That night in the dormitory, Artemis and Rowan told Penny and Tonks all about Merula, the Cursed Ice, and the room of hidden things, and Penny and Tonks told them all about what they'd missed in the Quidditch stands.
"Your idea with Stinksap was even better than we'd planned," Tonks said, sniggering. "The Gryffindor changing rooms were covered in the stuff. Filch had to wear a peg on his nose while he cleaned it."
"It's a shame about their poor Seeker, though," Penny sighed. "She got Stinksap right in her eyes."
"Was she okay?"
"Oh, yes. But she had to pull out of the match because she couldn't see her own broomstick, let alone the Snitch."
"It was brilliant. I've never seen anything like it," said Tonks. "They called a time out, and the captains were shouting at each other on the pitch, and Madam Pomfrey came out and washed this girl's eyes out in front of everyone. Then Professor McGonagall went off into the stands and literally dragged Charlie Weasley down to play in her place, and he wasn't wearing Quidditch robes, so he had to play in his normal clothes because there wasn't time for him to get changed. And he only went and caught the bloody Snitch, didn't he? So Ravenclaw lost the match, and they were not happy about it at all, what with Charlie only being in first year like us, and not even properly on the team. Erika Rath threw her bat on the floor and everything," Tonks exhaled, clearly pleased with herself. "It was so dramatic. Best game of Quidditch ever."
"Wait, did you say Weasley?" Artemis wrinkled her nose. "Do you mean Weasley from our flying class?"
"Yeah," Tonks said. She gave Artemis a suspicious look. "Artemis, have you ever spoken to anyone in our year other than us and Ben?"
"Yes," Artemis said, indignantly.
"Merula doesn't count."
"Oh..." Artemis thought hard. "Well, I spoke to a girl called Chiara once. And I was partnered with one of the Gryffindor boys in Charms for a couple of weeks in first term."
"Ah," Tonks nodded, smirking. "Which Gryffindor boy was that, exactly, Artemis?"
She and Penny exchanged wry looks as Artemis struggled to answer Tonks' question.
"You know, I don't think I ever asked his name..."
"I think we need to work on your social life," Penny said. "Maybe you could join the -"
"No, Penny," said Artemis, "I don't want to join the Potions club."
"How did you know I was going to say the Potions club?"
"Lucky guess."
"Well, I do think it would be good for you to get out a bit more," Penny continued, undeterred. "You too, Rowan. You've both missed out on so much this year, and it would be so wonderful for you to be more involved in things."
"Can we at least focus on our exams first?" Rowan asked. "I've got so much revision to do. I'm a whole two days behind my schedule, and they start in sixteen days. I just don't know when I'm going to get to catch up."
"Sixteen days?"
Rowan's reminder of how close the first year exams were looming provided Artemis and Penny with the motivation to start doubling down on their revision. They spent the fifteen days in the library with Rowan, trying to cram as much information in their heads as they could. Tonks, of course, was non-plussed.
"Honestly," she said, the night before the exams started, interrupting Rowan as she was testing them all on the lives of Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball, "if you don't know it by now, are you really going to know it by tomorrow? Really, you should all just try and relax."
Rowan opened her mouth, presumably to ask Tonks how she was possibly meant to relax the night before an exam, when a knock came at the door.
"Excuse me," Jane Court said, striding into the dormitory. "Professor Dumbledore has asked to see Artemis in the Transfiguration courtyard."
"What, now?"
"Yes, now," Jane bristled. "So you'd better hurry up and see what he wants." She looked at the notes the girls had spread out over the floor of the dormitory, and seemed to soften a little. "You know, you really should put your revision away now. It's much more important that you wind down and get a good night's sleep."
"Told you so," Artemis heard Tonks say behind her, as she followed Jane out of the dormitory.
"I'm presuming that this is all to do with whatever happened in the forbidden corridor on the fifth floor?" Jane said as she escorted Artemis to the common room.
"How did you know about that?"
"Artemis, nothing ever stays a secret for long around here."
"Right," Artemis frowned. She suddenly felt quite nervous. "Do you think Professor Dumbledore is going to expel me?"
"I hope not," Jane laughed. "You know, of all the firsties, you're definitely my favourite."
"Even though I shouted at you and almost got killed by a Devil's Snare?"
"You didn't get off to the best start, I'll give you that," said Jane. "But you're a good kid, and an even better dueller."
"I am? But when you taught me and Rowan and Ben to duel, you kept telling me everything I was doing wrong."
"Only because you were good enough to be worth correcting," Jane laughed again. "You were excellent. I was thinking next year, maybe I could coach you some more."
"I'd like that," said Artemis, a smile breaking across her face. If only Penny knew about the secret duelling club. "If I don't get expelled first, that is."
When Artemis arrived in the Transfiguration courtyard, Professor Dumbledore was already there, gazing up at the darkening sky.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?"
"Miss Hexley," Professor Dumbledore smiled, but didn't turn his face down from the sky to look at her. "Thank you for joining me. You know I always find that looking at the stars calms me. Do you?"
"I'm not sure, Professor," Artemis said, confused. Surely, the headmaster hadn't asked her here to talk about the stars? "Probably not at the moment, I have my Astronomy exam Wednesday night."
"I can see how this might take some of the fun out recreational stargazing," Dumbledore chuckled. "Although, by now I would hope you are prepared for the exams."
"I hope so, too, sir."
"As I understand, you have been busy revising with Miss Khanna and Miss Haywood," said Dumbledore. He looked down from the sky and fixed her with a hard stare. "Amongst other activities, I hear."
Artemis swallowed, hard. Jane was right; Dumbledore knew everything.
"I can explain everything."
"Please," Dumbledore said, smiling, "do. I'm most obliged to listen."
Artemis took a deep breath, and told Dumbledore everything, from the incident in her first Potions lesson to the Devil's Snare and the duel with Merula, about her detention with Mr Filch and the conversation she'd overheard the teachers having in the forbidden corridor. She even told him about the cats and the calming draught, and the Mimbulus Mimbletonia, and eventually, the room full of ice.
"But, sir," she said, as she finished recounting the tale, "you have to understand that all of this was my idea. If anyone should be punished for any of it, it's me. Rowan and Ben and Penny and Tonks only did what I asked them to do."
Dumbledore, who had let Artemis go uninterrupted this whole time, nodded slowly, his blue eyes glittering behind his gold-rimmed spectacles.
"I do understand, Miss Hexley," he said, and surprisingly, he smiled once more. "Thank you for explaining everything in so much detail."
"Sorry," said Artemis. "I didn't mean to bore you."
"Not at all. You merely answered all my questions before I'd even had a chance to ask them," Dumbledore chuckled. "I think that perhaps, though, you have a few questions that you wish to ask me."
Artemis had so many questions, she didn't know where to start.
"I'd really like to know about my brother. My mum never likes to talk about him," she said. "I mean, she doesn't really ever like talking to me at all, but whenever I asked her about Jacob she really goes... well, she just shuts down," Artemis couldn't look the headmaster in the eye. She'd never told another adult about her mother's problems, even her Aunt and Uncle.
"What would you like to know about Jacob?"
"Well, I know he was looking for those Cursed Vaults, and that no one thought they existed," Artemis said. "I know that his friend died, and then Jacob was expelled, and then he went missing. I just never knew why."
"Why what?"
"Why he went after the Cursed Vaults in the first place," Artemis bit her lip. "Why he left. Why he never came back. Why that Rita Skeeter wrote those things about him."
"Ah, Rita Skeeter," Professor Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "A woman whose impeccable timing is matched only by her impeccable talent for fabrication."
"So you don't believe that what she wrote was true? That Jacob was mad, or bad, or dangerous?"
She looked up at Dumbledore expectantly, hoping that the old man would smile, and tell her that everything would be fine, that her brother was good, and safe, and that he'd soon return home. But the headmaster didn't say any of that.
"No, I don't believe that your brother was mad, or bad, or dangerous, but he did act rashly, and make bad decisions, that had dire consequences," said Professor Dumbledore, after sighing, sadly. "Artemis, it is always difficult to believe the ones we love capable of things we know to be wrong. But we are all of us able to do things we can't imagine, good and bad. And all of us make choices. We can only hope to make the right ones."
"Do you know what happened to him? Where he is now?"
"I don't know where he is, and I don't know all the details of what happened," Dumbledore paused. "I know some details, but your brother was always good at covering his tracks. Much better than you, I'm afraid, and even better than your friend Mr Copper."
"And the Cursed Vaults," Artemis said. "Are they real? Everyone says that they are just a myth, but when we heard the professors talking in the corridor, Professor Snape mentioned my brother, and said the ice was cursed, and he was right because that ice, it wasn't like normal ice," she found herself unable to stop talking, she was barely drawing breath now, "which means that maybe the Cursed Vaults are real, and Jacob was right to be looking for them, and maybe we should be helping him to find them, and to find him as well, and-"
"Miss Hexley, if the Cursed Vaults are real - and that is a definite 'if' - then they are likely to be incredibly dangerous. Interfering with curses, and poorly understood curses at that, can have devastating effects," the headmaster looked at her sternly. "I must ask that you do not attempt to go looking for the Cursed Vaults. I would hate to see you stumble down the same path as your brother."
"But-"
"I think that is enough questions for one evening," Professor Dumbledore said, a tone of finality in his voice. Artemis knew it would be pointless to argue with him. "Perhaps, Miss Hexley, during the rest of your years at Hogwarts you will discover more about your brother. At the very least, I am sure that you will discover more about yourself."
"Years? So you're not going to expel me?"
"Heavens, no. There are no rules against missing a Quidditch match. Although I must say it was a rather spectacular match, partly thanks to Miss Tonks, and her unconventional Seeker recruitment methods," said Dumbledore, his mouth twitching into an amused smile, "and from what I understand, Mrs Norris drank the potion of her own accord after Miss Khanna spilt it on the floor. Professor Kettleburn reliably informs me that cats are very partial to calming draughts, as you and that particularly handsome kitten of yours learnt at Easter.
"All in all, I'd say that you, Miss Khanna, and Mr Copper all showed incredible bravery and demonstrated some very impressive magic. I think each of you deserve twenty house points," Dumbledore smiled, and Artemis' jaw dropped in surprise. "I'll also be awarding Miss Haywood ten points for her superb potioneering, and ten to Miss Tonks, for adding some much needed excitement to what would otherwise have been a very unexceptional Quidditch match." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with delight. "There is also the matter of your saving Miss Snyde from the ice, when you could have easily left her trapped there."
"No, I couldn't."
"Perhaps you couldn't, but many others would. It is hard enough to summon the courage to face danger for the sake of our friends, let alone those with whom we have had grievances," Professor Dumbledore said, seriously. "That doesn't just take bravery, but uncommon compassion. That alone is worth another thirty house points, which, if I am as good with numbers as I was in my youth, makes fifty points for you, and ninety for Hufflepuff in total."
Artemis was speechless.
"I will take your stunned silence as a mark of gratitude," Professor Dumbledore chuckled once more. "But I shan't keep you any longer. I expect you will want to get a good night's sleep before your exams start. Be sure to let your friends know the good news."
"I will, Professor. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Miss Hexley, and good luck with the exams."
The first years' exams lasted almost two weeks, during which time so many students were found taking calming draughts from Madam Pomfrey that Tonks put a sign up outside the Hospital Wing to warn everyone of the risk of the potion to cats. When Mr Filch saw her putting up the sign he had looked incredibly angry, but after he read it, he picked up Mrs Norris and walked away without even threatening Tonks with shackles.
They received their results in the third week of June, just before the end of term speech. It turned out all of the first years had managed to get adequate grades to pass into the second year.
"Even Barnaby Lee's passed," Penny, as reliable with gossip as ever, told them all, "and, poor Barnaby, he can really be quite sweet sometimes, but he's not exactly known for being the brightest, is he?"
To no one's surprise, Rowan came top of the year overall, having received high marks in all of her subjects. Artemis and Ben had tied for top of the class in Charms, and Artemis' Transfiguration mark was the highest in the year. Her high grades in these two subjects pushed up her overall score, making up for the muddle she had gotten into during her Portions assessment. The Potions exam had involved brewing a potion from memory, with no instructions to help, and she had failed to remember exactly how many Valerian sprigs and mistletoe berries she needed to add to the Lethe River Water in order to make a Forgetfulness Potion. The irony of this had not been lost on Professor Snape. Penny, of course, had brewed her Forgetfulness Potion perfectly, coming top of the class in the subject, to no one's surprise. Tonks, on the other hand, had surprised everyone by getting fairly good grades herself, despite no one having ever seen her do any work whatsoever.
The results weren't the only cause for celebration. The ninety points the girls had received from Professor Dumbledore and the additional twenty-five Rowan receive for coming top of the class had narrowly pushed Hufflepuff into first place for the House Cup.
When the girls and Ben arrived in the Great Hall for the end-of-year feast, the whole hall was decked out in yellow and black, the Hufflepuff house colours. Before the start of the meal, Dumbledore announced them as the House Cup winners, and there was a deafening noise from their table. Hufflepuff hadn't won the cup for over twelve years. Artemis saw that Jane Court, sitting with her fellow sixth-years, looked so happy she thought for a moment that her prefect might run up to the teacher's table and kiss the headmaster. Over at the Slytherin table, Merula Snyde looked furious.
The next morning, the students took the train back to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, ready for the summer holidays. As the students piled into the horseless carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade station, and drew away from the castle, Artemis felt a distinct pang of homesickness.
She, Rowan, Ben, Penny and Tonks all climbed on board the Hogwarts Express and sat in a carriage together. She took Fergus out of his basket, and let him roam around the carriage, where he started to play on the floor with one of Artemis' old quills.
"I can't wait to tell my mum that I came top of the year in Potions," Penny beamed. "Rowan, imagine how proud your parents will be when they find out about your results. Yours too. Ben."
"I don't know," said Ben, "I don't think they will really understand what it means, being Muggles, and all. They'll probably be confused about the whole one hundred and fifteen percent thing."
"My parents will just be thrilled that I got through the whole year without being expelled," Tonks grinned.
The others started to chat happily about their families, and their plans for the summer. Artemis went quiet. She was dreading returning to the silence and sparseness of Lovelace Crescent. She stared out of the window, watching Hogwarts Castle disappear into the distance, her chin resting on one forearm, her free hand smoothing Fergus' ginger fur.
"You know," Rowan whispered to her, clearly having noticed the miserable look on her face, "my mum did say I could invite a friend to stay for a few days in the summer."
Artemis lifted her head, and looked at Rowan.
"You mean it? I can come and stay with you?"
"Of course," Rowan said. "I'll get my mum to write to yours so she knows we aren't weirdos."
"I don't think that will be necessary. Mum doesn't really care what I get up to, I don't reckon she'd be too bothered about me staying with weirdos anyway."
"I'm sure she does care really," Rowan reached over and squeezed Artemis' hand gently. She let go and frowned. "My parents definitely care what I get up to, so maybe don't mention anything about duelling or Cursed Ice when you come to visit."
"I won't, don't worry," Artemis grinned.
"That reminds me, actually," said Rowan, pulling her notebook out of her pocket. "Do you remember that writing in the ice inside that locked room?"
"You mean the runes?"
"Yes, those," Rowan nodded, flicking through her notebook. "After we finished our exams I had some spare time so I looked into them, and I managed to translate the markings!"
"Rowan, that's amazing!" Artemis exclaimed, looking at her best friend in awe. Her raised voice caused Fergus to leap off her lap and Ben, Penny and Tonks to turn around in their seats to stare at her. "What do they mean?"
"Well, it's not an exact translation," said Rowan, to everyone now, "but they say something about ice being released from a vault."
Artemis and her friends were quiet for a few moments as they considered this, before Penny and Tonks broke the silence.
"Does that mean the Cursed Ice?"
"Does it mean the Cursed Vault?"
"I think it does, you know."
"So they are real," said Artemis. "Jacob was right all along."
"But if there is a Cursed Vault releasing this ice, how are we supposed to stop it spreading out from that room and covering the whole castle?" Ben asked. "And where would anyone even be able to hide a Cursed Vault inside the school?"
"I suppose it could be anywhere, like that room of hidden things you found on the seventh floor," Artemis shrugged. "It seems to me that Hogwarts is just full of mysteries."
"Well, actually," said Rowan, "the runes did say something about finding the Vault. They said it's beyond a vanished staircase, guarded by an ice knight."
"Wait, a staircase and a knight?" Artemis frowned, and Rowan nodded. "But, Rowan, that's exactly what I saw in my vision! The stairs, and the suit of armour, and the ice spreading all over Hogwarts..."
"Bloody hell," said Tonks, after no one had said anything for almost a minute.
"When I get back to London I'm going to look in my brother's bedroom," Artemis said. "Maybe he left some clues behind. I've searched through there before, but I might have missed something."
"I'll look up everything I can about ice knights and staircases over the summer," said Rowan. "There's nothing about the Cursed Vaults in Hogwarts, A History, but maybe there will be something about those."
"I'm sure I can find plenty of potions that would help us fight an ice knight!" Penny suggested cheerfully.
"It all sounds dreadful scary, but I'll work on mastering my nerves," said Ben, nodding his head resolutely.
"You know me," Tonks said with a grin. "I'm always available if you need something to keep Filch out of your way."
Artemis smiled at her friends. Outside of the window, Hogwarts had completely vanished into the horizon. Whatever mysteries the castle held within its walls could wait for another day. She took a quill and some parchment from her bag, and started to scribble her address down, Fergus batting the quivering feather with a single paw as she scrawled. When she was done, she tore the parchment into three pieces and passed one each to Ben, Penny, and Tonks.
"Promise you'll all write to me over the summer?"