Готовый перевод Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Глава 9. Испорченное Рождество

Chapter 9. Ruined Christmas
*

Taylor came to and realized she was in the second-year girls' dormitory at Herofindor. She raised her hand and felt her head, but no, there were no holes or lumps there. However, her long, almost black hair, Taylor's pride and joy, and a memory of her mother had been cut off in places. She began feeling her head when Lisa's voice rang out.

"We snatched you from the infirmary," Granger said, coming closer. "Doctor Pomfrey had already cut your hair, attached electrodes, and was about to cut your head open and give you some kind of nasty stuff with hair floating in it."

"Ugh," Taylor grimaced, feeling like she wanted to vomit.

The events of yesterday came flooding back to my mind, and then Lisa, who was adjusting some invisible thread on her purple-lilac suit, said:

"Merry Christmas, Taylor! Here's my gift to you – our plan worked!"

She hugged Taylor, who was sitting on the bed, and whispered in her ear.

"And you already gave me a gift, you covered me yesterday!"

"From what?" Taylor frowned. "I don’t remember anything!"

"Look at her, she doesn't remember!" a sarcastic voice rang out, and Amy Weasley stepped out of the darkness.

Pale, almost completely freckled, uncombed, and dressed haphazardly, as if she'd forgotten how to zip up or button up, Amy nevertheless looked focused. Her gaze, at least, seemed fixed on Taylor.

"Merry Christmas, Taylor!" Victoria burst through the door, beaming, holding something in her hands. "Everyone's gone. Wormwarts..."

She stopped and immediately screamed.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"We actually live here," Amy said angrily.

"And don't even think about shining your aura on us!" Lisa added. "You won't be able to use us!"

"Use?" Amy almost hissed back. "You used us! Blindly!"

"Actually, it was Vi…"

"Actually, shut up! Enough! One manipulates brains, the other manipulates bodies, enough!"

"Amy?" Taylor asked, her head starting to hurt a little from screaming and trying to remember what happened yesterday. "What's going on?"

"That two-faced blonde standing next to you set us up yesterday!"

"Victoria set us up!" Lisa replied in an overly high voice, retreating. "Hey, that's enough..."

"Yeah, enough of this manipulation," Amy growled. "You call yourself friends!"

"What am I guilty of?!" Taylor screamed, jumping up.

"I'll tell you what you're guilty of! You used me!" Amy roared, jumping forward and trying to punch Taylor in the face.

"Hey, don't touch her!" Victoria rushed to intercept.

Taylor stepped back, jumping back reflexively, and the two Weasley sisters collided, sending Amy flying. She jumped up almost immediately, rubbing her shoulder where she'd hit the bed.

"Lisa, you really didn't warn us about what was going to happen," Taylor breathed out, watching the Weasley sisters out of the corner of her eye, her head spinning. "I would have had time to prepare!"

"Traitor!" Amy breathed out, looking at Victoria, then turned her gaze to Lisa and Taylor. "And you are traitors! You all betrayed me!"

"Amy, I didn't betray you!" Taylor exclaimed sincerely, turning away from Lisa.

"You influenced me!" Amy screamed, approaching. "You got into my head and subjugated me! I didn't get into your head, and you weren't ashamed of it!"

"Amy, I've never had any effect on you," Taylor said, throwing up her hands in confusion as she stepped back, feeling her feet hit the bed. "That's not how my superpower works!"

Amy now looked more like an angry ginger dwarf cat than anything else, advancing, hissing, and glaring, as if she had forgotten that Taylor could beat her, with or without her superpowers.

"It's not how your powers work?" Amy burst out laughing. "And there, in the Great Hall? I knew it, I felt it in you! I felt that it would be like this!"

"I don't understand what you're talking about," Taylor replied firmly.

"The Dark Capes are using the power of those around them! Everyone knows it!" Amy screamed. "Everyone who..."

There was a pause, and the Weasleys stopped.

"Speak up," Taylor said, feeling a surge of anger as she gestured invitingly. "Everyone who grew up among capes, right? Well, I'm sorry, it's not my fault you ended up with a loving family, while I ended up with the family of an aunt who didn't have superpowers and who never cared about me!"

"If it's any consolation, Taylor," Lisa suddenly exhaled, "Amy is not Sarah Weasley's biological daughter.

"What?" Amy stumbled and looked at Victoria. "WHAT?"

"Don't believe me? Ask your sister!" Granger snapped.

“Amy…,” Victoria muttered, throwing up her hands and retreating.

"DID YOU KNOW?!!"

"She knew, she knew," Lisa confirmed with a smirk, "and she also influenced you with her aura, conveying the feelings of a Taylor fan, and..."

"Shut up, you smart-ass!" Victoria soared and crashed down on Granger like a meteorite.

Taylor threw her baton and rushed forward, but Amy got there first. She screamed:

"I trusted you!" she lashed out at Victoria. "And you stabbed me in the back?!"

Taylor saw firsthand how dangerous Amy could be. One touch to the back of her head and the invulnerable Victoria fell unconscious, right on top of a bloodied Granger, whose teeth seemed to be sticking out, dislocated by the youngest Weasley's mighty blows.

"You think I'm Dark Cape?" Taylor asked darkly.

"Vicky, Vicky," Amy wailed, putting her hand on Lisa's face. "What have you done?"

Granger's wounds were healing, the cracks were disappearing, tears were falling from Amy's eyes, and it looked as if they were healing Lisa.

“You, you’re the one who ruined everything,” Amy muttered darkly, “now I…”

"Don't!" Taylor quickly grabbed Amy's right arm and jerked it upward, as if she were about to dislocate her shoulder.

"Taylor," Amy's voice was cold and lifeless. "You realize you're touching me, right? It only takes me a split second to turn you into... anything."

"You're not afraid that I'll... subjugate you, are you?" but Taylor let go of her hand and stepped back.

Amy stood up, her fingers brushing against Victoria's face. They stood facing each other, like something out of an old Western. Physically, Taylor was ready to fight back, bludgeon, kick, then use webs and distracting insects, all without touching Amy herself. But mentally, Taylor was screaming in confusion, wringing her hands and racing through her head, unable to gather her thoughts or figure out how or what to do to return everything to the way it was.

"No need," Amy said, raising her hand.

There was a mosquito on her finger, and suddenly, Taylor felt pain rushing through her.

"I'll go," Amy said lifelessly, "but you better not even try to follow me."

"Leave her," advised Lisa, who had come to her senses from below, "and help me push aside this invulnerable blonde.

Amy, sniffling, came out of the bedroom.

"Lisa?" Taylor, in a fit of desperation, pinned Victoria with her foot and leaned over Granger, preventing her from getting out. "You don't want to explain anything to me?"

“No,” she grumbled, trying to get out.

"If no, then no," Taylor said sadly, leaning even closer to Lisa. "So you don't waste your superpower, I'll tell you what I think."

She took a deep breath and screamed in Granger's face.

"YOU DON'T TREAT YOUR FRIENDS LIKE THAT!!!"

\\She thinks she was betrayed, doesn't understand why, doesn't remember yesterday...

Lisa sighed and cut off the flow of information. There was no point in reading Taylor any further, especially since she was already leaving. The most offensive thing was that her friends were partially right. Yes, Lisa had ruined everything by withholding the information, but if she hadn't, none of this would have happened!

"Thank you for not letting Amy change me!" Lisa shouted after her, but to no avail.

Cracking her neck and still managing to push Victoria Weasley off her, Lisa paced the room, trying to break through her negative thoughts through movement and physical effort. She needed to pull herself together, concentrate, and focus on the problem, solving it and proving that all this had been worthwhile. She needed to get to the source of all this year's problems, and that meant information.

Lisa stopped and concentrated, thinking about the problem.

Everything was ready for the raid on Eidolorin, but was it worth the risk? After yesterday's bustle and running around, everyone was still asleep; even some of the students were loaded onto the train unconscious. Trackers, signals, bugs—everything was ready, except for Taylor's insects. They were supposed to sneak in and disable systems, obscure vision, and cause confusion—well, that could be dealt with. What was more difficult was the biometric systems. Here, Amy was supposed to alter Lisa, giving her the appearance of Snape himself. Not just an appearance, of course, but a complete replica, capable of fooling any biometrics.

Lisa hesitated, thoughtfully scratching her right armpit. There was no chance she'd make peace with her friends anytime soon, and the raid had to be carried out during the winter break. Preferably, with a pre-emptive action to distract Snape, but it was possible to do without it if necessary.

Possible, yeah.

Lisa sighed, admitting she needed the information like air. Despite all her clever hacks into local subsystems, she couldn't penetrate Wormwarts's central modules, and a raid on Eidolorin was her best chance. But without Taylor and Amy, the risk was too great; she'd be caught... Lisa's gaze caught on a discrepancy on the floor. The next second, a smug, ear-to-ear smile spread across her face.

Taylor's invisibility band! Isn't that a sign of fate?
+ + +

The next two days proved Lisa's suspicions correct. Neither Taylor nor Amy communicated with Lisa or each other, disappearing for days at a time. The only relief was the cessation of Victoria's influence. It had seemed gentle, even imperceptible, but at times, in her presence, Lisa wanted to fall at the youngest Weasley's feet, worship her like a goddess. Not exactly normal desires, regardless of age or gender, and never mind that such influence was part of Victoria's superpower.

Vika's fanaticism towards Taylor added to the "fire." Then the aura struck everyone around her, including Amy and Lisa, and once again, she wanted to fall and worship, but this time at Potter. It seemed like a small thing — childish ardor and enthusiasm, a power not yet fully mastered, a misstep in the impact — but there was a big, fat "but." The impact itself was too mature, inappropriate for both Vika's age and her psychological makeup.

Lisa had hoped to solve this problem with Amy's help, while also executing part of the Cunning Plan, but the first succeeded, the second failed. Lisa knew Amy had manipulated her sister's mind, and she knew Amy knew Lisa knew, which only made matters worse. Not to mention Lisa's secret fear that Amy would decide to eliminate the "witnesses" to her breaking her oath. Yes, it was just a mental oath Amy made to herself—but she broke it, hadn't she? Now, Weasley blamed herself, but at any moment, she could switch to the usual mechanisms of most people: blaming others.

One touch in a dream, and both Lisa and Taylor would wake up with no memory of what happened, and who knows what will happen next? Taylor had manifested the power of the Dark Cape, but Amy could be the one to manipulate that power, with the best of intentions, of course, to help her best friend. Lisa didn't even want to think about the possible consequences of such a thing. So she dismissed the idea of ​​asking Amy for help and began to rework and reorganize her plan.

Wearing an invisibility band, Lisa crept through the quiet of Wormwarts's night. In ten minutes, the New Year would begin, the perfect time to wish for lots of new, juicy information and have it come true. Wishes. As she made her way through the corridors, disarming traps, passing under cameras, and picking locks, Lisa couldn't stop thinking about Victoria. It was clear that someone had skillfully guided her, inspired her, no, reinforced her obsession with Taylor, but who and why?

Amy did her part skillfully, almost too skillfully.

Victoria stopped being Taylor's fan and acted as if nothing had happened. Lisa wasn't entirely sure how Amy had accomplished this, since all of Victoria's memories were intact. At the same time, she had no desire to influence with her aura; she didn't hang around Taylor, didn't beg for autographs, and heck, she even took up her studies! It was all wonderful, except for one thing: it was now impossible to trace who had been influencing her. Like with the virus, Lisa's plan had worked, but so well that no trace remained.

Snape's terminal required some fiddling, but the easy way—transforming into Thomas—wasn't available, so Lisa, patiently, toiled and hacked. Taylor could be as certain as she wanted that Malfoy was behind it all, but Lisa had a different opinion. She believed Malfoy would certainly cause more trouble in the future; after such a Quidditch match, revenge was a matter of honor, to put it bluntly, but here and now, he had nothing to do with it.

Lisa hummed an old Cape song as she broke through the defenses.

It was like a mixture of the early days of capes and the Wild West, sitting in Snape's dark office, working on his terminal. Lisa was sending out requests quickly, eager to gather information.

"Dark Capes are the bearers of many superpowers, I know that," she muttered, looking at the terminal. "Get to the point, okay, the obligatory power of the Trump, well, that's obvious, how do you work with other superpowers without the Trump. The Dimension of Secret... opened five times?! But... okay, so what do we have here?"

Clicks of keys, gestures, satisfied grunts.

"Well, well, that's something new. Dark Capes – the prototypes and seeds of the Entities? And who are the Entities, of course, it's classified, hmm, hmm, very interesting. The first expedition to the Tunguska meteorite, hmm, top secret, well, of course, when is anything ever simple for me? Very interesting, a program for settling disputes among ordinary people? Never heard of that, yeah, the dispersion coefficient, the forecasts, well, of course, Nicholas Manton, where would we be without him, collaboration with Fortuna Dumbledore, "12 ways to avoid the crisis of dense settlement of capes", most intriguing, another dozen, not of powers and their classes, but of methods, I'll have to leaf through it at my leisure..."

"As if you will have one, Miss Granger," Thomas Snape's hoarse voice suddenly rang out.

The light in the office flickered on, and Lisa nearly wet herself again in fear, and the thought in the background was that she really needed to work on this problem. Later. If she got out of this mess and cleared Granger's name in front of her friends. If.

Thomas Snape, tall, skinny, and unpleasant, slowly approached the desk and sat down in the chair in front of it, staring at Lisa unblinkingly, as if trying to burn a hole with his black eyes. Lisa, shuddering inwardly, glanced at the terminal screen, trying to snatch up any last scraps of information. Capes' populations in pocket dimensions were limited to a certain density? Because of the Dark Capes? What had she gotten herself into with her curiosity and desire to help her friends?

"Don't try to run," Snape said.

“It never even crossed my mind,” Lisa answered sincerely.

With those spray guns behind him? With the way he'd snuck up on her so quietly? Was she even that stupid to run in those conditions?

"Somehow I don't believe you," Snape smirked, folding his hands in front of him. "But suppose it were so. Should I list, Miss Granger, what awaits you for such a thing?"

"A juvenile detention center?" Lisa said, putting on an innocent face.

"Nice try, but some… offenses, so to speak, have no age limit. So, brainwashing and exile await. The one who told you about the Dimension of Secrets also faces this…"

"Headmistress Dumbledore," Lisa grinned, trying to do it most unpleasantly.

"Hm, that's a bit of a surprise," Snape shrugged, "but it doesn't matter. If you don't want to lose your memory and life, Miss Granger, you'll do whatever I want."

Lisa shuddered.

"Each time you think the same thing," Thomas snorted, standing up and pacing. "Don't worry, I don't need your childish charms, I'm not a pervert."

Lisa snorted in response, but only inwardly. Not a pervert? Yeah, well then, Dumbledore isn't a cape! And what's with that line about each time? And then Granger felt a cold sweat splash down her collar, which immediately ran down her back and began to trickle somewhere lower. She realized she didn't know the details of Snape's superpower. The Thinker, yes, but what kind?

"Do you understand me, Miss Granger?" Snape hissed, leaning towards Lisa's face.

“Yes,” she sighed, involuntarily looking away.

There was nothing to say in response; she had lost this battle of the Thinkers, but all was not lost! Where there was work, there was incriminating evidence, clues, mistakes, and one day she would be free. And she would have her revenge.

"I think we'll get along very well," Snape's lips stretched into a smile, "Miss Granger!"

*

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