The Midnight Duel

Procus had never thought that he'd meet anyone that he would hate more than the Suns, but that was before he met Kyae and her faithful and stupid accomplices, Yi Xiang and Jian Hao. Still, first-years only had Brewing with the Ravikumars. That was until the notice went up that AyrBall lessons would begin on Thursday – and the Evgenises were with the Ravikumars.

"Great. Excellent. Just what I've always wanted. To make a fool of myself on AyrSkates in front of Kyae," Procus said darkly when he saw the notice.

"You don't know that you'll be terrible," Adi said reasonably, "anyway, Kyae's always talking about how good she is at AyrBall, but I be that's all just talk,"

Kyae certainly did talk about AyrBall a lot. In fact, everyone from wizarding families seemed to talk about AyrBall all the time. The way Edbert told it, he had spent his entire childhood zooming over green meadows on his AyrSkates. Even Adi, who had grown up in a family of wizards, would tell anyone who'd listen about how he had nearly crashed into Kin in a helicopter on his brother's old High Flyers. Everyone from wizarding families talked endlessly about AyrBall. Adi had already had a big argument with Zuhair, another boy in his dormitory about soccer. Adi just couldn't see what was so exciting about a game with only one ball and nobody allowed to fly. Procus even caught him prodding Zuhair's poster of the Manchester United football team to make them move. Alen had never been allowed to touch AyrSkates in his life (and for good reason, as he seemed to attract enough accidents with both feet on the ground). He also, just like Procus, hardly ever got any mail from home. On Thursday, however, a large Gyrfalcon fluttered down to him with a package in its beak. Alen, who was sitting next to Procus, opened it and a glass-spun sphere fell out.

Showing it to Procus, he said, "Look! It's a Remembrall! My gran knows that I forget stuff, so she sent me this. If you hold it really tightly and it goes red…" he trailed off, for the Remembrall was going red, "then it means that you've forgotten something…" he finished. Procus headed for the patch behind the greenhouses where they would be having their flying lessons, leaving Alen to try and remember what he had forgotten. He was shortly joined by Adi, Vignesh and Patricia. Patricia looked extremely nervous about flying, as this was not something that you learn out of a book. Not that she hadn't tried, of course. On the way to the patch of grass where they took flying lessons, she bored all the Evgenises to death by reciting flying tips that she had read in a book called AyrBall Through the Ages. Alen, however, hung on to her every word, desperate for anything that may help him fly. The others just rolled their eyes and ignored her.

Upon reaching the patch of grass, they saw that there was already a crowd of Ravikumars there, Kyae prominent amongst them. However, she seemed to be cowering behind both Jian Hao and Yi Xiang, gazing fearfully at something thick in the crowd. A dark-haired, pale and willowy boy stepped through the throng of Ravikumars and leered down at Kyae. And when I say pale, I mean overt pale. As in deathly-white pale. He shifted aside Jian Hao and Yi Xiang with a lazy flick of his spindly hand and continued to leer down at Kyae. That's when Procus saw his eyes. Red, as red as blood, as red as fire and seemingly empty of human kindness and his lipless mouth was curved into a thin and twisted smile, the kind of smile a snake gives you before it bites you. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the flying coach, Madam Lim, arrived. Looking sulky, the boy, who Patricia said was Affan, closed his mouth and blinked his eyes. A gasp of shock escaped Procus. Where seconds before his eyes had been blood red, they were now turquoise, and his hands were human-looking again. Who was this guy? The sharp bark of Madam Lim's voice broke his reverie.

"Now then, you lot. Everyone stand beside a pair of AyrSkates," There was a scramble for places as Madam Lim continued talking.

"Get the skates on to your feet and strap 'em on tightly. Good. Now, command the AyrSkates to fly. To maneuver, you've just got to skate like normal. Why don't we just try lifting off first,"

Talking to a pair of skates seemed silly, but then again, everything since Procus had discovered that he was a wizard had seemed silly.

Um, skates? Procus thought. This may seem silly, but could you please lift up for me?

Procus instantly found himself floating. He gave a silent sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't be embarrassing himself on AyrSkates.

The others weren't doing as good as him though. Adi was hovering beside him and, on the other side of the field Kyae and Affan were hovering as well. Patricia's face was going purple with concentration as she tried to lift off.

Suddenly, disaster struck. Alen shot up higher than the rest out of the blue. Procus gasped. Alen flew higher and higher up, screaming ear-piercingly all the time. Five hundred meters, six hundred, seven hundred. Suddenly, he seemed to peak and fell straight out of the air.

Reacting so fast that she became a blur, Madam Lim pointed with her wand the stop where Alen was about to land and incanted, "Pulvinus!"

She was just a bit too late.

Alen smacked down on the ground where the Cushioning Enchantment had taken partial effect. If the Enchantment hadn't taken its partial effect, Alen would have broken his neck and died. Luckily, he managed to get out of it with only a fractured arm. Madam Lim wasted no time in hurrying him up to the Hospital Wing.

"And, if any of you hover so much as a centimeter above the ground, you'll be expelled before you can say AyrBall.

The second that she disappeared, Kyae snatched up something from the ground. It was Alen's Remembrall.

"Well, look at that. The blundering fool dropped something," Kyae sneered.

"Give it here, Kyae," Procus said, stepping forward.

"What, you gonna fight her for it?" Affan questioned, eyes blazing red as he leered down on Procus. At that moment, Procus' wand seared with heat, but he didn't notice because it was buried in the infinite folds of his robe. Instinctively, he reached out to strike Affan, but Vignesh stopped him, shaking his head.

"You know what, you're right, Evgenis. I should leave it somewhere for him to get. How about… on the top of castle turret?" Kyae said, shooting up in the air on her AyrSkates.

Anger overtook Procus. Willing his AyrSkates to lift, he shot up after Kyae, despite Patricia's screams to stop and Vignesh and Adi's futile attempts to stop him. Soon, he was flying behind Kyae.

She saw him and scowled. Procus realized that they were rushing towards the castle wall. Kyae seemed to realize it too. A wicked smile played across her face. They were now going at breakneck speed. Just as she was about to hit the castle wall, Kyae suddenly pointed her AyrSkates skywards and shot up the whole length of the castle wall towards the turret. Procus found himself speeding towards the castle wall at breakneck speed. He didn't even have time to yell out a Cushioning Enchantment. There was only one thing that he could do, which was copy what Kyae had done. Focusing all his will, he commanded the AyrSkates to go up. He felt the wind whistle around him as he started rocketing skywards towards Kyae. Catching sight of him, Kyae growled in frustration when a devious idea formulated in her wicked mind. Halting suddenly so that Procus would continue on due to momentum, she flung the Remembrall with as much strength as she could muster. It curved in a graceful arc before plummeting down to the ground.

Procus saw the falling Remembrall and cursed Kyae under his breath. Then, he dived after the Remembrall at such a speed that all he could hear was the wind rushing past him. With gravity helping him, he inched ever closer to the small, glass-spun ball. When he was fifty yards away, he stretched out his arm, the wind stinging his eyes. Just… a… bit… closer…

Procus' hand clamped down on the Remembrall.

Procus rose out of the dive, grinning ear to ear with the Remembrall grasped tightly in his fist and flying towards the cheering Evgenises and sulking Ravikumars.

"PROCUS EVGENIS!" came the shout from Professor Jane, who was now striding across the grass towards him, her glasses askew and looking as formidable as a dragon. "Never in all my years have I seen…" she sputtered as she got closer.

Then, straightening her glasses, she said with a steely note in her voice, "Come with me, Evgenis," Procus' heart sank, he was expelled for sure now, he had really done it.

"Please, Professor, Kyae…" Kelly began but was cut off immediately by Professor Jane.

"I need not hear explanations, Miss Teh!"

"But Kyae…" Patricia began.

"I said no, Miss Jiao!"

Procus stumbled in Professor Jane's wake, numb. Only one thought circled in his head: He was expelled. He would never become a wizard. Maybe he could be Dave's assistant. He imagined watching Adi, Vignesh and all the rest becoming witches and wizards while he stumbled around the grounds, carrying Dave's bag. The thought was unbearable. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he was barely conscious of what they were going. Up the marble steps… taking a left at a painting of a knight… straight through the corridor…

The route seemed familiar, but where did it lead? Procus asked himself. His question was answered before he could ask it.

Professor Jane stopped outside the Enchantment classroom. So that was why the route seemed familiar!

"Could I borrow Beech for a moment, please, Bhim?" Professor Jane asked.

Under his numb devastation, Procus felt a twinge of curiosity.

Beech? What was Beech? Was Beech a cane that Professor Jane was going to use on him before expelling him? Procus thought, bewildered.

A minute later, Professor Jane came out from the classroom with, not a cane, but rather a burly third-year boy.

"Well then Beech, I've found you a new Finder," Professor Jane said crisply to the boy, whose name was James Beech. Beech's expression changed instantly from puzzlement to delight.

"Really, Professor? Are you certain?"

"Yes, Beech. Caught that thing in his hand after a spectacular fifty-foot dive,"

"Wow! We'll have to get him AyrSkates though. A pair of Phantom Blades twenty-six, I'd say.

"Yes, yes. I'll speak to Professor Foong and see if we can bend the first-year rule a bit. Goodness knows that we need a better team, flattened in that last match against Ravikumar, couldn't look Kiew in the eye for weeks,"

All through this conversation, Procus had stayed silent, feeling completely wrong-footed. Just then, Beech turned to him and asked, "Ever seen a game of AyrBall, Evgenis?"

When Procus shook his head mutely, beech chuckled and said, "Just you wait, Evgenis, and you'll see that AyrBall is the best sport in the world! Meet me down at the pitch at seven in the evening tomorrow and I'll teach you the basics of AyrBall,"

"So," Procus began, his voice hoarse with relief as he began to cotton on, "so, I'm not expelled, right?"

"No, not today, Mister Evgenis," Professor Jane replied, suddenly serious, "Now, I suggest you head back to your class before you attempt another life-threatening stunt,"

***

"Finder? Finder? But you must be one of the youngest players in about a century to play for a house team" Adi exclaimed. It was breakfast the next day and Procus had just told Adi and Vignesh about the previous day's happenings.

"I know, I know, Beech told me," Procus replied while stuffing his face with food. Just then Kyae came up.

"Enjoying your last meal, Evgenis? When are you getting back on to the train to head back to the Kin?" she sneered.

"A lot braver, now that you have your little friends back with you on the ground, I see" Procus replied coolly. There was, in truth, nothing small whatsoever about her sidekicks, whose names were Yi Xiang and Jian Hao – except maybe their brains. However, in front of all the teachers in the school, they could do nothing worse than crack their knuckles ominously.

A ruffling sound of feathers announced the arrival of the post falcons. SnowWing was swooping down towards Procus, a large package in her beak. Taking the package from her beak, Procus read the letter that was attached to it.

This package contains your new AyrSkates. DO NOT OPEN IT AT THE TABLE. I don't want everybody to know that you have AyrSkates, or they'll all want a pair.

Professor Jane

Moving a little away from the house table, Procus, Adi and Vignesh pulled the wrapping off of the Skates and gasped in awe at the sight in Procus' hands. Both Skates were sleek and streamlined, their main body made of white leather with purple highlights on the sides. The blades at the bottom were razor-sharp and glittering. At the tongue the words 'Phantom Blades 26' were stitched. Procus stared at it, lost for words. Kyae had followed them all the way and was now looking at the AyrSkates in Procus' hands.

"Those are AyrSkates, Evgenis…" she started slowly.

"Yes, well spotted," Adi interjected viciously.

"You're in for it this time for sure!" Kyae cackled, completely ignoring Adi's comment.

Just then, Professor Bhim came up and said, "Now, now, not fighting, are you?"

"Evgenis's got AyrSkates, Professor," Kyae said swiftly.

"Yes, yes, Professor Jane told me about the special circumstances. And what model are they, Evgenis?" Bhim replied calmly.

"Phantom Blades 26, sir. And it's all thanks to Kyae here that I got it," Procus said, trying hard not to burst out laughing at the dubious look on Kyae' face.

After Bhim had left, Kyae hissed venomously, "So…let's see if you're just a chicken wearing Skates, which I bet you are. Tomorrow, midnight, trophy room, wizard's duel, no contact," When Procus didn't reply immediately, she laughed softly. "What's the matter, never heard of a wizard's duel before?"

"'Course he has! I'm his second, whose yours?" Adi fired back at once, wheeling around.

Kyae spun around and looked at Yi Xiang and Jian Hao, sizing them up. "Yi Xiang," she decided, "well then, tomorrow at midnight in the trophy room,"

***

"So, what is a wizard's duel?" Procus asked Adi as they and Vignesh headed for Changing later that day. Patricia was, once again, out of sight (probably already there) "Well…" Adi began but was cut short by another, familiar, feminine voice.

"A wizard's duel is a duel in which two wizards or witches shoot spells at each other, aiming to either Disarm, Stun or kill, depending on the skill of the wizards in question. A second is someone who takes over if you die," Patricia said in a remarkably steady and matter-of-factly voice, given what she was explaining.

"Where the ruddy hell did you suddenly appear from?" Adi shouted, fuming. When Patricia had appeared out of nowhere, Vignesh had jumped, startled, and tried to hex her. If it hadn't been for Procus and Adi's unified Shield Enchantment, Patricia would have been hit by a Silencing Jinx. Which wouldn't actually have been so bad.

"Die? Patricia, are you mental? Procus can't still participate in that! I bet you that Kyae will have him dead on the ground in twenty seconds flat!"

"I'd wager thirty seconds actually," Patricia replied, calm as ever.

"Really, Vignesh? Have some more faith in Procus' ability," Adi said to him.

"Of course I'll duel Kyae," Procus said. He had been mortified at the entire death thing at first, but now that he looked at it sensibly, there was no way Kyae would know how to kill. That Affan guy, however… Procus thought with a shudder. He still hadn't told the others about Affan's creepily transforming face, though he wasn't sure why.

However, none of them could say any more on the topic as they were then joined by Alen, who was hopping on two feet; it looked like they were bound together by a strong rope.

"Leg-locker… Affan… breakfast… been hopping all the way up here," He managed to pant before fainting.

Procus bent over him and muttered the counter curse and revived him as well while she was at it. Patricia had mysteriously disappeared, presumably to get to Changing early

After he came to, Alen explained to the others (on their way to Changing, they were going to be late if they stalled any further) how Affan had hexed him without the use of a wand. This confirmed Procus' dark suspicions at once. Affan was a Spellhurler as well. Exchanging a darkly significant look with Adi, he said to Alen, "You've got to stand up to Affan, Alen. You're worth seven of him. The Hat chose you for Evgenis, didn't it? And where's Affan? In rubbish Ravikumar," He could have gone on, but they had just entered the Changing classroom, so he had to break off.

***

"Oh, thank God!" Procus muttered to himself when the bell that marked the end of Brewing rang. He couldn't wait to get to Arts of Magic, as it was the last period before AyrBall practice. Also, Professor Lim would today be teaching him a Spellhurlers-only spell (Spellhurlers' Maxus!) that could be used for all seven Arts of magic. It was, as expected, a largely difficult spell that required all the powers of concentration that he could muster. After what seemed like a million attempts, he managed to cast a Binding Spellhurlers' Maxus.

***

After choking down some mince pies, Procus headed up to the Evgenis dormitory to get his Phantom Blades and then headed down to the AyrBall Pitch, a wide patch of flat grass about the size of two football fields, with four circular hoops hovering – probably held up by magic – some fifty feet above the ground each. As Beech was not there yet, Procus decided to take a practice round around the pitch. The second that he kicked off the ground as was in the air, he felt a sense of freedom. The Phantom Skates 26 turned anywhere at his merest thought. Lying almost parallel to the ground, Procus accelerated until he was whizzing around the pitch at what must have been fifty miles an hour. His robes were billowing out behind him and the wind was whipping against his face. He laughed loudly, relishing in his freedom

"Well done, Evgenis! Now get down here!" Beech called from the far end of the pitch. Turning his Skates around and standing vertically, Procus sped towards the end of the pitch where Beech was standing and waiting. When he reached, he pulled his feet upwards and came to a screeching halt directly in front of Beech, who was holding his own Skates, what looked like a tennis rack and a club of some kind. He was also lugging behind him a crate with the Angsanian Towers logo stamped on it.

"Excellent… I see what Jane meant, you really are a natural," Beech observed once he touched down, "Anyway, back to AyrBall. It's easy enough to understand, even if it's not so easy to play. So, there are seven players on each team: three Ballers, two Dunkers, one Defender and one Finder, that's you. Now then," he continued, stooping over the crate, and opening it to reveal three balls, one, the yellow one, was roughly the size of a tennis ball. The other two were bright red and seemed to be struggling to break free of the chains binding them. They were each about the size of a quail's egg. On the interior of the lid, there was an intricately carved copy of the school logo, complete with the seven symbols around it. Sunlight glinted off its metal surface and Procus was quite sure that there was a hollow compartment hidden behind it. Beech picked up the red ball and continued to explain, "this ball is called the Plabal. The Ballers on both teams hit the Plabal with their rackets to each other and try to get it into the hoops at the far ends of the pitch. However, they have to hit it to the opponent's side once every three hits and cannot cross the half-line. Each successful shot is worth ten points. The Defender – that's me – defends the hoops. You follow?"

"Yeah, I think so. Three Ballers and a Defender, and they play with the Plabal. So, what are those for?" Procus replied, pointing at the black balls that were still struggling to get out.

"Ah, now these. You're going to want to hold this," Beech said, passing Procus the club in his hand, "and brace yourself,"

Bending over, Beech released the clasps holding one of the red balls. It immediately shot some twenty feet into the air and shot back down again. Hurling the heavy club around, Procus hit the black ball in the opposite direction, from where it instantly started charging down Beech, who wrestled it back into the crate and closed the clasp again.

"You okay?" Beech panted.

"Yeah. What was that?" Procus replied, passing Beech back the club as he did so.

"A Stalker. They fly around, trying to knock players out of the air. That's why we have Dunkers. They catch the Dunkers and try to dunk them into the fourth hoop that is on top of the first three hoops. They are not allowed to throw it at the other team," Beech answered him.

"Um, have the Stalkers ever killed anyone before?" Procus asked in what he hoped was an offhand voice.

"Never at Angsanian Towers. We've had a couple of cracked skulls, but that's the worst yet," Beech replied, perfectly cheery.

"So then… what's my job. I'm the Finder, right?" Procus said, hastily changing the topic away from Stalkers.

"Now yours is the most important job of all. Watch this," Beech said with a smile. Drawing out his wand, he tapped the Angsanian Towers logo gently and murmured something that Procus couldn't hear. The logo slid back smoothly to reveal a hollow compartment in which a small golden ball, no larger than a golf ball, rested. Beech took it out carefully and continued, "you don't need to worry about the Plabal or the Stalkers," (Unless they crack my skull open, Procus thought), "but just have to worry about this. This ball is called the KeyBall. Your job is to find and recapture it before the other team's Finder. Whenever you catch it, Evgenis will get fifty bonus points, which of course, can work vice-versa. Once the KeyBall is caught five times, the game ends," Beech finished.

Procus stared at the tiny golden ball. To get that, he knew, he would have to weave through Baller, Dunker, Plabal and Stalker – without having his skull cracked open. Beech put the ball back into the crate while saying, "But we won't use it for now, it's too dark, the KeyBall might get lost. Instead, we'll use these," And he drew a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his cloak.

Beech threw the golf balls in all directions, while Procus zoomed around to catch them in the steadily increasing darkness. When he didn't miss a single one, Beech was ecstatic.

"The AyrBall Cup will have our name on it this year, you mark my words," Beech panted as they headed up to the castle. Feeling extremely happy himself, Procus headed up to castle and o the Main Hall for dinner, after he had dropped off his Phantom Blades in the dormitory.

***

He was gliding through a stone archway that looked oddly familiar. It was all dark and the smell of decay was heavy in the air. All of a sudden, there was a stirring in the far end of the corridor. He froze. A slow growling, growing louder the entire time, could be heard. Then, something moved in the corridor and –

"Oi. Wake up," came Adi's voice, as though from a great distance. Slowly, Procus opened his eyes. His wand was still slightly warm, and every movement was painful. Judging from the way that Adi's silhouette was blurred at the edges, he didn't have his glasses on. He groped around for his glasses with his right hand while he pushed himself up with his left. "You were muttering in your sleep. Just a few words. It sounded something like 'Forks,"

"Why would I be muttering 'Forks'? Ah, here are my glasses," Procus mused while putting on his glasses.

"I don't know, you were the one saying it," Adi replied, unnerved, "Anyway, breakfast's in twenty minutes,"

***

The afternoon seemed to follow morning with indecent haste; and equivalent for evening and night. Before Procus knew what was going on, it was eleven in the night. Midnight arrived and Procus' nerves mounted. So far, the best advice Adi could give him was, "If she tries to curse you, just dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them. And, if you just wave your wand and nothing happens, just throw it to the side and punch her nose,"

He and Adi sneaked out of the dormitory, never noticing Alen's empty bed.

The portrait of the Darkflight swung open, and Vignesh joined the silent duo. Suddenly, there was an exasperated clicking sound from behind them. Spinning around, they saw Patricia in her nightdress, hands on her hips and such a Professor Kiew-ish look on her face that it was a wonder that none of them cowered under it.

"I almost told Professor Jane; she could have put a stop to the this," Patricia whispered vehemently. Procus nearly shouted at her at this point but kept his silence for fear of getting caught by Zafran. At that moment, the portrait hole closed to reveal nothing but a mountainous backdrop. The Darkflight had obviously gone off for a night-time wander tonight, so there was no hope of getting back into the common-room or the dormitories. Unfortunately, this also meant that they were stuck with Patricia, at least until the Darkflight came back. Patricia froze midsentence, looking, petrified, at the empty painting. Adi was just about to swear when, to make their problems worse, a familiar voice came out of the shadows that made everyone jump.

"Who's there?"

Procus nearly jumped out of his skin. Raising his hand, he muttered, "Illuminos" and immediately, a ball of light flared into existence in his hand, lighting up Alen's round, forgetful and fearful face. When he saw that it was just Alen, Procus breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought for a moment that it had been Zafran or Jane.

"Well then Alen, got to get going, important business to attend to, so good-bye!" Adi whispered in a falsely cheery voice while glancing at his watch and shooting a meaningful look at Procus. It was nearly midnight. They had barely moved two paces when Patricia and Alen came rushing up behind them, Patricia still berating and Alen muttering something about not leaving him there.

Vignesh looked in fury at the two of them. "If either of you gets us caught, then I swear that I will never rest until I've worked out how to use that Vibarai's Curse that Pascal told us about and used it on you,"

Patricia opened her mouth again, perhaps to tell Vignesh exactly how the Vibarai's curse worked; when luckily Procus shut her up since he could hear something moving about, even though they were near the usually deserted trophy room. Then, they heard a frighteningly familiar and horribly scratchy voice.

"Sniff around my sweet, they may be lurking in a corner somewhere…" came the hair-raising, familiar, and unmistakable voice of Stultus Zafran, the fool. A second later, a smell of decay hit the five's nostrils like something solid. There was no mistaking it, it was the infamous cat, Punishment, slowly and gradually drawing nearer to where they were standing. Backing away slowly, Procus and the others left the trophy room undetected. At least, until Punishment spotted them. Then, they ran for their lives.

Sprinting left and right without conscious thought, Procus knew nothing of the surroundings, except that the other four were still following, as he could hear their ragged breathing alongside his own. Finally, they skidded to a halt in a deserted corridor, panting and wheezing like Zafran. Looking around, Procus saw that the rest were fine and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I… told… you! I… told… you!" Patricia panted at Procus, clutching a stitch in her side. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she continued, more calmly this time, "Kyae must have been trying to lure you out of bed. She must have tipped off Zafran, hoping that you'll be expelled, you realize that, don't you?"

Procus thought that she was probably right and was just about to say so when he heard a rustling sound from behind him. Acting without conscious thought, Procus whipped around and pointed his wand in the direction of the sound while crying, "Proprius Revelare!"

Prickly was revealed, translucent and floating in mid-air. He had obviously been trying to sneak up on them. When he was spotted, he gave a raucous cackle that miraculously did not awaken the entire castle. Out of the corner of his eye, Procus saw Alen glance nervously around, looking for any sign of teachers or Zafran and Punishment.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here? Ickle firsties out of bed? Should tell Zafran, it's for their own good," Prickly said saintly, not bothering to keep his voice down at all.

"Prickly! If you get us caught, I'll make sure that you regret it for the rest of your posthumous life!" Adi hissed vehemently.

That was the trigger

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE THIRD FLOOR EAST CORRIDOR!" Prickly screamed, and the five ran for it.

Quickly ducking behind a stone pillar, the five listened to Zafran and Prickly's conversation

"PRICKLY! Where are the troublemakers?" Zafran roared at Prickly.

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please!" Prickly retaliated, equally loud, blowing a rude raspberry as he did.

"Fine, please!" Zafran said a strained voice, as though the word was causing him severe physical pain.

"NOTHING! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please!" Prickly yelled back in a way that no student could have dared.

"PRICKLY!" Zafran thundered, enraged.

At this, the five scarpered. Once again, they zigged left and zagged right, until they reached a door. Procus pushed against it with all his might, then panted, "It's locked!"

"Oh, get aside!" Patricia said sharply. Procus backed off as she pointed her wand at the door and said, "Reserare!" The latch clicked, and the door swung open. All five entered, panting and clutching various areas. Once they had regained their breath, Procus spoke

"Okay, now that we're here and far away from Zafran – what is it, Alen?" Procus exclaimed, for Alen had been tugging at the end of his robes for the last few minutes, stuttering and pointing at the other end of the corridor. Procus spun around and his breath seemed to solidify in his lungs.

"Oh my –"

The rest of his sentence never quite made it out of his mouth. Taking up half the corridor by itself, an enormous three-headed dragon sat. Its body, aside from the necks and heads, was covered in volt-yellow shimmering scales. Each neck and respective head was covered with scales of different colors. The center one was fire-red, much like the ring of Procus' eyes, the leftmost one was dirt-brown and the rightmost one was sky-blue. All three snorted at once; and flames, shrapnel and little snowflakes came out of the three heads respectively. The dragon seemed to have been surprised by them, hence it hadn't attacked. It was getting over its surprise now and seemed to be gearing up to end them.

Procus shouted the word that he had thought of so many times that night, "RUN!"

The others didn't need to be told twice, fumbling with the door handle, they sprinted flat out to Evgenis tower, Vignesh in the lead.

The Darkflight did not take kindly to being awoken in the dead of night.

"Where were you?" he chided.

"Never mind that now, chivalry, chivalry," Procus muttered worriedly, looking over his shoulder for any sign of teachers, Prickly or that monster as he did. The Darkflight swung open to allow them into the spacious common-room that felt like home after their adventure.

"Why in the world are they keeping that thing here. It's probably gonna kill us all!" Procus burst out furiously the second that Alen went up to bed.

"Isn't it obvious, didn't you see what it was behind it?" Patricia shrieked back.

"Er… the wall?" Adi suggested, "I wasn't really looking behind it, I was more focused on it,"

"It was a door! It's obviously guarding something!" Patricia screeched, apparently infuriated about their non-observant behavior.

Procus, Adi and Vignesh exchanged looks of shock.

"Well, I hope that you're happy; we could be dead by now, or worse, being punished by Professor Foong. I'm going to bed," Patricia finished huffily, tramping up to the girls' dormitory.

It looked like Procus had just found out where the grubby package from Asian Wizarding Bank was.