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

The Worm Farm

'They're a subsection of magical creatures,' Teresa explained as Neve sat back down and picked her paper up again. 'They're classified by their... unique hunting method.' Teresa looked down at the book in her lap silently. Bagsy waited patiently, she knew Teresa would explain what the hunting method was eventually. 'They don't just kill and eat their prey,' Teresa said at last, her voice quiet in the empty common room. Neve put down her paper again, watching Teresa with fearful but curious eyes. Bagsy got the impression Teresa was enjoying this and milking the horror for all it was worth.

'What do they do?' Neve whispered, her eyes wide and her hands clasped together tightly. Bagsy furrowed her brow, Neve had acted like she knew what they did before. Maybe Neve was going along with Teresa's theatrics.

'They mark them,' Teresa said. Neve let out a little gasp and Bagsy found herself tiering of the pantomime dramatics. 'It can be with a claw or a tooth or a talon, but they mark them, they always mark them first.'

'Who?' Neve pressed. Bagsy new this was scripted now but was interested enough to follow along.

'Their prey...' Teresa hissed, her eyes flashing with excitement. 'Once their prey is marked they know where they are at all times and can see into their mind. Markers are masters of mental manipulation and cruel masters of it indeed. Their favourite meal is a terrified one.'

When Bagsy had moved to the edge of her seat, she didn't know, but she had. Even Neve and Teresa seemed surprised at how taken with the tale Bagsy was. They didn't realise that Bagsy was thinking about a voice that had spoken to her last year. 'You are marked,' it hissed softly in Bagsy's mind. 'You are mine, now.' Bagsy's right hand rested on her left shoulder, where the deep claw marks the blood eyed beast had left on her were, and her left hand clasped tightly around the necklace that Fitzsimmons had promised her prevented the beast from knowing where she was or seeing into her mind.

'A marker stalks their prey, savouring the hunt, and when they finally POUNCE!' Teresa raised her voice on the last word and Bagsy barely held back a yelp. 'They don't just devour the body. No, that would be too kind... A marker devours the essence of their prey, sucking their soul and strength along with their flesh. The longer a marker lives, the more powerful it becomes, because it has more time to steal the souls of those it hunts...' Teresa finished her story, sitting back in her seat.

Neve looked uncertainly at Bagsy, who's face had paled. 'We were just messing with you,' she assured Bagsy, laying a gentle hand on her left arm. Bagsy flinched away, staring widely at Neve in silence. 'We didn't mean to actually scare you – we're really sorry if we did...'

'Ah, she'll get over it,' Teresa dismissed with a wave of her hand, happily returning to her book.

'Teresa,' Neve reprimanded her with more force than Bagsy had ever heard her use.

Teresa huffed and looked at Bagsy in annoyance. 'Look, the only creatures that can mark their prey are too small to hurt us humans. Marking is a very heavy magical process, so only tiny little creatures can use it on other tiny little creatures. Anything bigger than a pencil with the appropriate biology to mark their prey would be so heavy they'd be crushed under their own weight. So stop being so scared.'

Teresa's attempt at comfort didn't help Bagsy any, and she didn't sleep that night. She was too busy turning her necklace visible and staring at it to check it was still there.

At breakfast the next day, Bagsy scoured the room for Mistress Foncée. After locating her, and quickly explaining to her what she'd heard the night before, Bagsy found Mezrielda and unloaded on her everything that she'd seen last night. She was beyond worried about the idea that she was marked by the beast, and even Mezrielda looked concerned. Besides the occasional snippet of alone time they got in the lessons they shared, meals were the only time Bagsy and Mezrielda could speak freely about the blood eyed beast, especially because Mezrielda couldn't visit the Hufflepuff common room in the evenings, given she had to serve her detentions in the kitchen then.