Lysander Scamander and the Missing Mirror

11: Ghosts

"Erika? How'd you get down here?" I asked.

Erika, who had been scratching the kneazle behind its ears, looks up at me, "I don't know. One minute I'm resting my eyes in the library, the next I'm hanging by wrists over a pool of acid."

We started looking for a way over the pit, "So, you didn't see who brought here?"

Erika shook her head as she flung her wand out in front of her and a bridge built itself in front of us. I looked at her, but she just shrugged and moved across the bridge like she wasn't thirteen years old. I was fifteen and still hadn't even had a lesson over basic wordless magic and Erika's out here building bridges.

Erika looked at me, "You coming?"

I remembered what I was doing, nodded, and stepped out onto the bridge after my sister. The fact that the bridge was probably more stable than something I could build was more unsettling. I reached the other side, and Erika and I made our way down the path again.

The kneazle stuck close to my side, always nuzzling into my hand.

"It seems he really likes you, Ly." Erika stated, "Why don't you name him?"

I looked down at the kneazle next to me and shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't think about it. He's only followed me for about twenty minutes."

Erika stroked the kneazles head. It licked her hand and playfully nibbled at her fingers.

"Hey!" Erika giggled.

I laughed and scratched behind his ears, "Nibbles. That fits. Doesn't it, Nibbles?"

Erika laughed at me and ran far ahead of me and Nibbles. I jogged after her. She had inherited our mother's short gene, but she was fast. Nibbles followed after us. When we finally caught up with Erika, she was staring out at a cavern. Something glowed in the center and all around the walls our friends were tied up, unconscious.

I felt my heart stop when I saw Lily. She was bleeding. Lorcan was a little way away from her, gagged. Riley and Alice were bound opposite them, gagged as well. Lily was the only one who wasn't gagged.

I suddenly heard struggling from Erika and watched in horror as she was lifted from the ground. Nibbles bared his teeth and readied himself to pounce, but whatever was choking Erika shoved him away. Erika was thrown to the wall behind the glowing object.

That's when I heard it, "Lysander!"

The mirror. We'd found it. I drew my wand and flared my nostrils. I ran to the mirror and looked around for a way to carry it. I gasped when I felt something icy stretch through my spine. I felt my feet leave the ground and gasped frantically for air.

"Who-" gasp "-are-" gasp "-you?" I managed.

A figure formed in front of me. A silvery, lucent man. A ghost. I glanced to my side and there was another ghost. A woman. She stared at me, a look of anger.

I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. Riley was the only one not bound and gagged harshly. She hung from the wall in a way that made her appear to have fallen asleep in the car. The only way to fall asleep sitting up. I looked at the male ghost.

"You look like Uncle Tony!" I gasped.

The ghost relaxed his face and the female ghost dropped me to the ground. I coughed as I regained my balance. Nibbles rejoined me and scowled at the ghosts. But they didn't attack.

"How is my son?" The male ghost asked.

I leaned my head forward, "You're his parents?"

They approached me. I looked between them and noticed their features. Everything about them looked 'new'. Young. Like death took them away too soon. It reminded me of the recaps of Harry's life he'd heard very briefly.

"Anthony didn't deserve to grow up how he did. He deserved us. We should've been there." the female ghost sighed.

I shook my head, "It wasn't your fault! You died!"

I guess that's to put on my list to never tell a ghost. Here's the list:

1) Say they look like someone you know. (they'll get sad)

2) Remind them they're dead. (they REALLY don't like that)

Anthony's parents lunged at me, picked me AND Nibbles up, and threw us into a wall of rocks. They flew around the cavern, gathering up my friends. Then, they grabbed me and carried us away. I kicked my friends awake. They stirred awake when I saw where they were taking us. The acid pool. I pulled my wand out and frantically tried to cast spells to get them to drop us.

Out of the corner of my eye, Lorcan pulled out a bottle of something, uncorked it, and tossed its containments at the ghosts. They veered and dropped us. We rolled to a stop, and I slapped my hand to my twin's shoulder about to tell him how awesome that was when I heard Lily's scream.

One ghost still had a tight grasp on her. I got to my feet and ran after her. I made one attempt to grab her hand, but the ghost flew higher. They were getting closer to the drop. I was running of time. I sprinted and leapt up at another attempt, but I missed.

The ghost let go. Lily was falling. She fell deeper into the pit. I slid across the dirt on my stomach. Hanging over the edge of the pit, I pushed myself out and reached out to Lily. I closed my eyes and calculated when to close my grasp and opened my eyes again.

Lily was still falling. When she flew past me, I closed my hands tightly, afraid of missing.

Please let my calculations be correct.