Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Глава 3. Дементоры

Chapter 3. Dementors
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Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 13:39

Security measures were tightened not only in enclaves like Toybox Alley, but also on platforms 9 and 3/4. Just under the cover of the Stranger's effect, a cape scanner in PRT uniform stood, carefully examining children and their parents. A column pricked Taylor's finger to take a blood sample, while drones flew overhead.

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 13:47

Taylor ducked into the first available compartment. A half-sitting, half-lying adult cape occupied the corner. Darkness oozed from under his fingernails in thin, quickly dissipating streams, and his head was also shrouded in a cloud of darkness. Judging by the movements and vibrations of his body, he was sleeping and snoring, but the cloud of darkness seemed to obscure the sounds. It all looked extremely suspicious. After settling an additional squad of flies on him, Taylor quietly moved to the next compartment, which was still empty.

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 13:48

Taylor had barely taken her place in the compartment when Amy burst in.

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 13:51

"Oh-oh-oh, finally," she moaned, falling face forward. "I'll lie like this until Wormwarts."

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 13:59

"What's wrong with her?" Taylor asked Lisa, who had joined them, puzzled.

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 13:59

"A month," Amy muttered incoherently, sitting up and brushing a strand of her formerly chestnut-colored hair, now bleached white-red by the sun, from her face. "A month! A month of trudging through deserts, thorns, pyramids, and desert coyote dens! I'm exhausted, and all I want is to fall face-first and not get up for another month."

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 14:00

With these words, she fell again.

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 14:08

"But you've become stronger," Taylor encouraged her, "look how your muscles have filled out... everywhere."

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 18:35

"Because of this month of catching the Marquis, we arrived to pick up the costumes an hour before the train! Even Madame Sabah Malkin can't sew that fast! So they gave me Crystal's old suit, and it's too tight," Amy complained, without looking up.

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 18:36

"We'll definitely buy you a suit," Lisa pursed her lips. "We can visit Wormsmeade now!"

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 14:10

"What Wormsmeade?" Taylor asked, alarmed.

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 14:29

"Part of Wormwarts' pocket dimension, a special student enclave, accessible on weekends starting in your third year, upon presentation of parental permission, or upon reaching adulthood if you're still a Wormwarts student," Lisa explained. "Cape residents also live there, various shops operate, and some classes are held there as part of the program preparing young capes for life in the big world."

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 14:34

"Wait," Taylor frowned, "so if they're holding classes there, why do they need permission?"

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 18:36

"Permission to visit and spend money, well, as we had fun at Toybox Alley!"

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 18:37

"Oh, no," Amy groaned. "I only had fun at Cactus Shit Alley!"

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 18:43

"Hey, didn't they wash your mouth with soap for such words?" Lisa asked cheerfully.

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 18:44

"Soap... I want to wash with it," Amy continued to whine.

Camrad_RIP 10.02.26 в 14:35

"Wait, so what about the permit to Wormsmeade?" Taylor persisted.

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 19:42

"You should have received a special form by mail for your parents or guardians to fill out."

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 19:42

Taylor rummaged through her tablet and found this special form, and her anger soured. The letter had arrived, or rather, had been sent, during the days when the tablet was in the safe (Taylor had been punished for flies in the soup and cockroaches in the compote, to be honest), and then so much mail had piled up that the notice from Wormwarts had simply gotten lost. Even if Taylor had noticed it, it would have been after the tablet had been confiscated. Go back and ask her aunts to sign the permit? Never!

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 19:58

"We should press Glenn to settle this. He's the Minister. He can approve any form," Lisa noted, "but don't worry, we'll think of something. We'll find a way. Look, they even hacked the Cage, we can handle Wormwarts!"

Camrad_RIP 13.02.26 в 18:29

"Seriously?" Taylor perked up.

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 19:58

She knew that their strength would not be enough, but she really wanted to believe in her friend.

Camrad_RIP 13.02.26 в 18:29

"Of course," Lisa nodded. "I have... connections."

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 19:59

Granger raised her eyebrows meaningfully and flashed her green eyes.

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 20:20

“Okay,” Taylor nodded. “And what does this preparation consist of?”

Camrad_RIP 13.02.26 в 18:31

"So you lived in your Little Bay, and then you ended up in Toybox Alley for a month," Lisa waved her hand. "Did you understand everything?"

Camrad_RIP 13.02.26 в 18:31

"Well, not always," Taylor admitted.

Camrad_RIP 13.02.26 в 18:32

"But you were being watched, the minister helped you, and anyway, you have the power of insects," Lisa bent three fingers one after the other. "Besides, you're a Tactician and have repeatedly found yourself in trouble worthy of adult capes."

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 20:21

All five fingers were bent and Lisa seemed to be shaking her fist at Taylor.

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 20:21

"Now imagine an ordinary young Cape, raised in an ordinary family, and then studying at Wormwarts. The school certainly resembles an enclave—with its abundance of superpowers and idiots—but that doesn't mean Wormwarts is one. Life in the enclave is a bit... peculiar, let's say."

Camrad_RIP 13.02.26 в 18:34

Taylor nodded, recalling some of the details of her month in Toybox Alley.

Camrad_RIP 12.02.26 в 20:21

"There's nothing complicated about it," Amy groaned. "No need to hide, just use your powers and live peacefully! And not like ours: don't heal that, don't fly there, don't burn them with laser beams from your eyes, don't shine your aura."

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:42

Now Taylor remembered Amy's younger sister, Vicki, with her aura. And her boundless fanaticism and adoration for Taylor, no, the Girl-Who-Lived.

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 11:35

"It always seems easier when you don't know the details," Lisa grinned. "So, you get the idea, right?"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:42

Taylor nodded. Life in the enclave was for those who grew up among ordinary people; life among people was for those who grew up in the enclave. How did they provide for so many people, she wondered?

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:43

"There are special programs. There are relatives willing to help," Lisa said, as always, "reading her mind." "There are decorations—testing grounds, like Quidditch pitches. Of course, there's also the students learning the lessons themselves, but it's all a matter of survival and preserving the Statute, so the schools are trying."

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:44

"Fine," Taylor grumbled, feeling strangely resentful of her lack of permission.

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:45

As if Sophia or Emma would have agreed to sign it! If only her parents were alive. If only she had a normal guardian. If only!

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 11:35

"Well, tell us, desert maiden," Lisa said to Amy in a singsong voice, "did you manage to catch Marcus?"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 11:36

"No," came a muffled voice. "We just rubbed it all off into one big callus!"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 11:36

"Why did you even try to catch him there?"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:45

"How should I know? Go ahead and ask Mom and Dad what brought them there! I was actually objecting! I'd rather have lived with Taylor in Toybox Alley for a month!"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 14:41

"Yeah, the three of us would have a blast there," Lisa beamed. "And if we invited all our friends, the enclave would definitely be shattered! By the way, that's a great idea, let's invite all our friends!"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 14:49

"Where do you get your friends from, Granger?" came a mocking voice from the door.

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:46

Max Malfoy, accompanied by the ever-present Birman twins, grinned in the doorway.

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:46

"What, Weasley," Malfoy grinned even more, "I heard your family fled into the desert faster than their own squeal, as soon as the Marquis's escape happened!"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 11:22

"We caught him!"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 08:47

"Or they scared them away with the stench of your sweat!" Malfoy laughed. "Really, Potter?"

Camrad_RIP 16.02.26 в 11:23