80: The boy in the corridor

(Annabella POV)

We were moving through corridors I had never been in before. I did not know what Gus was thinking or what he was feeling but there was one thing for sure.

(I trust him. He is the only one I can in that place. I mean big sis Ana is also nice, but Gus is nicer and brother Nathan was mean, sister Beatris was nice and sis Hermione....)

That was when I felt a tug on my shoulder. I looked down and saw Gus looking worriedly at me. Was he worried because I was spacing out?

"What's the matter," I asked.

<The feeling.... It's gone. I don't feel the danger rather it has turned to something else>

"Something else?" I tilted my head. "Like what?"

<You know like...… like...… Like when sister Erica tells us that we will have pudding after lunch and then at the last time she says that it got canceled.> He looked at me.

"yeah, that is the worst feeling." I rubbed my belly slightly.

<that is the kind of feeling that the monster is feeling right now.> he gestured.

At that time what neither of us knew was that this feeling was the feeling of disappointment at not getting one's meal. But we would soon find that out.

He started to walk again.

"If the monster is gone then where are we going right now…." I asked curiously.

<there was someone else there...> he gestured lazily. That meant he was trying to use his powers more. It always got him tired. Everyone around him knew that he had some kind of power or magic that let him feel the emotions of animals but what everyone did not know was that he could feel anything until it was living. And if he was saying that there was something else then that could mean only one thing....

We took another sharp turn. And lo and behold our worst fears came to reality. There was a boy laying on the floor. He was holding a camera to his face so we could not see what he looked like. And near him was a very familiar face. Her arm was still wrapped in bandages showing that she was not yet fully healed.

"What are the two of you going here?" She asked us as soon as she saw us.

"Ummmmm ...…. Ehhhh….. us???" I lost it as soon as she asked due to nervousness. Although I knew that we never did anything yet Gus had to come to my rescue.

<We were just having a walk and nothing else.> he made a poor excuse.

Beatris looked at us with a look that said, are you okay upstairs?

"bad lie?" I asked innocently.

"Really bad" she insisted.

<Okay> Gus started to speak again. <We came here because we....> but Beatris cut him off.

"Umm sorry, Aug but I don't understand much sign language. So can you tell me, Anna?" She spoke.

I saw Gus visibly feel down. But I started to talk anyway.

"Gus said that he felt the monster again."

"So you can feel it too." She literally jumped towards Gus. "You hear the voices as well right? Tell me that I am not going crazy." She shook him but he also shook his head in return.

"What ...…. You don't?" She seemed confused now, so I had to step in.

"You see big sis. Gus can talk and feel the emotions of animals. So, he just felt that, and we thought that someone might need our help and...…." I stopped mid-way.

"and...." Beatris asked in a quick tone, but Gus tugged at her. He knew there was something wrong.

<Bell you, okay?> He asked through his gestures.

Well, the thing is that Gus was not the only one who was weird. I too was weird in my own way. I was able to smell things. Well not like that ...…. you know…. Like we smell our food. It was kind of like that but not like that at the same time. What I could smell were people. But not everyone. It was a smell that I could feel everywhere. Slightly. And it all started after that incident. And that smell was especially strong here in this school. It felt like something really tasty. It also came from people. Like sister Ana smelled less tasty and sister Beatris was really tasty. And brother Nathan smelled the most. And right now, the smell was getting stronger. A lot of people were coming here.

"Someone is coming I said." I only said that it was someone but in truth, I knew that it was the headmaster.

"What how can you tell?" Sister Beatris did not seem to believe me. But then Gus pulled at her, and he looked into her eyes. I knew what he was doing. It was the trick through which he talked through his thoughts. And in a moment, I heard Beatris say

"What.... You are in my head???? How??? Really...… Okay" I had no idea what he said but sister Beatris gestured for us to come with her and we followed. She went in the opposite direction from where the professors were coming. We were walking fast to not get caught. I mean as young as I was, I still knew that the situation was pretty bad. A dead child was laying down in the corridor and we were the prime suspects. I was scared. What was happening here? I did not know anymore and ........

"Someone is coming." I stopped at once.

"What...… who???? Where???" Beatris was also shocked.

I pointed in the forward direction. "From there...… two people" I started to shake. There was no way that we could get out of this mess. There was the headmaster from where we came from, and two more professors were coming from the front. It was the end. There was no way that we could have gotten out of this mess.

"Come here" ­­­­­Beatris whispered. And then she pulled out something hidden inside of her bandages. At first, it seemed like water…. Black water. It was silky and smooth and seemed like a black waterfall. Only when it came out did I understand what it was. It was a cloak. And then in a swift motion, she took it over her, and we saw as she disappeared from our sight.

"What is this????" I almost shouted.

"Just come here" And she pulled the both of us under the cloak. It was a little cramped inside and we all fit in barely.

"Wow...…." But who cared about that? I was amazed beyond belief. Magic was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. "How does this....." But big sis Beatris placed a hand in front of my mouth and right at that time I saw professor Snape and Professor McGonagall run in front of us. They were in a hurry.

"Come on," Beatris whispered and we followed her. After walking for the next few moments we reached the hospital wing.

"Come now or else you both will get the whole house in trouble." She gestured to us and opened the door. And we slipped inside the hospital wing.

"PHEW….. That was a really close call" I wiped fake sweat from my forehead but that was not going to cut it. We were in big trouble.

"What do you think you were doing... Have the both of you gone mad?" Boy was she angry or what. We could do nothing but listen to what she was saying without heads down. And that was when I felt it again. The most familiar scent and it was strong. Like really strong.

"Ummmm" I raised my hand like I was in some kind of class.

"What?" she almost barked.

"Someone is coming...…" that was when she woke up from her rage and looked back towards the door.

"OOOOOO...… Quick hide here." And in a hurry, she pushed us under her bed. And lay as if she were sleeping.

The next moment, Dumbledore was backing into the dormitory, wearing a long woolly

dressing gown and a nightcap. He was carrying one end of what looked like a statue.

(That's the boy we saw...) I had to cover my mouth with my hands to not gasp.

Professor McGonagall appeared a second later, carrying its feet. Together, they heaved

it onto a bed.

"Get Madam Pomfrey and the Anastasia as well," whispered Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall hurried past the end of Beatris' bed out of sight. She lay quite still, pretending to be asleep. Then we saw her coming back with Madam Pomfrey.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered to Dumbledore, bending over the statue

on the bed.

"Another attack," said Dumbledore. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him," said Professor McGonagall. "We think he

was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter."

I felt big sis Beatris move on hearing that. I eyed Gus and told him to stay put while I crawled out of bed to see the face, we had not been able to see before. It seemed as if big sis Beatris had had the same idea because she too was trying to look. We saw the face of the boy in the shimmering moonlight that was falling on his face. It was Colin Creevey. He was a kid from my class. His eyes were wide, and his hands were stuck up in front of him, holding his camera. I suddenly felt a pang of fear creep up my spine.

(He is a boy from our class. He got like this because he was walking around the school after curfew. It could have been me...….)

As the realization dawned on me I felt my forehead get wet. My ears were getting hot and my hands started to shake.

(I could have died or even worse. It could have been Gus. We..... we...…)

I felt Gus' hand on mine. I looked up and saw his brown eyes looking at me and then I heard his voice in my head

\Why are you thinking about things like that/ he scolded me in my mind and believe me that before this I did not even know if it was possible. \No one is going to hurt you while I am here. I will always be with you, and I will always protect you Bell. / He reassured.

I did not know what the reason was but whenever he did that, I immediately felt calm.

(What was I thinking right now? Even when I had promised myself that I will protect Gus. Get a hold of yourself, Annabella.)

"Petrified?" I heard sis Ana whisper.

"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "But I shudder to think….. If Albus hadn't been on the

way downstairs for hot chocolate who knows what might have....."

The four of them stared down at Colin.

"If I may." Spoke sister Ana before she leaned forward and wrenched the camera out of Colin's rigid grip. And then she calmly handed it to the headmaster.

"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" said Professor McGonagall eagerly.

The headmaster didn't answer. He opened the back of the camera.

"Good gracious!" shouted Madam Pomfrey in a low voice.

A jet of steam hissed out of the camera and with it the acrid smell of burnt plastic.

"Melted," said sister Ana anger in her voice. "All melted…"

"What does this mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked urgently.

"It means," said the headmaster, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."

Madam Pomfrey clapped a hand to her mouth. Professor McGonagall stared at Professor Dumbledore.

"But, Professor… surely… who could it be?"

"The question is not who," said Professor Dumbledore, his eyes on Colin. "The question is, how…"

I was starting to have a feeling that we were listening to a conversation that we should not be allowed to. But there was no way around it. All four of those stood there chatting for some time and then they, one after the other, left. And after making sure that no one was there we came out of under our beds.

"Now listen to me you two. I need the both of you back into your beds right now. No wondering around. And you have to absolutely keep whatever you heard a secret from all others. Am I clear?" She looked at us menacingly.

"Crystal" I replied while furiously nodding my head as Gus did the same.

"good. Now...….." She never got the chance to complete her sentence.

"So it was you three….." We heard a voice behind us. That was the moment we knew what was coming. We were going to die. Slowly the three of us turned to the side only to see Sister Ana staring at us with a glare that clearly said you are dead.

(AAAAAHHHHHH. I MISS MY HOME)