Love Potion

Mysterious Fae

"That was the Corridor of Ponsey Portraits," Fae told me as she lead me down a flight of stairs that was wide as a normal hallway. Her feet landed with solid clacks, whereas mine, with uneven patters. "Mostly Georgian. All they do is watch the students walking past and make judgy comments about them. I think they rather enjoy it. Inspector Ghoul isn't always there, he likes to move around a lot."

"They can move from frame to frame?"

Fae smiled at me but her face was suspicious. "If they want to. Not every one is alive, but it's rather rude to barge into another person's portrait."

"Y-yes," I said, "It is."

Fae took me through a gap in a wall and came out into a smaller passageway. Light came from glowing moths that flitted and fluttered over the ceiling.

"Aren't you wondering what I'm doing about in the school corridors at dawn light?" Fae questioned me nonchalantly. I swallowed and didn't say anything. She momentarily glanced at me as we entered a small, domed room with flaming sconces. "I mean, the punishment for being out of bed past curfew is having to having to have your pillow turned to stone for three nights..." 

I didn't remember that being said in the books. If I recall I remember when Ermis, Erik and Troy got caught trying to spy on Loppie Webb (who turned out to be a dead girl haunted by an evil spirit sent by Prospella) at midnight in The Dead Girl Walking, they were punished by having to clean the toilet where the blob monster lives. I realised what Fae was trying to do when she was already standing firm in the way of the entrance and blocking my only way out. Damn. She had lead me all the way to a nice secluded tuckaway and I had let her.

She opened her mouth to speak but I went loudly, "The punishment for being out of bed past curfew is cleaning the toilet where the blob monster lives!"

Fae tilted an eyebrow. I sucked in my lips and stood their awkwardly clasping the wine bottle. She crossed her arms. "Well. Depends on what you're caught doing."

I shrugged neutrally.

"My name is Fae," she said. Of course I knew this already but I kept my mouth shut. "And I know everybody. Every house, every age -" she grinned playfully as she added, "well, everyone old enough not to be a peanut, at least." She paused. "But... I don't know you." She tilted her head and examined me from my grubby feet to my no doubt scrambles of a face and hair. Again, I felt rather ugly in her gaze. "And there you are, out of bed past curfew, uncaught, and coming from the east tower..."

It was true that it was a bit of a task sneaking through Greamelts at night. In the books Ermis had to bribe ghosts not to tell on him (which was hard, since there's not much you can bribe ghosts with, but Ermis managed to get off with a scented candle that the ghost liked the smell of), as well as spray painting over the mouths of portraits he accidentally woke, in case they tattled, and guzzling invisibility potion, which was a horrid potion to drink, every time one of the nightwatchers was near. The nightwatchers were just enchanted suits of armour, still during the day, but coming alive at nightfall to patrol the empty castle. Students who were caught were actually forced into the suits of armour and marched to Master Spigte, a very strict woman, master of spells and keeper of the nightwatchers. I think that Headmaster Hwelpum secretly liked his students to go sneaking around at night, but Master Spigte was his closest companion and thoroughly disagreed.

"You don't know me because I don't go here," I told Fae truthfully. Unlike Viper, she seemed very intrigued. "I don't even come from - I don't know, this world. I performed this stupid ritual with my friends to shift here, Greamelts, to-" I paused. I just... I hadn't actually thought it would work. Fae studied me. "It doesn't matter!" I cry out. The words dissipate, "The point is I don't belong here at all, and I'm only here because I performed this shifting ritual, which I didn't even believe would work, but it did, so here I bleeding am! I just need to find Hwelpum, please..."