Artemis Hexley and the Portrait of the Vault

Chapter 5: The Girl in the Portrait

"It's..." Elora looked nervously at Penny in the seat opposite Artemis. "It's Beatrice."

Penny dropped her fork on the table, her face also growing rapidly concerned.

"What's wrong with Beatrice?" Penny asked. "Where is she?"

"Grand Staircase... She's... She's..."

"She's what? What happened?"

"I don't know," Elora was trembling. "She was there one minute, and the next she was there."

"What?"

"I can't explain it."

Artemis frowned. Poor Beatrice was looking terrified, and Penny was working herself into a state. Artemis held up both hands.

"Elora, maybe you don't have to explain," she said. "Could you show us, instead?"

Elora Dunn bit her bottom lip, and nodded.

"Follow me," she whispered.

Artemis and Penny followed Elora to the Grand Staircase. When they arrived, they found that the portraits on the walls were all in a fluster. Beside her, Artemis could feel Penny panicking.

"I'm sure nothing that bad has happened to her," she whispered to her friend, sounding much more confident than she felt.

Elora came to an abrupt halt halfway up the staircase. Beatrice was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?" Penny demanded, her voice shrill. "Where's my sister?"

Silently, Elora raised one finger, and pointed at the wall next to her, where a gold frame held a portrait of a familiar looking young girl.

"Beatrice!"

Penny and Artemis ran to the portrait, and Penny placed both hands on the canvas.

"Beatrice, what happened? How did you..." her voice tailed off, and she started to pull desperately and ineffectively at the portrait frame. "I'm going to get you out of there!"

Artemis couldn't tell who looked more distressed: Beatrice, stuck inside the portrait, or Penny, frantically clawing at its gold frame.

"Elora, how did this happen?" Artemis asked the first year, who shook her head, her eyes wide.

"I... I don't know."

"Well, I think it's perfectly obvious how this happened," said a sharp, authoritative voice from behind them. All three girls turned to see the red hair and high cheekbones of Professor Rakepick, who paced towards them slowly. "I'm surprised you didn't realise straight away, Miss Hexley."

Artemis frowned.

"You mean... this might be another curse?"

"I'm almost certain that it is."

Penny turned to Professor Rakepick, tears streaming down her face.

"Please, Professor," she whimpered, "that's my little sister in there. How do we help her?"

Rakepick swiftly looked Penny up and down, her lips pursed.

"Not by crying, that's for sure," she said, shortly. Penny opened her mouth, but made no sound. "Save your tears, Miss Haywood. They won't save your sister. Tears have never saved anyone. Right now, we need action. Artemis."

"Yes, Professor?"

"I think it's time that you, Miss Snyde, Mr Weasley, and I had another meeting."

Rakepick gathered her three apprentices at lunchtime the following day. By then, the whole school had heard about how Penny Haywood's younger sister had become trapped inside a painting. On arrival in the Great Hall for breakfast, Artemis, Penny, Rowan, and Tonks had been greeted by hushed whispers and furtive glances, and in the corridors, Artemis' first years all looked incredibly anxious.