The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 4: The Pendant of Light

Chapter 17: The Iron Bull and the Silver Swan

Chapter 17

     Star, Sam, Dan, and Bria stood on the small rickety wood dock that the Fwooper’s Folly had sailed from next to the boat house on the grounds of Hogwarts. Star and Bria continued to wave as the boat sailed beyond the Black Lake, beyond the loch, and out of their sight.
     “We better hurry back before someone notices we’re not in our beds,” Dan said to the group.
     “Hey,” Sam said, whipping her head around and looking at the tree line near the boat house. “Y’all hear somethin’ in them trees?”
     “I didn’t hear nothing,” Star said, turning around to look at the trees. “I’m the one with hyper hearing, remember?”
     “I swear I heard something,” Sam replied. “Guess I’m just super jumpy since them darn spiders and that big ol’ nasty Graphorn thing.”
     “Me too!” Bria said. “My nerves are all yampy since that big brute nearly sliced us into bits.”
     The group began to make their way back up the path towards the school. Bria waved her wand around, conjuring bubbles as she walked. Sam looked warily at the trees. Dan walked next to Star as they talked and made their way back.
     “You think they’ll be back soon?” Dan asked Star.
     “I hope so,” she replied, “I’m not too worried about them. I’m more worried about us.”
     “Why?” Dan asked.
     “For two reasons,” she began. “One is because, when Master Bullavin finds out they snuck off without his knowledge, he’s going to grill us about it. Yeah, that won’t be a pretty conversation. Second is because when Echo finds out I snuck the book off the boat, she’s gonna freeze me into a popsicle.”
     “Snuck what book?” Dan asked.
     Sam suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her ears perked up and she twitched in a funny fashion.
     “What’s with you?” Star asked.
     “I’ll be right back,” Sam answered, “I forgot somethin’ at the boat house. Bria, come back with me.”
     “What did you forget?” Bria asked, walking along with Sam back to the boat house. “What did you forget?”
     “You’ll see it when we get there!” Sam shouted as the two made their way back to the boat house.
     “I don’t remember her bringing anything with her,” Dan remarked. “What did she forget?”
     “You know Sam,” Star said. “Should we wait for her here?”
     “Well, duh,” Dan said, “You know what she would do to us if we left without her.”
     “That’s true,” Star laughed, “I’ve got the vampire stuff and she still scares me. I feel sorry for you sometimes, Dan.”
     “Why?” he asked.
     “Because she treats you like her own private butler and she doesn’t like you the way you like her.”
     Dan’s cheeks suddenly blushed and he turned to Star. “What are you talking about?”
     “Aw, c’mon, dude,” Star said, “Everyone knows you have the hots for Sam. It’s written all over your face. You can’t fool me, Dan. I knew it the moment I met you two! You don’t remember, do you?”
     “When we met?” Dan asked.
     “Yeah, when we met! I was in the Common Room in Bishop Ward and they were about to have the Winterfest Dance. Well, you were sitting on the old sofa that smells like a Quidditch pitch and in comes Sam. She jumps on top of the little tea table and starts yelling out that the dance was about to start. She jumped down from the table and landed nearly in your lap. She pulled you up and you turned the same color of red that you just did right now. I knew then that you had the hots for her and I was a First Year, dude! You can’t deny it!”
     “Hush your voice, you maniac!” Dan shouted. He took a quick deep breath and whispered back. “Look, I don’t want to ruin anything I have with her. She’s my best friend, Star. Don’t say anything to her.”
     “Dude, she has to know about, she just has to know you’re head over heels for her.”
     “I don’t care if she knows or doesn’t know,” Dan replied, “I just don’t want to make it any more awkward than it already is. I like what we have, Star. I don’t need to complicate it at all. Besides, she was really heartbroken over Shade dying.”
     “Yeah,” Star said. “We all were.”
     “Yeah,” Dan muttered.
     “Ah HA!” Sam’s voice shouted out loud. The next few moments were a blur of commotion, dust, and yelling. Sam and Bria snuck through the brush and along the trees behind a young man that had been hiding within. Sam tackled the young man, wearing his glittering mail shirt, and pinned his arms down while Bria clambered down on his legs, sitting on them to immobilize them. Both Dan and Star instinctively drew their wands. They ran to see the young man, squirming and struggling to break free.
     “Unhand me, knave!” Digger Bronze demanded. “What is the meaning of this tomfoolery?”
     Sam pulled her wand from her back pocket and held it to Digger’s forehead. “Quit yer squirming, ya lil’ sneaker! Whatcha doin’ tryin’ to sneak up on us in the first place? Better tell me the truth, too, boy, before I turn you into a house slipper!”
     Digger froze. His eyes widened and he looked up. Dan wore a scowl, his wand drawn on Digger.
     “I wasn’t doing anything of the sort!” Digger shouted. “OUCH!”
     Bria had punched him in the thigh, giving him a Charlie horse. “You heard Sam! No lying!”
     “That was a foul thing to do!” Digger shouted.
     “Ain’t no worse than sneakin’ up on folk n’ lyin’ to them, ya whackjob!” Sam yelled. “Now talk!” She smacked his head with her wand, a spark snapping from it as it made contact with his head.
     “Okay, alright!” Digger said. “Just let me stand and I’ll explain!”
     “You better, bucko!” Sam insisted. “Bria n’ me will take you down again if you try any more funny business!”
     “That’s right!” Bria added, “I just learned how to make a person’s nose grow like a potato! Don’t make me turn yours into a spud!”
     “Alright!” Digger shouted. “I promise!”
     Star tried her best from chuckling out loud but she burst with laughter. Sam and Bria nodded at one another. They got off of Digger and allowed him to stand on his feet. Dan cinched in closer, his wand still drawn on the young man. He was wearing his usual glittering mail shirt and a pair of jeans under his Ravenclaw robes.
     “I knew somebody was sneakin’ around!” Sam said to Star. “I just had that gut feelin’, ya know? I knew somebody was tryin’ to peep on us!”
     “Good work, Sam,” Star said to her.
     “That was bloody brilliant!” Bria said to Sam.
     “You weren’t so bad yerself, English!” Sam replied. “Darn good tag-team partner, right there!”
     “Together, we could tackle the world!” Bria laughed.
     “Hells to the yeah!” Sam laughed with her.
     Digger gave a crooked smile to the group.
     “Talk,” Dan said sternly. “Why are you sneaking around us?”
     The group fixed their eyes on Digger.
     “I was,” Digger gulped, “I was just keeping an eye on you lot. You know, making sure you were safe and sound.”
     “Making sure we were safe and sound?” Bria asked, “For whom?”
     “For your own safety, of course,” Digger explained. “Someone should be watching over you. Who better to look after you than the bold Mr. Blue Sky?”
     “Dude,” Star laughed, “I’m pretty sure we can handle ourselves.”
     “We don’t need a babysitter,” Sam said. “Right, y’all?”
     “Right,” Dan grunted, “Besides, if we did need someone watching over us, it certainly won’t be some weirdo punk kid who talks like he’s stuck in the Middle Ages or something. Why don’t you go play hide and seek in a troll cave and leave us alone?”
     “That’s mean, Dan!” Sam scolded Dan, “You don’t have to be mean, boy!”
     “He’s the one sneaking around and I’m the one getting in trouble?” Dan asked.
     “You are sneaking around us, aren’t you, Digger?” Star asked. “You’ve been sneaking around the whole time, huh?”
     Digger gulped again. “I know not what you are referring to, m’ lady.”
     “Yes, you do,” Star insisted. She stepped towards him. “First the Acromantulas, then the Graphorn, and just now. You’re spying on us. Don’t try to deny it; I know you’re doing it. Sam’s just lucky to have caught you. Now talk, dude. Why are you hiding in the shadows and sneaking around us? Don’t be dumb, dude. Just tell the truth.”
     Digger looked at each of the others in turn, then took a deep breath before he spoke again. “Alright, my fellow students. I apologize for the espionage tactics. It was not my intent to be so secretive about my actions, but I was still undecided about whether I could trust you lot or not.”
     “Not trust us?” Bria asked. “Digger, you and I went to America together! We went to Salem together for the first time, remember?”
     “I- I know that,” Digger stammered, “But that doesn’t mean I found you lot to be fully trustworthy. So much has happened between then and now. I didn’t know who to trust.”
     “If there’s anybody you can trust,” Sam said, “It’s us, boy.”
     Digger nodded. “I’m not sure if this is the best action on my part, but alright.”
     “Wait,” Dan spoke up, “Trust us with what? What are you hiding that is so dang important that you have to sneak around on us?”
     “A couple of tidbits of information that I’m certain can make a difference in this war against the vile and cruel Lazarus Easter!” Digger said.
     Star nodded. “Okay, Blue Sky, you got my attention. What do you have?”
     “I’ll show you when we get back to the school,” he said, looking warily around. He leaned in and whispered. “Don’t know how many ears are near that should be privy to such sensitive information.”
     Dan rolled his eyes. He looked at the others with a look of disdain.
     “What’s that look for?” Bria asked Dan.
     “We’re not seriously going to entertain this goofball, are we?” Dan asked. “He’s a loony bin dressed up as a knight. I’m not going to sit around waiting for him to tell us some made-up tale of dragons or what-not.”
     “Hey!” Sam interjected, “Some tales ‘bout dragons ain’t all made-up, Danny boy.” She winked at him.
     Dan shook his head. “You’re killing me, Sam.”
     “Alright, Digger,” Star said, “We’re interested. When we get up to the school, we’ll talk. There’s the old Prefect’s bathroom. No one goes in there because of some ghost or something like that. We can talk in there, okay?”
     “In the lavatory on the upper floor?” Bria asked. “That’s where you want to meet?”
     Digger blushed a little. “Are you sure a lavatory is a good place to meet?”
     “Trust me,” Star said, “No one goes in there.”
     The five of them walked back up towards the school along the stepped path. Digger and Bria debated the kinds of trees that lined the edges of the Dark Forest as Sam kept nudging Dan and teasing him about Digger. Star skipped along the pathway, ahead of the others.
     “You!” a raspy and gruesome voice called out. “You lot!”
     Star stopped suddenly. Digger, Dan, Sam, and Bria reached her and stood by.
     The man who called out to them, holding his cat with a wide, dirty, cruel grin on his face, walked towards them. It was the caretaker, Mr. Filch.
     “Uh oh,” Digger whispered.
     “Out before classes start this morning, are we?” Filch asked, “Without permission, I wager. Tsk, tsk.” He continued to smile cruelly.
     “Are we in trouble or somethin’?” Sam asked.
     “Oh, yes, little one,” Filch said slyly, “You’re in trouble, indeed.”
     Filch took a few steps closer to the students. Star could smell the stench of grime and cleaning liquids on his clothing.
     “I can’t wait to see what punishment awaits you!” he laughed quietly.