It didn't take long for the news of Artemis' close call with the Devil's Snare to spread around the school. Now, everyone was staring and whispering at her even more.
"I bet you wish you were a Metamorphmagus like me," Tonks said in the dormitory one night in the following week as Artemis applied the Bruise Paste liberally to her neck. "Then you could get rid of all those scratches and bruises like that." She clicked her fingers.
"There's no need to rub it in, Tonks," Artemis said, climbing into her bed. Rowan looked at her and shook her head, giving the back of Tonks' head a very dark look.
Merula Snyde had been throwing Artemis some very dark looks since Halloween.
"Professor Sprout had a meeting with Professor Snape," Jane informed her. "She's got detention every night for a month, and lost twenty-five house points."
"Is that all?" Rowan asked. "Artemis nearly died. Surely that deserves more than just detention and losing house points."
"It was her first offence," said Jane. "It's meant to teach her a lesson, so she won't do it again."
"Yeah, right," Rowan scoffed. "I bet she's plotting as we speak."
Artemis wanted to not believe Rowan, but she knew that Merula Snyde was not the sort to give up so easily. Their suspicions were proved right one lunchtime in mid-November.
"Oi! Hexley," Merula called out across the courtyard, storming over to where Artemis was playing Gobstones with Rowan and Ben. "What is wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me?"
"Yes, you. You're as mental as your brother," said Merula. "First you accuse me of blowing up your cauldron, now you've told Professor Sprout I tried to kill you."
"Merula, you locked me in a room with a Devil's Snare."
"It was a joke! I'm not a murderer," Merula smirked, "unlike like your Death Eater brother."
"My brother isn't a murderer, or a Death Eater," Artemis said, rising to her feet. "If you didn't come here to apologise for your Devil's Snare prank, I'd suggest you leave."
"Apologise to you? If anything you should be apologising to me! I'm the one whose having to polish silver every night."
"The plant tried to strangle me," said Artemis. Merula rolled her eyes.
"Stop being so dramatic. You can barely even see the marks anymore."
"How can you not realise that what you did was wrong?" Artemis asked. "You know, you deserve worse than detention."
"Oh yeah? Well, I'll show you what you deserve," Merula snarled. She raised her wand, and pointed it at Artemis. She shouted, "Flipendo!"
A stream of bright blue light shot from Merula's wand and caught Artemis in the chest. Her legs flew out from beneath her and she was thrown backwards, landing on her rump two metres behind where she had been standing.
"Artemis, are you alright?" Rowan and Ben rushed to Artemis' side.
"I'm fine," Artemis said, and stared up at Merula. "What was that for?"
"Count yourself lucky, Hexley. You've been asking to be jinxed since you arrived here. The next time you cross me, it'll be even worse."
Merula stalked away, leaving Artemis on the ground.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Ben asked.
"I'm fine," Artemis said, rubbing her lower back, "but I think I'm going to need to learn some defensive spells if I'm going to stay that way."
Artemis approached Professor Flitwick at the end of her next Charms lesson.
"What can I help you with, Miss Hexley? Did you want an even harder target to levitate?" Flitwick asked, with a chuckle.
The class had been practising levitating some heavier objects, and whilst most of the students had progressed to levitating books, Artemis had managed to levitate a practice dummy and a table. The Gryffindor boy she had been partnered with two weeks before was still struggling with a feather.
"Actually, Professor," Artemis said, "I was hoping that you'd maybe be able to teach me some new spells."
"What kind of spells?"
"Defence spells. Rowan said you used to be a duelling champion."
"I did," Flitwick nodded.
"So you can teach me, then?"
"No."
"No?" Artemis frowned. "Why not?"
"Duelling is against school rules, Miss Hexley," said Professor Flitwick.
"I know that, but -"
"I cannot, as a respected member of staff, teach students how to do something that is explicitly forbidden," Artemis had never seen the Professor look so stern.
"You wouldn't be teaching me to duel, just to defend myself in case someone tries to attack me," she said. "The thing is, Professor, there's this girl that's been giving me and my friends some trouble," she saw Professor Flitwick open his mouth, and knew exactly what he was about to say, "and I've already spoken to my prefect and head of house about it, and nothing's changed at all. If anything, I think she's more likely to do something, if not to me, then to Rowan or Ben."
"Miss Hexley, I-"
"Please, Professor," said Artemis, "I wouldn't ask if I didn't think she would make good on her threats."
Professor Flitwick's gaze rested on Artemis' throat, where the bruise left by the Devil's Snare had now turned golden in colour. He seemed to soften.
"Very well," he nodded. "I will teach you one defensive spell. One. And it is only to be used strictly as a last resort if you genuinely need to defend yourself, do you understand? If I hear that you have been duelling, I will be incredibly disappointed."
The following lunchtime, Professor Flitwick taught Artemis a spell that would enable her to disarm an opponent. Artemis picked up the spell quickly, and so he started to teach her the shield charm as well. This spell was a lot trickier, and for the first time, Artemis couldn't cast it on her first attempt.
"Not a bad effort," Flitwick said, encouragingly, as the bell rang to mark the end of break.
"Can we go over the shield charm once more quickly?" Artemis asked him. "I think if I give it another go, I might be able to-"
"Miss Hexley, the bell has rung. You don't want to be late for your next lesson," he interrupted her, looking stern again.
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Remember, now, self-defence only."
A knock came at the door of the girls' dormitory the next evening. Penny went to the door, and opened it to reveal a very stressed looking Jane Court.
"I need to talk to Artemis," she said. "Rowan, too."
"Have I done something wrong?" Artemis asked Jane, as she and Rowan followed her down the tunnel-like corridor that connected the common room to the girls' dormitories.
"No, I just heard a rumour," Jane told them. "Apparently that Merula Snyde has really got it in for you."
"Really?" Artemis said, sarcastically. "But she's been so nice to me so far!"
"This isn't funny, Artemis," Jane huffed. "This Merula girl could be dangerous. Just look what she did with the Devil's Snare." Jane looked up and down the corridor, making sure no one was around before continuing, "I think it's about time you learnt how to defend yourself."
"We've already thought about this," Rowan said. "Artemis had a lesson with Professor Flitwick just yesterday."
"Let me guess," said Jane, smirking slightly. "He taught you how to disarm an opponent."
"How did you know that?"
"It's the most basic defensive spell," Jane shrugged. "It was always the first spell they'd teach you at Duelling Club."
"There is a Duelling Club?" Artemis said. "But Professor Flitwick said-"
"It was disbanded a couple of years ago," said Jane, shortly. "Look, 'Expelliarmus' is a useful spell, but it's hardly the most sophisticated. If someone's really trying to do some serious damage, it's not going to be enough to stop them. You're going to need more than just that one spell."
"Well, we did start learning the Shield Charm, too."
"That's definitely better, but I still don't think it will be enough," a dark look came across Jane's face. "You know, the Snydes were big supporters of You-Know-Who. They were sent to Azkaban prison at the end of the war. They killed an Auror."
"Merula's parents are in Azkaban?" Rowan exclaimed. "And she gives you all that rubbish about your brother..."
"The Snydes were into some really dark stuff, and Merula's already proven how far she's willing to go," Jane said. "People like her only respond to strength, so you need to learn to duel properly. Both of you, and that twitchy Gryffindor boy you're friends with."
"Brilliant," Artemis sighed. "How do we do that when there isn't a Duelling Club anymore and the professors won't teach us because it's banned?"
"The Duelling Club was disbanded because the school governors said it was dangerous and unnecessary after You-Know-Who's downfall, but it doesn't take a genius to work out the real reason."
"Which is?"
"They say that one of the governors used to be a Death Eater. Got away with it by claiming he was under the Imperius Curse, and gave a load of money to the Ministry as compensation," Jane tutted. "A bribe, more like. Anyway, there's plenty of You-Know-Who supporters who did the same, and obviously none of them want us knowing how to fight..."
"In case we try to fight them," Artemis said, finishing Jane's sentence.
"Exactly. Loads of us had family and friends who were killed by Death Eaters, what if we tried to get revenge? Or if You-Know-Who came back, and we all tried to fight against him?"
"You-Know-Who, come back?" Rowan whispered, her eyes wide. "That's impossible. He's dead. No spell can bring the dead back to life, everyone knows that."
"Yes, well, the point is that the remaining Death Eaters don't want us to be able to defend ourselves from them, or mount an attack against them," Jane said, brusquely, as if she was getting bored of the conversation. "We all realised this, and it made us even more determined to carry on. So we did. In secret."
"So, is there still a Duelling Club or not?"
"No, not exactly. There's nowhere in the castle to set up a banned club like that without getting caught. At first some of the older members set up a meeting in the Hog's Head, and everyone snuck out to Hogsmeade via a secret passageway. This chap a few years out of Hogwarts who fought against the Death Eaters in the war agreed to teach us, but we got found out after our second meeting. Ever since then members have had to just practice duelling in small groups or on practice dummies in empty classrooms, on the training grounds, in their dormitories, and so on and so forth."
"I want to join," said Artemis, determinedly.
"Me too," Rowan said, nodding her head. "I bet Ben will, too, once we tell him."
"Good," Jane replied. "To join the club, you have to sign the book. It's an old Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, but it's been added to by loads of different students, and it's bewitched so that only people who have signed it can read it."
"Where do we find this book?"
"Exactly where you'd expect to find a book," Jane smiled. "In the library, of course."
The first Saturday of December, the castle was quieter than normal, as the older students were permitted to visit Hogsmeade village. Only being in first year, Artemis, Rowan and Ben were not allowed to go, so instead they took the opportunity to search the library for the duelling book.
"Jane said that the book is hidden in a bookshelf near the Restricted Section," Rowan whispered to Artemis and Ben as she led the way through the library towards the gates that formed the entrance to the Restricted Section, and stopped students from going in.
"What books do you reckon they keep in there?" Artemis said, peering through the gate at the dusty tomes.
"If they don't want students reading them they're probably really dangerous," Ben shuddered.
"Cool," said Artemis. She got the feeling that someone was staring at her, and looked over her shoulder to see that Madam Pince, the librarian, was looking at the three of them from her desk, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Come on, let's find this bookshelf."
"We're looking for a mark someone carved into the shelf, like a wand with a spark coming from it," Rowan murmured, running her finger along a shelf. "We'll be quicker if we search separately."
The three of them scoured the shelves that surrounded the Restricted Section, looking for the mark Rowan described. Eventually, Ben ushered the girls over to the back right corner of the library, where a shelf backed onto the Restricted Section.
"Here," he said, "right in the corner, look. Is that it?"
About halfway up the shelf, just above head-height for Artemis, at the point where it met the wall, a crudely drawn wand emitting sparks had been etched into the fibre of the wood.
"That's it," Artemis said, drawing her wand. "Three taps, wasn't it, Rowan?"
Rowan nodded, and Artemis tapped the mark three times. After the third tap, a large leather-bound book appeared, lying flat on top of the row of stacked books. Artemis stood on her tiptoes and reached to pick up the book with her free hand. As she did, a peculiar sensation came over her.
The usual hush of the library seemed quieter than ever, and it looked as if the room had grown misty. Artemis looked to ask Rowan and Ben what was going on, but they were no longer there. She turned back to the bookshelf, but that was gone, too. She was alone, standing in the fog.
Artemis heard voice call her name through the mist. The voice sounded familiar.
"Jacob?" She called out. She peered into the fog, looking for her brother, and as she did, the fog seemed to lift, slightly, and Artemis found herself in a corridor.
The corridor looked like it belonged at Hogwarts, but she couldn't recognise it as one she had ever been to before. The corridor was deathly cold, and the walls lined with suits of armour, covered in a layer of ice. At one end of the corridor was a grey door, and the other a flight of stairs descending downwards. Artemis started to walk down the stairs, and as she did, she thought she could see something moving in the shadows at the bottom.
"Who's there?" She asked, stopping dead in her tracks. From the bottom of the staircase, she heard a scream. Two screams. She ran towards the noise. "I'm coming!"
But when she reached the final step, no one was there. She was alone in the darkness. She turned back to the staircase, but the stairs had vanished. In their place was a thicket of trees. She was in the middle of a forest.
"Is anyone here?"
No one replied. Artemis was alone, standing amongst the trees. A burning smell suddenly pierced her nostrils, and without warning, a gust of wind swept her hair. She looked upwards, and her heart sank.
The sky was falling down. A hundred rocks descended on her from the heavens. She ran to the nearest tree and crouched between its roots, covering her head with her arms, bracing herself for impact...
But the impact never came. Artemis lifted her head and looked around her once more. The trees had gone, and everything had turned a murky green colour. Her vision was blurry again.
"Artemis," the voice that sounded like Jacob's called out to her again, but this time it was muffled, distorted, as if she were underwater.
She opened her mouth to shout, but only bubbles came out. She was underwater. Holding her breath, she pushed up, hard, from the ground beneath her and started trying to swim to the surface of the water, but with every stroke she felt like she was sinking further back down, descending into the depths of the water. She struggled more and more, until she could hold her breath no longer.
She inhaled, and everything turned bright white.
"Artemis," said a voice. Rowan's voice. "Artemis, what are you doing? Wake up."
Artemis blinked, and looked around. She was back in the library.
"Artemis, are you alright?"
Artemis took a deep breath, relieved to not be drowning.
"I was in a corridor," she told them. "Someone screamed, so I went to help them, and then I was outside... There were trees, lots of trees... and then there were rocks, and water, and..."
Her voice tailed off. Both Rowan and Ben were staring at her, completely alarmed.
"Artemis, you've been right here this whole time," Ben said. Artemis had never seen him look so terrified, even in flying class.
"But, I-"
"You reached up to the bookshelf and went all pale, and your eyes glazed over," Rowan said. "We thought you were going to faint, but you just stood there, staring into space."
"So it was just a dream?" Artemis frowned. It hadn't felt like a dream.
"I don't know, you weren't exactly asleep," said Rowan. She looked deep in thought. "Maybe it was a vision. There aren't any Seers in your family, are there?"
"Not that I know of."
"Maybe it was a panic attack," Ben said. "I get them sometimes when I feel overwhelmed by things, and you've been under a lot of stress recently. Shall we take you to the Hospital Wing?"
"No," Artemis shook her head. She didn't want to have to tell Madam Pomfrey about what had just happened. "No, people already think I'm mad. Just imagine what everyone will say if it gets out that I've been seeing things that aren't there."
"Don't worry, Artemis," Rowan smiled. "Your secret's safe with us."
"Thanks," said Artemis, and she reached back up to get the duelling book. "Talking of secrets, let's go and take a look at this book."
They sat down at a table as far away from anyone else as possible, and put the book down in front of them.
"What was it we have to say again?" Artemis asked Rowan.
"Like a phoenix, we shall rise from the ashes," Rowan whispered.
Artemis held the tip of her wand to the book, and repeated the phrase. Writing appeared, embossed into the leather binding of the book:
The Combined Combatant Club
"This is it!" Artemis said, opening the book, hoping to find the spells Jane had told her about. To her disappointment, the pages of the book were empty, other than the sign out page that all the Hogwarts library books had at the front.
"You have to sign it, remember," said Rowan, pulling her quill out of her bag and handing it to Artemis.
Artemis looked at the sign out page. The club members had each signed the book with their name and a date, presumably the date they had joined. The dates started in early 1982, several months after the end of the war, and it looked like Jane Court had been one of the first to sign. The most recent signature, belonging to a William A. Weasley, was dated almost a whole year previously.
"Looks like they've not been getting many new members recently," Artemis said, adding her name and the date to the list, and passing the quill back to Rowan, who did the same. "Maybe they should ask Penny to help them."
Ben also added his name, albeit hesitantly, and the pages of the book became filled with text and diagrams, some printed, some hand-written.
"This must be every duelling spell there is," Ben whispered, his eyes wide. "How will we ever learn all of them?"
"We don't have to learn all of them, Ben," said Artemis. "Just pick a few you like the sound of."
"I don't really like the sound of duelling, full stop," Ben said. "But if it stops me having to follow Merula everywhere I'll learn a couple."
"Why are you following her everywhere?"
"So she can't jump out on me when I least expect it."
"I'm just constantly expecting it at this point," muttered Artemis, darkly.
Artemis, Rowan, and Ben had decided to learn a few spells each to learn in the following weeks. Ben had picked out a couple of defensive charms, including the disarming spell and shield charm that Flitwick had taught to Artemis. Artemis had chosen jinxes for their more flamboyant effects, such locking an opponent's legs together, lifting them into the air by one ankle, causing them to vomit slugs, and encasing their head in a pumpkin. Rowan had chosen several spells which, in comparison, seemed completely harmless.
"What good's a tickling charm going to be against Merula?" Artemis asked her, as she practised the spell in their dormitory on the last night before the Christmas holidays.
"It will make her unable to fight back without actually hurting her," said Rowan, "so you shouldn't get into trouble for it."
"That's genius," Artemis said. "Let's try it now!"
Rowan taught Artemis the tickling charm, and the two girls practised on each other until they were both laughing so hard that they were rolling on the floor, doubled over with tears in their eyes.
It was at this moment that Jane Court decided to enter the dormitory to see how their duelling was coming along.
"You aren't taking this seriously," she said reproachfully.
"We are, I've learnt loads of other spells," Artemis said. "Today I even tried this one that causes your opponent's teeth to grow and grow and grow."
"How is that useful?"
"Well, Merula can't cast spells if her teeth come down to her knees," Artemis shrugged, and Jane sighed deeply. "What?"
"I think you should try some more conventional spells, Artemis," said Jane. "Over the holidays start looking at the knockback jinx, the impediment jinx, and the stunning spell. You should probably practise the shield charm some more, too. Once we get back after the break I can help you perfect them all."
"Artemis and I can't practise over the holidays," Rowan frowned.
"Why not?" Artemis asked her.
"We aren't of age. Underage magic is a serious crime," said Rowan. "There's a trace on all of us until we turn seventeen so that Ministry Of Magic can detect if we use magic outside of school."
"Don't worry about that," Jane said, smiling mysteriously. "My parents work in the Department Of Magical Law Enforcement, and there's a loophole."
"What do you mean?"
"The Ministry can only detect magic around someone who's underage, they can't tell who actually performed the magic," Jane explained. "If you're in a place known to be inhabited by witches and wizards the trace will fire off all the time. They only chase up on it if you're in a Muggle area. If you're at home with your families you can do whatever you like, and the Ministry will never know."
Rowan looked at Jane in horrified disbelief, but Artemis grinned from ear to ear.
"Who are you?" she asked. "And what have you done with our prefect?"