Albus Potter and the Hidden Tower

Chapter Seven: The Shield Charm

Albus had barely managed to get any sleep. He dragged himself out of bed around seven and washed up, emerging to find Finn sitting up on his bed and rubbing his eyes.

Finn looked at Albus and grimaced. "You look horrible."

"That bloody siren did me in," Albus muttered. "I couldn't get back to sleep."

"So I wasn't just imagining things," said Finn. "I thought it was some weird dream."

"At least you didn't jump out of bed naked again," Albus said, remembering the scarring events of his first afternoon in the castle.

"What the hell was that, then?" Finn asked.

"My phone," said Albus, tapping his trunk with his foot. "You know how I told you about the audio thing?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah, that it couldn't play anything. I thought you had the volume turned down, though."

"I did," Albus grumbled. "Seemed like it wasn't enough."

"D'you think you should check—"

"No," Albus interrupted. "It's too early; if that blasted thing is still going, I want nothing to do with it."

"None of the others are here," Finn said, looking around.

"But now that you mention it..." Albus hesitated. "Us two and Scorpius were the only ones who heard it."

"Well, the other guys are on the other side of the room, no?"

"Yeah, but there's no feasible way they wouldn't have woken up unless..." Albus stopped. "Unless there's something magical about it."

Finn hopped out of bed. "You said it's in your trunk?"

"Yeah," Albus said. "Why?"

Finn moved quicker than Albus could react, throwing the lid of the trunk open and tossing aside his books and clothes. The noise from the phone grew louder and louder, eventually plateauing at full volume. The siren wasn't nearly as intense as last time, but it was still loud enough to be mildly uncomfortable.

Finn fished the phone out from the bottom of Albus's trunk, nearly falling in due to its enhanced depth, and bolted out of the room.

The noise didn't reduce as Finn ran down the stairs; in fact, it got louder. Albus could barely detect it, but the volume certainly wasn't decreasing.

Albus shook himself out of his stupor. Finn had thankfully failed to notice the Invisibility Cloak, and stuffed it underneath his bedsheets. He ran out the open door and stumbled down the stairs, his feet bare and his steps unsteady.