Stories from the Vault - Hogwarts Mystery One Shots

Beatrice's Gift

Year 6

"I really messed up this time, didn't I?" 

Sarah could sense Beatrice looking up at her, but she pretended not to notice. The pair of them had just arrived in the dank and darkness of the dungeons, on their way to see Professor Snape. 

"Penny's definitely gonna write to Mum and Dad about this," Beatrice continued. "She's such a snitch." 

"She's worried about you," said Sarah, still looking forward as they traversed the corridors. "I think it was justified this time."

Sarah could hardly shake the image of Beatrice's body floating in the Black Lake, her breathing shallow and her lips blue. She was extremely lucky to be alive. Diving into the Black Lake was foolhardy at the best of times, but with angry merfolk, rabid grindylows, and a white-robed assassin lurking around, it was downright suicidal.  

Beatrice gulped. Her experience in the lake seemed to have slightly humbled the haughty attitude she'd adopted since befriending Ismelda. 

"I suppose it was pretty...you know, foolish," she said, repeating the words Penny had spat in her hysteria back in the hospital wing. 

"You did what you did for a good reason, and you were lucky enough to live and learn from it," said Sarah. "That's what matters." 

They'd arrived at Snape's Classroom. Sarah paused to let Beatrice enter first, but the Hufflepuff turned to stand in front of the door and glared up at her. 

"You're always defending me," she said. "To Penny, to the teachers, to myself even. Why?"

Sarah shrugged. "I can hardly badger you about reckless behavior, can I? Not after all the stunts I pulled going after the vaults." She sighed. "I won't lie, a lot of the stuff I've done was dangerous and stupid, but I don't really regret anything. Well, one thing." 

The girls quickly darted their eyes away from each other. Neither was much in the mood to recall what happened that night in the Forbidden Forest.

"But everything else I've done has worked to protect the school and save my brother," said Sarah. "So, in the end...it was worth it." 

"So..." said Beatrice, "are you saying you want me to keep chucking myself in the lake?"

"I'm saying," Sarah began with gritted teeth, "that you can tell me you think Hogwarts is doomed, that it isn't worth saving, all you want, but if you really thought that you wouldn't have jumped in a dangerous lake for the tiniest possibility of a clue to this curse. Deep down, you hope things will get better, and you're willing to do what it takes to make that happen. You need to stop wandering off alone, and to learn from your mistakes, but I'll not fault someone for having courage like yours."

Beatrice met her eyes then, and for the first time since she was trapped in that portrait, Sarah saw a glimmer of the insatiable, energetic girl that had met. 

"Also, definitely stop chucking yourself into lakes." 

Beatrice chuckled. When she smiled--a genuine smile, not one laced with sarcastic intent--she looked exactly like her sister. Sarah decided not to mention this. 

"You two. Either come in and state your business, or go somewhere far away." Snape's draw echoed from inside the door. Both girls jumped. "Preferably the second. Your prattling chatter is giving me nausea." 

The girls shared another grin, before Beatrice turned and led the way inside. 

The Potions room was as dark and creepy as always, with the exception of the occasional flash of light and puff of colored smoke from Snape's cauldron at the front of the room. The girls approached and Sarah had to admire the wizard's potioneering. His back was turned to them, but different bottles and jars of ingredients floated around Snape's head, moving in tandem and occasionally tipping over the bubbling cauldron to pour the exact amounts into the mix. No wonder Penny so admired Snape.