Albus quickly jumped off the bed and rushed toward Scorpius, who had fallen into a deep sleep on the adjacent bed. He shook him urgently and said:
"Hey Scorp, wake up!"
Scorpius slowly opened his eyes.
"What happened?"
Albus, while putting on his jacket, said, "Arya's father is in the castle. We have to go and inform her."
Scorpius replied, "But you can't..."
But it was too late as Albus had already exited through the door and quickly descended the stairs. He slowed his steps and ascended the staircase to the girls' dormitory. But suddenly, he lost his balance and fell onto a snake-like slide, crashing loudly to the floor.
Scorpius stood there, looking at him wisely.
"I was going to tell you that you can't enter the girls' dormitory."
Albus, surprised by the incident, wanted to ask a question, but the murmurs of the girls in the dormitory drowned him out. Apparently, they had woken up from the loud sound and were now gathered by the door, looking for the source. At the forefront stood Claria Lestrange, her thick black hair making her look more intimidating than ever. She raised the lantern in her hand slightly to get a better view of the boys, then shouted loudly:
"What were you doing in the girls' dormitory at this hour, Potter?!"
Albus, still shocked by the situation, looked at them for a few seconds. The girls, dressed in their nightwear, stood at the threshold, whispering. Albus said:
"We're here to talk to Arya. It's really important. Can you please let us in?"
Claria, seemingly ignoring his response, continued her angry tirade: "Good thing there was a ward here—who knows what you boys would've done otherwise..."
Scorpius, sensing the escalating tension, tried to mediate in his usual manner:
"Sorry for waking you up, we didn't mean to cause any trouble. We just have an urgent matter with Arya..."
But it seemed that even his soft tone had no effect on the girl, as she continued her shouting:
"I'll be nice and not report you to Professor Spencer tonight, but tomorrow..."
suddenly, her words were cut off. Arya stood at the doorframe, trying to push her way through the girls. Upon seeing Albus, Scorpius, and the snake-like slide, she was shocked:
"What's going on here?"
Claria smirked and said:
"You should ask your friends. They were trying to get into our dormitory in the middle of the night."
Arya turned to the two boys and asked, "What do you need?"
Albus said, "We need to talk. It's important."
Arya slid down from the snake-like slide and glanced at the girls in the dormitory.
Scorpius, noticing them scattering and returning to their beds, loudly said:
"Sorry again!"
Arya looked at the two of them in surprise. Her eyes were still half-lidded, clearly showing she had woken from a restful sleep. Albus quickly opened the Marauder's Map in front of her and pointed to Professor McGonagall's office:
"Your father is in the castle right now."
Arya stared at the map in disbelief for a few seconds. It was completely accurate—her father, Elliot Calderon-Boot, was indeed in the castle at that moment. Arya hastily said:
"Let's go to the headmistress's office. I need to talk to him."
Scorpius said:
"Don't you think this is a bit hasty? Filch might see us, and..."
But Albus cut him off:
"she's right, we need to go."
And with that, the three of them hurried out the door. As they ran through the corridors, they suddenly heard a sound. The faint sound of footsteps was coming from the opposite hallway. The kids pressed against the wall and held their breath.
Filch was walking slowly, muttering a few lines of a song under his breath—perhaps talking to his cat. However, he was moving at an incredibly slow pace. For several seconds, the three of them stood in complete silence. Arya was silently hoping: Please don't come this way. But Albus was thinking: I wish we had the invisibility cloak. It would definitely be more useful than prayer right now.
After a few minutes, Filch went down one of the corridors. The three of them sighed in relief and continued on their way. But this time, they moved with slower steps. Arya squeezed the map tightly in her hands, her heart pounding quickly. She was a little worried.
When they reached the headmistress's office, Arya opened the map again. But this time, her father wasn't in the office. Instead, she saw only McGonagall, sitting at her desk, unmoving.
Arya unconsciously leaned against one of the columns and said, sounding disappointed:
"Oh my God! He's gone."
Albus and Scorpius looked at her in concern. Albus ran a hand through his hair and said:
"How could he have left so soon?"
"He might have used a broomstick," Scorpius suggested.
With a bitter tone, Arya added:
"Or maybe he flew himself. After all, he's an animagus."
She continued:
"But that doesn't matter right now. I knew from the start this was connected to my father, because the chest in McGonagall's office looked exactly like the one in my father's study. And my dad is a zoologist. He must have been helping them care for that creature."
Albus smirked and said:
"Well, it seems they didn't do such a great job keeping it — because it escaped."
Arya said:
"Yeah, but why is this such a big deal? What was it?"
Scorpius said:
"Maybe they're worried the creature is dangerous for the students."
Albus replied:
"No, that can't be the only reason. There must be something more serious behind it. Arya's Dad came all the way from America, and McGonagall has practically risked everything for this."
Arya, who had been lost in her thoughts until that point, said:
"Albus is right." With a tone of despair, she continued, "We should probably leave before anyone sees us."
At that moment, Albus placed a hand on Arya's shoulder. His green eyes, full of warmth, comforted her:
"Don't worry, we'll figure this out."
Arya gave him a small, weary smile in return.
A week had passed since Arya had seen her father in the castle, and she was gradually regaining her composure. Now, in addition to practicing Quidditch and doing her assignments, constantly checking the Marauder's Map had become part of her daily routine. The students would trade the map among themselves every few days, and no suspicious activity escaped their curious gazes.
It was a cold morning. A Quidditch match between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams was about to take place. The air was chilly, but the sun was shining in the sky, signaling the approach of spring. Arya and Albus left the entrance hall and headed toward the Quidditch pitch. They hadn't gotten far when a voice caught their attention:
"Hey, guys!"
It was Scorpius, panting as he caught up with them. His blonde hair was falling into his face, and his green tie was crooked. It seemed like he had run from the library to catch up with them.
Scorpius pressed the book he was holding to his chest and paused to catch his breath. Then he said:
"I need to tell you something!"
Arya said:
"But the match is starting in a few minutes."
Scorpius replied:
"It's really important… it's about that creature..."
And the three of them made their way toward the lake. Fortunately, the area near the rocks was quiet, and unlike other times, there were no first-year students around, pulling out bushes and throwing stones into the stream.
Scorpius found a bench and sat down. Arya and Albus looked at him with curiosity. He seemed very excited about the news he was about to share. In a low voice, he said:
"I think I figured out what that creature you saw in the forest was." He held out the book toward them.
Arya glanced at the book in his hand. "Mythical Creatures of Greece." It was the same book her father had given her. Arya looked at the illustrations inside it, and there it was—the same creature they had seen, only this one was golden-red, and no dark smoke was rising from it.
Scorpius continued, excitedly:
"It's called Styros. It's a creature that wizards in ancient Greece thought had gone extinct." He shook his head:
"Of course, everyone still thinks it's extinct... or maybe it never existed."
Albus, losing his patience, asked:
"So, what does it do?"
Scorpius said:
"Wait, I'm getting there. In Greek mythology, it's said that Zeus, the Greek god, had a Styros... so he could..."
He looked at their four amazed eyes:
"...he could bring the dead back to life."
And in a quieter voice, he continued:
"The book doesn't explain how or why, and even the Greeks haven't seen this creature for years... to the point that it has become part of legend."
A few seconds of silence passed. Arya and Albus looked at him in disbelief. Then Arya, in a tone of disbelief, said:
"That's impossible! We all know in the world of magic, you can't bring the dead back to life! It's like going after the Resurrection Stone!"
Albus said:
"Well, the Resurrection Stone does exist."
Arya, still with a disbelieving look, replied:
"Oh my God, Deathly Hallows don't exist!"
Albus said firmly:
"Of course they do. My dad has seen all three of them and thrown two away!"
With a smirk, he continued:
"Although, I honestly don't understand this."
Arya said:
"Your dad threw away the Elder Wand? Oh my God!"
Scorpius said, with a worried tone:
"Guys, we're getting off track here."
Arya placed her hands on her temples and tried to organize her thoughts. Up until this point, many of her deep-held beliefs about the wizarding world had been seriously challenged.
She then took a deep breath and said:
"Okay, let's focus on what exactly is written in that book, Scorp."
Scorpius replied:
"I told you, it only mentions how Zeus used it."
Arya said: "Well, maybe this use is just a legend."
Albus replied: "Or maybe it's a real fact. That's probably why they're giving it so much importance, bringing it here, and why all these professors are protecting it."
Arya looked at him:
"If that's the case, it'll be really hard for them that it's escaped. I mean…"
Scorpius, nodding in agreement, said:
"Exactly. That's why they're looking for it so desperately. Because if it falls into the wrong hands…"
Albus said seriously:
"I don't think it escaped. It must have been stolen."
Arya, still in disbelief, said:
"Yeah, but if it was stolen… can they bring anyone back to life?"
Scorpius nodded and said:
"Yeah, for example, it's enough if the person is interested in dark magic."
Albus, with a smirk, continued:
"It could even bring Voldemort back if it wanted to!"
At first, Arya thought he was joking. But after a moment, she realized it might actually be true. Still, accepting this was difficult for her, but the truth was like a dagger slowly piercing her heart, ripping it apart.
The kids exchanged another look. But this time, in their eyes, there was a wave of disbelief and concern. Scorpius, after thinking for a moment, said:
"But it's been almost a month and a half since they put up the barrier around the Forbidden Forest. If someone was really looking to use that creature, shouldn't we have heard something by now?"
Albus, with a faint smile, said:
"We can only hope."
Arya had her hand on her mouth, and concern was swirling in her dark eyes. A few moments later, that concern gave way to anger. She stood up and said:
"I can't believe this. How could all those professors fail at keeping such a creature? I mean, they burned the rest of them. Why even keep one alive? For sure, my dad is going to be expelled for this!"
Albus, with apparent calmness, said:
"I'm sure there are more important issues than your dad's expulsion, Arya."
And in the days that followed, they found out that this statement was indeed true.
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