PBD ~ ROUND ONE ~, Submissions CLOSED Options

[agrippa]

Congratulations to our Round One winner, Anhaire!


So far our Ferret Points tallies are:
Anhaire 10
Andi 9
Cherabella 8


Go Ferrets!!!



For your convenience, this mission is posted in the Guidelines & FAQ Topic as well as here.

~ Round One Mission: ~

• Harry is awakened by Dobby before dawn on a Saturday morning with a request for his help. Something is wrong in the 5th floor Prefects' bathroom (From GoF).
  
  
• The mermaid is missing from her portrait and many of the taps in the tub aren't working. Another clue is found somewhere in the room.
  
  
• Harry decides to investigate, and finds even more puzzling problems. He may or may not ask for help from a friend.
  
  
• Appearances must be made by Sir Cadogen, Peeves and a professor of your choice.
  
  
• The following words must be used: histrionics, whortleberry, jardiniere, natation

The deadline for Round One submissions noon Central Time, Tues. Sept. 14.

All submissions posted in the submission topics will be anonymous. The identities of the writers will only be revealed after voting has concluded and prizes and Ferret Points are awarded. You won't have to do anything special to post anonymously, it will be automatic.


Good Luck, Fellow Ferrets!




Re-read and rate the submissions HERE.

[Riley]

Dobby's Distress

"Harry Potter, sir, Harry Potter!!"

"Huh?"

"Please, Harry Potter must wake up, sir must hurry!"

"Wha?" Harry Potter yawned as he dragged his head up to see who or what had awoken him at the early hour.

"Harry Potter sir, you is finally awake! Please, sir, you is to follow Dobby, you is to follow Dobby now!" squeaked the house-elf's voice through the darkness.

"Dobby?" Harry asked as he put his glasses on.

"It is sir, Dobby sir. I is sorry to be waking you at this time, but it is important. Harry Potter must follow Dobby!" the house elf's voice squeaked even higher, he really sounded troubled.

Harry reached for his wand, "Lumos," he whispered so he could see better. Dobby's large tennis balls eyes glimmered in the bright light from Harry's wand.

"Harry Potter, there is no time! You is to follow Dobby right away." Urgency could be heard in his voice, Harry actually felt worried, his tiredness ebbed away.

"Alright Dobby, what's the problem?"

The house-elf shook his head so his bat-like eyes nearly hit Harry in the face, "There is no time to explain sir, Dobby will explain on the way..." Dobby proceeded to jump off Harry's bed, through a gap in the curtains.

Harry looked through the gap, pointing his wand over the black floor, trying to find Dobby's small figure again. It caught the back of the house-elf as he exited the room, leaving the door open.

Harry sighed, now he was awake he couldn't possibly get back to sleep. He quickly grabbed a robe to cover himself up and was about to wake Ron up to see if he could help when Dobby's face pointed round the door, "Harry Potter must come! No time to wake anyone else sir, please hurry!"

So, shaking his head slightly with confusion Harry left the room still clutching his wand to guide him in the dark corridors.

When Harry entered the common room Dobby was no where to be seen.

"Dobby?" he asked tentatively, walking around, trying to see him in the golden glow from the fire.

"Harry, is that you?" came a familiar voice from one of the armchairs near the fire.

"Yeah, but what are you doing here at this time?" Harry asked as he stopped looking and focused his attention on the back of the armchair.

"I was about to ask you the same question," the voice came again as its owner stood up. The bushy brown hair bounced as she walked up to Harry, her eyes looking at him quizically. It was Hermione. She stopped in front of him, her arms folded waiting for Harry's reply.

"Well, this is going to sound really odd, but Dobby just woke me up."

"Dobby? What for, why is he waking you up at this hour?" Hermione asked, her burrow frowned.

"No idea, he says I need to follow him," Harry replied taking up the task of looking for the house-elf once more.

"Why? What's happened, what does he want to show you?"

"He didn't tell me, I'm as confused as you," Harry shrugged, that's when he remembered, "Hey you haven't told me why you're here?" He looked at Hermione as he asked this and it was his turn to fold his arms.

"Oh, well," she looked a little embarrassed as she replied, "I've just been reading."

"What a surprise," Harry chuckled, a grin came across his face.

"No need to be sarky!" Hermione retorted, "I've just wanted to extend my vocabulary, that's all. You know, people use words like natation and jardinere all the time and I want to understand the meanings of those words."

"Really, I've never heard anyone use them," Harry replied puzzled.

Hermione tutted, "Well you wouldn't, honestly! Look, I couldn't sleep, it's chilly in the bedroom, so I thought I'd snuggle down here by the fire to read in peace."

"Must be an interesting read, the dictionary," Harry said sarcastically.

Hermuione didn't answer this, instead she tutted again and turned away from Harry. All this commotion made Harry forget for a moment that Dobby needed him. So, that's why Harry jumped slightly when the squeaky voice came from beside him.

"Harry Potter, I have just been checking the corridors sir, all looks clear!" The house-elf smiled at this, "Sir is to follow me now, we must hurry!"

"Dobby?" Hermione came back from her sulk at her acknowledgement of the house-elf, she bent down to Dobby's level and asked kindly, "Why must Harry follow you?"

"Oh miss, Dobby did not sees you there. Bad Dobby, to not notice miss," Dobby paused for a minute to punch himself a few times in the head and only stopped when Hermione made him, "Thank you miss. Dobby had to punish himself. But please sir, follow Dobby, sir can bring miss too!"

Hermione looked up at Harry who was none the wiser, but decided having Hermione along wouldn't be a bad thing. Harry nodded and said, "Lead the way then Dobby."

Dobby smiled again and sprang towards the portrait hole. Hermione stood up, "Harry do you want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, I mean whatever this is I need you, you're clever, you're always helpful," Harry smiled at Hermione, he never really appreciated how much hard work she does.

Hermione returned the smile, "Alright then, but no more sarky comments!"

"Alright, quick let's keep up with Dobby..."

So the two of them, both with their wands out, the same white glow coming from both of them, followed Dobby through the portrait hole and into the night's corridors.

As soon as they had turned the first corner though a mischevious cackling could be heard, not too far away.

"Peeves!" Hermione gasped.

"Quick in here" Harry whispered as he grabbed Dobby and Hermione and pushed them into a small classroom that was luckily open.

"Harry Potter sir, we is to be caught in here!" Dobby mumbled worried.

"Shh Dobby, if we are quiet then we won't be!" Harry said quietly, as he listened intently to the movements of Peeves.

They could hear him moving about in the corridor outside, "No students out late today, but maybe a few will come my way, then I'll give them a fright, before first light..." he called in his sing-song voice.

While he was outside, Hermione was looking around this classroom. It looked unused, a few desks were collecting dust, but there was something written on the blackboard. It said, "Histrionics."

"I wonder..." she started, but Harry elbowed her and gave her a sharp look. Peeves was right outside the classroom. Harry thought Peeves had heard Hermione. There was a sound on the door, Peeves was going to enter any moment...

"Ah-ha! The poltergiest!" came a new voice from outside.

"Sir Cadogen, what is your business to interrupt me causing trouble?" Peeves asked.

"I have news!" Sir Cadogen continued, "I have been sent on a quest to find you and I found you!" He sounded extremely pleased with himself.

"Who is wanting me?" Peeves asked suspiciously.

"Oh, erm, wait a moment I know, I know..." Sir Cadogen's voice had changed to one who didn't really know what he was talking about, "Ah yes, it was Sir Nicholas."

"Nick?" Peeves chuckled, "I is not doing his bidding, I is not going to him."

"He also told me to mention that the Bloody Baron was with him," Sir Cadogen added.

"He is, well if that's the case, lead the way, Sir Cadogen..." Peeves replied relunctantly.

"Right-ho, another quest, my lucky night!"

Harry, Hermione and Dobby could here the unlikely couple move away. They opened the door and Harry let out a sigh of relief, "That was close!"

"I wonder what Nick wants with Peeves?" Hermione asked.

"Well, he doesn't," a new voice came from behind them, making them all jump, Nick was there looking disapprovingly at them.

"Nick? You, don't want Peeves?" Harry questioned.

"No. I only told that Sir Cadogen to get Peeves, because I saw that you two were out of bed at this hour and Peeves would've caught you, which is not good for Gryffindor is it?" Nick replied seriously.

"But Nick, we're only out of bed to help Dobby here," Hermione said motioning to Dobby who had been cowering, worried he was getting his friends into trouble, "and I'm a prefect."

"Prefect or not, you shouldn't be wandering the corridors really. You say this house-elf needs you? Okay, I'll let you go about your business, however I won't bail you out again..."

"Thanks Nick," Hermione beamed, "We'll go quickly and return to our dorms before the sun has even risen."

"Hmm," was all Nick said before he disappeared.

"Okay Dobby, where are you taking us?" Harry asked as he bent down and looked right at the house-elf.

"There is a problem, sir, in the Prefects' bathroom," Dobby replied looking uncomfortable.

Hermione gasped as she too sank to Dobby's height, "What problem is there?"

"Well it is a little hard to explain miss," Dobby replied, "Dobby can show you, it will be easier to explain there."

Harry looked at Hermione and as their eyes met they nodded, "Well then Dobby, lead the way," Harry said.

They continued to travel through the corridors, the sky outside started to grow lighter as the minutes ticked by.

"Well it's lucky you brought me with you isn't it Harry?" Hermione breathed as they walked down some more steps.

"It is?" Harry asked as he glanced at her.

"Yeah, otherwise you wouldn't have known the password to the Prefects' bathroom."

"Oh yeah," Harry said, he hadn't thought of that.

For the rest of the journey thet travelled in silence, no-one was around. They were now on the corridor where the Prefects' Bathroom was.

Dobby yelped with delight, "Hurry Harry Potter, please hurry, we have already wasted time!"

They rushed towards the door, before a sound from the other end of the corridor made them stop.

Harry and Hermione whispered, "Nox!" so the light went out and the three of them could hide in the shadows.

Professor Snape came out from the darkness, Harry and Hermione groaned, of all the luck. You could hardly see the professor in the darkness, he held out a candle so his eyes gleamed and his greasy black hair shone. He walked at a fast pace, Harry could just make out a look of annoyance on his white face.

'Where was he going at this time?' Harry wondered, but he knew better to go out from their hiding place and ask him.

As Snape kept walking nearer to their place, the three grew more nervous. Dobby was close to whimpering, but Hermione had an idea. She bent down and whispered something to Dobby in the smallest voice so not even Harry could hear. Dobby gulped, but nodded also. Harry was confused as Dobby jumped out from the shadows and into the moonlight.

Snape stopped abruptly and looked down his abnormally large nose at the house-elf, "What are you doing here elf?" he spat.

"Oh sorry sir, I is just going about my house-elf business sir, I is not wanting to get in the way of sir..." Dobby said in the smallest squeak.

"I see, well just get on with it will you," Snape sneered.

"Yes sir, I is doing that sir," Dobby said as he bowed graciously to Snape.

Snape decided to turn around and go back the way he came, he must not have liked the thought of a house-elf being nearby. Harry and Hermione left the shadows and hugged Dobby, "Well done!" Hermione said softly. Dobby merely beamed.

"Right, finally we're here," she continued as she walked to the entrance.

"Whortleberry." She stated simply and the door opened.

The three of them went inside. Harry closed the door and felt relief, now he could breath easy.

"So Dobby, what's the problem in here?" he asked after a few minutes of catching his breath.

"There is a few things wrong in here, Harry Potter, just have a look for yourself sir."

Harry did as the house-elf requested. He had a look around and didn't see anything unusual, it looked the same at it had done when he had used the Prefects' Bathroom to help him with the second task in the Triwizard Tournament. But Hermione gasped almost straight away. Harry turned around and rushed towards her, "What is it?"

"Look," she replied simply and she pointed to a painting. Harry recognized this painting, it was of a Mermaid sat on a rock, but the Mermaid wasn't there. Harry found this very odd indeed. He went back to ask Hermione what she thought but she had moved, she was now near the many taps.

"What are you doing now?" Harry asked as he bent beside her.

"I'm testing the taps, to see if they work, you can help..." she replied as she continued to turn the taps on and off.

Harry walked around to the opposite side and started to test them. Every so often a tap would work and would gush out water or bubbles, but when the two of them had tested all the taps they discovered most of them didn't work.

Shaking her head slightly, Hermione joined Harry, "This is so strange, the Mermaid is missing and the taps don't work, they did earlier..." She paused there, she sat down in deep thought.

Harry, however, was looking around at every nook and cranny, trying to spot anything else unusual. That's when he spotted it. A mark on the tiles, on the bottom of the bath.

He jumped down, there was a little water in the bath from testing the taps. He knelt down to get a closer look at the mark.

"What are you doing Harry?" Hermione called from the side.

"I've just noticed something, a mark on here," he pointed to the small dark mark.

Hermione too jumped down and knelt beside Harry. "Hmm, odd, that wasn't there earlier either..." She went to touch the mark, but Harry grabbed her arm, "Hermione, come on, you're way too clever to know that you can't just touch something that we don't know anything about."

"Oh," Hermione looked a little embarrassed about her stupity, "Yes Harry, that was silly of me, but..."

"But, what?" Harry asked as he turned to look at her face and saw that she had gone pale, "Hermione?"

Hermione simply pointed along the tile flooring. Harry was puzzled, until he saw it for himself. More markings had appeared as they had been sitting. Splodges of the same dark colour were splatted everywhere, all over the bath floor and the bath's walls.

Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and they got out. Once out they gasped. The towels that had been piled neatly in the corner as usual were all over the floor, some were even stuck on the ceiling. However, the dark markings weren't here.

Hermione touched Harry's arm, she felt scared. Harry just felt confused. He wondered what Dobby had to say about this, so he turned to ask him. But, Harry couldn't see him. He looked all around and still there was no Dobby.

"Hermione, did you see where Dobby went?" Harry asked after a few mintues of searching.

"Erm," she too joined in, "No, I didn't...Dobby?"

"Dobby, where are you?" Harry called, so that his voice echoed off the tiles.

Hermione let go of Harry's arm and started to turn over the towels. Harry went in the other direction, copying Hermione's movements. Once they were together again they still hadn't found the house-elf. Harry was getting worried, surely Dobby wouldn't have just left.

But, another gasp from Hermione turned Harry's attention away from Dobby's disappearence, to another strange puzzle. Written in blue ink, on the opposite wall, were large letters saying, 'PBD.'

[evlpez]

The Project Ferret Voting Booth - PBD Round One

[anhaire]

Bedlam in the Bathroom

Harry swooped down, his robes flying, his reaching fingers just inches from the snitch. He had to catch it! If Gryffindor lost this game, they would be out of running for the cup! He urged his broom to go even faster. In the corner of his vision he saw a green bludger speeding toward him. “Come on,” Harry muttered to himself, “just a little faster!” A second bludger joined the first. They were about the size of tennis balls. The Hufflepuff seeker poked him on the shoulder, trying to distract him. The bludgers were closer than ever.
“Harry Potter, sir! Wake up!”
Dobby leaned over Harry. It was his eyes that had disrupted Harry’s dream of flying. Harry jerked, then sat up.
“Dobby?” he said, reaching for his glasses. “What is it?”
“Harry Potter must come quickly! Be very quiet! Harry Potter must follow Dobby!”
Harry looked at the house elf. He was trembling, his eyes-if possible- larger than ever. He shifted from one foot to the other, his eyes flicking around the dormitory. It was unusual for him to ask anything of Harry. Harry hesitated a moment, his eyes resting on the sleeping form of Ron. Dobby tugged on Harry’s arm.
“Quickly!” he said, his teeth chattering.
Harry pulled on his dressing gown, tucking the Marauder’s Map and the Invisibility Cloak in his pocket. He picked up his wand before following Dobby down to the common room. He checked the Marauder’s Map as he climbed through the portrait hole. No teachers were sight.
“Lumos,” he whispered, pulling his wand out. The thin ray of light illuminated Dobby’s worried face. “Dobby, can’t you tell me what’s the matter?”
“Dobby glanced around the empty corridor, his eyes lingering on the shadowy corners which Harry’s light did not penetrate. He beckoned to Harry, who bent down until their faces were only inches apart.
“The Prefect’s bathroom,” he said in a shrill whisper which Harry had to strain to hear. “Dobby must clean it tonight, sir. But something is wrong there.” His eyes widened still farther. “Dobby knew Harry Potter would help him. Dobby doesn’t dare wake a teacher, sir.”
“But what’s wrong in the bathroom?,” Harry demanded, though he kept his voice down.
“Dobby isn’t sure, but...” Dobby jumped when the Fat Lady snored. Without another word he set off down the corridor at a run, and Harry followed him.

Harry and Dobby reached the Prefect’s bathroom on the fifth floor without meeting anyone. Harry found this very strange. He searched the Marauder’s Map again and again, expecting Peeves or Professor Snape to appear at any moment, but the corridors were empty and silent.
“Soapy Waterfall,” squeaked Dobby when they had reached the door. It swung open and the two entered.
At first Harry noticed nothing wrong. The bathroom was spotless, as it had been on his last visit there.
“It’s perfectly normal, Dobby!,” he said, feeling a bit exasperated.
“No Harry Potter sir- look!”
The house elf pointed a shaking finger at the large painting which normal showed a mermaid. She was gone, but the painting seemed undamaged.
“So what? The portraits often visit each other.”
Dobby shook his head. “Harry Potter does not understand. The mermaid is here for a reason. She sets the password to the bathroom, Harry Potter sir, and makes sure that no students who are not prefects come here. She should not be able to leave, sir!”
Harry gazed at the painting, wondering if it was as important as Dobby seemed to think it was. Suddenly, a short, fat knight in rusty armor rode into it, making them both start. He pulled his horse to a halt, then fell off it in a cacophony of metallic screeches.
“Aha! I have found a new kingdom, and I will claim it for my own!” Looking around, he spotted Harry and Dobby. “Draw, you knaves, or I will smite you where you stand! How dare you come to the land of Sir Cadogen unbidden?”
Harry blinked. “This is a bathroom, and it’s no one’s kingdom,” he began to say, but before he could finish Dobby took a step towards the picture and snapped his fingers. The portrait was instantly covered with a thick black cloth. Harry stared. He knew house elves had powerful magic, but he had never seen Dobby use his for something like this before.
“Why did you do that, Dobby?”
“Harry Potter must understand! None of the other portraits should come here!”
Harry shrugged. From the portrait came the muffled noise of hooves- Sir Cadogen had evidently left when he couldn’t see the room any longer. Looking around the bathroom, searching for a sign of something that might make Dobby upset, his eyes fell on the large tub with its many faucets. Grinning, he bent to turn one on. The handle squeaked, but nothing came out. Frowning, Harry tried the next faucet, and the next. Finally he found one that worked, but it emitted only ordinary water. Where were the bubbles that Harry remembered so well?
“Dobby, is this what you meant? The bath is broken?”
“Yes, Harry Potter, sir,” the house elf replied. “Something is wrong with all the magic here.”
Harry bent to the ground, determined to find more clues. He searched through the sinks, the folded towels, and the private shower stalls. He looked through the jardinieres in the corners, where decorative whortleberry was planted. He had almost given up hope when he glanced into one of the toilet stalls.
“Dobby, look at this!,” he exclaimed.
The house elf, who had been standing in the middle of the room, still shaking with fear, came over. Harry picked up a large, red, leather bound book from the floor of the stall. “A History of Magical Natation, by Wilfred Waterlump,” he breathed. “Why is it in here? And its not from the Hogwarts library,” he added, looking inside the front cover for the familiar Hogwarts crest. “Do you think it has something to do with the bath not working?”
Dobby opened his mouth to answer, but they both turned quickly as they heard a familiar cackle.
“Wheeee!” said a laughing ghost as he blew in through the door. “Unlocked, finally!” Peeves blew several raspberries at the door, then used a walking stick to tug down the nearest chandelier. It fell to the tile floor with a crash, sending splintered glass everywhere and making enough noise to rouse the entire floor. Harry looked around, but there was nowhere to hide.
“Is there another way out of here?,” he asked Dobby in a whisper. Peeves, now plugging up the taps with bubble gum, was too busy to hear him.
“No, Harry Potter sir!,” Dobby squeaked in reply.
Then Harry heard what he had been dreading- the sound of feet in the corridor. When they stopped, a shrill voice demanded, “Peeves! How did you get in here?”
Peeves’ only reply was to blow another raspberry. When the speaker stepped further into the bathroom, Harry felt a little relieved. It was not Snape, as he had dreaded, but Professor Flitwick. Seeing no alternative, Harry walked towards him.
“Professor, I-”
“Potter! What in the world are you doing in here? You should be in bed!” Professor Flitwick’s voice was a bit shriller than usual. Also missing was his normal cheerful smile.
“Well, I-I heard that something was wrong down here, and I came to look, and-”
“Heard? And how did you hear it?”
“Professor, it was Dobby the house elf, he woke me because he was frightened, and-”
“A house elf? Where is he, then?”
Harry looked around, but he didn’t see Dobby anywhere.
“He must have gone back to the kitchens,” Harry said, a bit suprised. “He was here a minute ago.”
“Was he,” said Professor Flitwick, his eyes narrowing. Then, in an instant, his demeanor changed. “Well, Potter,” he said soothingly, “I’m looking into the matter. I’m sure there is nothing wrong here- just Peeves playing pranks, as usual.”
“But Professor, Dobby said something about the magic here breaking down! If that’s true, then all of the protective magics around Hogwarts might be in danger!”
Flitwick laid a hand on his shoulder.
“You’re worrying yourself unnecessary,” he said, his voice even and soothing. “You need some sleep. Go back to bed. What’s that you have with you? A book? I’ll take that,too.”
Flitwick spoke evenly but loudly, drowning out Harry’s protests. Still smiling gently, he steered Harry towards the door.
“Go straight back to your dormitory, Harry,” Flitwick said with a fatherly smile. “In the morning, I’m sure this will seem like a dream.”
Harry went, seeing no way to resist Flitwick’s insistence. As he went back, he wondered if Flitwick's calm assurance had been merely histrionics, meant to make him forget about his restless night. His suspicion grew with every step.
When Harry reached the Fat Lady’s portrait, she was awake, which seemed odd to Harry. It wasn’t yet dawn.
“Well then, what’s all this ruckus?,” she asked Harry. “I heard there’s something wrong in the castle tonight.”
“Mandrake Leaf,” he said, giving her no other answer. She swung forward and he scrambled through the hole, going up the stair case to the boy’s dormitory and approaching the four-poster bed next to his own.
“Ron,” he whispered, “Ron, you’ve got to help me.”

[evlpez]

The Project Ferret Voting Booth - PBD Round One

[Andi]

The Helpful House Elf

“Mr Potter!” yelled a squeaky voice, “Harry, sir!”
Harry rolled over in his sleep and muttered “I’ll be out to make Dudley breakfast in a minute…”
“But Mr Potter, Sir!” insisted the voice, “This is much more important than breakfast, sir! The Mermaid is missing!”
Harry, now sure this was part of his dream, as he wasn’t often told in real life that a mermaid was missing, rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.
“Ooh! Jumping jardinière!” the voice got even more high-pitched than it already was, and Harry swore he could feel something small beating it’s fists on his leg. Suddenly he felt a weight on his chest, and a loud voice in his ear exclaiming “WAKE UP!”
Harry groggily opened his eyes, and saw two, extremely large tennis balls. “Aah! Mister Potter! You woke up!” The weight on his chest, and the tennis balls moved aside, allowing Harry to look for his glasses. After a moment he found them on the edge of his trunk, and slipped them onto the bridge of his nose. Harry looked around, confused to what he thought he had just seen, and then noticed the visitor that was standing next to his bed. A frazzled looking house elf was looking up at him curiously.
“What are you doing here, Dobby?” muttered Harry
“Dobby has come to ask for your help, sir! You see, something is wrong in the prefects’ bathroom. And Dobby knows that you went in that bathroom once, and it was of much help to you. So Dobby thought Mr Potter might like to come and help!”
Harry, not wanting to hurt the house elf’s feelings (as Dobby had helped him in numerous situations), hopped out of bed and said, “Sure I’ll help Dobby. You lead the way- It’s been a while since I’ve been there.”
The house elf jumped up and down, singing to himself, as he led Harry out of Gryffindor and into the halls.
“Tone it down, eh?” ordered Harry, “Its about 5 in the morning Dobby! The last thing we need to do is wake up the whole –“
“Potter, Potter and his house elf!” yelled a cackling voice from overhead.
“Oh no…” Harry muttered, “Leave us alone Peeves!”
But instead of leaving them alone, the poltergeist swept down in front of them, cleared his throat, and began to sing.
“Oh! Harry Potter!
You crazy little rotter!
And the elf that follows him!
Doing his every whim!
Their eyes are green like crusted snot!
Do I like them? I think not!”
Peeves screamed the last three words as loud as possible, then broke out into high pitched cackles. Dobby stopped bopping his ears up and down once the song ended and started applauding. Harry grabbed Dobby by the shoulder and hissed “Get us away from here- now.”
Dobby waved goodbye to Peeves and ran off down the corridor, Harry struggling to keep up. Finally they reached the fifth floor corridor, and stopped in front of the prefect’s bathroom.
“Here we are Mr Potter!” exclaimed Dobby, “Now… what is the password again…” Dobby ran his fingers over his abnormally large nose as he thought. “Ah yes! Pine-Fresh!” The door swung open to reveal the prefects bathroom, and though Harry had seen it before, he still had to suppress a gasp. Once again he wished he had become a prefect, just so that he could use this bathroom. The whole room was made out of white marble, including an almost swimming pool-sized bath tub on the right hand side of the room. The whole room was shimmering due to the light from a large chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, consisting of at least a hundred candles. Harry glanced over at the wall above the tub, expecting to see the painting of the mermaid which had aided him and Cedric in finding out the secret to the second challenge, but saw only a blank photo frame.
“Dobby… what happened?” he asked. “The mermaid… She’s gone!”
“Aah yes, sir” Dobby replied sadly, “That is one of the reasons why I got you to come. I knew you had seen her here before, Mr Potter. But that’s not all- a lot of things in the room have gone weird sir!”
Harry frowned, then went towards the tub, turning one of the hundreds of taps on- but nothing came out. He tried another, and another, but none of them seemed to work. Finally, he came to trying the very last tap (whortleberry). He turned the knob, and an odd squealing sound started coming forth from it.
“That’s odd” Harry said, “It sounds like something is stuck in there…” Harry leaned over, about to look into the spout of the tap, when a spray of brown water, filled with dirt and garbage, came spewing out of the tap.
“Euch!” yelled Harry, “That is definitely NOT whortleberry!”
“You’re telling me!” said a man’s voice from somewhere in the room. Harry looked up, and saw in the place of a blank canvas in the photo frame, a man riding upon a very fat pony.
“Sir Cadagon at your service, Mr Potter!” exclaimed the man in the painting. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance again! But seemingly not a pleasure to have garbage spraying up at your face…” He snorted in disgust.
“What are you doing here?” Harry asked bluntly.
“W-Wha-What am I doing here!?” asked Sir Cadagon, stuttering as though utterly offended. “I am on a quest, Sir knight! A QUEST! To save all the natation from this disgusting excuse for whortleberry scented water!” Sir Cadagon’s pony reared up as he exclaimed, “Quick, noble steed! Let’s go save the world!” Sir Cadagon’s pony charged off into another painting, but Sir Cadagon fell off with a clank of armor, and was left behind with Harry laughing at him.
“You think that’s funny do you!? Well I’ll show you something funny!” Sir Cadagon reached to his side, attempting to pull out his sword when there was a sudden knock on the door. Harry spun around to hear an all too familiar, and unpleasant, voice.
“Who’s in there? I doubt a prefect would be bathing at this hour!”
Snape’s voice echoed throughout the bathroom. Harry cringed and turned of the tap that was spewing out mucky water, then threw a bunch of towels over the waste that was lying in the tub.
“Come now, open this door!” demanded Snape. After a moment Harry heard Snape mutter “Fine, have it your way! Pine-fresh!”
The door swung open, and Snape’s eyes slid across the room. A malicious grin spread over his face as his eyes met Harry’s.
“Well, well… if it isn’t Mr Potter! Last time I checked, you weren’t allowed sneaking about the school at this hour, nor were you allowed into this bathroom.” A wicked look spread across his face, “Or perhaps… did you think you were too good for the rules?”
Harry stood, searching for a realistic answer in his head, then replied “Ron asked me to come here.”
“Ron?” asked Snape. He laughed, “I totally forgot that excuse for a boy was a prefect!” After a moment Snape’s eyes hardened, “And why exactly would Ron ask you to come here?”
“uhh… he forgot his…” Harry wracked his mind for an answer, “His… Histrionics book!”
“Histrionics?” asked Snape, one eyebrow raising a few inches.
“I mean, ch-charms book.” Stuttered Harry.
“Oh really?” Snape sneered. He walked towards Harry, shaking his head. “A sad story Potter… A really pathetic cover up if you ask me. Now lets see, how many points should I take from Gryffindor? You have lied to a teacher, been in the prefects bathroom without permission, and-“
Suddenly Ron burst through the door, panting madly. “Harry! Have you found my Transfiguration book?”
Both Harry and Snape turned to the doorway, shocked. Snape’s face turned an angry purple, and Harry’s broke into a grin. For what Snape didn’t see was the house elf standing beside Ron, who winked at Harry, snapped his fingers, then disappeared.

[McGonagall's Cat]

Rate the Prefects' Bathroom Dilemma submissions HERE.

[cherabela]

Bathroom Alert!

He was zooming off after the snitch, Malfoy at his tail. He was closing in on it; he could feel its ruffling wings near his grasp. Suddenly, he saw a bobbing head coming towards him on a broom, which seemed to be out of control. The creature was speaking to him a in a barely audible voice, as the cheers from the stands erupted. It was-

“Dobby!” Harry exclaimed in a hushed voice, as he woke up from his dream and to his surprise found the house-elf on his bed.

“Harry Potter Sir!” squeaked the elf, seeing he was awake. “Long has Dobby tried to wake you up.”

“What do you want Dobby?” Harry asked him quickly, looking over at his friends to check that they were still asleep. It would be a bit awkward to have to explain how a house-elf came to be in their dormitory.

“You must come with Dobby Sir. Quickly!” urged the house-elf.

“But, what’s wrong Dobby? Tell me,” insisted Harry again, starting to get a bit annoyed at having been awoken early on a lesson-free Saturday morning.

Dobby was now pulling Harry by his hand to get him out of bed.

“All right Dobby. All right. I’ll come, for whatever you want me for,” Harry said with a sigh.

With heavy feet, he got out of bed, got dressed, and wrote a hasty note to Ron, hoping not to confuse him as much as he was already. He then took out his invisibility cloak from his trunk, and as silently as possible, sidled out of the dormitory. He looked out of the window as he descended the stairs, and caught sigh of the light pink tinge of a perfectly clear-skied morning. Perfect, for Quidditch training. Sighing and yawning, he stepped into the Common Room, only to find that somebody was already there. It was Hermione. She was deeply engulfed in the Transfiguration essay Professor McGonagall had given them the day before. As she caught sight of Harry, she looked up.

“Hello. I’ve been up for an hour working on this essay. I’ve nearly finished it.” She showed him three rolls of parchment covered in her tiny neat handwriting. She then caught sight of his invisibility cloak.

“Where are you going?” she enquired of him.

He shrugged and nodded his head towards Dobby’s expecting figure by the portrait hole, rocking backwards and forwards on the spot. Hermione’s eyes shone.

“I’m coming with you,” she said hastily. “Just give me one minute.”

She tore up the stairs with her books and in less than a minute was back in the common room. Harry covered the two of them with the cloak, and they were off, following Dobby, bobbing in front of them.

“Dobby, can you at least tell us where we’re going?” asked Harry yet again.

“The Prefects’ Bathroom Sir,” replied the elf.
“Why?”

The elf remained quiet, and for while, silence reigned.

“How is Winky?” Hermione asked, as they reached the moving staircases.

Harry rolled his eyes without Hermione noticing. If there was something she liked other than studying, it was house-elves, and her never-ending protest against their discrimination. Dobby’s head drooped.

“She is not well Miss. She is very ill,” said Dobby sadly.

“What?” exclaimed Hermione, rather too loudly. “Ouch!” she yelped, as Harry stepped over her foot. As she turned to him to ask why he had done that, she heard an evil cackle ahead. She didn’t have to say anything else. It was an unmistakeable sound. Peeves.

Harry quickly pulled Dobby under the invisibility cloak with them, and put his hand over the elf’s mouth, so he wouldn’t mutter a sound. As they turned the corner, they saw him. Floating in his high-coloured garments, Peeves was shooting dungbombs at the portrait in front of him. A man’s voice could be heard over the cackling laughter.

“Halt you rogue!” shouted Sir Cadogan, running from one portrait to the other, to escape the attack inflicted upon him while his horse was shaking with fear in a portrait at the invisible three’s end of the corridor.

Peeves cackled even more and Sir Cadogan fell over in the lake in the portrait, in an attempt to escape the dungbomb. The poltergeist’s laughter filled the empty corridor.

“I am no histrionics actor!” shouted Sir Cadogan, getting up, drenched to the skin. “I am a knight! Draw scurvy braggart!”

“How are we going to get past him?” Harry whispered to Hermione.

“Leave it to me,” came the reply, as she extracted her wand.

Before she could do anything, Dobby had got loose of Harry’s grip on him, and started running towards Peeves who hadn’t noticed him. The elf jumped on the poltergeist, knocking him over. Seeing their chance, Harry and Hermione ran on, although the latter had protested against leaving the elf behind. In the distance they could hear Peeves’s voice as he threw dungbombs at Dobby, calling “Bad ugly house-elf out of the kitchens! Wee little house-elf, where are your mittens?”

The two ran on, down two flights of stairs, until they reached the fifth floor, and the Prefects’ Bathroom.

“Hermione, what’s the password?” gasped Harry when he had got his breath back.

“I don’t know if I should- I mean we’re not allowed to mention it to anyone,” said Hermione, hesitating.

“Oh come on Hermione! Have we come all this way for nothing? Think about what Dobby did for us to get here? He might even be sacked if he’s caught roaming around the castle,” said Harry hotly.

“Fine!” she said firmly. “Sea breeze!”

The door opened with a loud creek, which they were sure somebody must have heard, but their thoughts were quickly averted to other matters as they stepped into the bathroom. The blonde mermaid, who was usually in the golden-framed painting, was gone.

“Maybe she went to visit one of the other portraits like the people in the other portraits do,” suggested Harry.

Hermione shook her head, looking horrified.

“The mermaid is preserved in the portrait by a complicated charm so she can’t move to another,” explained Hermione in a hushed voice.

“Someone could have done a counter-curse.”

She shook her head again.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t one.”

“So how did they do it?”

“I don’t know,” said Hermione deep in thought. It seemed to come as a bit of a shock; such an unexpected answer from the one who knew it all.

Harry edged closer to the tub, which had many a tap surrounding it, each with a different jewel on them. Many of the taps were covered in a greenish substance, like powder. He tried one of the taps, but the usual soft bubble bath didn’t pour out. He tried another and another, but neither worked. He continued trying most of the taps, to no avail, until- he saw it, written at the bottom of the tub as if carved by some sharp instrument.

“Le jardinière régnera quand la natation est oubliée,” Hermione read. She turned to look pensively at Harry, who looked more confused than ever.

“You speak French?” was the first thing Harry blurted out.

“Yeah. I learnt some while on holiday there,” said Hermione, rather taken-aback. “It means that the-” She stopped abruptly.

“What?” Harry asked curiously.

“It doesn’t make any sense! It says that the plant-stand shall rule when swimming is forgotten.”

“What?” said Harry, even more confused than when Hermione had spoken in French.

Hermione remained silent, fixing her gaze on the scratched words, occasionally looking at the green taps. Not knowing what else he could do, Harry looked around the room. Apart from the missing mermaid, most of the taps not working and the scratching in the tub, everything else seemed to be in order. Except-

He quickly walked towards the stack of white fluffy towels. One of them had green smear all over it. He showed it to Hermione, who still said nothing.

“Maybe we should get Ron,” Harry suggested. “He’ll be awake by now.”

“Yes, maybe we should,” said Hermione at last, still not taking her eyes off the scratched words.

“You go get him. I’ll stay here.”

“Right,” said Hermione, getting up. She left the room, slowly, her mind clattered with puzzled thoughts.

Hermione had barely been away for more than two minutes when the same, unmistakeable evil cackle was heard again. The door of the bathroom, which Hermione had left slightly ajar, flung open as a dungbomb hit it in the centre. Harry bolted under his invisibility cloak, just as Peeves’s levitating figure zoomed into the room. Soon after, another person arrived, looking very stern indeed. It was Professor McGonagall.

“Peeves!” she barked. “Get out of here!”

“Make me!” said Peeves, in a taunting way, as he stuck his tongue out at her.

She looked sternly at him, and Harry saw her mouth go very thin indeed, until Peeves finally left. She let out a deep sigh, and when she had vanished the filth from the dungbomb and seen that Peeves hadn’t touched anything, she left, closing the door behind her.

Harry looked at the now closed door in disbelief. What was happening? How come she hadn’t seen that the mermaid was missing, which was mostly visible of all that was going on? There was definitely something weird going on, weirder than things usually were at Hogwarts.

He got up, and as he removed the cloak off him, he stepped on something with a splat! He lifted his foot to find a small squashed blueberry. Professor Sprout had told them about it. He remembered Professor Sprout had told them about it. He remembered Hermione telling them all in a matter-of-fact tone, that it was also called whortleberry, and how, if mixed with something else Harry couldn’t remember at the moment, the solution created a very faint yet potent aroma. The aroma was dangerous to use in public because it could create sights, which weren’t true, for certain people to see.

‘So,’ Harry thought, marvelling at himself for having come to such a solution, ‘what Hermione and I have seen is all an illusion? Or wait, what if what McGonagall has seen was an illusion? What if whoever is behind all this doesn’t want the teachers to find out?’

Harry’s head was buzzing with these new ideas, and just as he was starting to wonder how long it was talking for Ron and Hermione to get there, he made a step backwards, but his foot didn’t find anything solid to rest upon, and he was falling in a queer unknown place. He could see the walls in front of him at first, see their greenish colour, but then he become plunged in empty darkness.

‘Ha! Another illusion! A hole in the floor. What next?’ Harry thought as he suddenly fell on something soft, surrounded by breathe- taking, ever-deep darkness.

[evlpez]

The Project Ferret Voting Booth - PBD Round One

[anhaire]

Round Winner!

Prefects, Portraits, and Pandemonium

Darkness, then a pair of green eyes illuminated faintly by the full moon.
“Harry Potter, sir.”
A shrill voice sounded somewhere above Harry’s head. He rolled over and resettled himself beneath his cozy covers.
“Harry Potter, sir, wake up!”
The voice was quiet, but insistent. Harry opened his eyes and sat up. A cool breeze played across his bed. He looked around and saw only blackness. Taking out his wand, he whispered, “Lumos!”
The wand’s thin beam of light showed him nothing around his bed. Then he saw the open window and the pale gray form of a house elf with green eyes, barely visible.
“Harry Potter, sir, come quickly!”
“Dobby?,” Harry said, amazed. “What--”
“There is no time. Harry Potter must come with Dobby!”
Harry sat up and pulled on his dressing gown. He picked up his wand and the Marauder’s Map, then glanced back at the house elf.
“How did you get up there?,” he asked sleepily.
“Dobby used a hover charm, sir, but Harry Potter must fly. Please come help Dobby, sir!”
Harry hesitated for a moment, but took his Firebolt from his trunk, mounted it, and slipped out the window. Dobby slid the window closed with his long fingers. He motioned Harry away from it.
“Thank you, Harry Potter sir!,” Dobby said. “Dobby knew Harry Potter would come to help him.”
“But what do you need help with, Dobby? It isn’t even dawn yet.”
Dobby’s head drooped slightly.
“Dobby is sorry, sir, but he needs help. Dobby was in the Prefect’s Bathroom, sir, on the fifth floor, to take a bath, but something is wrong there. The bath doesn’t work, sir!”
“That doesn’t seem too serious,” said Harry, thinking of muggle plumbing which was always needing to be fixed. He wondered if Dobby’s display of anxiety had been histrionics, designed to get him out of the castle.
“Harry Potter must understand! No one can change the structure of Hogwarts castle! It would take powerful dark magic, sir! Will you come help Dobby?”
“All right,” Harry said, feeling a bit uneasy. “Let’s go.”
Dobby led the way, looking eerie as he drifted along. He kept close to the castle, eyeing the grounds warily. Suddenly he stopped.
“Hide, Harry Potter sir!”
Harry dodged behind a large, decorated window ledge. Peering out, he saw what had so alarmed the house elf. Professor Sprout had risen early to tend the whortleberry bushes she was growing outside Greenhouse Two. She had begun teaching the sixth years about the magical properties of the plant only the day before.
“I think it’s safe,” Harry whispered. “It’s still too dark for her to see us.”
Dobby nodded, then turned and rose one story. He pushed open a small window and floated through. Harry followed with difficulty. When he had squeezed through, he landed on the beautiful marble floor of the prefect’s bathroom. The first thing he noticed was the large painting of a mermaid about the bath- or at least, it had showed a mermaid on Harry’s last visit to this room. Now it was empty.
“She must have gone to visit one of the other portraits,” thought Harry, but he couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease.
“Look sir,” Dobby said. “Look at the taps.”
Harry looked and saw nothing. He tried turning one on- nothing. After trying about a dozen, he found one that still gushed scented bubbles. He had almost given up on the rest of the taps when a white, ghostly blur rushed out of one. It hovered in midair and seemed to resettle its shaped. Harry gasped.
“Peeves?”
The ghost did not answer. He looked almost serious.
“Peeves, what happened? Why were you in there?”
Harry had never dreamed that he might speak this way to the poltergeist.
“Are you all right?”
Peeves did not reply or change his expression. Without a single jest or rude remark, he turned and floated out of the room. Stunned, Harry stared after him for a moment.
“Dobby? Do you know what was wrong with him?”
Dobby’s teeth were chattering.
“Dobby is not knowing, sir, but Dobby is guessing that things are very wrong at Hogwarts...”
Harry had to agree. He started to search the bathroom, looking through all the towels and sinks. He had almost given up when he thought to look in the ornamental jardiniere in the corner. Normally it held a decorative fern. Inside, stuck to one of the fronds, was a fragment of parchment. Harry pulled it off carefully. On it was written, “Prefect’s Bathroom- 5th floor. Password: Spring Flower.”
Harry held it in his hands, reading and rereading the message. Whoever had broken into the bathroom had obviously dropped it by accident, but it was not that that troubled him. The intruder had been told the password, and only prefects were given it. Prefects- they were supposed to be the most responsible students in Hogwarts! Could it even have been Ron or Hermione who had betrayed the school? Harry wasn’t sure. Finally, he turned to the house elf.
“Dobby,” he said, “I’m not sure what I can do about this.”
Dobby’s eyes shone with trust. “Harry Potter will fix it, sir! Dobby knew he would!”
Harry shook his head. He didn’t know how he could solve any of the mystery if he couldn’t trust his own friends. Looking out the window, he saw that it was already dawn.
“I’m going back to the dormitory, Dobby. I’ll walk- it’s too risky too fly. I’ll just say I’m going to an early Quidditch practice, or something.”
Dobby nodded.
“Dobby must go too, sir. He must chop the herbs and vegetables for the jardiniere we will serve for lunch. But Dobby will come visit Harry Potter soon.”
With that, Dobby scuttled out of the room. Harry followed him more slowly, putting the scrap of parchment in his pocket. He had almost reached the common room when he heard a clattering behind him. It sounded a bit like horse hooves. Ducking into a corner and pulling out the Marauder’s Map, Harry scanned it frantically. Coming down the hallway toward him was a dot labeled “Sir Cadogen.” Harry blinked, uncomprehending. Wasn’t Sir Cadogen a crazy knight in a painting? Another dot, this one labeled “Mermaid,” approached with the other. Gulping, Harry leaned out of his hiding place for a better view. Coming down the corridor was indeed Sir Cadogen and the mermaid. She was life sized, but Sir Cadogen was rather small. Looking at them, he could see brushstrokes on their clothes and skin, but they looked solid enough. Certainly Sir Cadogen was making real noise. The mermaid moved along the corridor as if swimming. Apparently air alone was for her sufficient for natation. Seeing Harry, she made some noises in her croaky language.
“No,” Harry said. “No, this can’t be possible.”

This post has been edited by evlpez: Oct 1 2004, 12:31 PM

[agrippa]

The Project Ferret Voting Booth - PBD Round One

[timeturner]

THE MISSING MERMAID

Harry snuck down the dark corridor towards the Prefect’s bathroom, making every effort to be as quiet as possible. The light shining from the tip of his wand cast an eerie glow upon the stone walls of the castle, causing the appearance of shadows at every turn. He could just make out the shape of Dobby walking quickly ahead of him. Both he and Harry were doing their best not to wake anyone as it was still before dawn on a Saturday morning.

Only minutes ago he had been shaken from his dreams by a desperate Dobby. Because the small house elf did not often come to Harry unless it was very important, Harry had moved quickly from his bed, grabbed his wand and robe and followed Dobby from the room without hesitation.

Now as thoughts and questions raced through his mind, Harry wished he had found out more information before leaving Gryffindor Tower. The last thing he wanted to do was walk into danger wearing pajamas and fuzzy slippers. Dobby paused before the portrait that hung in front of the door to the bathroom. Normally, Boris the Bewildered resided in the frame, but not on this morning.

“Who goes there? A student and a house elf?! Scurvy curs! No doubt sent to infiltrate my new domain. I will not stand for it! I am Sir Cadogen, proud defender of Hogwarts. Now draw your weapons and fight yellow-bellies!”

“Quick Dobby, give him the password before he wakes everyone up with his yelling,” Harry exclaimed.

“Whortleberry,” Dobby stated quietly but firmly. The portrait swung open, surprisingly without another word, revealing the entrance of the Prefect’s bathroom.

Harry stepped into the white marble room and again marveled at how much nicer this bathroom was compared to his own. A white tub, the size of a large swimming pool sat in the middle of the magnificent room. The golden taps on the tub, encrusted with magnificent multi-colored jewels, glittered in the light cast from the candle-filled chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. Lucky Ron and Hermione he thought to himself. His bit of jealousy was interrupted by Dobby, who was nervously hopping around the room trying to get his attention.

“What are we doing Dobby? I’ll get in trouble for sure if I’m caught here,” Harry said.

“Dobby is very sorry, Harry Potter sir. Dobby did not know what else to do. It could be trouble for Dobby too, if anyone finds out,” Dobby fretted.

“Finds out what,” Harry asked.

“Finds out Dobby is using the magical bath,” he nervously squeaked. “Dobby just wanted to practice his natation, not make trouble. Now the taps will not work. Can Harry Potter fix taps,” Dobby asked hopefully.

Harry doubted his ability to fix the taps, but saw the mournful look in Dobby’s large eyes and patted the elf’s tiny shoulder in response.

“I’ll try Dobby,” Harry said

Harry walked to the tub and began turning the taps on. Dobby perched on the edge, looking more forlorn with each tap Harry tried. After turning on all one hundred taps, foam and bubbles issued from only twenty five of the golden spouts. The rest of the taps seemed to turn just fine in Harry’s opinion, the problem was nothing came out of them. Harry aimed his wand at some of the taps and tried a few spells with no success.

“Do the taps run empty Dobby,” Harry asked. “Maybe there is a way to fill them.”

“No Harry Potter, they is magical taps. They can not run empty. Dobby tried to ask the One Who Watches the Bath for help, but she is missing…”

“One Who Watches the Bath,” Harry interrupted.

Dobby pointed to the single portrait that hung in the room. Harry peered into the old frame and saw only a rock. The pretty, blonde mermaid who normally sat upon it was missing.

“Where did she go,” Harry asked.

“Dobby doesn’t know. Dobby never saw her missing before,” he responded.

For the first time, Harry saw a giant puddle of water beneath the portrait.

“Where did that come from,” Harry asked, pointing at the puddle.

Dobby bent closely to look at the water on the floor, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Dobby did not see this mess before. Dobby will clean it up right away sir,” Dobby answered.

“Don’t worry about it Dobby, it may be a clue. Let’s leave it. I’m going to get some help and investigate. You go wherever you need to be. I have a feeling it isn’t your fault the taps aren’t working,” Harry said.

“Thank you Harry Potter! Dobby knew you would help,” Dobby replied gratefully before rushing from the room.

Harry left the bathroom, intending to find Ron & Hermione. Starting up the staircase, he heard a commotion on one of the floors below. Leaning precariously over the banister, he saw Peeves pushing a large jardinière holding pink flowers down one of the staircase below. Professor Snape was chasing Peeves, his face red and twisted with anger. Peeves and Harry both laughed with glee when the flowers hit Snape square in the face. Snape continued stomping up the stairs in pursuit of Peeves, pink petals stuck to his greasy black hair.

“I have has enough of your histrionics, you thieving poltergeist. You’ll be glad you are dead when I get my hands on you,” Snape snarled with rage.

Harry tucked his head back in before he was seen and hurried up the stairs, laughing. He was surprised to find Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room, awake and talking quietly together at one of the tables. They were so engrossed in their conversation, they didn’t even notice Harry walk into the room. Harry cleared his throat, feeling almost embarrassed to interrupt them for some reason.

“Uh…Ron…Hermione,” Harry started.

“What’s the matter Harry, you don’t look so good mate,” Ron said.

Harry beckoned them to follow him, explaining Dobby’s dilemma on the way. Sir Cadogen’s voice rang out before they had even arrived at his portrait.

“Intruders! Prepare to fight!”

“What’s he doing here anyway,” Harry asked, gesturing towards the portrait.

“Boris the Bewildered must be lost again. He wanders frequently and forgets his way back. Sir Cadogen is his stand-in,” Hermione replied.

“Stand-in I may be, but you yellow-bellies don’t stand a chance,” the portrait cried brandishing his tiny sword.

“Enough of this,” Ron complained. “Whortleberry!”

Sir Cadogen continued to issue threats, but permitted their entry. Everything in the Prefect’s bathroom appeared to be as Harry had left it with the exception of Moaning Myrtle, who hovered happily in the corner. Myrtle glided across the room stopping just in front of Ron.

“She’s gone you know,” Myrtle giggled. “She’s all gone. No more wiggling her tail for you.”

Ron’s ears reddened and Hermione glared at him.

“Myrtle, are you talking about the Mermaid? Where did she go,” Harry asked excitement in his voice. “Do you know anything about the taps?”

“Why should I tell you? You never come to see me anymore,” Myrtle pouted.

“I’m sorry Myrtle, I’ve been awful busy,” Harry said quickly.

“So have I,” Myrtle replied coyly. “Your headmaster isn’t here you know. He doesn’t know it has begun. I’ve been listening in the pipes. They run everywhere.”

“He doesn’t know what has begun,” Hermione questioned.

“If I tell you now it will ruin the surprise,” Myrtle teased. “But I’ll give you a hint- the answer is in the lake….”

[agrippa]

The Project Ferret Voting Booth - PBD Round One

[StarWalker]

Whortleberry Dreams

“She’s really much better,” Hermione said happily, as she, Ron, and Harry headed back to the Gryffindor common room. “I told you she just needed time to see how much nicer it is to be free.”

Winky did seem more settled into life at Hogwarts, Harry ruminated. Both she and her tea cozy had been clean, and while she hadn’t smiled, at least she hadn’t been a source of embarrassment to the rest of the house-elves, crying and drinking.

“She doesn’t drink butterbeer any more,” Dobby had confided to Ron and Harry, as he had brought them third helpings of warm whortleberry pie, swimming in fresh cream. He had looked quickly at Hermione, who had been talking quietly with Winky and a small group of house-elves, while all around them the remainder of the kitchen staff had worked on cleaning up from the evening meal. “She still not liking to be free, but she not liking working more.”

Harry continued reminiscing as they approached the portrait hole. His companion’s voices became a background drone, their tone deepening and slowing. Pain, sharp and swift, bit into his stomach and doubled him over.

“Harry Potter sir!” Dobby’s voice was faint, barely penetrating the haze of agony. “Harry Potter sir! Harry Potter must wake up! Wheezy need your help, sir! Wheezy in trouble sir!”

Slowly waking, aware of the nagging agony in his bowels, Harry rolled over to check the time. Before dawn, he thought, groaning as he looked towards the tall window. Why did we eat all that pie last night? What a dream!

“Harry Potter sir!” Dobby’s insistent voice nagged at the back of Harry’s head. He rolled over, then yelped and jerked backwards, banging his head into the bedpost. Less than three inches in front of him were the large eyes of Dobby, gleaming green in the rosy glow of what looked to become a beautiful fall day. Clutching fingers pulled on his forearm, countering, somewhat, the ache in his belly.

“Not now Dobby,” Harry moaned, struggling to get out of his bed, and feeling around for his dressing gown. Got to get to the bathroom!

“But Wheezy needs you, sir. Your friend needs you…”

“Ron’s right here, Dobby.” Turning, Harry fought his way into his robe, stumbled over to Ron’s bed, and pulled back the heavy curtains, turning to show Dobby Ron sleeping peacefully. “See, here he –“ His voice trailed off as he realized he was exhibiting an empty bed.

“See sir, Wheezy is gone. But Dobby knows where he is, Harry Potter sir, He needs you!” Dobby plucked at Harry’s sleeve, tugging him towards the door.

“I’m coming, Dobby.” Stumbling down that stairs, and approaching the common room exit, Harry struggled to keep up with Dobby. Fighting off a wave of nausea, he bent and fell into the hallway, a spasm of cramps doubling him over. Using the wall, he clawed his way back to standing, and caught his breath.

“Hurry sir! Wheezy needs you!”

“Where, Dobby?”

“Follow me sir!” Dobby headed down the passageway at a clumsy jog, trying unsuccessfully to get Harry to move faster than his long strides normally carried him.

Ron’s probably as sick as I am The thought made Harry grin, determined to stop at the first bathroom the passed. Well, at least I can guess why he’s up at this time of the morning. Grimacing at a renewed cramp, he suddenly realized they were at the 5th floor prefect’s bathroom. Bingo! While not the closest bathroom to Gryffindor tower, it was typical of Ron to use it if he felt he would be seen sick by the other students.

“Dobby,” Harry laughingly said, as the house elf opened the door, through some means of his own. “Ron’s just sick! So am I, for that matter. We just ate too much pie last night, remember?”

“Oh, no sir! Wheezy is not sick!” Dobby headed into the larger bathing area.

“I’ll be right in.” Harry headed for the toilets in relief.

Minutes later, he entered the white marble encased bath, marveling anew at the swimming pool sized tub. He remembered fondly the first time he’d been in here, the sleeping mermaid, the golden egg, Moaning Myrtle’s help, and the haunting mersong understandable only underwater. Standing just inside the doorway, he remembered Ron trying to help him with his swimming in this tub, stolen moments during a year of relentless pressure, and anguish.

Come on mate! It’s not hard. Just keep moving! Ron’s encouragement’s echoed boomingly from the marble walls, as well as Hermione’s admonitions, encouragement in her own way, Harry realized now, but irritating at the time.

If you stop thinking about it as an exercise, or a game, you’ll find it easier. Her graceful form cut through the water, all curves and no wasted motion, doing three laps for every one of Harry’s splash filled attempts. Think of it as natation, the art of swimming, rather than just the act of swimming. Turning the lessons into art had been too much for the boys; on her next pass they had dunked her. She had fought her way out, spluttering with indignation, and hadn’t spoken to them for almost an entire day.

“Over here, Harry Potter sir!” Dobby’s incessant tug on his sleeve recalled Harry from his reverie, and drew his attention to the huddled form on the far side, crumpled beneath the portrait of the sunbathing mermaid.

“Ron!” His first step was a slip, and he cracked his knee on the tile floor, in his haste to get to his friend. Dressed as was Harry, in his pajamas, dressing gown and slippers, a small puddle of drying blood lay beneath a gash in Ron’s left temple, blood that had dripped down across both eyes, and over his nose. Curled into a tight ball on his right side, his arms cupped around his head, Ron lay as if defending against blows from an assailant standing over him.

“Egad! Foul knave! What have you done to the dear lady of the sea?” Volatile, bumbling Sir Cadogan stood on the mermaid’s rock, brandishing his sword with both hands. His stance was none too steady on the uneven surface, and the shifting weight of the wavering sword threatened to precipitate him into the water at every move. “And I perceive you have harmed your friend! Stand and fight, you dog!”

“Stop it, you crazy…” Harry bit off the rest of his remark as he knelt beside Ron. A quick check determined Ron was breathing, though raggedly, and there was no immediate danger. Fighting to control both his anger and his worry, he stood and walked to the portrait. “I didn’t hurt Ron, and I have no idea where the mermaid his gone. But I do need your help.”

“Assistance! You require the assistance of my sword? I am at your service! Are we embarking on a quest?” Though Sir Cadogan’s rapid switches of view often annoyed Harry, this time he had counted on the little bantam’s limited mentality and desire to be of service.

“Forsooth we are, Sir Cadogan,” he stated formally. “I beseech you to seek Madam Pomfrey, and urge her to attend my fallen comrade-in-arms.”

“It shall be as you wish!”

As Sir Cadogan departed, Harry turned back to Dobby, who was hovering over Ron’s limp body. “Dobby, please go and get Professor McGonagall.”

“At once, Harry Potter, sir”

Determined to avoid getting into trouble, Harry sat next to Ron for a couple of minutes, but his nature eventually caused him to get up, and survey the room. When he had last been in here, the pool-sized tub had been surrounded by scores of golden taps, each inset with a different coloured jewel. Now, however, several of the taps were missing the jeweled insert, leaving an empty ragged gash where they had once been set. Curious, he walked to the nearest tap, one with a dark green, dusky gem, and turned it on. Water flowed immediately, but water with a tang of winter air, and a breath of pine.

Turning it off, Harry tried the next tap. This one was missing a jewel, and no matter how he tried, nothing flowed. Quickly, knowing help for Ron must be coming, he checked several other taps, and discovered what he already suspected; those with gems worked perfectly, those without failed. Puzzled now, Harry was returning to sit by Ron when a tremendous crash echoed through the passageway outside the bath. Torn between staying with Ron and going to see what the ruckus was about, he reluctantly headed back towards Ron.

“Ickle firsties are awake now!” Peeves snickered, as he entered through the wall and moved through the room in Ron’s direction.

“Peeves, I’ll have you out this time!’ The bath door burst open as Filch, followed by a concerned McGonagall, ran into the room. While Filch pursued Peeves screaming in anger and frustration, Professor McGonagall went to Harry and Ron.

“Well Mr. Potter, what is happening here?”

Harry started to explain, but the noise of the argument between Peeves and Argus Filch was reaching new heights. He seemed convinced that he was at long last going to be able to rid the castle of the poltergeist, and was using every trick of voice and emotion to ensure those present, particularly Professor McGonagall, were aware of his feelings towards the raucous spirit.

“Mister Filch! Please! End your histrionics! We are all well aware of Peeves’ predilections, and your mutual animosity. There are far more important things to consider right now.” She withdrew her wand as the noise quieted, and with a quick wave and a murmured incantation, she conjured a stretcher.

“Please assist me, Mr. Potter. Let’s get Mr. Weasley to the hospital wing.”

With Harry’s help, they quickly placed Ron on the stretcher, and with another flick of her wand, the stretcher floated towards the door.

“Come along, Mr. Potter. We’ll discuss this as soon as Madam Pomfrey has Mr. Weasley in her care.”

The argument between Peeves and Filch faded as the door closed behind them, and they headed towards the hospital wing, Professor McGonagall guiding the stretcher ahead of her, and Harry following behind. Descending the first stairway, Harry could see the cause of the noise, and Filch’s anger. Far below, on the floor of the entry hall, lay one of the massive jardinieres that adorned the balconies. Students were milling around staring at the shattered pot and tracking the dirt throughout the hall.

What a way to wake up on a Saturday morning, Harry thought, looking up at the remaining jardinieres throughout the hall. Met by Hogwart’s resident nurse, with Sir Cadogan slipping through the portraits to lead her, at the foot of the stairway, Harry mentally replayed the scene in the bath, the crumpled body of his friend, the missing mermaid, and the taps that no longer functioned. And I just wanted a quiet weekend.

[evlpez]

This round is now closed to submissions. Please proceed to The Project Ferret Voting Booth - PBD Round One and rate all seven submissions.

Chapter One and the mission for Round Two will be revealed on Thursday, September 16 at approximately noon Central.