Young Writers Society

Please read Broomstick 8 Travel for more background

The sky turned darkened as flashes of lightning encircled the group of students who had just departed from the Hungarian ship. Thomas Pinewood helplessly watched as the gusts of wind slammed two students from the air back towards the ship.

"Somebody help them!" he heard another male student yell as the two students and their broomsticks slammed against the surface of the water.

"Where did this storm come from?" Valerie asked. "The fog must have hidden it until now!" Igor answered, spitting a mouthful of seawater on to the deck of the ship.

The Hungarian vessel ,destined to take it's students to shore, was being bombarded by wave upon wave. The sky lightened again to a mere grey mixed with silver as Bajnok quickly tossed a rope-line to the Irish students who barely visibly from the deck.

"They're my students let me pull them up!" Blair cried out, as he ran towards Bajnok pulling out his wand.

Thomas observed his lips faintly move before he quickly raised his arms to protect his face from a particularly large burst of water that completely blurred the vision through his glasses.

"Somebody get them back inside," Blair's voice screamed.

Grabbing a piece of his soaked shirt, Thomas proceeded to wipe the smears away as he raised his glasses to examine the lens.

"Ow," he exclaimed, as he suddenly felt a sharp object being rammed into his back causing him to drop his glasses. As he turned to see a male student dressed in the Hungarian Huskies attire of grey and garnet,wielding a broomstick.

"Oy! Leave him alone!" Charlie shouted as he ran towards the male who now bore a grin after he saw Thomas's reaction. Thomas watched as the boy turned around and scurried off towards the spiral staircase.

"Here, let me get that for you," Charlie offered, as he bent down to retrieve the glasses. He the reached into his pocket a pulled out a packet of tissue paper. "It helps to always have these handy," he grimaced, as he cleaned the lens before giving it back to Thomas. "There good as new!"

"Thanks," Thomas muttered as another wave sprayed them with water.

"Follow me," Charlie gestured, moving towards the same staircase opening. "Come here," he whispered, motioning his brother William, who had just made eye-contact with him after talking to some girl, who Thomas swore, looked like one of the students who had crashed into the water earlier, after the failed takeoff.

"What is it?" William asked, giving Thomas a quick glance before returning his gaze to his brother, Charlie.

Charlie gave him a stern look, "we have to leave this ship immediately, can quietly round up the other students that were with us on the plane and tell them this?"

"Why?" William replied, "there's passing storm that could blow us out of the sky if we take off now!"

"I don't trust Bajnok," Thomas interrupted, "I think Charlie's right, but we should tell Mr. Blair first."

"Fine," William said, "let's go find him."

As the three of them proceeded to move out of the sheltered space, Thomas felt a cold hand firmly grip his shoulder. He turned around to see Igor standing behind him. His Hungarian uniform had somehow repelled the absorption of water, the soaked his, as it appeared newly ironed. "Thomas," he said urgently, "I need your help, it's Valerie."

Charlie and William gave him a glance of confusion as he took off with Igor. "What happened?" he asked as they manoeuvred through the stranded groups of students, huddles together in clumps on the deck of the ship.

"Your head has her," he replied angrily as he made they made their way down another spiral staircase.

"What?" Thomas answered, in bewilderment as they came to a halt outside a black door.

"Let me go!" a girl shouted. He could faintly hear voices from the other side. Suddenly a hand grasped his shoulder, again. Yet this time, it was filled with warmth.

"What are you doing down here? Don't you know it's Bajnok's private corridor." Mr. Blair stared at them, as if waiting for their excuse.

"I saw you with Valerie," Igor said as Hogart listened in closely, "you took her from the deck and brought her down here, she was yelling!" Suddenly the noises from Bajnok's quarters became even fainter.

Hogart Blair stood there for a second before he knocked on the door. "Is anyone in there?"

The door flew open as Bajnok appeared, "Ah, Hogart, you've made it down at last."

"Are you alone Bajnok?" he said as he made his way past the Hungarian leader. Bajnok's eye's stopped at Thomas, before he quickly shut the door in their face.

"Did you hear that voice earlier?" Thomas asked, as Igor sat down.

"It was probably nothing," he replied, "wait, what voice?"

Thomas thought for a second, "it sounded, like a girl screaming for help, but it was faint," he added.

"In there?" Igor asked motioning towards the door.

"Yes," Thomas answered. A light in the hallway flickered off and back on, before it completely darkened. Igor got to his feet as they both observed the others doing the same.

They could hear an argument pursing from behind the black door.

"Torture, is not a suitable punishment for use on a student!" Mr. Blair shouted.

"I'd be more upset," they heard, "if I found out one of my colleagues pupils purposely created false lightning that resulted in two of my students suffering minor injuries."

"When you asked me to bring Valerie, to your office I did not expect that you would be using her as an example for your other students! This is a breach of conduct Bajnok, you've had a difficult past, but you have gone too far this time."

"Thomas!" Charlies called out behind. He ran towards him, before turning around and noticing that Igor had disappeared.

"Mr. Blair's inside talking to Bajnok, the student named Valerie, apparently she's being punished by Bajnok for brining down the first two students to take off."

"Have you seen that old woman?" William asked Thomas, "the one we saw before, who seemed to wield some authority over those two?"

"Not since then, no," Thomas replied as they ran through the hallway.

"Stop!" Charlie called out, as he came to a halt in front of a Hungarian dormitory. He opened the unlocked door, and went to the bed lying off by the left of the room.

"What are you doing?" William hastily called out.

"This is that bloke's, Igor's, room." He said, as he exited the dorm, pushing the door firmly shut. "I expect, that we're going to need a key to unlock some broomsticks," he said displaying a silver key that resembled the ear of Husky.