Fifteen Years

Part Ten

Freddie and Ryan left the Great Hall early. They couldn't stand the tension. The Slytherin boy had continued to watch them, and their arms were coated in goose-bumps by the time they finally made their exit.

"Doomed, doomed, doomed!" Ryan exploded once they were out of earshot. He waved his arms around in a frantic frenzy.

"At least you've been here for a year! This is just my first week!" Freddie said, dropping down onto one of the steps. Ryan leaned against the railing, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

"We could take him hostage," he said finally.

Freddie looked up into his face to be sure that he was joking. "Yeah, tie him up and stuff. Throw him in the lake."

"Gag him first, so he never has the chance to tell anyone it was us."

"A sticky end for a slimy Slytherin."

They both snorted and looked away. Freddie stared out one of the windows. He didn't want to leave this place. It was perfect.

"A sticky end for a slimy Slytherin? Now that seems a bit unfair," a voice interrupted the silence. Cold. Disparaging. Freddie and Ryan zoned in on the source.

"Ah," Ryan said, and he grabbed Freddie by the shoulder and pulled him to his feet. "Speak of the devil."

The Slytherin was standing on the bottom of the steps, his arms folded and his legs firmly planted on the ground. Freddie could see Ryan reaching for his wand. He took his out, too, for good measure.

"I couldn't help but notice you two racing off towards my common room earlier on," the boy continued, leering. The dislike and mistrust that Freddie felt earlier multiplied by ten.

"And I thought to myself how odd that was. And I followed you. I saw what you did. I photographed it, too," he held up his camera, a vicious glint in his eyes. "It won't be long now until someone else discovers the swamp," he took a dramatic look at his wristwatch, and continued his spiel. Freddie wondered if it had been pre-planned. "And so I'm going to give you both a choice."

Freddie felt his heart plummet. What would this boy have in store for them?

The boy raised his chin, "First of all, I can do you in. I have the photos, so they'll believe me. You'll be punished, without doubt. Detention for weeks and weeks and weeks. Even worse if the water has leaked into the common room and ruins everyone's belongings."

Ryan was stirring beside him.

The boy grinned as a yell from the dungeons penetrated the walls. Lungs deflating, Freddie realised someone had seen it now. There was no going back. No repairing. No undoing.

"You may, however, be more interested in my second option..."

---

They were not just going to let him go. At least they'd given up yelling once they'd realised he had no intention of stopping. He'd aimed his broom downwards, dipping through the clouds and becoming soaked once again. Now, he was hurtling across a lake, the tips of his toes nearly in the water.

He was heading for the trees.

The speed of their brooms would do them no good once they were inside the forest. There would be branches and snags and traps everywhere. It would all come down to skill.

But for now, he was stuck out in the open. They were shooting stunning spells at him, and he rolled over to avoid one. He began to weave in and out between imaginary obstacles, hoping to throw them off with his volatile flying pattern.