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sylvaniaschoolofmagic · 7 years

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Quidditch pt. 2 (The Trouble with Treble)

[Sonic and Knuckles wonder how the hell Vector hasn’t burned down his own house yet, and discover something interesting about Espio.]

Sneaking out of the castle after dinner wasn’t as easy as the two friends had expected. They promised not to tell anyone about what they were doing, which included Mighty and Ray, who had been hanging around the entrance hall all evening. Knuckles wouldn’t have a hard time leaving the castle through a window, especially since he could glide. Plus, the Hufflepuff common room was only partially underground, so climbing out one of those windows would just lead him directly to the lawn outside. Sonic, however, would be in Gryffindor tower, a much harder locale to escape from if one was trying to be stealthy. He could jump out the window and then run down the side of the tower to catch himself, but there was a much higher chance of someone seeing him if he did that.

What they eventually wound up doing was having Knuckles sneak out through the Hufflepuff common room, then sneak over to the base of Gryffindor tower, and catch Sonic as he jumped out. It was much quieter than the hedgehog sprinting wildly down the side of the tall tower, and Knuckles’s strength made it an easy catch. Because they had to coordinate their breakout, though, they took a little while to sneak out of the castle. They hoped they wouldn’t be too late to meet Espio, if he’d been able to sneak out at all.

“Espio’s a chameleon,” Knuckles whispered as the two started sneaking across the grounds, keeping close to the treeline so they wouldn’t be easily spotted from the castle. “He can probably blend in pretty well. I bet he got out of the castle no problem.”

“Yeah, but even the best chameleons can’t become completely invisible,” Sonic tsked under his breath. “And even then, he wouldn’t be able to turn his clothes invisible. He’d have to be out here without shoes on, and it’s been getting colder out.”

“Well then, we’ll ask him when we get there. On top of all the other stuff we need to talk about,” the echidna hissed as they crept through the grassy hills.

They half snuck half ran to Vector’s hut, not going full speed but fast enough to make up for lost time. The grass rustled underfoot, and they could hear the trees creaking in the autumn wind as they passed. It was light enough outside that they could see where they were going, but it was still pretty dark and creepy. All in all, not a night they would like to be caught sneaking out on.

The two reached Vector’s hut by the edge of the forbidden forest, their trek not taking too long at all. They slowed as they reached the house, the lights on but all the curtains drawn. Smoke was billowing out the chimney, suggesting there was a big fire in the fireplace even though it wasn’t terribly cold yet. They could hear voices coming from inside: Vector’s unmistakable brass, and Espio’s more hushed tones. The two friends shared a nod before Sonic walked up to the door, placing fist to wood.

After the knock, the voices inside stopped dead. Some skittering could be heard, and Sonic and Knuckles exchanged some confused glances. “Uh, it’s us? Sonic and Knuckles?” the young hedgehog said, just loud enough that his voice would carry through the door. “Espio told us to come?”

A moment later, the door cracked open, Vector peering out at them with one eye. “Hey, kids. Thanks fer comin’,” he said, pulling the door open all the way and quickly ushering them inside.

The small hut felt like an oven inside, the fire blazing hot and immediately drying out their mouths. The little house was primarily just one big room inside, with a large bed with multiple quilts shoved against one wall, and a well-loved kitchen against the other. There was a round table with chairs that were too large for the young students, and on one of the shelves was an old muggle record player that looked like it had been rigged to run on magic.

Espio was sitting on one of the too-tall chairs, his legs pulled up and away from the floor. This was likely because there was something shifting under Vector’s bed, causing the whole thing to shake and bump up and down as it moved. “Hey, glad you could make it,” the chameleon said nonchalantly, as if this kind of scenario was something that happened every day.

“What,” Knuckles said, eyes fixed on the bed as Vector closed the door behind him, “is under there?”

The croc beamed as he stepped over to the bed. “Oh, this little fella’s name is Treble. ‘Cause she’s a little treble-maker!” he laughed, goading the mystery creature out from under his bed. He was met by a little puff of flame, causing him to quickly retract his hand. Sonic noticed that his normally-white gloves were pretty burned up, somehow still holding together.

As the creature emerged, Sonic and Knuckles knew why Espio was curled up on a chair, and instantly moved to join him. A large, feral lizard crawled out from under Vector’s bed, smoke pouring out of its nostrils with every breath it took. It had dark scales, long, talon-like claws, and yellow eyes that seemed to focus on everything at once. Its snout was long, as was its body, and it had a pair of leathery, crumpled up wings on its back.

“Vector,” Knuckles croaked, perched on top of the croc’s dining table, “is that… a dragon?”

“‘Course she’s a dragon!” Vector laughed as Treble nipped at the toes of his shoes. “Y’ever see anythin’ else that breathes fire like that? Why’d’ya think it’s so hot in here, huh?”

“Whoa,” Sonic breathed, eyes open wide. He knew he lived in a world of magic and all, but he never expected to see a dragon up close like this. In fact, before that moment, he had never thought, oh hey, dragons exist! That’s right! He’d heard them mentioned in conversations once or twice, but it was always about how dragons used to be everywhere on Mobius. Nothing like this. “Um, is that really… Safe to have? It’s kinda big, and your house is sort of… small. And made of wood.”

“Yeah, that’s what I needed your help with,” Espio admitted. “Vector got the dragon egg without considering the consequences of raising an illegal dragon in his hut,” he said, giving the groundskeeper a squinted glare, “and now we need to get rid of her.”

“Can’t you just let her go? Release her into the wild?” Sonic asked, eyes glued to the dragon that was stalking around the floor of the hut.

“Are you kiddin’?” Vector said. “She won’t last out there! She’s too small and vulnerable to be on her own! She’s just a baby!”

“She’s a DRAGON,” Knuckles hissed, maneuvering himself to stay as far away from Treble as possible.

“We’ve already got a solution worked out,” Espio said. “We arranged for some former Sylvania students to come and take her. They’re studying dragons in Chu-nan, so she can grow up safely with her own kind. That way, Vector is happy, Treble is happy, and I don’t have to help him hide a dragon in here anymore.”

“Okay, awesome,” Sonic clapped his hands together. “So… where do we come in?”

“The only way for those guys to pick up Treble and get out of here quickly without being spotted is for us to get her up to the top of the astronomy tower,” the chameleon practically groaned. “Vector’s got a crate all set up for her, but the problem is getting her up there. Knuckles, you could carry her easily, couldn’t you?”

“Yeah, I should be able to,” Knuckles said, though he didn’t sound happy about it in the slightest. “Only looks like she weighs a hundred or two pounds. But still, getting her from here up to the top of the tallest tower in the castle won’t be easy. We’ll be spotted in a second.”

“Not if Sonic keeps a lookout and lures any teachers away from us. I’ve seen him run, he won’t get caught.”

“That’s true,” the hedgehog agreed. “I can get Froggy and whoever else off your guys’s tail, easy.”

“And if that’s not enough,” the chameleon said, a bit more confidently now, “I have a trick up my sleeve that’ll get us out of a pinch. What do you guys say?”

Knuckles grumbled something under his breath, a string of syllables that Sonic couldn’t quite understand. “It’s not like we have much of a choice,” he said, louder now. “Either we help you out, or Vector gets busted for having a dragon on campus, and we get hunted down as accomplices because we knew about it.” He sent Espio a dirty look. “You so owe us after this.”

“I’ll help you with every homework assignment for the rest of the year.”

“And?”

“And I’ll give you cash. Ten sickles. Each of you.“

"Aaaand?”

“Fine, and you can borrow my manga collection! All of it! Deal?”

“Deal,” the echidna smirked, shaking his hand.

Sonic shot Knuckles a quizzical look. “You like manga?”

“Nope. Just wanted to get under his skin,” Knuckles shrugged.

Espio rolled his eyes as Sonic laughed. “Oh good,” the hedgehog said, “I thought you only pushed my buttons. Good to know you do that with everyone.”

“If you kids are done chattin’,” Vector said, leaning over to pick up Treble like she was just a huge house cat, “we gotta get this girl boxed up and up on the top of the astronomy tower before eleven.”

Getting Treble into her crate proved to be a huge hassle. They not only had to cram the dragon into the container (that luckily had been charmed with a fireproofing spell), they also had to fit in fifty additional pounds of raw meat and brandy for the dragon to eat, and her blanket (a chewed up, ripped, and charred husk of cloth), and her teddy bear (which looked remarkably like the blanket, only with bits of fluff stuck to it). She wanted to be in the confined crate even less than she wanted to be in Vector’s confining hut. By they time they got her and her luggage into the crate and sealed it up, it was a few minutes after ten. They had under an hour to get the payload to the very top of the castle without anyone noticing them. Piece of cake.

ooo

Carrying Treble through the castle while trying to be stealthy was not easy. The dragon didn’t enjoy being in a crate, and she liked being carried around even less. She wasn’t too heavy for Knuckles to lift, but she kept moving and shifting, making her crate more difficult to hold.

“Where the heck did Vector even get a dragon?” Knuckles hissed, struggling a little bit juggling the crate and walking up the stairs. Espio was with him, helping him keep balance and guiding his feet. Sonic had run a little bit ahead, keeping an eye out for anyone wandering the castle halls at night.

“Apparently,” Espio rolled his eyes, “he won the egg off some guy in a pub. It hatched about two weeks ago.”

“This thing’s only two weeks old? Holy–”

Sonic sped down the stairs to them, his face reading pure panic mode. “Eggman’s coming,” he breathed.

Knuckles’s eyes went wide, and he cursed under his breath. “What do we do?”

“Set Treble down,” Espio said. “You two get out of sight.”

“What about you?!” Sonic gasped. “You can’t just–”

“I’ll handle it, it’ll be fine. Trust me.” The chameleon shooed them off, gripping the crate as Knuckles set it down on the stairs. The echidna climbed over the railing on the stairs and dropped down, landing on a staircase below as Sonic zipped away as silently as he could.

Knuckles landed safely on the stairs, and he looked back up at Espio. What the hell does he think he’s doing? He’s going to get himself caught! he thought, his heart nervously pounding in his chest. He could hear Eggman’s boisterous footfalls coming down the steps, getting closer and closer. He saw Espio set his hands solidly on the crate, and then… Espio vanished entirely, his clothes and the crate disappearing along with him. Knuckles blinked, wondering if he just missed something, or if he was tired and imagining things because he was up so late at night. But lo and behold, Eggman walked down the steps without noticing anything out of the ordinary. The professor hummed and muttered to himself as he walked right past Espio and the dragon, more preoccupied by whatever was on his mind than his surroundings. What the… How did he…? Knuckles thought, completely baffled.

Once Eggman was completely gone and out of earshot, he climbed back up the steps, getting back to where Espio and Treble were. Sonic returned a moment later, and Espio and their charge flickered back into view.

“Whoa!” Sonic whisper-shouted as the chameleon and the crate reappeared right before his eyes. “How’d you do that?!”

Espio shrugged, his breathing a little heavier than he had been a minute ago. “I mean, all chameleons can blend into their environment. I’ve always just been really good at it, I guess.”

“Yeah, but that was completely invisible!”

Knuckles nodded, furrowing his brow. “Yeah, plus you did it to your clothes, and the crate as well. I’ve never heard of anyone being able to do that.”

“I… Look, I don’t know. It’s just… a thing I can do,” the chameleon said awkwardly. The crate shifted and bumped, and he held it steady. “C’mon, we gotta get her upstairs.” He handed the crate off to Knuckles and started climbing the steps.

Sonic and Knuckles shared a surprised look for a moment before they started to follow after him.

The rest of the journey up to the astronomy tower wasn’t too eventful, with no other teachers currently stalking the upper floors. Treble had quieted down for the most part. Perhaps being invisible had mellowed her out, because she wasn’t moving around as much as she was before. Carrying her up to the top of the astronomy tower was a fairly easy job, especially with that part of the castle as empty as it was.

They climbed out of the hatch door at the top of the tower, climbing out into the chilly open air. Knuckles hoisted the crate up onto the roof and heaved a sigh of relief. “Finally, that felt like it took forever.”

“We got her up here, though!” Sonic smiled, stretching his arms up over his head. “Now we just gotta wait for her to get picked up. Then she’s home free!” He bent down next to the crate, peeking in through the gaps in the wood.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting attached,” Knuckles gruffed.

“Well, I mean, she is pretty cool. Not every day you get to smuggle a dragon through the school.”

The echidna rolled his eyes, and Espio grinned. “I don’t think I’ll be missing her much. My tail still has some bite marks.”

“Ouch, yeah, I guess you’ve been helping Vector out with her, huh?” Sonic chuckled. He patted the top of the crate and stood back up, looking between the box and Espio.

“Heh, yeah. Unfortunately. Thank you both for helping out with this by the way, I don’t know if I could have done this without your help.”

Sonic beamed. “No prob, Es!’

Knuckles raised an eyeridge, putting his hands on his hips. “You’re welcome, though it looked like you had things covered just fine back there.”

The Ravenclaw tucked his hands inside of his pockets and tapped one of his shoes against the stone floor. “Honestly, that was kind of a fluke back there. I’ve never made myself and something that big totally invisible before. I don’t even know how I do that in the first place.”

“I think I might have an idea,” Knuckles smirked. He opened his mouth to say more, but several brooms whooshed overhead, their riders circling around and landing next to them all on the roof of the tower.

Right on time for the trade-off, the small group of alumni had arrived. They didn’t stick around to chat much, having time to do little more than shake hands and say “thank you” before they started hitching the crate up to their brooms. That was fine by Knuckles; he was looking forward to going back inside and collapsing in his bed. It was a little too late in the evening for pleasantries.

It only took a few minutes before Treble was secure, her crate attached to each broom by a rope. The alumni left almost as quickly and quietly as they had come, wanting to get the dragon away from the school grounds as soon as possible. Sonic actually waved goodbye as they flew off.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Espio sighed. Though his posture change was subtle, he shifted and looked more relaxed already. He was eyeing the spot in the sky where the other wizards and Treble had headed, now far enough away that they were out of sight.

“Me either,” Sonic said, yawning now that their job was done. It was getting close to midnight, which for the eleven-year-old, was much later than he was used to staying up. “I’m ready to hit the hay. Either of you want a lift back to your dorms?”

“Um, the Ravenclaw common room is close enough to walk,” the chameleon said in a somewhat nervous tone. “And besides, I don’t have the strongest stomach. I don’t think I’m ready to move at your speed.”

The hedgehog shrugged. “Alright, suit yourself. Knuckles?”

“Yeah, I’ll take you up on that,” Knuckles said, rolling his shoulders around in his sockets. He was tired from carrying the heavy crate up all the way up there, and he didn’t want to have to climb all the stairs to get back down to the basement. “C’mon, before someone catches us up here. See you in class, Espio.”

“Yes, see you there,” Espio waved as Sonic and Knuckles climbed back through the hatch and entered the castle.

It didn’t take long for Sonic to carry his friend down to the basement, hoisting Knuckles up bridal style and dashing down staircase after staircase. When they got to the kitchen corridor, he set Knuckles down, giving the echidna a second to regain his balance after the dizzying run.

“Eugh, and I thought climbing up the astronomy tower was bad enough,” Knuckles grunted.

“Yeah, but it was worth it. Treble’s going to a good home now, instead of being stuck in Vector’s tiny house.”

“True. And we learned something about Espio in the process.”

“The whole turning invisible thing?” Sonic looked around, suddenly hoping that Espio wasn’t lurking invisible nearby to hear them talk about him. “Yeah, that was insane.”

“Mm. We’ll have to keep an eye on him,” the echidna said with a knowing nod. “I’m pretty sure we’re not the only Chaos-gifted kids in this school.”

#surprise espio is a big weeb #also chaos touched ;)#1st year #espio #sonic #knuckles #vector #writing #katie

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