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

The Eagle Club

'You mean 'better',' Mezrielda corrected her flatly.

Winifred's lip twitched. 'I meant what I meant. Language is meant to die and rebirth itself.'

'What do you do here, then?' Mezrielda sounded as if she was getting fed up. Bagsy, on the other hand, was hiding fearfully behind her like a child, feeling in-over-her-head, and very jealous of all the spell-casting she'd seen.

'We duel, and we keep duelling until we become unstoppable.'

'Hell yeah!' Robin cheered, her eyes fiery. The first years around her yelled their agreement.

'None of you could challenge me,' Mezrielda scoffed condescendingly, swishing her sleek hair. 'What a shame-'

'Petrificus totalus,' Winifred murmured quietly under her breath, shooting a spell from behind her back at Mezrielda.

Mezrielda wasn't caught out. 'Protego.' a misty shield appeared in front of her and the spell rebounded, hitting a first year Ravenclaw who fell to the floor. Sensing a duel, the other Ravenclaws backed up against the walls, leaving a wide-open space in the centre, and two small Ravenclaws frantically dragged their frozen friend out of the firing line. Bagsy, following their lead, ducked to the side, trying to make herself as small as possible.

Mezrielda twiddled her wand in her hands as if she were bored. 'Pity, you can't even surprise me-'

'Tarantallegra,' Winifred shot another jinx Mezrielda's way. This one was faster, and Mezrielda's shield charm was too late to stop it. Bagsy watched, stunned, as Mezrielda began dancing uncontrollably. Bagsy hid a smirk behind her hand. She felt guilty for laughing at her friend, but she couldn't help it if Mezrielda looked like a stringed puppet being tossed this way and that, her hair flying after her.

'Scissor sororibus!' Mezrielda hissed, her face flushing, as she pointed her wand at her feet. As her feet stopped madly tap-dancing, Winifred had already cast another jinx. Not missing a beat, Mezrielda snapped her wand up and swished it, catching the jet of red with the tip and flicking it to the side.

Bagsy watched with mounting excitement as jets of coloured light shot in one direction and then the other. Winifred pulled a brick from the wall with her wand and threw it in Mezrielda's direction, who transfigured it into a horde of magpies who flew at Winifred, squawking angrily. Winifred, thinking fast, turned the magpies into paper birds before setting them on fire. Rubble, ash and torn cloth littered the floor when Winifred and Mezrielda finally came to a stop, both breathing heavily and sweating, pointing their wands at each other in furious silence.

Winifred's fury dissipated like steam and she turned, beaming, to her peers. 'I think we have ourselves a new member!' she announced to cheers and woops from the Ravenclaws. Mezrielda straightened up, her mouth wide as she gulped in air, and tucked a strand of her now messy black hair behind her ear. If Bagsy didn't know any better, she'd say Mezrielda was abashed.

The Eagle Club ended its session there, the Ravenclaws heading back to their tower in a shoal of chattering excitement.

'Why "Eagle Club"?' Mezrielda asked Winifred as she made to leave.

Winifred rolled her eyes at Mezrielda. 'What's the Ravenclaw mascot?'

'A raven?' Mezrielda guessed.

'Duh, that's why it's called the Eagle Club– wait, did you say "raven"?'

Bagsy was confused. 'The Ravenclaw mascot isn't a Raven?'

'No!' Winifred looked scandalized.

'That's dumb,' both Mezrielda and Bagsy said in unison. Only Mezrielda's statement was loud enough to be heard, though.