The girl's dormitory was as Bagsy had remembered it from when she'd spent one night there last year. There were six beds in total, each one a four-poster made from dark mahogany with a canopy and curtains in pale yellow that could be drawn around them for privacy. The circular room was big enough for each bed to have a night stand, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a trunk. She saw her things had been placed on the empty bed that had meant to be hers last year.
The girls were so busy unpacking that it took them a few seconds to notice her.
'Well, well, well,' Primrose said with barely concealed malice. 'Finally able to afford a bed instead of some dank corner in the castle?' she sneered, folding her arms.
'Oh, come off it, Primrose. You need to get over your obsession with money,' Teresa said with a roll of her eyes. 'Must you hear the sound of your own voice at all times?'
'Everyone cares about money, at least I'm honest about it,' said Primrose before going back to pulling fancy looking robes and clothes out of her trunk and hanging them in her wardrobe, thrusting the coat hangers with loud clangs onto the pole.
A girl who Bagsy hadn't met yet walked over to her and held out her hand. She had tan skin and auburn hair in a plait down to her waist, and an incredibly beautiful face, from her brown eyes to her hooked nose. Bagsy thought she looked like a model and shook her hand cautiously.
'I'm Paloma,' the girl said with a smile, flashing very white, straight teeth and cute dimples. Bagsy nodded, her mouth hanging open. 'And you..?
'I'm B-Bagsy,' Bagsy managed.
'I'm B-B-B-Bagsy!' Primrose mimicked, making a face at a tall girl with messy blonde hair in a bob that was unpacking on the bed next to her, who laughed deeply. Paloma looked at Primrose, her hands on her hips, clearly disapproving but saying nothing, before returning to her own bed to finish her unpacking.
Bagsy had now met four out of the five girls that shared this dormitory. The fifth, the girl who'd laughed at Primrose's impression, looked at Bagsy from behind her glasses. She was very tall, like Teresa and, like Teresa, had white skin. Bagsy didn't think they were related, though. This girl didn't have Teresa's fierce red hair, or lithe appearance, this girl was far stockier.
'That's Rebekah,' Teresa said suddenly, pointing her thumb at the girl, who had turned away from Bagsy and was ruffling her messy blonde hair in a mirror.
'Hi,' Rebekah said without turning to look at her.
Bagsy pursed her lips, not able to bring herself to respond, and decided to ignore them all while she faced her belongings. She didn't intend to unpack – she was just going to sleep here until she could put the image of that beast in her room out of her head – but she needed to clear a space on her bed. She shoved her trunk below the bed, pulling her toiletries and pyjamas out beforehand, then freed her rats and opened Eldritch's cage.
Eldritch hopped out of his cage and flew up to the windowsill that towered over Bagsy's head. The window looked out onto Hogwarts' ground, but from foot height – the Hufflepuff dormitories were in the basement, after all.
'Do you want to go to the owlery?' Bagsy asked. Eldritch looked at her and she got the sense that yes, he did. Standing on her bed and reaching up, Bagsy opened the window and let Eldritch fly out, closing it behind him.
Someone grabbed Bagsy's wrist and hauled her off her bed, nearly causing her to fall, her heart stammering in surprise.
'Come look at all my pets!' Teresa chimed happily, dragging Bagsy over to her portion of the room, which was next to Neve's.
Teresa had, somehow, already finished unpacking, her area filled with cages and tanks. A hook hung from the top of Teresa's bed, hanging from which was a sleeping bat. Slippy, Teresa's toad, was happily croaking in his tank which was on Teresa's bed side table. Another habitat poked out from underneath Teresa's bed and Bagsy thought she saw hairy legs and scaled bodies.
'I have one bat, two toads, three spiders, two snakes and an ant farm!' Teresa counted off from her fingers happily, then pointed at a mass of what Bagsy had thought were large picture frames standing on and around the trunk at the end of her bed. Bagsy realised that the pictures where actually thin sand containers, in which thousands of ants had built a vast network of tunnels. Small, plastic tubes connected each frame to the next so that it was an ant metropolis.
'I'm sure Bagsy doesn't want to hear about your ant farm, Teresa,' Paloma said, crinkling her nose in distaste and eyeing the ant farm with concern. 'I can't believe you haven't been caught yet. You really shouldn't have all these creatures-' Teresa flung a hand over Paloma's mouth, cutting her off. She shook her head in warning and pointed meaningfully at Primrose, who was busy deciding where to keep her jewellery box and hadn't paid attention to what Paloma had said. Paloma nodded, and Teresa removed her hand. 'Right,' Paloma winced in understanding. 'Can't let her know.'
'I'm guessing you're not allowed these things,' Bagsy said in a low voice. Teresa must be scared that, if Primrose realised, she'd tell on her and get her in trouble.
Teresa looked away guiltily. 'Zotova really likes animals. She said she could sneak 'em in for me,' she explained. 'I'm not sure the other staff would approve.'
'The groundskeeper?' Bagsy asked.
Teresa nodded. 'Yeah. She's really cool – knows almost as much about animals as I do.' She puffed out her chest. 'Of course, she knows more about magical creatures, but it can't be helped. I didn't know I was a witch until a year ago.'
'How didn't you know you were a witch?' Bagsy asked in confusion.
'I'm muggle-born,' Teresa answered simply, to which a furious itch to ask her about muggle life formed in Bagsy's brain. She held her tongue, not sure if that would be rude or not, and instead smiled pleasantly before returning to her own corner of the room, unsure what to do.
'I'm going for a walk,' Bagsy said, moving to leave, glancing at her rats as she went. Bill had curled up asleep on Bagsy's pillow whilst Jill was exploring all the different drawers next to Bagsy's bed.
'Missing Hufflepuff,' Bagsy heard Teresa mutter under her breath to Neve, who nodded in agreement.
'Bagsy?' Paloma said as Bagsy was leaving. 'You may want to watch your rats if you're going to leave them alone in here.' She indicated Primrose's bed where a small, hairless cat with ears and eyes that seemed bigger than its face was yawning lazily, stretching its claws. Paloma then nodded at her own bed, where a tabby cat was eyeing Bill hungrily.
Gathering Bill and Jill protectively in her arms and letting them sit on her shoulder, Bagsy nodded gratefully at her. 'Good point,' she said, before ducking out of the common room.
She set off straight for the Slytherin common room. Bill climbed into one of the pockets in her robe with a happy chirp as she fell back asleep, while Jill sat on Bagsy's shoulder, tail raised and head twitching from side to side, like a gargoyle keeping guard. It took Bagsy a minute to get used to navigating Hogwarts again, with its doors that required polite introductions, paintings that murmured distractingly as you walked past, and rugs that aimed to wrap around your feet and trip you over. There was also the matter of the ghosts who would pop out of nowhere, giving Bagsy heart attacks.
When she reached the Slytherin common room, she felt relieved to have made it. The stone wall that she remembered hid the entrance to the Slytherin common room stood closed before her and she knocked on it and waited patiently. It took a while, but eventually someone appeared.
A boy, almost three heads taller than Bagsy, looked down at her with cutting green eyes. 'What do you want?' he asked in a deep voice that intimidated Bagsy thoroughly. Even Jill ducked behind Bagsy's shoulder, out of sight.
'I-is Mezrielda in here?' stuttered Bagsy. The boy glanced over his shoulder and called the question out to the rest of the Slytherin common room, unashamed at yelling as loudly as he pleased. Bagsy shrank in on herself in embarrassment.
The boy glanced back at her, giving her an odd look. 'I feel like we've done this before,' he muttered. Bagsy realised they had when, last year, she'd come to the Slytherin common room asking after the same girl.
'H-have we? I don't recall...' she lied.
'Quinton,' a familiar voice called from inside the Slytherin common room, drawing closer. 'Stop scaring the poor girl. Leave it to me.'
The boy, Quinton, snorted his assent, sneering down at Bagsy a last time, before disappearing back into the Slytherin common room.
Tod Alden's face took his place, smiling that crooked, confident smile of his. 'Bagsy,' he greeted her. 'How was your summer?'
'Fine... it was fine...' Bagsy trailed off.
'Good, good, I'm glad to hear it. Sadly, Mezrielda isn't here. But I am, so what is it you need help with?' He stepped out into the corridor, the wall closing behind him with the sound of stone scraping stone.
'I don't... I don't need help with anything,' Bagsy said. 'I'm just looking for Mezrielda.'
Tod frowned. 'Really? You're sure you're not looking for someone to help you learn spells or find some hidden, ancient item?' Bagsy shook her head timidly. Tod hummed, looking a tad disappointed. 'Well, okay then, I'm afraid I haven't a clue where Mezrielda is.' He turned to go back to his common room.
'Wait!' Bagsy said, suddenly. Tod looked her. 'Can you help me find out what's happened to her?'
Tod laughed. 'Why on earth would I do that?'
Bagsy was silent. She couldn't bring herself to remind Tod she'd saved his life last school year. When they'd found the thorned gauntlet the spiral staircase they'd been on had begun collapsing into nothingness and Tod had tripped and frozen in fear. Bagsy had tried to help him and had fallen instead, saving Tod from the horror of the other Hogwarts that Bagsy had fallen into, and from almost certain death.
With relief, Bagsy saw in Tod's eyes that she didn't need to remind him.
'What's in it for me?' Tod asked, turning back to face her. He wasn't as tall as Quinton, but he was still a lot taller than Bagsy, and the hair that had been falling in his eyes last year had only grown longer.
Bagsy racked her brain for something she could offer him. 'Do you need help in potions? Or herbology?' Tod laughed again. Bagsy guessed not. 'How about money?' Tod shook his head. Bagsy twiddled her thumbs and furrowed her brow.
'Why don't we call it an IOU?' Tod offered with a confident smirk, tilting his head and examining Bagsy calculatingly with his dark eyes. Bagsy didn't like the sound of that, but she really wanted to know what had happened to Mezrielda.
'Sure,' Bagsy nodded, a heavy feeling pressing worryingly down on her shoulders.
'Follow me,' Tod said, casually walking past Bagsy at a pace that was comfortable for her. The staff room wasn't far, and whilst Bagsy had struggled with the often absurd layout of Hogwarts, Tod seemed to know exactly where to go. He knocked on the door to the staff room and leant against the wall to the side of it, his hands in his robe pockets. When the door opened and Professor Kim, the flight instructor, looked down at them, Tod shot her a charming smile.
'Professor,' he said pleasantly. 'Can I speak with Professor Hilkins, please?'
'Sure,' Kim said, disappearing back into the staff room.
A few moments later Professor Hilkins appeared, his face a bag of wrinkles and speckled skin, his eyes a watery grey. 'Yes?' his ancient, rasped voice asked. Bagsy felt the air around her shift and turn cold as Tod prepared to use his silver tongue power.
'What's happened to Mezrielda Glint?' Tod asked, tilting his head and furrowing his brow in curiosity.
Hilkins blinked and Bagsy saw something in his eyes fade away as Tod's powers worked. 'She no longer attends Hogwarts,' said Professor Hilkins.
Bagsy took a step back from him, drawing in a sharp breath as if she'd been hit.
'Why?' Tod pushed.
'We don't know.'
'What do you think the reason is?'
Hilkins' face was paling with each word Tod said to him. Hilkins drew in a rattling breath. 'I suspect the incident last year scared her parents. Not to mention Hogwarts is expensive and, well, not a single member of staff doesn't know about her family situation...'
'What situation?' Tod asked, his voice growing stronger. Bagsy saw that Hilkins was hunching over more than usual.
'That's all we needed, thank you,' Bagsy cut over him, pushing Tod away from the staff room door with a hand. Tod took a few steps back, narrowing his eyes at her. Hilkins just nodded and weakly moved to shut the staffroom door.
'We just asked ordinary questions,' Tod rushed out with a hiss before the door shut, a final push of cold power hitting the air around Bagsy.
Bagsy knew Tod was a silver tongue. Last year, Tod had made Mezrielda forget about the thorned gauntlet and her quest for it and had meddled with Bagsy's own perceptions of things she'd seen and thought but she was still unsure what exactly it was Tod could and couldn't do.
'Why did you stop me?' Tod asked, setting off back towards the common room.
'I'm sorry,' Bagsy said instinctively.
'Sure, but why?'
'I was worried Hilkins was being hurt. He's so old anyway... I didn't want him to become a ghost teacher like Professor Binns.'
'Fair enough.'
Bagsy was so subdued as they moved around the castle that it took her a while to realise they were walking in circles. The idea of Hogwarts without Mezrielda made her directionless. 'Sorry, I expect you want to get back to your dorm,' Bagsy apologised, assuming she'd made some sort of mistake and led them in a wrong direction, even though she didn't think she'd been the one leading.
'Wait,' Tod's voice was reluctant. Bagsy stopped and looked at him. He was facing away from her, rubbing his face with his hands. 'Urgh. Fine,' he said to himself.
'What?'
'I can make Mezrielda's parents forget about the incident,' Tod sighed, looking at Bagsy. 'And I can convince a teacher to give her a scholarship to cover the cost of school.'
Bagsy blinked and stared at him blankly. 'Why would you-'
'I expect one hell of an IOU one day, Bagsy,' Tod answered, putting his hands on his hips. 'I mean it. I don't do things for free.'
Bagsy couldn't hold back a smile. It was Tod's turn to stare blankly, before awkwardly turning away.
'Thank you, Tod,' Bagsy said sincerely.
'Yeah, yeah. Sure. Stop smiling already.'
'But you don't need to convince a teacher to give her a scholarship,' Bagsy added hurriedly.
Tod cast her a sideways look. 'No?'
'No. Because I'm going to do that. If Mezrielda is going to get a scholarship, it will be because she deserves one.' Bagsy stood firmly, her fists clenched. Jill, who crawled onto her shoulder, chirped her agreement, and a tired yawn sounded from the pocket Bill was sleeping in.
Tod looked at the rat and raised an eyebrow. 'Alright,' he agreed. 'I'll write to my parents. They can arrange travel to Mezrielda's. Where does she live?'
'Vespite Cliff,' Bagsy answered, remembering where she'd been sending letters all summer. Bagsy wondered why Mezrielda hadn't told her she wasn't going to be returning to Hogwarts in their letters and felt a stab of betrayal.
Before they set off, Bagsy sent Bill and Jill back to the Hufflepuff common room. 'Just lock yourself in your cage,' Bagsy told Jill, worried the cats may try to eat them. Jill practically dragged the lazy Bill after her as they scampered back to the common room.
Tod and Bagsy didn't hurry to the owlery but to Hogwarts lake instead, which confused her, as you couldn't send a letter without an owl. All the while Tod was scribbling on a piece of parchment he'd pulled from his robes.
'What's that?' Bagsy asked, looking at the thin stick he was writing with.
'Biro,' Tod explained.
Bagsy's eyes widened. 'That's a muggle thing, isn't it?' she asked. 'How did you get it?'
'From another student. Muggle inventions have their uses. Being able write without an ink pot is this one's.' Tod finished his writing and put the biro away, rolling his message up.
'How come your parents didn't stop you coming back to Hogwarts?' Bagsy asked, assuming his parents had also been informed about the incident that they'd found themselves in.
'They think other things are more important than safety,' Tod answered simply. 'What about your parents?'
Bagsy looked away. Her parents hadn't even read the urgent Hogwarts letter that had been sent to them.
'They don't know?' Tod breathed in disbelief.
'No, they do,' Bagsy lied. 'They decided I was sensible enough to avoid any more danger.'
Tod narrowed his dark eyes disbelievingly.
Once they reached the lake, the boy whistled and held his message out. A bird as sharp as a knife with white feathers, blue eyes and black wing tips swooped swiftly down and snapped the message out of Tod's hand as if it were a fish in water.
'Woah!' Bagsy squeaked, ducking down instinctually. The bird was very fast.
'That's my gannet,' Tod explained. 'They're the fastest birds in Britain. My parents will hear about this within the hour. If we're quick Mezrielda will be back before lessons start on Monday.' He looked at Bagsy. 'I'll wait here – now it's your turn. Go convince the school Mezrielda deserves a scholarship, I'm sure it'll be a piece of pumpkin pie.'
Bagsy gulped, suddenly regretting her idea. 'Maybe it's better if-'
'Hourglass is running out of sand, Bagsy,' Tod tutted, lying down in the grass and placing his hands behind his head. 'Get a move on.'
'Right,' Bagsy said uncertainly, hurrying back to the castle.