Shades of Grey

Three's a crowd

            Earlier that day, Lupin’s lecture on Cornish pixies had taken a disastrous turn for the worse with his second year students. He’d been warned by the other professors and been told stories about his predecessor’s mishap with the pixies, so he had taken special care to make sure that they really were locked up. He’d used the freezing charm to take pixies out to let the class examine them. Everything seemed to be going just as planned. That is, until one of his students thought it would be fun to let a pixie out to play with it. He wasn’t the brightest boy and Lupin suspected that he had thought the pixies were immobilized as soon as they left the cage.

For whatever reason, the student opened the door to the cage the first second that Lupin’s back was turned. He’d spent the hour between his classes and dinner searching for the pixies, but he’d only managed to find a few. When he heard that Aurora was to be serving detention with Flitwick, writing lines and polishing trophies, he’d intervened and convinced Flitwick to let her assist him instead.

He watched as Aurora received the note at dinner and tried not to let his face betray how amused he was at her look of confusion. At five minutes ‘til eight, he was sitting in his office waiting for her. The cage of pixies he’d retrieved was sitting on his desk. Another cage, this one empty, would be taken with them to store the pixies they found.

            There was a knock at his office door and he smiled.

“Come in.” He said as she pushed open the door slowly and shut it behind her.

“Good evening, Miss Finch.” He greeted her.

“Good evening, Professor.” She managed a half-smile, slightly disappointed by the sight of the pixies. She’d let her mind get the best of her in trying to imagine what project he’d need her help with. It would be more interesting than detention with Flitwick, though, that was for sure.

“Cornish pixies?” She asked, staring at the tiny blue forms. They were shouting and buzzing around their cage angrily.

“Yes, unfortunately. One of my second year students thought it would be a good idea to let a pixie out. It goes without saying that they overpowered him and escaped. I’ve only been able to track down these few so far, so I thought you’d rather help me than write lines all evening.” He stood from his desk and took out his wand, picking up the empty cage with his free hand.

“Pixie-hunting does sound like more fun than writing lines. Any ideas on where to start?” She asked, letting him take the lead. After all, he was the professor.

“I’m not exactly sure where they’ve gone off to, but I imagine most of them have hidden down in the dungeons. They like the dark.” He explained. She nodded and followed him out of the office, shutting the door behind them. The walk down to the dungeons was silent, except for the students rushing by them on their way back to their common rooms.

            She’d grown used to the dungeons by now, having toured them every night on her rounds. It wasn’t too dark to see, but it was still early enough for the torches on the walls to be lit, casting shadows into the corners. They walked through the dungeons slowly, searching for any sign of movement. She felt something brush past her hair and turned quickly on her heel. A flash of blue rounded the corner and without waiting for Professor Lupin, she chased it down. She saw it hovering next to a wall-hanging, bent on destruction. Raising her wand, she cast the freezing charm.

            Professor Lupin brought the empty cage over and they slipped the pixie inside, still suspended in midair.

“Good work. He was probably heading to where the rest are hiding.” Lupin observed, and no sooner had he said so than they heard a rustling behind a wall sconce. Three pixies shot out but they were no match for Aurora and Lupin as they nipped the dazed pixies into the cage.