dark, Artemis and Charlie flew the long way to the Forest, around the back of the Quidditch stands, in order to avoid both detection and detention. The night air whistled through the loose ends of Artemis’ short hair, and sent a chill through her, despite her hat and scarf and the thick jumper she was wearing beneath her jacket.

They had flown halfway to the forest before Artemis realised that this was the first time in over a fortnight that she’d spent time with her friends without Barnaby being there, other than in the dormitory and at Quidditch practice. Strangely, she didn’t feel lonely or miss him at all. Was she supposed to? Or were you allowed to enjoy just being yourself as well as being somebody’s girlfriend?

She must have been frowning, because Charlie turned to look at her.

“You alright?” he asked, his own eyebrows knitting together.

“I’m fine, I…” Artemis gnawed at her lower lip. “Charlie, what did you mean about ‘borrowing’ me?”

“I didn’t mean anything, I just wanted to make sure Barnaby didn’t mind me hanging out with you, that’s all.”

“Am I not allowed to hang out with people unless he says so, then?” Artemis pursed her lips. She didn’t like the sound of that at all.

“No, you can do whatever you want, it’s just that Barnaby’s my friend and-”

“So am I!”

“I didn’t say you’re not,” Charlie shrugged. “I was trying to be polite, that’s all.”

“Right. So, next time you hang out with Barnaby, will you ask me if I don’t mind?”

“Well, I… Do you want me to ask you?”

“No, I just…” Artemis sighed. “I just didn’t realise that going out with someone meant not being allowed to do things you want to do just for you, that’s all. Do I always have to make sure that Barnaby’s okay with me doing any little thing, now?”

“I dunno, Artemis, I really wasn’t thinking that far into it,” Charlie’s freckled nose wrinkled. “I’m also really not the person to ask about this kind of stuff. I have no idea.”

“I never thought that dating would be so complicated. I just thought that if you liked someone and they liked you, it would just be easy, like it is for Bill and Penny.”

Charlie said nothing, just turned his face forward and looked where he was going. Artemis narrowed her eyes at him.

“Charlie. What are you not telling me?”

Charlie sighed a little before saying, “I don’t think it’s always that easy for Bill and Penny.”

“What do you mean? That Bill doesn’t like Penny anymore?”

“No, he does, it’s…” Charlie shook his head. “It’s nothing. I’m not saying anything. It’s not my place to tell you.”

Artemis shrugged her shoulders and smirked slightly.

“Well, you know I don’t actually need you to tell me,” she said teasingly. “Not now I’m taking Legilimency lessons with Professor Snape. I could just read your mind and find out all about it.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I could if I wanted to,” Artemis’ grin slipped from her face as Charlie turned back towards her, his face suddenly very serious. “What? What’s the matter?”

“I really don’t like the idea of that,” said Charlie, frowning at her. “It just seems unfair, like you’re spying on your friends.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, again. But think how annoyed you were about me and Tonks just watching while you were on a date. Imagine if one of us tried to actually tried getting inside your head and trying to find out all your secrets, how that would feel.”

Charlie shrugged and looked away from her again, and Artemis thought about it. He was right. She’d hate it if any of her friends tried to read her mind. Friends didn’t owe each other their secrets, after all.

“I was only joking, Charlie. I’d never actually do that,” she said, almost entirely truthfully. “Although, you still haven’t told me what you’re planning on doing with all this treasure, and you’re getting me to help you.”

“I can tell you that, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else - not even Bill,” said Charlie, and Artemis drew a cross over her heart with her finger. “I’m planning on buying a dragon egg.”

Artemis laughed out loud, before she realised - either by Legilimency or by the look on Charlie’s face - that he wasn’t joking.

“A dragon egg? Charlie, have you gone mad?” she asked incredulously. “I thought you said that you can’t keep dragons as pets!”

“I’m not planning on keeping it as a pet. I want to free it.”

“You what?”

“Artemis, the illegal dragon trade is a massive problem. There aren’t many eggs that crop up on the market, but when they do, people pay all sorts of money for them. Then all these dragons get hatched in captivity by people who just want to have a dragon, but don’t actually know anything about them, and then the dragons end up being neglected, and locked up in little enclosures, or chained up somewhere, and they can’t even fly or anything,” Charlie paused for breath. He looked a little sad and almost angry at the very idea of a dragon being chained up in an enclosure. “That’s no life for a dragon. They need to fly, otherwise they get depressed.”

“Depressed?”

“It’s true, they’ve done research on it,” said Charlie, earnestly. “It’s like your blackbird. They’re wild animals, they need to be free.”

“So, you’re buying this egg to stop the dragon from being kept in captivity and being miserable all its life?” she asked, and Charlie nodded his head. Artemis smiled. “In that case, I’m happy that I get to help.”

“Thanks.”

“You know, I’m so excited to help you,” she continued, her smile growing impish, “that I think we should race to Forest.”

Charlie looked at her knowingly.

“You’re not just trying to scope out the competition for next weekend, are you?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“As if I’d do a thing like that.”

It turned out that Artemis’ competition for the upcoming match was fierce. Orion was right, Charlie was difficult to outfly. She’d just have to try harder next week, she thought, touching down to the forest floor several seconds after Charlie dismounted his broomstick. Feet on solid ground, they made their way through the forest, wands drawn, just in case.

“So, what’s the plan?” Artemis asked, her voice a low whisper.

“I have a Beautification Potion from Jae. I know it won’t be as good as Penny’s, but I don’t want Bill finding out about this, so it’ll have to do,” Charlie shrugged. “We get in, we keep quiet, you do your Niffler thing, and I’ll cover you.”

It wasn’t a bad plan, and they soon were able to put it into motion. The Red Cap’s hole was exactly as it had been the year before: dark, dirty, and a little bit smelly. They moved across the atrium as silently as they could, and stopped at the entrance to the tunnel that led to the treasure trove. Artemis took off her rucksack and placed it inside, peering down the tunnel to see something sparkling at the end of it.

“In you get then,” said Charlie, almost inaudibly. He smirked slightly, and added, “Make the badgers proud.”

Artemis pulled a face at him, but lit her wand and placed it between her teeth, before climbing into the tunnel and crawling through it, belly and forearms to the floor, pushing her empty rucksack in front of her. Despite being small and fairly skinny for her age, it was still a tight fit.

Thankfully, though the tunnel was narrow, it wasn’t very long, and she quickly reached the large pile of treasure. She opened her rucksack and started to stuff it with as many coins, items of jewellery, and exciting looking objects as she could.

The rucksack was three quarters full when a noise from the other end of the tunnel distracted her. She stopped to listen. It was Charlie’s voice. That meant only one thing: the Red Cap had arrived, and it knew they were there. It was time to leave, and quickly. She pushed the rucksack out of the tunnel, crawling faster than she knew it was even possible to crawl.

Back in the atrium, Charlie was hurling spells at the Red Cap, who looked as ugly as ever.

“Flipendo! What happened to the Beautification Potion?” she asked as she joined the fray, both she and Charlie moving towards the exit as they continued to fend off the Red Cap.

“It didn’t work! Bloody Jae,” Charlie muttered, and pointed his wand at the Red Cap. “Depulso! Impedimenta!”

With the Red Cap banished to the other side of the atrium, and moving slowly, Charlie interlaced his fingers and Artemis placed her foot into his hands, allowing him to push her up and out of the lair.

Looking back into the den from above, she could see that the Red Cap was speeding up, Charlie’s Impediment Jinx already wearing off. She threw the rucksack down to the ground and used both her hands to help pull him up as he scrambled out of the lair, the Red Cap advancing faster by the second, and-

“ARGH!” Charlie exclaimed, as the large bone the Red Cap was using as a weapon made contact with the lower part of his shin, and there was a sickening crunching noise. The Red Cap raised the bone again, but Artemis pointed her wand at it.

“Expelliarmus! Stupefy!” she shouted.

The Red Cap’s bone flew out of his grip and he was rendered unconscious. Charlie, free to scramble up and out of the Red Cap’s hole, clambered out with difficulty, and attempted to rise to his feet. His face was ash white, and he was grimacing in pain. “Sorry, Charlie, I should’ve-”

“Just get the brooms, quickly!”

“Accio brooms!”

The two broomsticks flew through the air towards them, and Artemis caught both of them. Charlie was struggling to stand, not able to fully put weight on one of his legs, the one the Red Cap had hit. Artemis stared at him.

“Charlie, are you okay?”

“No,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I think my ankle’s broken.”

Artemis’ eyes widened, and she swallowed. Inside the den, she could hear the Red Cap starting to move again. There was no time to help Charlie’s ankle, she could only help him onto his broom.

“Quick,” she said. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll take you to the Hospital Wing.”

She supported Charlie’s weight so that he could take off from the ground, before doing the same herself, remembering to pick up the now-heavy rucksack before she rose up into the air. The two of them ascended into the sky and flew back to the castle, as the Red Cap prowled the forest floor, wondering where the two thieves had gone.

#artemis hexley #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #hphm #skye parkin #orion amari #murphy mcnully #barnaby lee #charlie weasley #scully the crup

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the-al-chemist · 3 years

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Artemis Hexley and the Forbidden Forest

Chapter 1: A Curse-Breaker’s Welcome

A/N: guess who’s back, back again. Artie’s back, tell a friend. Warnings: a lot of exposition, and Artemis’ mother being a cow. No offence to cows.

The summer holidays always saw large crowds at the beach at Charcombe Regis. As soon as the weather turned balmy, tourists and locals alike flocked to the pebbled shore, with the beach quickly becoming an obstacle course of towels, buckets, and inflatable rubber rings.

With so many swimmers, sunbathers, and dogwalkers around, no one would really notice a small and skinny, dark-haired teenager lying on a towel, eating an ice cream and reading a book. Or, at least, they wouldn’t unless they looked closer and realised that she was sharing a towel with a particularly laid-back cat with fur the colour of marmalade, and that the book she was reading had the title ‘Mesopotamian Maledictions: An Introduction to the Ancient Curses of the Levant’.

Artemis Hexley and Fergus the cat had been staying in Dorset with her Great-Aunt and Uncle for almost three weeks whilst her school, Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was closed for the summer. Two of those weeks had been spent with her best friend and top student, Rowan Khanna, who had immensely enjoyed reading her way through her Uncle’s large collection of books on magical creatures. The other two girls who shared a dormitory with Rowan and Artemis, Penny Haywood and Dora Tonks (who preferred to be called her by surname only), had also joined them for a week. All three of Artemis’ girlfriends had now gone back home to their own families, but Artemis had stayed in Dorset, desperate to avoid going back to her mother’s narrow terraced house and silent stares in London.

“They should be here by now, Ferg,” Artemis mused, closing her book and sitting up to check the golden watch on her right ankle. It was an unusual looking watch, with five swinging hands and several dials. Artemis herself didn’t know what half of them were for. “How long does it take to fly less than twenty miles to the coast?”

Fergus merely purred in response and twisted his ginger furry body to soak up some more of the sunlight. Artemis squinted into the distance, her hand held across her brow to shield her eyes from the August sun. Further along the beach, she could just about see two boys around her own age walking in her direction, both of them with distinctive red hair.

“Bill!” she called out. She leapt up and waved, sending a shower of sand over a disgruntled Fergus. “Over here!”

Bill Weasley was one of Artemis’ closest friends and confidants, despite being two years her senior and in another house at school. They had bonded in Artemis’ second year over their mutual love of curse-breaking, and together had battled to enter and investigate the first of Hogwarts’ infamous Cursed Vaults.

“Alright, Artemis,” Bill said as he approached her. “Oh, ‘Mesopotamian Maledictions’. You know, I could have leant you that one, Rowan bought it for me for Christmas last year.”

“I know she did,” Artemis nodded, ducking away from Bill as he reached down to ruffle her already messy hair. “She thought it looked interesting, so she went back to Tomes and Scrolls to buy herself a copy as well. Which means that it is basically half mine, seeing as we pretty much share everything anyway. How are you, Charlie?”

“Not bad,” Charlie, Bill’s younger brother, was in the same year as Artemis at school. They had trained two Crup puppies in their Care of Magical Creatures class the year before, both of which now lived with Artemis’ aunt and uncle. This would be the second time the two boys had flown over to visit Artemis and the Crups, Scully and Dragon. “It’s packed down here, isn’t it?”

“I know, I was hoping we could take the Crups down here for a walk, but it’s pretty hot for them, and besides, there’s far too many Muggles,” said Artemis, looking around the crowded beach. Crups were known for being aggressive to non-wizards. “We might just have to sit with them in the garden at Aunt Tina’s.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bill said. “I’m happy with whatever, as long as I get an ice cream at some point.”

“I’ve got some Muggle money on me, I’ll get you one,” Artemis gave her half-finished ice cream to Bill to hold as she rolled up her towel. “They’re not nearly as good as the ones at Florian Fortescue’s in Diagon Alley, mind you. Come on, Fergus, time to go back to the house.”

“Talking of Diagon Alley, have you seen the set texts for Defence Against the Arts this year?” Bill said as they started to walk up the beach. “Sounds like the new Professor could be interesting.”

“Can’t be worse than the last three, can they?”

It was almost a tradition at Hogwarts for a new teacher to take up the Defence Against the Dark Arts job each year. All three of Artemis’ previous professors had each been as useless as the one before.

“I’m not sure,” Bill frowned. “Three books by Gilderoy Lockhart and ‘Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don’t Deserve to Live’. Not exactly promising, is it?”

“I just hope Penny doesn’t get too upset, you know how afraid she is of werewolves,” Artemis sighed. It was common knowledge that werewolves were Penny’s greatest fear, although only the other Hufflepuff girls and Penny’s friend Talbott knew the exact reason why. “Whoever this new Professor is, they seem to really love them.”

“Or really hate them,” muttered Charlie.

“Yeah, that sounds more likely,” Artemis shrugged. “To be honest, I’m more interested to find out who this Curse-Breaker is that Dumbledore’s hired.”

After Artemis and Bill’s exploits in the Vault in her second year, and Artemis’ venture into a second Cursed Vault with several other friends only a few months earlier, the headmaster had decided to hire a professional Curse-Breaker to investigate the school. Given Artemis’ interest in the Cursed Vaults, and the fact that Bill wanted to become a Curse-Breaker himself when he was older, the idea of a real Curse-Breaker at Hogwarts was thrilling to both of them.

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Bill grinned. “Hey, maybe you and I can offer to help her with her investigation?”

“I’d love to,” Artemis sighed. “But Professor Dumbledore told me to stay away from the Cursed Vaults.”

“Yes, because that has always stopped you before...”

The rest of August flew by, and soon Artemis had to return to her mother’s house in London. Sara Hexley treated her daughter’s arrival home as she did everything else that Artemis had done since her brother Jacob went missing six years previously: with complete indifference.

“Aunt Tina sends her love. She says you’re welcome to stay with them for Christmas this year,” Artemis said, not sure if her mother was listening or not. “If you do, you’ll be able to meet the Cruppies. Though, they’re not really Cruppies any more, they’ve gotten so much bigger.”

Sara Hexley did not respond. Artemis continued, not really knowing why she was bothering to do so.

“Scully’s finally stopped chewing all the doorframes, so that’s good,” she said. “And you should’ve seen the look on Bill’s brother’s face when he met Uncle Newt. Did you know that Uncle Newt tried to train dragons in the Ukraine one time? He told us all about it. He’d never told me that story before, but Aunt Tina said that’s because it’s supposed to be classified information and he’s not actually meant to tell anyone about it at all. Has he ever told you? Ma?”

Artemis’ question received no answer. Frustrated, she turned her attention to a glass vase shaped like a Horned Serpent on a bookshelf. Her hand gripped tightly around her wand, she narrowed her eyes at the vase, and it shattered loudly. Her mother jumped at the noise.

“Oh, so you can hear, then,” said Artemis, and she stormed up to her bedroom. She and Sara didn’t utter a single word to one another for the few days that remained of the school holidays.

Excited to go back to school and see her friends, Artemis woke early on the first of September, and left Lovelace Terrace for Kings Cross station before she heard her mother stirring. Before she walked out of the house, she left her mother a note on the kitchen table to wish her goodbye until the end of term.

At the station, she was reunited with Rowan, Penny, and Tonks, and after sharing hugs with each other, and polite greetings to each other’s parents, the Hufflepuff girls climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express and found an empty carriage. A quarter of an hour after the train had pulled out of Platform Nine and Three Quarters, they were joined by Tulip Karasu, a Ravenclaw girl in their year who had joined them last year to help break into the Cursed Vault.

“Wotcher, Tulip,” Tonks greeted their friend and swung her feet off the seat to make room for Tulip to sit down. “How was your summer?”

“It was okay,” Tulip smiled. “Mum and Dad were as strict as always, so didn’t get up to much that was fun.”

“Don’t worry, Tulip, we’ll soon make up for it,” Tonks grinned. Both she and Tulip shared the same talent for troublemaking. “Tell you what, I have some dungbombs in my trunk. Fancy taking them down to the Slytherin carriage in a bit?”

“Absolutely,” said Tulip, a mischeivious smile creeping across her face. “Why wait until after lunch?”

Cackling, Tonks and Tulip slipped away down the train, their pockets full of dungbombs.

“Really?” said Rowan as she watched them leave over the top of her book. “We’ve not even left London and Tonks is pulling pranks already.”

“I think that might be a new record,” Artemis laughed.

“I just feel sorry for the Slytherins,” sighed Penny, as kind as always. “Poor Barnaby Lee will be in that carriage, and he’s our friend.”

It wasn’t long before the girls were joined by Barnaby, a boy from Slytherin House with a tough-looking exterior and a heart of gold.

“Please can I sit with you guys?” he asked politely. “Someone’s stunk out our carriage.”

“Of course you can,” Artemis smiled warmly. “Fergus, move over so Barnaby can sit down.”

“Thanks,” Barnaby sat in the seat that Fergus had been occupying. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“My Uncle Cecil is coming to work at Hogwarts this year,” he told them, as he picked up Fergus and cuddled him, much to Fergus’ obvious displeasure. Artemis tried not to laugh at the look on her beloved cat’s face. “He’s going to be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.”

“Oh, the one with the werewolves?” Rowan asked, putting her book down to talk to Barnaby, as Penny took a shaky breath. The previous summer, Penny’s cousin had been attacked and killed by a werewolf right in front of her. Artemis offered Penny a supportive smile, which her friend returned.

“Yes, he used to work in the Ministry as part of the Werewolf Recapture Unit,” Barnaby continued. “But he left this summer.”

“How come?”

“He says he was overqualified for the role,” Barnaby said, matter-of-factly. “So he’s coming to teach here instead.”

“What’s he like?”

“Nicer than my dad.”

No one spoke for a few moments, and Fergus wriggled out of Barnaby’s arms and climbed up on to Artemis’ lap, glaring at him.

“Wotcher, Barnaby,” Tonks interrupted the silence as she crashed back into the carriage. “Sorry about the smell.”

“Where’s Tulip?” Artemis asked.

“We got caught by the trolley lady, so we had to split up and run away,” Tonks explained breathlessly as she sat back down. “I’m sure she’ll be back later, once everyone’s had lunch.”

But by the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, Tulip had yet to return to the carriage.

“Hopefully she didn’t get caught by the trolley lady,” Tonks frowned.

“I’m sure she’s just with the other Ravenclaws,” Penny said, her smile fading slightly as they climbed into the horseless carriages that took them from the station to the castle. Artemis knew why; the carriages were pulled by Thestrals, winged horses that could only be seen by those who, like Penny, had witnessed a death. “Look, there’s Ben. Does he look upset to you?”

Artemis turned to where Penny was looking. The fourth year Gryffindor boys were climbing into a carriage several metres behind them. Among them was their friend Ben Copper, an incredibly nervous boy who had suffered memory loss as the result of being caught in the Cursed Ice during their second year. Penny was right, Ben looked even more anxious than usual.

“He’s always upset about something,” Rowan muttered. Artemis sighed. Rowan and Ben had once been close friends, but they were no longer on great terms, as she had always been sceptical about the extent of his memory loss.

“Don’t worry, Penny,” said Artemis, “I’ll check on him after the feast. I hope there’s Bakewell tart!”

The start-of-term feast always began after the Sorting Ceremony. The four girls took seats at the Hufflepuff table to watch the first years sorted into their houses.

“Does it always take this long?” Tonks asked, her stomach rumbling, as ‘Clearwater, Penelope’ was sorted into Ravenclaw house. “I’m wasting away here.”

As Penny and Tonks pondered what food they would soon be eating, Artemis scanned along the top table where the staff sat. A tall, broad-shouldered man with a brown handlebar moustache and preposterously high cheekbones was seated at one end of the table.

“He’s got to be Barnaby’s uncle,” she whispered to Rowan. “They look so similar.”

“Does that mean that she’s the Curse-Breaker?” Rowan hissed back, her eyes focused on another unfamiliar face at the opposite end of the table.

Artemis followed her gaze and found herself looking at a lady in red robes who was watching the Sorting with a calm, almost disinterested, look on her face. The lady was tall and lean, and beautiful, with strong facial features and hair even redder than Bill’s. Artemis turned around in her seat and craned her neck to see if Bill had been looking, too, but she didn’t see him at the Gryffindor table.

“Must be. Do you see Bill?”

“No,” Rowan also looked down the length of the Great Hall. “He’s probably having to do some important Prefect duty.”

“Probably,” Artemis nodded. “That’s a shame, he’d have loved to have seen a proper Curse-Breaker.”

Artemis spent the rest of the Sorting Ceremony watching the red-headed lady at the top table. She was reminded distinctly of a big cat poised ready to pounce. Eventually, ‘Weasley, Percy’ and ‘Wood, Oliver’ were both sorted into Gryffindor House, and the Sorting was over.

“Another Weasley?” said Murphy McNully, a Hufflepuff boy in their own year, sitting in his chair the other side of Penny. “I didn’t know Bill and Charlie had another brother.”

“Oh, yeah,” Tonks told him. “There’s bloody loads of them, like twelve or so. I think their parents might be Catholic or something.”

“Shh, Dumbledore’s starting his speech!”

“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” said Professor Dumbledore. He spread out his arms and his eyes twinkled over his half-moon glasses, “to another year at Hogwarts. Now, I do not want to keep you much longer from your delicious meal, but I do have a few announcements to make before the feast can commence.

“Firstly, I would like to introduce to you, Professor Cecil Lee, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Professor Lee comes to us having spent the last seven years working in the Beasts division of the Ministry of Magic, and I am sure will be an excellent asset. Secondly, Mr Filch the caretaker has asked me to remind students that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and that there are five Zonko’s items that have been added to his list of contraband, taking the number of items banned from school grounds to a grand total of three hundred and twelve. A complete itemised list is available from Mr Filch upon request.”

Tonks groaned loudly, and Artemis thought she saw Dumbledore’s eyes rest on her friend briefly before he continued.

“Thirdly, and finally, I would like to introduce Patricia Rakepick. Madam Rakepick was once a student of Hogwarts herself, and is now the highly accomplished Head Curse-Breaker at Gringotts Bank. Gringotts have very graciously let us borrow her, and her vast wealth of knowledge and expertise, in order to investigate further the mysterious Cursed Vaults. I must again stress with great seriousness that any students found to be meddling in the Vaults will be punished most severely.”

There was no doubt about it this time, his eyes definitely rested on Artemis, as did those of Madam Rakepick. Artemis took a deep breath, before defiantly raising her chin to meet the stare of the Curse-Breaker.

The corners of Madam Rakepick’s mouth twitched into a small smirk, and she broke eye contact with Artemis, instead turning her gaze back to Dumbledore. She rose from her seat, and Dumbledore bowed his head gently.

“It is my understanding that our honoured guest wishes to say a few words,” he said, smiling at the woman. “Madam Rakepick, the stage is yours.”

Professor Dumbledore stepped aside as Madam Rakepick strode to the front of the daïs. Her movements were as powerful as they were graceful, and she carried herself with a sort of confident consciousness, as if she were aware of every single pair of eyes that were currently fixed on her. She was clearly someone who was used to being looked at, Artemis thought, and was comfortable with people looking. Possibly, she even enjoyed it.

“Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, for your glowing introduction,” said the Curse-Breaker, in a voice that was at once clipped and resonant. She gave the headmaster a curt nod of her head, and raised a single arched eyebrow. “Personally, I am still shocked that you invited me here, after all the trouble I gave you as a student.”

She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips into a mischievous smirk, as a smattering of quiet laughs echoed through the Great Hall. Behind Rakepick, Artemis saw Professor Snape scowling. As the laughter died down, Madam Rakepick continued her speech.

“As the headmaster has already informed you, I am the Head Curse-Breaker at Gringotts Bank, but I will be spending this year at Hogwarts investigating the Cursed Vaults. I understand that many of you have had dealings with the Vaults already. Perhaps you have been a victim of a Curse, perhaps you have even entered one of the Vaults. Either way, it is likely that you will be of interest to me,” Madam Rakepick pushed her cloak back from her sides, and placed her hands on her hips. The room was silent. “I will be conducting a number of interviews, and possibly even looking for assistants to help manage my paperwork. If you are helpful to me, I will make sure that I am helpful to you.

“However,” her face grew hard and dark as she continued, “I will not tolerate unsolicited interference from anyone, student or staff. I must therefore warn each and every one of you to stay away from the Vaults, and more importantly, stay out of my way.”

With that warning, Madam Rakepick swept away from the front of the daïs. It wasn’t until she had returned to her seat, Dumbledore stood up and clapped his hands together, and food magically appeared on the four long tables, that the whispers began to echo through the Great Hall.

“She seems delightful,” Tonks scoffed.

“She’s obviously a very powerful witch,” Penny said, diplomatically, “but did you see Ben’s face when she walked up and started talking?”

“No, why?”

“He went as white as a sheet,” she bit her lip. “He still looks shaken up now.”

All four girls turned their heads towards the Gryffindor table. Even from the distance, they could see that Ben Copper was trembling.

“Maybe he knows her,” Rowan said. “I keep saying he’s more clued up about the Vaults than he lets on.”

Before Artemis could respond to Rowan’s comment, she and her friends were approached by Andre Egwu, a Ravenclaw student in their own year.

“Hey, lovelies,” he said, leaning on the table, his eyes narrowed with concern. “Where did Tulip go when she got off the train?”

“Not a clue,” Tonks frowned. “I thought she was with you lot.”

“No, she stayed with us until we all changed into our uniforms, but then she said she was going to find you guys again,” said Andre. He was looking more worried by the second. “None of us saw her after that. We thought she was with you.”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Rowan muttered into her mashed potato.

“We should go and look for her,” Artemis stood up, her plate still half-full. “Are you coming, Andre?”

“Of course,” he said, and the two of them walked towards the door out of the Great Hall. “It’s not like Tulip to miss the start-of-term feast. I hope she’s okay.”

As they left the Great Hall, they bumped into Bill Weasley.

“Artemis!” he said, sounding surprised. “I was just coming to look for you.”

“You were? Why?”

“Well, there’s been a bit of a situation,” he said, and he cast a suspicious look at Andre.

“We’ve got a bit of a situation, too,” Artemis told him. “We’re looking for Tulip Karasu. She never made it off the train.”

“Oh, she made it off the train, alright,” Bill said, raising his eyebrows. “I think you’d both better come with me.”

#the hexley saga #artemis hexley #bill weasley #charlie weasley #nymphadora tonks #rowan khanna #penny haywood #tulip kasaru #barnaby lee #andre egwu #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic

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the-al-chemist · 3 years

Text

Artemis Hexley and the Figures in the Shadows

Chapter 12: Dumbledore’s Return

A/N: How is this the final chapter of year 3 already?! Well, somehow it is. Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy. I’m afraid there is going to be a relatively long publishing gap between years 3 and 4, due in part to me working longer hours, in part because I’m generally old and slow, and in part due to the fact that I’m working on a few fics simultaneously. The plus side of this is that in the meantime, there’s When Stars Ignite (AKA: Rockstar!AU) and Learning to Fly (AKA: The Charlie Fic) to keep you all entertained. Hopefully, anyway. Warnings: blatant reference to the movie Airplane, and a slightly subtler joke (but only just) about Dumbledore’s sexuality.

The week following Artemis and her friends’ adventure was as uneventful as if they had never even set foot in the Cursed Vault, and not one of them could believe their luck that their antics in the library went unpunished.

“Well, Merula and Ismelda did tell Professor Snape, of course,” Barnaby told Artemis in their Care of Magical Creatures class, ignoring the dirty looks that the two Slytherin girls were throwing in his direction, “but there was no proof that we were ever there.”

“Really?” Rowan asked him. Artemis had told her everything, of course. “But what about Madam Pince? She must have remembered Tonks attacking her with a mandrake, surely.”

“Who’s Shirley?”

“No one, Barnaby,” said Artemis, trying not to laugh at the look on Rowan’s face. “That’s a good point, though. How come Pince didn’t land us in it?”

“That’s the best bit!” Barnaby giggled with glee. “Tonks made herself look like Ismelda when she brought the plant in, so Madam Pince told Snape that Ismelda was the last person she saw in the library. It looked like they’d made the whole thing up to frame you!”

The end of the week saw May turn into June, and the last Quidditch match of the year: Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. Artemis had only watched Quidditch for the first time the year before, and had loved it: the excitement, the drama, the roaring crowds. She went to the stands with Rowan, Penny and Tonks, where the four girls waited impatiently for the game to begin.

“So, who are we supporting this time?” asked Rowan, leaning on the wooden barrier in front of her.

“Hufflepuff, of course,” said Penny, with a chuckle and a wave of the tiny yellow and black flag she held in her right hand. Tonks laughed and shook her head.

“Well, yes,” Rowan continued, “but even if we win the match, we are out of the running for the Cup, aren’t we?”

“Yeah. Slytherin absolutely battered us last term, and Ravenclaw beat us, too,” Tonks sighed. “But Ravenclaw won’t win, they lost their other two matches.”

“So it’s either Gryffindor or Slytherin?”

“Yeah. Obviously, Charlie didn’t play the match against Slytherin because of your Cruppy biting his hand-”

“That wasn’t Scully and you know it, Tonks.”

“Well, whoever’s Crup it was, that gave Slytherin a chance to beat Gryffindor, so Slytherin are in the lead.”

“Not by much, though,” said Rowan. “Given the scores from the previous matches. Both their wins were with narrow margins, whereas Gryffindor won against Ravenclaw by a lot more than they lost against Slytherin...”

“You’ve lost me,” Artemis said, laughing at her own expense. “You know I’m rubbish with numbers.”

“Basically, if Gryffindor beat us with a considerable margin they’ll win the Cup,” Rowan informed her. “If we win, or they only beat us by seventy points or less, Slytherin will have the highest overall score.”

“Wait, what?” Tonks turned to Rowan, looking torn. “Now I’m not sure who to support, either. We don’t want Slytherin winning the Cup.”

“Not all Slytherins are bad, you know,” Artemis said. From where she was standing, she could just about make out the unmistakeable outline of Barnaby Lee walking to the Slytherin stands with shy Liz Tuttle. “But how likely is it that we will beat Gryffindor, anyway, now that Charlie Weasley is playing Seeker again?”

“Not massively likely.”

“You never know,” said Penny, still proudly waving her little flag, “we really do have the most wonderful Chasers, so it could be close.”

As the match began, it quickly became clear that Penny’s prediction was correct. The Hufflepuff Chasers were very skilled, and the score soon started to rack up in their favour. Gryffindor were fighting tooth and nail to keep up, and as the match progressed it became more and more brutal. The Gryffindor Captain, Angelica Cole, had to call a time-out whilst she had her broken nose fixed by Madam Pomfrey, and a penalty was given to Hufflepuff after one of the Gryffindor Chasers fouled the Hufflepuff Seeker. Soon after, the Gryffindor Keeper was knocked out of the sky by a Bludger, leaving the Hufflepuff Chasers free to increase their team’s lead.

“We might actually win!” Penny squealed, as one of the Chasers, a tall boy with tanned skin and dark hair pulled into a bun, stood on his broomstick and surfed towards Gryffindor’s now unguarded goalposts, throwing the Quaffle through one of the hoops yet again.

A second Chaser, a stocky girl whose brown hair had been dyed blue at the tips, flew towards the first, cheering loudly and clapping him on the back, hard. The player who had scored the goal bowed his head slowly, his expression serene. Meanwhile, the roars from the Hufflepuff stands were almost deafening.

But the match wasn’t over just yet. Not long after Penny’s exclamation, they saw a player with hair almost as red as his Gryffindor Quidditch robes take a sudden dive. The four girls craned their necks to see as Charlie Weasley pulled up and out of the dive mere feet from the ground, something small and gold glistening in his hand.

“The Snitch has been caught!” Murphy McNully, a boy from Artemis’ own house and year, shouted from the commentator’s box. “Gryffindor earns 150 points, making the final score 190 to Gryffindor, 150 to Hufflepuff!”

There were thunderous roars from the Gryffindor stands, and even louder cheers from the Slytherin stands.

“I’m guessing they’ve not won by enough points to stop Slytherin getting the Cup, though,” Artemis sighed. On the pitch below, the Gryffindor team were celebrating, however they looked a lot less enthusiastic than they had the year before, when they had won the Cup. “Now what?”

“The Slytherins will be having a party in their Common Room,” Penny always knew where the parties would be held. “They never include the other houses in their celebrations. But I’m sure there’ll be something going on in the Great Hall we can go to.”

The girls decided to pass by the Gryffindor team’s tent on their way to the Great Hall. When they got there, they found Hagrid had beat them to it.

“Alrigh’, Artemis,” he said. “No’ a bad game.”

“Not bad for Gryffindor, you mean,” replied Artemis. “We just thought we’d come and congratulate Bill’s brother.”

“From wha’ I’ve been ‘earing, it’s you tha’ needs congratulatin’,” Hagrid’s laugh almost deafened Artemis. “Apparen’ly there’s been a lo’ less Boggarts aroun’ the castle since someone broke into the Restricted Section.”

“You know there was no proof that was me, Hagrid.”

Hagrid laughed even harder.

“O’ course there wasn’t,” he boomed. “Bu’ who else would it ‘ave been?”

“Who indeed?” Artemis and Hagrid turned around to see Professor McGonagall staring at Artemis with her eyes narrowed and lips pursed. “Miss Hexley, Professor Dumbledore has asked to see you in his office.”

“Dumbledore? But I thought he was -”

“Professor Dumbledore has returned from his travels,” McGonagall was brisk. “Wait here and I will escort you to him, once I am done congratulating my students.”

“Jus’ as well there’s no proof it was yeh,” Hagrid winked, once Professor McGonagall had disappeared into the tent. “Though if yeh ask me, yeh did a grand job.”

“Thanks, Hagrid. Could you tell Dumbledore that?”

Professor McGonagall led Artemis up to Dumbledore’s office, where the Headmaster sat calmly at his desk.

“Artemis,” he said calmly, his eyes twinkling at her as she walked up to his desk. “We really must stop meeting like this.”

“Good afternoon, Professor.”

“This is becoming quite the tradition, is it not?” the headmaster looked amused. “Our annual discussion of your unprecedented heroics and complete disregard for school rules.”

Artemis gave a small, sheepish smile. This seemed to amuse Professor Dumbledore further.

“It seemed a great deal of mayhem transpired in my absence. Werewolves in plantpots, banshees in bathrooms, Lord Voldemort around every corner,” he continued, ignoring Artemis’ flinch at the mention of You-Know-Who’s name. She remembered the Boggarts in the Vault, and shuddered. “Apparently, even I popped out of a closet at one point, much to the surprise of one unsuspecting - and I presume, somewhat perturbed - first year student.”

“Have all the Boggarts been destroyed now, Professor?”

“Sadly, Boggarts can never be truly destroyed. They are born of human emotion, so there will always be more,” he bowed his head at Artemis. “But I understand that they are present here in considerably lower numbers since a group of students performed a peculiar sort of heist in the library last weekend.”

Artemis felt the colour rise in her cheeks as the headmaster fixed her with a knowing stare.

“I am aware that there is no evidence to suggest who was the ringleader of that group, but I do have a theory. And my theories do tend to be correct. So, why don’t you take a seat and tell me about the Vault of Fear?”

Artemis sighed. She knew by now that there was no point in lying to Professor Dumbledore. She sat in the chair across the desk from the headmaster, and told him all about the second Cursed Vault, its bookcase entrance, the seven Boggarts she found within, and the duel that happened inside her own head.

“Do you mind me asking you, Artemis,” said the Professor, “exactly what form did the Boggarts in the Vault take?”

“They looked like You-Know-Who...”

“You know, Artemis, I’ve always thought that fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself,” Dumbledore smiled kindly at her. “I would urge you to use his real name, Voldemort. Perhaps then, he will become less terrifying to you. Although, sometimes Boggarts do represent a deeper fear, rather than the exact form they take.”

“I think you’re right, Professor,” Artemis frowned, and looked at her feet. “The Boggarts weren’t always You-Know-Who. Voldemort, I mean. The face changed and blurred to look different. To look like my brother. And... like me. What do you think that means?”

Professor Dumbledore was quiet for a few moments, and when Artemis looked up, she saw that he was watching over the top of his half-moon glasses in a way that made her feel as if she were being analysed somehow.

“What do you think it means?” he asked, eventually.

“That the thing that scares me isn’t really You-Know-Who. Voldemort,” she corrected herself again, and the headmaster nodded curtly. “It’s just that he’s the most powerful dark wizard I can think of, and people have always said that Jacob was... well, that he was on his side, the bad side. I don’t believe it, but it still worries me for some reason. The idea that he might not be good and true. And the idea that I might not be, either.”

Artemis chewed the inside of her cheek, unable to meet Dumbledore’s scrutinising eyes.

“We all have light and dark inside of us, Artemis. It is natural to be afraid of the shadows in the ones we love, and those in ourselves, as well.”

“I suppose so,” Artemis was silent for a moment as she contemplated. “What does a Boggart look like for you, Professor?”

“A bunny rabbit,” Dumbledore said, matter-of-factly. “With a particularly fluffy tail. Terrifying.”

“That might represent something, too,” Artemis grinned, realising that the Professor was joking. It was a very personal question, she supposed. “Overpopulation, maybe.”

“Maybe,” the headmaster chuckled. “It would appear, however, that the Boggarts of Hogwarts were released by someone other than you tampering with the Cursed Vault.”

“That’s what I thought! But you must know more than I do about that.”

“There is someone who would know more than either of us,” Dumbledore’s face became serious. “Do you know where I have been for most of this year, Miss Hexley?”

“Hagrid said you were looking for someone.”

“He let that slip, did he? As a matter of fact, I was looking for someone. A Curse-Breaker. One of the very best.”

“Did you find him?”

“I found her,” Dumbledore said, raising his eyebrows. “In Brazil, investigating some ruins in the shadow of school Castelobruxo. But once she has finished up there, she will be coming here to Hogwarts. I will be most interested to hear her thoughts about the Cursed Vaults. And about you.”

“A real Curse-Breaker is coming to Hogwarts?” Artemis couldn’t hide her excitement. She couldn’t wait to tell Bill Weasley.

“A real Curse-Breaker, indeed,” Professor Dumbledore’s face grew even more stern. “Which means we shall have no need for amateurs. Miss Hexley, it seems that each year I tell you to stay well clear of the Vaults, and each year you directly disobey me.”

“Are you going to punish me, Professor?”

“Not today,” to her relief, Dumbledore shook his head. “But I am running out of excuses for you, Artemis. Let me make this very clear. If you attempt to enter another Vault, I will have no choice but to punish you, and any other students you may encourage to join you in your misadventures. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Professor,” said Artemis. A sudden thought struck her, a niggling worry that had been playing at the back of her mind. “Sir, there is one other thing I wanted to ask you. About You-Know - sorry. About Voldemort, I mean.”

“And what might that be?”

“Well, Penny’s friend Talbott said that he didnt think that You - that Voldemort - was really... well, gone,” Artemis frowned. “He thinks that a wizard as powerful as Voldemort couldn't be killed by just a baby.”

“That’s not technically a question. I presume you want to know my thoughts on the matter?” Artemis nodded in response to the Headmaster’s question. “What do you think, Miss Hexley?”

“I don’t know. He disappeared just before Jacob did, and we were all told that he’d died. I’d never really thought about it not being true before,” Artemis frowned. “If grown ups tell you something, you just believe it, don’t you? I mean, it might be that I just didn’t want it not to be true. But Talbott’s right, how could a little baby kill Voldemort?”

“It appears that the Cursed Vaults are not the only mysteries in our world,” Dumbledore’s eyes sparkled behind his half-moon glasses. “I am afraid that I must agree with Mr Winger. I do not believe that Lord Voldemort is truly gone, as you put it.”

“So, do you think he might come back one day?”

“I am certain that he will,” Dumbledore stood up, and Artemis followed suit. “But that is a worry for another day. I have taken up enough of your time, Miss Hexley. I fear I am keeping you away from an event that your friend Miss Haywood is waiting to drag you along to.”

“Probably, Penny does love parties.”

“I should make use of that someday,” Dumbledore chuckled as he lead Artemis to the door. “We could all do with more festivities around here.”

“Yes, Professor,” Artemis smiled as she left the room. “Thank you, again, for not punishing me.”

“You are welcome, Miss Hexley, but do remember what I said. Next time I will not be so lenient.”

“Who said there’s going to be a next time?”

Perhaps it was the summer weather, the end of exams, or the lack of Boggarts terrorising the school - or it might have been a combination of the three - that caused the summer term to end with so much jubilation from the students. Even Slytherin winning the House Cup couldn’t diminish the high spirits of all attending the End Of Year feast.

Soon it was time for the students to return home on the Hogwarts Express. Artemis and the other girls from her dormitory were joined in their carriage by their old friends, Ben Copper and Bill Weasley, his brother Charlie, and their new friends, Tulip Karasu and Barnaby Lee.

“So, exactly what did happen in the Cursed Vault?” Bill asked, his interest in Curse-Breaking fully restored now that he had finished his O.W.L. exams.

Artemis, Tonks, Tulip, and Barnaby took turns recounting their adventures in the library, as Rowan, Penny, and the three Gryffindor boys listened intently.

“I’m regretting not going with you now,” Bill sighed. “I’d forgotten how amazing getting into the Vault was last year.”

“Serves you right for being boring, doesn’t it?” Artemis said, and Bill kicked the air next to her shin.

“It doesn’t sound amazing to me,” said Ben, with a shudder. “It sounds terrifying. I’m glad I’ve never had to go into a Cursed Vault.”

“Are you sure about that, Ben?” Rowan asked, a single eyebrow raised in suspicion.

The colour rose in Ben’s cheeks and he looked at the floor, his face anguished. A tense silence settled over the carriage, and broken only by the sound of Bill clearing his throat.

“Last year you found that broken wand in the Vault, Artemis,” he said. “Was there anything in this one?”

“Yes,” Artemis lifted Fergus off her lap and onto Rowan’s, and started to rummage in her trunk, pulling out the map and the broken arrow. “Here. I was hoping you’d take a look them for me, actually. This looks like an arrow, only it’s missing the pointy bit, and then there’s this map. It doesn’t look like the castle though.”

She handed the items to Bill, who began to examine them closely, starting with the arrow.

“Someone’s put a lot of time into making this. It’s a really intricate design,” he said, turning the pieces over in his hands. The wood was engraved with twisting vines, and the fletching shining gold and vivid emerald green. He turned his attention to the map, and continued, “and this isn’t a building at all, it’s got to be an outdoor location. A forest, maybe?”

“That’s not just any forest, it’s the Forbidden Forest,” said Charlie, peering at the map over his brother’s shoulder. “See the shape here, that’s the treeline behind Hagrid’s hut.”

“That must be where the next Vault is,” Rowan turned to Artemis. “I know what I’ll be reading about all summer.”

“What’s the letter ‘R’ in the corner about, though?”

Bill immediately looked up from the map and stared at Artemis, who exchanged glance with Rowan, before all three turned their eyes towards Ben.

“Why are you all looking at me?” Ben asked, shrinking back in his seat.

“Well,” said Artemis, “last year Rowan and I found some letters from someone who called themselves ‘R’.”

“And what has that got to do with me?”

“Because the letters had been sent to you,” Rowan glared accusatively at Ben. “That’s how we found you trapped in the ice. But of course you won’t remember any of this.”

“No, I don’t remember,” Ben shook his head. He looked like he might cry. “You believe me, don’t you, Artemis?”

Artemis sighed. She hated seeing the helpless look in Ben’s eyes, and desperately wanted to reassure him, but she could also feel Rowan’s cold anger to one side of her, and didn’t want to contradict her best friend, either.

“I want to believe you,” she said, trying to sound diplomatic. “But Rowan has a right to be sceptical. She and Bill both got hit with the ice, and neither of them lost their memory.”

“Why would I lie about this?”

“Lots of reasons,” Rowan muttered darkly, as Ben began to look even more desolate. Artemis shot Rowan a reproachful look, and she softened slightly. “Maybe for some kind of noble reason, I don’t know. But if you do remember what happened, you really should tell us, you know. We are your friends, we deserve the truth.”

“I think Ben’s made it pretty clear that he doesn’t remember anything,” Charlie said shortly. He looked up from the map of the forest, and smiled at Rowan in a good-natured way. “Maybe we should talk about something else.”

“What’s everyone doing over the holidays?” asked Tonks, leaning forward and slapping her hands on her thighs. She obviously hadn’t meant to slap as hard as she did, as she winced as her palms made contact with her legs.

“I’ll probably be staying with my Great-Aunt and Uncle for a while,” Artemis replied, glad for the change of subject. “I usually go there for a couple of weeks or so in the summer.”

“If you do, can I fly over at some point?” Charlie asked her, and handed her back her map. “I still haven’t gone to visit Dragon. Both of the Cruppies must be nearly fully grown by now.”

“Of course,” Artemis smiled broadly. “I’m sure if any of you wanted to come and visit while I’m there they’d be fine with it.”

“Does that mean that you’re okay with everyone meeting your uncle?” Rowan smirked. “I thought his identity was top secret.”

“What?”

“Top secret? What do you mean, top secret?”

“Who is your uncle?”

Artemis sighed. Rowan was right, friends did deserve to know the truth. She grinned, and told the others all about her great-uncle, and as the train continued to hurtle towards Kings Cross Station, not another word was said about the Cursed Vaults.

#hogwarts mystery #hphm #hphm fic #artemis hexley #rowan khanna #barnaby lee #charlie weasley #bill weasley #nymphadora tonks #penny haywood #ben copper #tulip kasaru

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