#vmatcv

Chapter 5: A New Perspective

Verna’s initial assessment about how busy she was going to be turned out to be quite the understatement. She now had the extra lessons from Rakepick to add to the roster. On top of that, she ended up missing Quidditch practice again, and it was Orion’s last year. He wasn’t the one cross with Verna though, but Skye wouldn’t leave her alone about it. She kept insisting that they had to win the cup this year for Orion. Verna decided to take it up with Orion himself and the captain simply said they’d try to schedule the practices so they wouldn’t conflict with Verna’s detention. It seemed so obvious Verna couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before. That problem taken care of; Verna could focus mostly on researching the portrait curse. Only one other student had been sucked into a portrait so far after Beatrice. It had been a couple of weeks and Penny had re-emerged to join the society, but she was antsy, irritable, and always busying herself with whatever book or potion might help her free her sister. Verna wondered if that’s how she herself seemed like to others when she got really anxious about finding her brother.

~

One October Saturday Charlie dragged Verna, Rowan, and Ben to the Black Lake for some fresh air and relaxation. They all tried to rope Penny into coming with them, but she flat-out refused. Verna was starting to be really worried about her, but she knew arguing with Penny wasn’t going to lead anywhere. As they walked, she and Rowan talked half-heartedly about some ideas how to make Penny feel better, but honestly, they were both feeling rather low themselves. Charlie seemed to be the only one trying to keep the spirits up.

“C’mon people, it’s probably one of the last sunny weekends, we have to try to think about something else than the Vaults even once a week or all of us are going to be sent to the Hospital Wing for nervous breakdowns,” he said, and picked up a flat rock from the path leading down to the lake.

“Charlie’s right,” Rowan agreed. “The professors are also looking into it so it’s not like we’re just leaving Beatrice to fend for herself.”

~

When they reached the lake shore, Verna noticed they weren’t the first ones there. Badeea Ali, a fifth-year like them but in Ravenclaw had brought her paints, brushes and easel out to paint in the sun.

“Hi Badeea!” she called. Rowan and Badeea were close and would talk spell-theory late into the night if given the chance.

“Verna, hello! Isn’t it nice that we get a little bit of sun, still?”

“For sure. What are you painting?” Verna asked as she got closer.

“I’m trying to get a glimpse of the giant squid, but no luck so far… What brings you lot here?”

“We’re just soaking in the sun,” Charlie said and tossed the rock he had picked up into the lake.

“Hey, careful, don’t frighten the squid,” Badeea admonished him.

“Frighten it? I don’t think that small rock so much as attracts his attention…”

“Don’t be a brat, Charles,” Verna said and sat down on a sizable rock near the water’s edge. Badeea smiled at her, and Verna beamed. She was not about to tell Charlie, but Badeea liking them was very important to Verna because she was very nice, brilliant, and talented. And pretty, which of course played no part in it whatsoever, but Verna felt it important to note.

~

Rowan and Badeea started conversing about something they had learned in Charms, while Verna, Charlie and Ben busied themselves looking for pretty rocks (for Ben’s collection, not to toss into the lake and frighten the Giant squid). Verna’s ears perked up when she heard Rowan and Badeea’s discussion turn towards the landscape she was painting. She gave up the rock search and inched closer to listen.

“Magical portraits are only representations of the artist’s vision of the subject, so I don’t think the same logic applies to them as Beatrice,” Badeea was saying.

“That’s true,” replied Rowan. “I’m just considering all the options. Maybe Beatrice is not trapped in the portrait but rather somewhere else? Maybe the portrait is just a representation of her.”

“Rakepick said she was in the painting,” Verna butted in.

“That’s true, but I still want to consider other options.”

“Do you know if she’s any closer to breaking the curse?” Badeea asked.

Verna shook her head. “No… the magic is ancient and difficult to understand.”

Badeea seemed to think for a moment and then said: “Maybe it would help to try something entirely different.”

“Like what?”

“Like a completely new approach. Try doing something you’d never do otherwise, pretend you’re someone else.”

“How would that help?”

Badeea laughed a little. “Thinking outside of the box always helps!”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Rowan said. “We’ve been going around in circles for days now.”

“What does that even mean? Who should I pretend to be?”

“Not anyone in particular. Just not you,” Badeea poked her chest. “I’ve done some of my best work that way.”

“No offense Badeea,” Verna said. “But I don’t think this is really the same thing as painting portraits.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Rowan piped in. “We don’t really have anything else right now.”

“Alright. I guess I’ll give it a shot…”

~

Verna wasn’t sure how exactly she was supposed to pull off this ‘opposite day’, or how it would help, but Rowan was right. They didn’t have anything to go on, and Rakepick wasn’t giving her anything useful right now. Her first opportunity to do the opposite of what she’d usually do came after lunch, when she went to the Courtyard to catch some fresh air. Merula was sitting on the edge of the fountain without her posse for once. Verna was already regretting her decision to follow Badeea’s advice as she walked over to the Slytherin girl.

“Hey Merula.”

Merula looked up from the book she was reading with a puzzled expression. “What the hell do you want, Malinda?”

Pushing down the urge to instigate a fight, Verna said: “Nice to see you too.”

“Have you been drinking euphoria elixir?” Merula asked, arching an eyebrow. “You’re acting weird. Weirder than usual.”

“I wanted to see if you’ve made any headway in your research into the vault?”

“Why would I tell you anything now? The only one I’m telling is Rakepick.”

“Because you’re clever, and I could use a second opinion right about now,” Verna said. It was true enough. Merula was a good student, excelling in many of their classes and most of all, she really wanted to find the vaults, so she spent almost as much time researching them as Verna did.

“Clever? I never thought I’d see the day where you admit it.”

“Yes, yes, you’re the best witch at Hogwarts, blah blah blah,” Verna muttered. “Now will you help me, or not?”

Merula sighed and closed the book on her lap. “Fine. The truth is, that I haven’t managed to find anything since our last meeting with Rakepick. I’ve scoured through every book I could think of, gotten a permission slip to the Forbidden Section and… nothing.”

Verna had guessed this outcome, but it was still disappointing to hear.

“But I did hear Rakepick ask Filch about some magical map. Filch wouldn’t tell her anything but since she asked, I’m sure it’s important to the investigation,” said Merula.

“A magical map?”

“I think she called it ‘Marauder’s Map’.”

“Marauders? As in James Potter and his gang?”

Merula nodded.

“And you think Filch has it?”

“Probably, though I can’t be sure.”

“I’ll find it.”

“Great, you and Filch deserve each other.”

Verna rolled her eyes and gave Merula the middle finger, then turned to go back inside.

~

She tried to be positive about that night’s detention, even though Verna knew she’d still have to drag herself to late night Quidditch practice. It was difficult enough to find time so she couldn’t miss any practices that Orion painstakingly managed to arrange. Last year they’d won the Quidditch house cup but then again, last year Verna had had far less to worry about. After practice she would sneak into Filch’s office and try to find the Marauder’s Map if it was to be found. Then she’d have to get some sleep and dedicate her entire Sunday to finishing her Potions homework. Rowan had helpfully reminded her of it earlier, and Verna definitely couldn’t afford to piss Snape off.

“Hey Jae,” she said once she arrived at the kitchens. She had plastered a smile on her face to communicate how much fun it was to be at detention.

“What’s gotten you on such a good mood?” asked Jae, who was still probably thinking about the bat-bogey hex.

“I’m trying to a different perspective.”

“Badeea?”

Verna nodded. “She’s trying to get me to think outside of the box.”

“I smuggle her spell supplies every now and again.”

That’s right. Jae and his contraband. Maybe he had heard something of the elusive map Rakepick was after.

“Hey Jae, have you heard of something called the Marauder’s Map?” she asked, while starting on the evening dishes.

“Oh? Yeah, I sure have. It’s legendary. It’s said to show all of Hogwarts, every nook, cranny, and secret passage.”

“Do you happen to know where it is?”

Jae shrugged. “Last I heard, it was in Filch’s office. You need it for some heroic shit, right?”

Verna felt extremely seen. “Yes,” she admitted.

“Okay,” Jae said thoughtfully. “I could be persuaded to do some heroic shit. For the right price.”

“It’s not heroic if you’re getting paid.”

“Fine, you’re the expert after all,” Jae conceded. “I’ll help you break into his office free of charge, cause we’re mates.”

“Thanks.”

“Less talking, more dishes!” yelled Pitts. Verna and Jae exchanged amused glances ad continued working.

~

After a cruelling hour scrubbing the dishes, Verna headed for the Quidditch changing rooms, agreeing to meet Jae in the first-floor corridor leading up to Filch’s office in two hours’ time. They both assumed that by then, everyone would be asleep, or at least not haphazardly wandering the hallways. Despite hurrying, her teammates where all already dressed and ready to go when Verna got to the changing room.

“I’m sorry, Pitts was in a mood tonight,” she apologized and started putting on her gear as quickly as she could.

“No harm done,” Orion said cheerfully. Based on the looks on the others’ faces, he had taken the time it took from Verna to get here to give them one of his famous philosophical speeches. Skye looked about ready to kick Verna’s ass just for that.

“Depends on who you ask, I suppose,” she said with a sour expression.

“Never mind Skye, she’s been itching to get into the pitch.”

“Well,” said Verna, pulling on her boots. “Let’s not waste any more time then!”

The team headed outside brooms in hand, and Charlie caught up to Verna, tapping her on the shoulder. “Uh, Verna?”

“What is it?”

“Your shirt’s inside out.”

Verna glanced down and indeed it was. The girl sighed.

“I’m not saying I’m worried about you but… I’m kind of worried about you,” Charlie continued, brow creased. The rest of the team were gathering around Orion and listening to his latest strategies.

“I’m fine. Let’s just get this practice over with. I have to steal the Marauder’s map from Filch in an hour and 52 minutes.”

“You- what? Okay, look, we’re going to talk about this later,” the boy said and the two joined their teammates. Verna was not looking forward to that conversation.

~

This was not the first time Verna broke into the office of Hogwarts’ caretaker. Though she had to admit Jae was a much more effective partner-in-crime than Tonks, who really only pulled off her pranks due to sheer dumb luck. Jae was a professional. He had mastered a bunch of spells that were extremely useful for their purposes, like the Confundus charm. Jae cast it on poor Mrs. Norris so she wouldn’t alert Filch. Verna felt extremely bad about it, although the cat hated her guts. The office door was reinforced by a magical lock that wouldn’t open with just a simple unlocking spell. Jae had come prepared, and he pulled a pair of what looked like lock picks out of his pocket.

“I got these at Knockturn Alley. They’re like Muggle lock picks but they’ve been charmed,” he explained in a hushed whisper.

“Do you think they’ll work?” asked Verna.

“Only one way to find out,” he said and got to work picking the lock. Verna watched out for any approaching footsteps, but none came. Eventually Jae managed to get the door to open and Verna cast Revelio to make sure there were no further obstacles on their way. Then the two got to work to scour the office for anything resembling a map.

“It might be disguised,” said Jae. He was digging through the drawers on Filch’s table.

“How do you know so much about this thing?” asked Verna.

“Well first of all, the Marauders were legendary at breaking the rules of this fine establishment, so I did my homework on them before I even started my first year. Second of all, I tracked down one Derrick Denbright a few years ago. He used to share a dorm with them. Can you imagine that? Being the only one excluded from the Marauders in your dorm? I figured he’d be more than willing to spill their secrets and I was right. He didn’t know much but he was able to tell me about the map. It looked like a piece of useless parchment unless activated with a passphrase.”

“And do you know what the passphrase is?”

Jae shook his head. “No, Derrick could never figure it out.”

Verna sighed. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, keep looking.”

~

It took them half an hour and Jae had to unlock more drawers and boxes with his magical lock picks, but eventually they got lucky. In a small metal box hidden under a secret compartment in one of Filch’s cabinets, there was an old, blank piece of parchment.

“This could be it,” said Verna, pulling it out of its box.

“I don’t see why it would’ve been hidden behind so many locks if it wasn’t at least something interesting.”

Before the two of them could investigate any more, they heard someone outside the door. Exchanging glances, they ducked into hiding. Jae under the table, and Verna behind a shelf full of confiscated items. Verna was acutely aware of the mess they’d left behind while looking through the office. Filch would be able to tell someone had confounded his cat to break into his office. She only hoped Rakepick would bail her out of trouble if it came to that. Filch pulled the door open. He was holding Mrs. Norris and had a wild look of rage in his eyes. He scanned the room, mumbling something about chains and the good old times. Verna wondered how illegal it was to confound school staff. Jae, apparently, didn’t stop to wonder. Verna saw him pointing his wand at the man from her vantage point, though Filch couldn’t see him for where he was standing. She didn’t hear him cast the spell, but she saw it take effect. Filch spun around on his heels, swaying a little. He was still holding onto the cat who was meowing loudly. He sauntered out of the office leaving the door wide open, and began to walk around in circles, as if searching for something. Verna and Jae didn’t waste any time but sprang out of their hiding spots and tip-toed out of the office. It was as if Filch couldn’t see them at all. Mrs. Norris did, though, and in vain tried to get her master’s attention. Failing that, she hissed at the two of them, baring her teeth.

“I’m really sorry…” Verna told the cat.

Chapter 6: The Life and Death of Duncan Ashe

After breaking into Filch’s office, Verna had gone back to her dorm and hidden the parchment in her pillowcase. She wasn’t sure what to do with it yet and wanted to consult with Rowan, Ben, and Charlie. The next day after Herbology, the four of them gathered in Verna’s brother’s secret room she had discovered in her third year with the help of Tulip Karasu. Charlie asked Bill to join them since he knew the most advanced spells. Verna recounted the events of the previous night to them, though she left out the part where they almost got caught.

“Can I see it?” Rowan asked and Verna handed the parchment to them. She had tried to get Jae to join them, but the boy had very expressly refused any more involvement in heroics than absolutely necessary. Rowan cast Revelio on the parchment but nothing happened.

Verna glanced at Rowan. “Are you sure you did that right?” she asked.

“Of course I did… I think…”

“Maybe it is just a useless piece of parchment…” Ben said, sounding disappointed.

“Or it uses advanced enough magic that a simple revealing charm is not going to cut it,” Bill mused.

“It was hidden away behind two locks in Filch’s office, that must mean something, right?” Verna asked, looking at her friends for reassurance. She needed to make a break in the investigation, or she was going to lose her mind.

“Maybe,” Rowan said, turning the parchment around in their hands. “I can try to find out what it’s hiding.”

“I’ll help you,” Bill offered, and Rowan blushed slightly. They’d had a crush on Bill for as long as they’d known him.

“Thank you,” they muttered with an abashed smile.

“Are you sure you shouldn’t just hand it to Rakepick?” Charlie asked, looking at Verna questioningly.

“No,” Rowan interjected. “I want to study it first.”

Verna wasn’t sure it was a good idea, given how she had already messed up with the Dragon portrait. “I don’t know, Rowan…”

“Please, Verna,” they pleaded. “I know I can figure something out if you just give me a little time.”

“I think we should give Rowan a chance,” Bill said, nodding encouragingly towards them.

Verna relented, saying: “Okay, but if you can’t find anything, we’ll give it to Rakepick.”

“Agreed,” Rowan beamed. “I’ll head to the library right now.”

“I’ll come with you,” Bill said and the two headed out. Verna wasn’t sure if she’d done the right thing, but Rowan was smarter than anyone she knew so maybe they’d be able to figure something out.

~

“So… what are the three of us supposed to do?” Charlie asked, once his brother and Rowan had left.

“I guess we could search this room for clues?” suggested Ben. “Maybe Verna’s brother knew something.”

“I’ve searched it up and down,” Verna said. “I don’t know what else there could be…”

“Maybe we should look for things that aren’t so obviously related to the vault, sort of like Badeea suggested. Thinking outside of the box,” Charlie said.

“Okay,” agreed Verna, not knowing what else she could possibly do.

The three of them started looking through Jacob’s room once again. Ben was quiet, Charlie kept up a friendly chatter, and Verna missed her brother with such ferocity that she thought she was going to collapse. She didn’t like to be in this room because it reminded him so much of Jacob while also showing her just how little she had actually known him. Verna noted the things she had found out before; how there was more than one handwriting on the notes scribbled around the room, how everything had been hastily covered up, as if Jacob had had to leave in a hurry and had tried to hide his research. She made special note of all the drawings of dragons now that she had put together the significance of the dragon portrait. Charlie examined them all closely, but they didn’t reveal any vital information. Verna took a book on potions from the table and turned it around in her hands. It was from the Hogwarts library, and Verna was pretty sure the return date had passed years ago. She opened the book and took a look at the borrower’s card inside. The last person to check out the book had been Duncan Ashe. Jacob and Duncan had been best friends until the tragic accident that had killed the latter boy. Verna had met Duncan a couple of times when he’d visited the Malinda Manor during summers, and she remembered him as a fun-loving, cheerful boy who never treated her as just Jacob’s annoying little sister. She’d cried when her parents told her he had died.

“Verna, take a look at this,” Ben called out to her, interrupting her thoughts. Verna put the book back on the table and joined Ben on the other side of the room. He was holding a letter in his hand, addressed to someone called Olivia Green. It was written in Jacob’s wiry handwriting.

“Olivia,

I’m still trying to find the map. I don’t know if it’s a viable option after all, though Duncan still wants to keep pushing. We found out it’s possibly been confiscated by Filch. I don’t want anyone to find out that we’re looking into this so if it’s really there, we have to put it back exactly as we found it once we’re done with it. Meet me at the statue of the griffin on the first floor at midnight, tonight. Burn this once you’ve read it.

Best,

Jake”

Verna read the short letter over and over again. Jacob had also been looking for the map which meant they had to be on the right track. She wondered if he had found it and put it back to where Verna and Jae discovered it. That made her feel closer to Jacob, like he’d somehow left it for her to find, although he couldn’t have known.

“Who’s Olivia?” Charlie asked Verna.

“I think Jacob mentioned having a friend by that name but Duncan’s the one I’ve met.”

“He’s the one who died in the potion accident?” asked Ben warily.

Verna nodded. “I think Olivia was a Ravenclaw.”

“Maybe she can help us find some answers about the map?” Charlie suggested.

“Why didn’t Jacob ever give her this letter?” Verna asked, scrutinizing its contents once more. “The griffin statue is nearby Filch’s office, isn’t it?”

Ben nodded and Charlie peered at the letter over Verna’s shoulder. “Maybe he was able to tell her face to face?”

Or maybe something had gone terribly wrong, Verna thought.

“We could talk to the Grey Lady,” Ben said, though he sounded unsure.

“The Ravenclaw house ghost?” Charlie asked, with an arched brow. “She isn’t exactly known for being talkative.”

“I know… But I’ve talked to her, sometimes. We’re a lot alike…” Ben admitted.

Verna could’ve kissed him then and there. “Ben, that’s brilliant! Let’s ask her, she must know at least something!”

Ben blushed crimson, and the three of them headed out to look for the Lady from her usual haunts.

~

Ben was good to his word. He managed to find the Grey Lady floating on one of the balconies on the way to Ravenclaw’s common room. They were in luck she wasn’t actually in the common room, since Verna was quite sure she shouldn’t push her luck and break into two off limits places in less than twenty-four hours.

“I should be the one to talk to her first, she doesn’t take well to strangers,” Ben said when they caught a glimpse of her flowy gown disappearing behind a corner.

“Alright, we’ll wait here,” Verna agreed, and Ben went after the Grey Lady.

“I hope she can help us,” Charlie whispered, not wishing to alert the ghost.

“Me too.”

“About last night…”

“Not now Chaz, please, we’re in the middle of something.”

Charlie persisted: “You broke into Filch’s office?”

“Yes.”

“Without me?”

“Yes?”

“I’m your best mate!”

Verna almost smiled. “I figured not both fifth year prefects should be caught sneaking in the caretaker’s office.”

“Still, I’m wounded.”

Before Verna could come up with a witty retort, Ben appeared from behind the corner he had disappeared to. “She’ll talk to you. Try not to be loud and aggressive.”

“That’s a tough ask, Copper,” Charlie said. “We’re not exactly mellow people.”

Verna elbowed Charlie in the arm and followed Ben. Charlie jogged after them rubbing his arm and muttering something about bony elbows.

~

The Grey Lady was waiting for them at the end of the balcony. She was a tall woman with a regal face, very beautiful, but sad.

“Lady Helena, these are the friends I mentioned,” Ben started as they got closer. “Verna Malinda and Charlie Weasley.”

The Grey Lady regarded them for a while with a neutral expression, then fixing her eyes on Verna she said: “I know of you, Curse-breaker.”

Verna nodded. “Yes, I’m trying to break this curse too.”

“So, what is that you need from me?”

“I’m looking for information on a Ravenclaw student named Olivia Green, she might’ve been friends with my brother, Jacob,” Verna explained. A lot hinged on The Grey Lady wanting to help them, so she tried to be as cordial as possible. She almost felt like she was talking to her paternal grandmother who insisted on propriety and manners above all.

“Jacob Malinda is known to me,” The Grey Lady replied. “He had two friends: Olivia, from my House, and Duncan Ashe from Slytherin… They were always together, the three of them. Olivia spoke of their search for the Vaults to me sometimes…”

“Did she ever mention a map? Marauder’s map?” Charlie pitched in.

The Grey Lady shook her head. “No, I do not believe she did, but…”

“But?” Charlie continued, getting impatient.

Ben gave him a warning look, as the Lady retreated a little, looking alarmed.

“I’m sorry,” Charlie attempted. “It’s just that, our friends are in danger.”

“Yes, that is what searching for the Vaults does,” The Lady said. “It’s why Jacob and Olivia are gone now, and why Duncan will remain here forever.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Verna, confused. Duncan’s body had been recovered and returned to his parents.

“He chose to remain, like me.”

“Duncan is a ghost?” Verna exclaimed. If that was true, then he could give her all the answers she so desperately needed. Duncan had been Jacob’s best friend and accomplice. Surely he would know a lot more about his search, expulsion, and disappearance.

“Yes, he does not show himself often. I believe he regrets his choice to remain. Search for him from unoccupied places.”

“Thank you so much,” Verna said. “This helps a lot.”

The Grey Lady merely nodded, perhaps a hint of a sad smile playing on her lips. Then she floated through one of the walls and disappeared.

“All we have to do is find Duncan and he’ll tell us what we need to know!” Verna professed, finally feeling hopeful again.

~

Finding Duncan Ashe proved to be slightly more difficult than anticipated. Verna and her friends prowled around the castle for days, asking several other ghosts, paintings, and students if they’d seen or heard of him. It didn’t seem like anybody had, until they talked to some seventh-year prefects, who suggested they check the prefect’s bathroom. They said there was sometimes a ghost of a male Hogwarts student there and since the only other Hogwarts student to die on the grounds had been Moaning Myrtle, Verna was convinced this was who she was looking for. Bill and Charlie accompanied her to check out the bathroom, since they were prefects as well, and allowed there. Verna tried to remember the last time she’d seen Duncan. It was the summer before Jacob’s expulsion, and he had invited Duncan over for a weekend. Verna was eleven and thought the two sixteen-year-olds incredibly cool. Now she was sixteen but walking towards the bathroom she felt eleven again. She hadn’t been this close to finding her brother before and she felt exhilarated and terrified at the same time.

~

In another stroke of luck, the bathroom was vacant. Verna didn’t see any ghosts upon entering, but she knew they could be hiding in the most unexpected places.

“Duncan Ashe?” Bill called once the door shut behind them. “Are you here?”

There was no answer. Charlie tried next: “We need to talk to you!”

When there was still nothing, Verna called out: “Please, it’s about my brother Jacob. I need your help.”

There were a few seconds of silence and then a figure emerged from one of the toilet stalls. It was Duncan, but he looked nothing like the cheerful boy Verna remembered. When he looked at Verna, his eyes flashed with anger.

“What the bloody hell do you want, Little Malinda?”

“I—” Verna started but Duncan didn’t let her explain.

“I’m not going to help you find your coward brother, he deserves what ever’s coming for him,” said the ghost and Verna stared at him in stunned silence. This didn’t make any sense. She knew Jacob and Duncan had been best friends. He would never do anything to hurt his friends, and he certainly wasn’t a coward.

“How can you say that?” she asked, anger rising in her chest. “He’s your best friend!”

“He’s a coward, a liar, a thief, and a thug,” Duncan retorted. Verna didn’t understand any of this and suddenly she wished ghosts were punchable.

“Stop it!” she said, raising her voice. Charlie and Bill exchanged alarmed glances, probably thinking Verna wouldn’t notice. She noticed.

“Tell me what the hell happened to my brother right now!”

Duncan laughed. “Or what, Little Malinda? Jacob already ruined my life; I’m not going to let his little sister ruin my afterlife by getting me involved with the Vaults again.”

“I don’t understand. He would never have done anything to hurt you. He loved you.”

This time there was an edge of bitterness to his laugh. Verna understood why everyone avoided the bathroom when Duncan was present. “You’re just like him, aren’t you? Always pushing. Well too bad, I don’t even know the whole story. I was too busy dying.”

Duncan started to float away, and Verna called after him: “Please, if not for Jacob, then for the school! People are being sucked into portraits!”

Duncan turned to face her again. “You’re going to have to figure it out yourself. Maybe in the process you’ll learn that your brother’s not the person you thought he was.”

~

Verna didn’t exactly remember walking back to her brother’s room. She just started walking and somehow ended up there from the prefect’s bathroom. Charlie and Bill had followed.

“Are you okay?” Charlie asked when Verna started to frantically go through all of Jacob’s journals and scribbled notes again. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but she had an odd feeling that there had to be something she was missing. Something she could do to convince Duncan to help them.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she stated flatly. “Help me, I need to find more letters or diary entries mentioning Duncan. Anything.”

Charlie and Bill looked at each other again, but neither questioned Verna. They all got to work, this time having a clearer picture of what it was they were looking for. Truthfully, Verna was extremely shaken by what Duncan had said. He had seemed so angry with her brother and that didn’t go hand in hand with what Verna knew of their relationship. The feeling that she didn’t know Jacob at all had grown stronger. She hated it. She wanted to find out the truth of what had happened but at the same time she was terrified of it. What if she had been wrong, defending Jacob for all these years? She shook the thought out of her mind for now, and spotted another letter buried under a pile of dragon-related documents. She grabbed the already-opened envelope, pulling the letter out and eyeing its contents.

“Charlie, Bill, over here!” she called to her friends. The boys rushed to her side and peered over both her shoulders as she read out loud:

“Jacob,

Do not blame yourself. Duncan Ashe chose his path, and all paths end in the same place.

All except ours.

Despite what she told you, we could only accept one member regardless of what happened with the vaults. You were always the favourite but this tragedy, along with Miss Green’s fate, negates the need for further discussion. Continue your search and trust your instincts.

Remember, there are no friends on the path to enlightenment and immortality.

There is only us.

R.”

There was a stunned silence after Verna finished reading. The three Gryffindors looked at each other with varying degrees of horror.

“He… he was working with R?” Verna managed, but the words didn’t sound like her own. This couldn’t be true.

“It looks like that. He, Olivia Green, and Duncan Ashe were trying to find the vaults, but they were all also involved with R,” Bill said, sounding troubled.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Charlie added.

“I have to convince Duncan to talk to me,” Verna decided, heading for the door. “I better go alone. Maybe he’ll be more willing to talk if it’s just me.”

“Or maybe he’ll drown you in the bathtub,” Charlie muttered.

“He’s a ghost.”

“Still.”

“Relax, Charlie, I’ll be fine. See you back at the common room,” Verna assured her friend, and left her brother’s room, heading back to the prefects’ bathroom.

~

Verna was decidedly less sure of herself when entering the bathroom again than she had let on to Charlie and Bill. This time she saw Duncan immediately, floating above the sinks. He didn’t seem to be entirely present, though maybe that was just a side effect of being dead.

“Duncan?”

The boy spun around mid-air, fixing her with a look of loathing. “I thought I was pretty clear earlier; I’m not going to help you,” he sneered.

“Wait,” Verna said, pulling out the envelope she had found. “This letter says Jacob blamed himself for your death too. Just, please tell me what happened. I want to know the truth.”

Duncan eyed the letter and then Verna. He glided closer and some of the ice in his expression melted away. “Maybe it’s better for your own sake that you stop this quest for answers right now.”

“I’m not going to stop until I find my brother.”

Duncan let out a ghostly sigh. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Tell me what my brother did to you, please?”

Duncan looked past her, as if into something or someone behind Verna. “Which part? Jacob is a bloody hurricane of a person. He didn’t much stop to consider the consequences of his actions.”

“I know you both were working with R along with Olivia Green,” Verna said, hoping to coax some sort of reaction out of his brother’s former friend.

“More like for R, but yes.”

“So what happened?”

“R manipulated us. All of us. And once we were in too deep, R threated to hurt everyone we cared about if we didn’t do what they wanted. At that point all three of us wanted out but it was too late. Whoever survived the longest would be initiated as their newest member.”

“Member of what? What is R?” asked Verna, impatiently.

“I have no idea,” Duncan said with a shrug. “You may have noticed, but I didn’t live the longest.”

“I may have caught on. You died in an accident, here at school?”

“Yes. R told me to modify the Erumpment potion to be powerful enough to kill whatever was guarding the Forest Vault. I told them it was a terrible idea but to them I was expendable. It was Jacob they really wanted. Olivia and I were just pawns in their game.”

“That wasn’t his fault,” Verna argued.

“No, it wasn’t.”

“So why are you so mad at him?”

“Because he didn’t expose R after my death. Instead, he took the blame and got himself expelled.”

“He took the blame for the accident?”

Duncan nodded. “The school kept that under wraps because he was a kid, but I bet your parents know.”

“What happened then?”

“Jacob joined R. I’ve found myself becoming rather adept at eavesdropping and heard some of the faculty talking about it.”

All of this was giving Verna a big headache. “Why in the bloody hell would he take the blame for R and then join them?”

“To protect you,” Duncan answered. His voice had become very small. “I think. I’m not sure. But I don’t want to believe he would’ve let my murderers go free if it wasn’t to keep you safe.”

“Duncan… I’m sorry.”

The ghost floated higher again, turning his back to Verna. “The truth is… I loved him. I was in love with him. And he used me to find the vaults and left me for dead.”

Verna swallowed, but the lump in her throat wouldn’t budge. “Did he know that?”

“I don’t know. I told him one night at a post-game party, but he was drunk out of his mind.”

“He wouldn’t have lied about your accident without a good reason,” Verna said. “I’m going to find out what really happened for all of us. Jacob, me, you, and Olivia.”

Duncan had a look of defeat on his face. “I tried to keep you out of it as a last favour to Jacob, but it looks like I’m not immune to the Malinda puppy-eyes even as a ghost.”

“That’s why you were so hostile earlier?”

“Not only that. Jacob also did hurt me.”

“I… I believe you. But I still want to know what he has to say for himself.”

“You’d be better off leaving this alone. He’ll never forgive me if something happens to his little sister.”

“I’m sixteen, I’m not a little girl and I can take care of myself.”

“Not much I can do to stop you now,” said Duncan and started to float away. “Just be careful. And if you do find your brother, tell him… tell him I don’t forgive him.”