Chapter 4
Leo and Calypso quickly turned and headed up the spiral stairs, scared of this strange Moody. They heard the sound of his wooden leg right behind them as they climbed, but they didn’t dare turn around.
When they reached the top, Moody pulled out a short, skinny piece of wood. He pointed it at a giant door and muttered something under his breath. There was a clicking noise and the door opened. Leo looked over at Calypso
“Wand,” he mouthed.
“Go in,” Moody said roughly.
Leo and Calypso jumped and walked into the room. Dumbledore sat at a desk toward the back. He quickly stood up and walked toward them.
“Professor, I hope you haven’t scared them too much have you?” he said and chuckled. “This is Professor Moody. He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts here.”
Leo and Calypso timidly turned toward Moody and simultaneously did a tiny wave. Moody didn’t wave back. He seemed just a bit, well, moody.
Dumbledore chuckled. “Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked to meet you. I wanted to know how I can help you fix your dragon and anything else I can do for you.”
Leo and Calypso looked at Dumbledore in shock. “You know about Festus?” Leo asked.
Dumbledore chuckled again. “Yes, Mr. Valdez. I know about Festus and your brave actions against Gaea a couple days ago. I also know,” he said, turning to Calypso, “that Sanchez is not your last name and that you, in fact, have no last name because you are a titan.” Seeing Leo and Calypso’s shocked faces, he added, “I’m a friend of Chiron’s.”
Leo nodded. “Of course you are. Is it just me, or does Chiron know everyone on the entire planet?”
Dumbledore laughed. “I’m sure it helps to be millions of years old. So, how can I help you fix Festus?”
“Well, we’ll need some tools, whatever you can get us,” Leo said.
“Do you need extra hands to help? Perhaps some hands with wands in them?”
Leo shook his head. “I think it would be best if Calypso and I worked on Festus alone.”
Dumbledore nodded understandingly. “May I meet Festus?”
“Uh . . . sure!” Leo said. “Do you mean now? We can lead you to him.”
Dumbledore, Leo, Calypso, and Moody headed out of the castle to Festus in the Forbidden Forest. Festus was very happy to meet Dumbledore, but was a little unsure about Moody. Dumbledore assessed the damage done to Festus and told them he would get the tools they would require within a couple days.
“In the meantime,” he said, “I’m sure all our professors would be delighted to have you visit their classes. You can shadow Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, or Ms. Granger’s schedules.”
Leo clapped his hands. “This is the best crash I’ve ever been in! Let’s go learn some magic tricks!”
Leo and Calypso decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. The next day, Calypso went with Hermione while Leo went with Harry and Ron. They had most of their classes together, but while Harry and Ron went to Divination, Hermione went to Arithmancy.
“I quit Divination in the middle of the year last year,” Hermione explained. “Trelawney is a fake, and I couldn’t put up with her foolishness anymore. Ron and Harry stayed because you can get away with anything as long as it has something to do with danger.” Calypso laughed. “You think I’m kidding?”
Leo ate up all the magic and—as he called it—‘magomeness,’ which is a combination between magic and awesomeness. The only class he was not in complete awe of was Potions. Even someone who thought everything that had to do with Hogwarts was amazing couldn’t like Professor Snape.
“Mr. Valdez, is it?” Snape looked down at Leo with disgust. “Perhaps Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley forgot to tell you that there will be order in my class, so I will ask you to kindly stop acting like a five-year-old. No wonder you crashed here.”
Leo was about to jump at Snape, but Harry and Ron held him back. “I see what you mean,” he muttered to Ron.
That night at dinner, Leo and Calypso talked animatedly about their day with the others.
“What I don’t understand is how you could possibly think Professor Binn’s class is cool. I mean, he’s so boring!” Ron said, laughing.
“But you guys already know all about your history and stuff. We don’t know any of it! He did have a really boring voice, though,” Leo said.
“Pardon me, Leo.” Dumbledore had walked up behind Leo and Calypso. “When you get a chance, Professor Moody has the tools you will need to fix—uh—Festus,” he whispered. “Mr. Weasley, will you escort these two to Professor Moody’s office when they’re ready?” Dumbledore turned to Ron.
“Uh, thur,” Ron said, his mouth full of food.
Dumbledore chuckled. “I’m glad you’re enjoying the food,” he said, and walked away.
After everyone had finished, Harry and Hermione headed back to the Gryffindor common room, while Ron, Leo, and Calypso headed to Moody’s office.
“It’s on the other side of the castle,” Ron said. “So, how long do you think it’s going to take to fix Festus?”
“I’m not sure,” Leo sighed. “I could just have to fix his legs, or I could have to take him completely apart and rebuild him. I’m a little worried about what condition he’s in.”
“Aw, I’m sure he’s alright!” Ron clapped Leo on the back. “Ah, here we are. His office is right through that door.”
“Thanks Ron,” Calypso said. “We’re gonna head out to the forest after we get the tools. We can find our way out if you want to go upstairs and rest.”
Ron nodded. “Alright. See you later,” he said pointing to Leo, “and I’ll see you in the morning,” he said pointing to Calypso. He waved, and left.
Just as Leo was about to knock on the door, it opened. “I was wondering if you were coming or not.” Professor Moody stared them down. “I saw you through the door. This here eye can see everything.” He pointed to the eye that they had noticed could look behind him. “Well, stop standing there. Come on.”
Moody moved to one side to allow Leo and Calypso to come in. They shuffled into the room, nervously. This Moody dude was freaky. Something was definitely off about him.
Moody closed the door, which made Leo and Calypso jump. “They’re back here on my desk.” He moved past them to get the tools. “So, this dragon . . . he’s mechanic?”
“Uh . . . yeah,” Leo said. “I, uh, I saved him. He went haywire, and I fixed him. He’s like family to me, really.”
Moody grunted. “Well, let’s hope you fix the little devil, then. Now, off you go.” He handed them the tools, and showed them out. “Watch out for, ah, things out there. Students aren’t allowed out there, and I’d advise ye to stay out of there as much as possible.”
Leo and Calypso nodded and left. They headed out to the forest.
“What was that?!” Calypso said when she heard a noise.
“I don’t know,” Leo whispered. “Stay close.”
The two kept walking, quieter and slower than before. The noise sounded like an animal of some sort walking. Leaves rustled, and it sounded like the creature was getting closer. They could see the crater where Festus was in the distance. If they could just get over to him . . .
Leo saw something out of the corner of his eye, stalking them. He looked over at Calypso. She hadn’t noticed. He decided to keep it that way. He pulled her a little closer. The creature was getting closer, almost close enough to make out what it was.
Leo gasped. “What?!” Calypso breathed. Leo couldn’t believe it. They were being watched by a giant spider.
“Calypso, listen very carefully. Do not act like you have noticed anything and don’t make any sudden moves. There’s a giant spider following us,” Leo whispered. Calypso inhaled sharply and slowly nodded.
The spider started moving faster, and so did Leo and Calypso. Suddenly the spider broke into a run. Calypso screamed, but that seemed to only egg the spider on. The spider got closer and closer, and the two broke into a run as well. The spider seemed faster than them. Soon, the spider was on their tail.
Suddenly, Leo pushed Calypso ahead of him and swung his leg out. It caught the spider right between the eyes, and it stumbled backward a little. It was mad now. It started to charge.
“Calypso, RUN!” Leo yelled.
Calypso did just that. She ran right up to Leo and the spider and flipped onto its back, knocking it off its feet. “Do you really think that after I’ve been stuck on a stupid island for millennia I’m just going to step aside and let you have all the fun?!” she yelled as the spider got back up. “We need to get to Festus!”
The two started to run toward Festus, but the spider was catching up quick. Leo huffed and turned around to smack the spider. Just before he swung, the spider lunged, landing right on top of him.
“LEO!” Calypso screamed. She kicked the spider as hard as she could in the ribs, but to no effect. She grabbed one of its hairy legs and pulled as hard as she could. The leg came off.
The spider made a noise that sounded remotely like a scream. It jumped off of Leo, who quickly stood up.
“C’MON!” he yelled. He grabbed Calypso’s wrist and started running toward Festus again. The spider followed closely behind, but it was slower now that it was minus one leg.
Leo and Calypso got to the edge of Festus’s crater to find him asleep. Leo turned around and quickly pushed Calypso into the crater. He kicked the spider as hard as he could, sending it flying. He looked down into the crater to make sure Calypso was alright. She was standing at the bottom, arms crossed, looking very annoyed.
“When are you going to get it through your head that I am not your damsel in distress?” She shook her head. Suddenly, her eyes bulged. “JUMP!” She pointed behind him.
Leo turned just in time to see the spider jumping toward him again. He punched, blindly. His fist connected with the spider’s stomach, but it just stopped it from knocking him into the crater.
“ARGH!” The spider had bitten Leo’s foot. He shook it off, but it just charged again.
Everything started to get blurry, and time seemed to slow. Leo vaguely heard Calypso yell something, but he couldn’t make it out. There was a bright light that surrounded his body and the spider’s. Leo attempted to turn around, but he collapsed. He heard a high-pitched scream that either came from Calypso or the spider. He couldn’t tell. He turned his head and saw a blurry figure that must be Calypso run toward him, and blacked out.