Готовый перевод Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Глава 8. Хэллоуин

Chapter 8. Halloween
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The mystery had to be abandoned without being solved, because barely had the trio ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest when a very strange oval robot appeared. Two meters tall, it had an oval body, an oval head, and matching arms and legs, connected to its torso by long chains. They couldn't do anything with it; Taylor's insects couldn't bite through the armor, and Amy's touch had no effect for the same reason. Lisa simply didn't have time to figure out what it was.

The robot caught them, tied them up, and threw them out of the Forest.

The days flew by: lessons, training, reading, homework, skirmishes with Eidolorins and trying to avoid Filch, close-combat exercises, and super-power training — all of it ate up time and energy. In the evening, Taylor would collapse into bed and fall asleep immediately, sometimes forgetting to take off her suit. Lisa, for obvious reasons, had the easiest time studying, and besides, she didn't practice (except for pistol shooting at one of the shooting ranges on the ground floor of Wormwarts). After quickly dropping a few suggestive hints and considering her participation in the joint training concluded, she would disappear to her own business, a perpetual smile on her face.

Taylor, remembering Quirrell's lessons, tried to develop her powers in every situation and used insects for homework. She tried to see through their eyes (no luck so far) and listen to other students talk. Gradually, she came to the conclusion that paper books for the blind, printed in Braille, would be best suited for her, but there were no paper books in Wormwarts.

"Could you change a couple of flies so I could see through their eyes?" Taylor asked Amy one day in early October.

The thought that she wasn't strong enough, that she wasn't a good Tactician, that she wouldn't help Herofindor win the battle weighed heavily on Taylor. She kept feeling like she wasn't practicing enough, working hard enough, training hard enough.

“No,” she muttered.

"Well... please?" Taylor made pleading eyes.

"No," Amy replied, her temper flaring. "Lisa is enough for me. And now you too."

"You won't influence my brain," Taylor immediately understood the reason, "only insects!"

"To transmit a signal you can understand, they would have to be modified, made practically human, part of the brain, to be more precise," Amy sighed. "Or yours would have to be modified so you could adequately perceive insect vision."

"Oh!" Taylor blinked. "Okay, I'll think of something else! Don't be angry, Amy, it's just... you know, I use insects, and you can influence living things."

"Exactly," Amy traced a line in the air with her finger. "That's why I'm so careful. First insects, then animals, then humans, and capes? You'll want to change your figure, Lisa will want to get rid of headaches forever by doubling the size of her head, and so on. No, you're my friends, and I don't want to lose you because of my mistake!"

Taylor silently approached the now practically screaming Amy and hugged her tightly, holding her close. Just as she entered the Herofindor living room, Lisa sighed sadly at the sight and muttered under her breath that she'd missed the opportunity again.

Blowing on her cold fingers, Lisa disappeared into the bedroom, deciding not to ruin her friends' moment of comfort.

*
On Halloween morning, Taylor woke up feeling broken and depressed. Yesterday, Lisa had explained to her why Halloween had become a holiday, told her about Taylor's parents, and the Dark Cape. The festive atmosphere in the castle? Taylor felt no joy or excitement. What kind of holiday was it when her parents had given their lives to protect her, Taylor? She tried to picture their faces, to imagine the scene, how they had fought, but she couldn't.

“I’m sorry,” Lisa said at breakfast, and her face showed that she was truly sorry. “I figured you’d find out anyway, and that’s why..."

"No, you did everything right," Taylor said, hugging her friend and burying her face in her hair. "I... just need to get through this, come to terms with it, and figure out how to live and what to do."

“I,” Amy said, and stopped short.

"What?"

"We have a lesson with Flitwick, and we're almost late," Weasley said, looking away.

Taylor and Lisa exchanged panicked glances, then simultaneously glanced toward the enormous clock face on the wall and jumped to their feet, snatching their tablets from the desk. Accord Flitwick was renowned not only for his mastery of strategy, tactics, and planning, but also for his meticulous attention to punctuality and neatness. Classes were expected to be on time, dressed in proper attire, and so on. Those who violated the rules faced a painful ordeal: Accord would devise a punishment plan on the fly and then carry it out for the entire lesson, strictly adhering to the rules, of course. It would seem that if you were already late, it would be easier to just not show up at all, but only those who didn't know the professor could think that way.

Taylor pulled herself together, and that helped a little, at least until the evening.

The festive dinner in the Great Hall was, of course, accompanied by stories, pictures, and holographic videos about Dark Cape, and Taylor, picking at her salad with her spoon, felt her spirits sinking somewhere below the dungeons of Wormwarts. She tried to force herself to talk and smile, to watch the videos, especially since Lisa had immediately pointed out that all the 3D videos were fake, created for the sake of beauty and encouragement of the capes.

But the mood did not return; on the contrary, everything only got worse.

There was no telling where this would have gone, as Taylor's mood was being transmitted by her insect, not to mention the radius of her control growing and growing, expanding with every second. But then the door to the Great Hall swung open, revealing a rumpled Professor Quirrell. His shirt was torn, blood was running down his cheek, and his left arm hung limply.

"We have a small problem, he said loudly."

Taylor saw that blood was dripping from the knife Quirrell was holding in his right hand.

"Someone hacked the lock's systems and teleported a troll inside," Jack said calmly and loudly, heading towards the teachers' table, "and perhaps not only him."

"You're hurt!" Doctor Pomfrey said joyfully, jumping up.

“It's nothing, we warmed up a bit, but I couldn’t stop the troll,” Jack waved it off.

"No, no, I insist, come to my infirmary immediately!" Pomfrey rubbed her hands together happily and pulled something out of her robe pocket. "I just happen to have a new, excellent potion!"

And then the lights in the Great Hall went out.

"Calm down!" Fortuna Dumbledore shouted, rising from the table.

Taylor didn't see it, of course, but she felt it through the insects. There were screams, some of the students jumped up, and almost all of them turned to their superpowers.

"Don't panic!" the Headmistress's voice boomed through the hall. "All students return to their Houses. Prefects accompany them, teachers proceed to the east wing, and prevent the threat!"

"The system hack activated the security protocol, the House towers went into autonomous mode," Lisa muttered, clutching her head in her hands. "The lock system is resistant to external hacking; it was done by someone from within, with higher privileges than usual, someone with access to information."

"Snape!" Amy and Taylor exhaled simultaneously.

"We need to keep an eye on him," Taylor said immediately.

The pent-up despair and bitterness demanded an outlet, a fight. Taylor sensed Snape making his way toward the exit, deftly dodging the attacks of panicking students. She had to make a decision, and quickly.

"Amy, take Lisa to the tower, I'll keep an eye on Snape!"

"No! It's dangerous! Who knows what could happen?" Amy shrieked.

"Then let's all go together, come on, pick up Lisa, and let's go. Snape is leaving!"

They grabbed Lisa by the arms and dragged her toward the exit, along the wall, but slowly, too slowly. Despite the increased range of Taylor's power, Snape was already almost out of it, moving much faster than the students.

"He's leaving," Taylor repeated.

The corridors were dark, and only the insects allowed Taylor to sense her surroundings. The only benefit of the darkness and fleeing the Great Hall was that Lisa stopped clutching her head. The sensory overload and power overload were slowly receding, but Granger was still unable to run or fight effectively.

"There are some miniature figures ahead... humans? No, metal...," Taylor muttered, "they're moving!"

“These are elfs,” Lisa said quietly, “electronic live forms, mini-robots controlled by the castle.

"There are robots here?" Amy asked in surprise.

"And who do you think cooks, washes, cleans the castle, repairs the rooms, and does all the dirty work?" Lisa replied. "Even working without sleep or rest, robots can't always keep up with the young capes, and that's why..."

She gasped and almost fell, clutching her head with her hands again.

"Okay," Taylor said, "we can't go forward, there are elfs all over the place, and there's something else big, also metal. We can't catch Snape now, so let's help Lisa first. Amy? No? Okay, there's a restroom nearby, let's go there."

"How can you see in this darkness?" Amy muttered.

"I don't see it, I feel it. Ahead, through two doors, is a room with faucets, toilets, and... all that other stuff."

"I'm afraid to even imagine how you perceive the world."

"Much better than through the glasses," Taylor panted. "Okay, speed up, these... elfs, they're moving towards us!"

Lisa wasn't getting any better, so Amy and Taylor, panting, pulled her. They made it. They'd barely gotten her into the bathroom and slammed the door when they heard a thumping and crashing outside, something rustling and running.

"Okay, put her under the tap," Taylor ordered, "and then we'll figure out what to do next."

Lisa, however, refused help and began to wash herself with cold water, having found the sink.

"Since those robot elfs have left, the road is clear, maybe we can catch up with Snape?" Taylor said, thinking out loud.

But this plan failed to be implemented.

First, there was a roar, then a scream and a growl. The walls shook, plastic and dust flew from the ceiling, and something could be heard breaking with a distinct metallic crunch.

"We need to get out of here!" Lisa shouted. "There are no castle surveillance systems here!"

Taylor opened her mouth to scream that the lock had been hacked anyway, but she didn't have time. A sudden impact shook the walls and floor, sending the girls tumbling. Taylor hit her elbow painfully and felt the floor flooded with water. With a crash and a crash, the bathroom door was ripped off its hinges, hurtled over the trio's heads, and a huge, deformed metal body tore down part of the wall. Red lights flickered in the hallway, and in their dim, wavering light, it was still possible to see that the floor was littered with shattered metal spheres.

A new blow shook the wall, breaking it apart.

Taylor, who was struggling to get up, managed to stay on her feet, but Amy and Lisa fell with a splash into the water, flooding the floor. Another object, metallic and broken, flew through the doorway, followed by a huge figure.

"Troll!" Lisa screamed almost hysterically.

The figure immediately turned toward her, shaking its head from side to side. Taylor didn't hesitate for a second and raised her hands, shouting:

"BEES!!!" And directing the deadly stream straight to vulnerable points.

Eyes, ears, groin, armpits. Bees and wasps were dragging spiders, spinning threads as they went, and beetles, bombarding the figure with them. Legions of ants were already racing within the walls, but they still had several dozen meters to cover, and the figure — a troll in combat transformation — was just five meters away.

"ILL!!!" the four-meter giant roared. "ILL!!!"

Kill, Taylor realized, and judging by the troll's effortless dispatch of the robotic guards, the three young heroines had no chance here. The troll struck, and Taylor managed to jump away at the last second and dive to the floor. An armored, fire-blasting fist blew the toilet stall door off its hinges, shattering it into several enormous pieces. A foot struck, Taylor rolled in a puddle, and the toilet seat broke with a distinct crunch, the flow of water intensified, and the stench of shit filled the air.

Bees attacked the troll's eyes, spiders bit and tried to bind him, and Taylor felt like she'd almost blinded the giant, meaning there was a chance to escape! The troll burst into flames, killing insects half a meter away. There was a hissing sound, and a scalding jet of steam hit Taylor's chest and swiped across her face.

"Take that!" Amy dived into the steam with a desperate cry and immediately jumped out. "Run!"

Slipping in the water, tripping over broken elfs, holding each other, the girls ran for the exit. A desperate roar hit them from behind.

"I've paralyzed him!" Amy screamed. "But not for long!"

"We need to find a new shelter!" Taylor shouted back. "Lisa, pull yourself together, we need your power!"

"Yes, yes," Granger muttered as she ran.

Meanwhile, Taylor was gathering her subjects, forming decoys — three insect figures — hoping it would be enough to deceive the half-blind troll in the dim red light flooding the corridor. A female voice droned monotonously from above, and clanking and scraping sounds could be heard somewhere ahead and below.

"There!" Lisa shouted, pointing to the door. "This is a custom lock!"

"So what?" Taylor asked as Lisa pounded the keys with her right hand like a machine gun.

She held her forehead with her left hand.

"The standard ones are all hacked," Granger replied dully, "but this one is autonomous. Let's hide, oh, the troll will lose us, and then the elfs and teachers will deal with him! Got it!"

The door slid open with a soft hum. The roar behind her suddenly intensified, and she could hear the wall breaking. Taylor sensed through the insects that a flaming, five-meter-tall figure had burst into the corridor. Potter slid after her friends, and the door slammed shut.

"You can't catch us!" The decoy clones began to hum and buzz, crudely imitating human speech.

The troll, however, bought the hype and rushed forward, straight toward the clones, who immediately rushed forward. Potter, relieved and tired, slumped against the door, only now fully aware of how soaked she was to her underwear, burned, bruised, and generally tired. The only positive was that the bitterness in her soul had finally subsided, replaced by a fighting spirit.

"Bad luck," Lisa clicked her tongue. "If we'd encountered a troll in its normal form, we would have easily dealt with it. But apparently Quirrell couldn't defeat it right away, and then the troll started growing and raging, fought the elfs, and grew even larger, and then we showed up."

"If I had more time to prepare, I could have done it," Taylor said confidently. "What is he like in his regular form?"

"In their normal form, trolls, or trollungs as they're also called, are no larger than a human, except their skin is green and more durable," Lisa readily answered. "Their ancestor, Lung, was simply a large man, but in battle, he gradually transformed into a colossal, raging dragon that no one could defeat. Trolls inherited his ability to increase in size in battle, but not his ability to instantly regenerate.

"Is your headache gone?" Amy asked.

"No, but right now I'm just retelling the textbook, not using power," Lisa replied. "And the larger the troll, the stronger and more durable it is, and it develops fire, just like its ancestor, but! Luckily for us, increasing its size also comes with a decrease in stupefaction, which is the basis of the standard troll-fighting tactic. Enrage it, let it become stupefied, and then trap it."

"So those elfs there were specifically eager to fight?"

“Yeah,” Lisa clicked her tongue. "Now…"

Taylor suddenly realized she couldn't sense any insects around her, in the room. At all. Behind the wall, yes, but not inside. She released a hundred mosquitoes and flies from her suit to scout the area and immediately realized there was something large and alive ahead.

"Quiet!" Taylor said, but it was too late.

Lisa clicked something, and a bright light flooded the room. A huge hall, in the middle of which a three-headed dog, the size of a solid two-story mansion, was peacefully dozing. The light woke the dog, and it cracked an eye open, sniffing the air. Bloody objects and bones lay scattered nearby, and Taylor saw with horror that two of the dog's three heads were wounded.

"We can't handle it," Taylor said quietly.

Lisa leaned on her to avoid falling, burying her head in her shoulder.

"Shh, quiet, no need to use your power," Taylor said, "better get us out of here before it's too late."

The dog yawned, its three jaws opening, stood up, shaking itself, and growled lowly, turning toward the students. Lisa, biting her lip until it bled, held by Taylor, poked at the panel. The door wouldn't open. The dog, growling and sniffing, advanced. Amy, in a fit of desperate determination, lunged forward and flicked the nearest head on the nose.

"It's not alive!" Amy screamed in surprise, jumping back.

The dog also jerked its head back in surprise and rubbed its nose with its paw.

"Gotcha!" Lisa shouted, and the door swung open.

The dog lunged forward, and three students jumped out and pressed themselves against the opposite wall of the corridor.

"Damn it!" Granger suddenly exclaimed. "This is the third floor, where everything is contaminated!"

Amy immediately touched her and Taylor, shaking her head.

"If there was anything biological there, it's gone now."

“We still need to go to the medical center,” Lisa said, “the headmistress also mentioned radiation.”

"Do you think that's why the dog wasn't alive?" Taylor asked.

Lisa just shrugged, as if not wanting to waste words.

They were already approaching the medical station when Taylor froze.

"What?"

"Snape's there," Taylor answered slowly, "inside. He's injured. He's talking to Doctor Pomfrey... well, I'll try to figure out what they're talking about."

She closed her eyes and, with Lisa's gesture, raised her hands to her temples.

"Dog... injured... failed... next time... headmistress... shouldn't... system hacked..."

"Do you think Snape works with the Doctor?" Amy asked, fear in her voice.

"He's probably manipulating her!" Taylor clenched her fists. "That's his specialty! He tricked the Doctor and the others into trusting him! Why?"

"Another Wormwarts mystery," Lisa chuckled, "a mystery of the Third Floor. Okay, let's go see Chris!"

"Why?" Taylor repeated.

"He's a Tinker," Lisa shrugged, as if that explained everything. "He'll assemble a sensor for us and then..."

"What then, Miss Granger?" came a nasty voice from behind.

Tagg Filch and Mrs. Norris stood behind them, appearing out of nowhere.

"Well, well, well," Filch grinned disgustingly, his bald head shining, "everyone should be in their Houses, and our restless trio is running around Wormwarts! Even the Weasley twins didn't behave so impudently!"

"That's because you can't catch them!" Amy squeaked.

"What?! You've completely lost your nerve! I would have handed you over to that same troll for such a violation! You've already received your three warnings, Granger, so now you'll get a bracelet! And minus twenty points! And an entry on your personal file! And also..."

"Enough," McGonagall's tired voice rang out. "These are the students of my House, and I will deal with them myself from now on."

The Dean of Herofindor didn't look her best. In her right hand, she held a drum-type grenade launcher, still smoking from its use, and there were traces of blood on her body armor and a bruise on her left cheek.

"I know the rules," Filch chuckled. "Are you going to put the bracelet on yourself or should I do it?"

"I will. You can go."

"Ma'am, we..."

"I don't want to hear anything," Taylor McGonagall snapped. "Go to the tower!"

"What's the bracelet?" Taylor asked as they walked toward the entrance to Herofindor's tower.

"A personal tracking device with restricted zoning. If I wander into the wrong place at the wrong time, the bracelet immediately triggers an alarm," Lisa replied wearily. "They say it's impossible to remove on your own," her usual grin lit up her face, "but I think I can manage."

* * *

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