A painting of a large woman looked down at the two students before her. She'd sworn she'd seen one of them enter already. In front of her stood Layla-Arnona brown, and a friend who had their hood pulled over their head.
"Password?" She spoke in a pompous voice.
Hortencia, in her disguise, began to panic.
"Shit- Chester- what's the password-"
"I don't know..! Uh.." just when they thought their scheme had been foiled, a voice came from behind them.
"Thuperlative." They two turned around to see their saviour: a small, skinny boy leaning on a cane. He looked to be in maybe 3rd or 4th year. He gave them a small smile. He then looked away, furrowing his brows, focusing. "Superlative." He corrected himself.
The lady in the painting nodded, letting the three of them inside. Up the dark stairs they went, swirling upward as if forever. In the concealment of the darkness, Hortencia transformed back. Suddenly their faces were illuminated with an amber glow of flames. The warm lighting masked the Slytherin green and Ravenclaw Blue of Hortencia and Chester's Robes. They looked around the common room in awe. A cozy but ornate room all in red hues. The boy from before entered shortly after them. Chester looked over at him.
"Thank you." Chester said to him with a smile. The boy stared at Hortencia, a little confused, before he smiled back, joining a group of friends who called him over. Chester spotted Layla reading by the fire. He took Hortencia's hand and rushed over.
Layla looked up, hearing footsteps approaching over the crackles of fire. She looked taken aback to see Chester and Hortencia.
"...Chester. What're you doing here?" Hortencia frowned, not even acknowledged.
"Hortencia has questions about something. I thought I'd help you two with your autism language barrier."
"Oi." Layla and Hortencia both said in sync. They then looked over one another with a scowl.
"What does she want?" She's asked in third person as if Hortencia wasn't there. She began to explain to Chester.
"Tell her that I-"
"Y'know what I'm just gonna go congregate I'm not in the mood to play owl." Chester did little finger guns before disappearing into the crowd of red. Both Layla and Hortencia watched him go, a little disturbed.
"So."
"So."
They both were silent. Hortencia took in a deep breath, resigning to her fate. She sat down on the plush red sofa, keeping some distance.
"Was there anything in that book you were reading about the undead? Zombies of sort?"
Layla raised an eyebrow.
"I suppose...?" She flipped through the pages. "There's things on Inferi, Draugrs, you could loosely connect thestrals to that if you tried-
"What's are Draugrs?"
"Undead beings that live in cairns." Hortencia stared at her blankly.
"They live in tombs, typically guarding treasure. They tend to travel by walking across the ocean floor. That's how they got here from Scandinavia-"
"Wait. Underwater?" An epiphany suddenly hit her.
"Yes," Layla bluntly spoke, annoyed, "that's where the ocean floor is. Imbecile-"
"Like in a lake."
"...again, that's underwater."
"Holy shit. I've gotta go. Bye-" Hortencia scrambled up, rushing out of the common room, down the spiral stairs, nearly tripping in her hastened state.
She rushed to her common room. Though it was full of other students the window into the lake still made her shiver. mind was buzzing with theories. She ran up to her dorm room, she couldn't stay in the common room with the creature on her mind.
'That creature was a Draugr. It must be what caused those kids to go missing in the lake. Surely..' she thought to herself, pacing the room. In her focused she'd hardly noticed Aedos sitting at their bed reading.
"Oh. Aedos! Hi. Uh.. that thing! The... person in the lake," she was unsure person was correct, the thing didn't seem to have human empathy, "it's a Draugr."
"hm. Boggling indeed." Aedos stared at her. The round glasses made her look almost like a fish. Her nose wasn't bleeding anymore, she seemed much better. Hortencia sat down next to her, hardly capable of sitting still.
"What do we do?"
"Inform a member of staff-"
"No! Aedos that's- totally out of the question! No- no we have to... uh.." The rush was gone. Her minds conspiring had come to an end. She was stumped. "...who are we tellin'?" She managed with exasperation.
"We should go straight to Mcgonagall. Besides, I have business with her anyway."
"Business?"
"A matter of irrelevancy."
"Right- well let's head there. C'mon." Hortencia jumped up, Aedos following. The two rushed down the stairs, speeding up through the common room, still sheepish about the place. Down dozens of corridors they went. Down Gargoyle corridor and up a set of marble stairs they went, growing more fatigued with each step and yet more ambitious.
At the end of the treck: a door. A code was necessary, they inferred. Most rooms of the castle did.
"...what does Mcgonagall like?" Piped up Hortencia.
Aedos replied halfheartedly, now in thought. "She's quite sensible. It's likely her birthday."
"Shit."
"Shit indeed."
Hortencia racked her brain. She must know this right? She forced her memory as far back as it'd go, to when her parents were around. There were cards on the mantle. There was a pink one, balloons on it in glitter. The thought was fuzzy but growing.
The card was a birthday card. It was addressed to two people.
"They shared a birthday.." she muttered.
"Hm?" Aedos looked at her, questioning, though she never seemed confused by anything, only curious.
"Nothing- sorry." Hortencia delved back into her mind. What did the card say? There were two names. The font was loopy, it was in glitter pen. The pen was orange.
"Portunus." She kept it to a whisper this time. That's write, it said Portunus, her father... and another name. "October 4th!" She suddenly blurted. The card was for her father and for Mcgonagall. They'd shared a birthday. She couldn't fathom she'd forgotten. All that thought to remember her fathers birthday? Surely she wasn't forgetting them?
"But what's the year..?" Aedos wondered aloud.
A clink could be heard on the marble steps. Both turned, jumping at the sound.
"1935. The code is October 4th 1935." Minerva stood there before the two, standing poised and almost regal. "4, 10, 35." At those numbers the door to her office swung open.
Hortencia smiled slightly at Mcgonagall. Mcgonagall nodded back. "Shall we?" She led the two girls inside.
YOU ARE READING
Hortencia Harding and the Draugr's wrath
Fanfiction"My parents are Portunus and Melpomene Harding. They are both in Azkaban. But I am not them and they are not me. I can forge my own path. I have to. Before I follow their lead."
