- matt chia's -
poetry, prose + commentary
poetry, prose + commentary
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Chapter XV
Sunny’s scream of horror never came out. She could only stare miserably as she collapsed onto a bench, shaking. Yihui quickly sat down beside her and put an arm around her, though she too was visibly shaken. Yifang and Ngan Ching could only stare blankly at Rachel’s prone figure, mouths open wide.
At this moment there was a flurry of activity at the entrance to the Hall. Professor Smurf, in his long black cloak, strode over to Rachel, followed closely by Madam Lee, the school nurse. Rushing in after them was a whole crowd of fifth-years from different Houses.
Cheryl clapped a hand over her mouth. Many of the girls were shrieking. Sunny and Yihui were nearly reduced to tears as they held each other tightly.
“Is she...?� Sunny asked chokingly.
“No, thank goodness,� said Madam Lee, a note of relief in her voice. Perspiration was dripping off her forehead as she bent over Rachel, checking her vital signs.
As soon as the words escaped her lips, everyone started breathing more normally again.
“Well... why’s she all... stiff?� Matt enquired hesitantly.
“Is she... Petrified, Lily?� Professor Smurf asked the nurse as he peered at Rachel through his glasses.
“Well, I’m not sure,� Madam Lee said distractedly, “she looks, well, Stunned – I don’t know, it’s quite odd,� she said, shaking her head. “Well, we’d better get her off to the hospital wing. Move, please,� she told the students in a commanding tone. Obediently, everyone cleared a pathway for her.
She whipped out her wand, pointed it at Rachel and muttered, “Mobilicorpus.� Instantly, Rachel rose up two feet into the air, almost as if there was a stretcher beneath her. Madam Lee turned on her heels and strode out of the Hall, still keeping her wand pointed at Rachel, who floated out after her.
There was a long silence after she had gone. Professor Smurf broke it by saying quietly, “All students, back to your Houses please. I do not know who did this, but whoever it is, I am giving you time to come to me yourself and confess. If not... we will see,� he said grimly.
They trooped out of the Hall, silent. There was nothing they could say.
They had just entered the common room when Yihui suddenly turned round and faced Desmond. “Why did you do it?�
Desmond looked at her in surprise. “But... but... I didn’t do it!� he stuttered in the face of Yihui’s wrath.
“Oh right! Chasing after her when she left the toilet! Being right beside her when she... when she...�
“I didn’t do it!� he denied once again.
“Liar,� Yihui said snidely.
“Look, I didn’t do it, okay! Why would I want to do something like this to her?�
“So that once you finished her off, we wouldn’t tease you about her, maybe?� Yihui shouted.
At this moment Desmond snapped.
“WHY THE HELL WOULD I TRY AND KILL HER? JUST SO SHE WOULDN’T BE AROUND AND YOU WOULDN’T TEASE ME ABOUT HER? WHAT CRAP IS THAT –“
“SHUT UP! YOU LIAR... YOU...�
“Stop it! STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!� someone shouted piercingly, as Sunny pulled Yihui back and Hu Ping restrained Desmond.
Everyone looked around for the mediator. It turned out to be Lydia Lim, a sixth-year. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes flashed threateningly - apparently she could be fierce if she wanted to, because usually she was quite docile.
“Look,� she said more quietly, her voice already sounding a bit hoarse, “why on earth would he want to kill her or harm her in any way? They’re in the same House, and besides, she hasn’t done anything to him before.�
“But –“ Yihui was cut off by Lydia, who waved a hand impatiently.
“And besides, I was there, and he didn’t curse her, or perform any magic at all,� Lydia said, glancing at Desmond.
Yihui kept silent. But the tension was still in the air. They all stood there, not looking at each other.
“So can we all just be reconciled please?� Lydia asked smoothly.
Just at that moment, someone shouted behind them, “Hey guys, the food’s here!�
“Let’s go,� Yihui said suddenly, forcefully taking Sunny’s arm by the wrist and leading her away.
They were silent once again. Desmond gazed at Yihui’s back ruefully.
“She’ll get over it,� Cheryl said quietly.
“It really wasn’t me! All I did was just pour her some water, and then, and then –“ Desmond said desperately. The fifth-years were still giving him doubtful looks.
“It’s alright,� Lydia said shortly. “No point crying over spilt milk. So, dinner, anyone?� she continued brightly.
They nodded, and soon drifted off in pairs and threes, leaving Desmond standing there, alone.
----------
“You know, we really need to get rid of him,� Professor Helmi said softly to the group of teachers gathered round him.
“Yes! When poor Rachel just got Petrified, he didn’t even go and see her – he didn’t even care!� Professor June fumed.
“And he thought that me and Helmi were having an intimate relationship, and he actually threatened us with curses because he thought we were giving a bad example to the students!� Professor Huda said angrily.
Everyone save Professor Helmi stared at her.
“You mean you weren’t?� Mr. Teo said closely.
Professors Helmi and Huda made throaty, angry noises. Mr. Teo gave them a cheeky smile in return. He was just -so- cute.
“Well, and I’m sure he did something to Professor Siva to make him disappear, too,� Professor Kailini said, frowning, an orange-and-yellow scarf tied round her head like a turban.
“Wouldn’t you be able to see that with your third eye, Kailini?� Professor June said jokingly.
“Oh what rubbish,� Professor Kailini retorted, adjusting the scarf around her head and making it look even uglier. “You know I’m just in this for the money.�
All the teachers smiled sad smiles and shook their heads. Professor Kailini ignored them.
“So... are we sure we want to get rid of him?� Mr. Teo asked.
Everyone nodded. Hesitantly.
“Well then,� Mr. Teo said, in a much more businesslike tone, “we’d have to get rid of Ms. Ee as well. Whatever they’re doing, I’m sure they’re in it together, and besides, we might as well kill two birds with one stone... any ideas on how we do it?�
After a minute of mulling over the question, Professor Huda piped up, “You know, people, there’s a Vanishing Cabinet on the third floor, just outside the Charms classroom...�
They nodded, slowly, in unison, as the smiles grew obscenely wide on their faces...
----------
Cheryl and her group of friends were all sitting morosely around their study table, half-heartedly revising on Befuddlement Draughts (Barnabas had started calling them “Befuddling Draughts�), but their thoughts still dwelled on Rachel – the stiff body, the glassy eyes…
“Um... hey,� a voice said to their left.
Cheryl’s blood turned cold. It was Desmond.
“I just wanted to tell you... our first match is in one month’s time. April 10th. Against Slithering. We might have training sessions before that... but anyway, Cheryl, you need to get a broom... yeah, that’s it... bye...� he slumped off, looking dejected.
“We’d forgotten about that,� Matt said quietly.
“Well, he chose such a wonderful time to bring it up, didn’t he,� Hu Ping said sarcastically.
Cheryl kept silent. She now had yet another thing to worry about.
----------
“Minellus, I cannot tell you how grateful we are for this,� Professor June said in an ingratiating tone.
“Yes, I do think this boggart is positively terrifying the younger students when they want to enter my classroom,� Mr. Teo added.
“Actually we’re not sure if it’s a boggart, it’s quite... quiet sometimes,� Professor Huda said.
“Oh, and thanks so much too, Ms. Ee, for helping,� Professor Helmi gestured.
Kiw and E.T nodded. They looked grim.
“We thought it would be a Dark creature, so we asked you, as that’s also your area of expertise apart from Potions,� Professor Kailini said smoothly.
They all stopped outside the Charms classroom. There was a large cupboard next to the classroom door. Kiw approached it warily. For some reason, Ms. Ee was whimpering.
“Well, go on... unlock it,� Mr. Teo whispered.
Kiw swallowed. There were rivers of sweat flowing down his forehead and onto his nose. Professor Huda blanched at the sight.
“Alohomora!,� Kiw said in a barely-audible voice.
The door swung open to reveal...
“There’s nothing inside!� Kiw snapped.
“There will be,� Mr. Teo said, smiling.
At that moment all 6 teachers pressed forward. Kiw and Ms. Ee could not resist – they were pushed into the innermost depths of the cupboard, with much screaming and cursing and gnashing of teeth. Once they were inside, Mr. Teo slammed the cupboard door right in their faces.
There was a moment of silence as the six teachers surveyed their handiwork.
“Do any of you know where this goes?� Professor Huda said curiously.
The others shook their heads happily.
As they walked away from the cupboard towards the staff room, Professor June said, “You know, I think we should all get School Service Awards for doing what we just did.�
“And a raise,� Professor Kailini said thoughtfully.
“Maybe we should all get fake moles,� Professor Helmi said cheerfully.
They all considered this for a moment.
“Nah, the raise is better,� Mr. Teo replied.
They chuckled and walked on, as the cupboard behind them emitted a loud burp.
Comments:
bahx i shall not sae who im hahaz.. ur story is getting more n more interesting!! lolz bahx n gimme more lines hahaz
# posted by 
: 12:17 PM
: 12:17 PM
matt can i be part of de story pls.. haha its so fun sia.. i dun mind being a passing toilet cleaner or wad lol.. =)~
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# posted by : 10:57 PM
: 10:57 PM