Episode 540.g Bubble Guppies: Nonny Pirruccello and the Half-Blood Prince! (Part 7)

Plot
In the sixth year at Bubblewarts School of Witchcraft, and in both wizard and muggle worlds Lord Rotten Tomato and his henchmen are increasingly active. With vacancies to fill at Bubblewarts, Mr. Grouper persuades Arctic Dan, back from retirement to become the potions teacher, while Mr. Grumpfish receives long awaited news. Nonny Pirruccello, together with Mr. Grouper, must face treacherous tasks to defeat his evil nemesis.

Cast (Characters from the real movie)

 * Nonny as (Harry Potter)
 * Gil as (Ron Weasley)
 * Molly as (Hermione Granger)
 * Tobias as (Draco Malfoy)
 * Mr. Grumpfish as (Professor Severus Snape)
 * Arctic Dan as (Professor Horace Slughorn)
 * Oona as (Ginny Weasley)
 * Pablo as (Fred Weasley)
 * Brett as (George Weasley)
 * Mrs. Gordon as (Molly Weasley)
 * Mr. Gordon as (Arthur Weasley)
 * Sir Mulligan as (Remus Lupin)
 * Deema as (Luna Lovegood)
 * Limbite as (Narcissa Malfoy)
 * Witch as (Bellatrix Lestrange)
 * The Night Wizard as (Fenrir Greyback)
 * Polar Bear as (Wormtail)
 * Mr. Grouper as (Professor Albus Dumbledore)
 * Goby as (Neville Longbottom)
 * Mrs. Grouper as (Professor Minerva McGonagall)
 * Pronto as (Professor Filius Flitwick)
 * Mr. Langoustine as (Rubeus Hagrid)
 * Crabs, Lobsters, and Snails as (Other characters)

Information

 * Genres: Adventure, Family, Fantasy.
 * Rating: PG for some violence, a little alcohol, and many scary scenes.
 * Type of film: Fantasy.

Trivia

 * This is based on the 2009 film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." You can read about it on Wikipedia or IMDb
 * There are regular and fanon characters. Some don't return in this movie while there are new characters too.
 * This is the sequel to "Nonny Pirruccello and the Order of the Phoenix!" This story takes place a year after the fifth story.

Story
Start of Part 7.

(Scene: Mr. Grouper's Office)

(Mr. Grouper holds the vial in wonderment. The worm hangs in eerie suspension.)

Mr. Grouper: How is he? Arctic Dan?

(Nonny shrugs. Mr. Grouper nods, then tips his hand. A long strand hangs suspended like glass. A pearl forms... and as it hangs... Nonny’s eyes shift, notice a drawing on Mr. Grouper’s desk, one of the Color Monster’s drawings seen at the orphanage, of the cave and the distinct outcropping. Then... the pearl drops.)

(Scene: Arctic Dan's Office)

(As before. The crackling embers of the fire. Arctic Dan, a circle of six. The Color Monster commanding the room.)

Color Monster: Sir, is it true that Chef Stef is retiring?

(Arctic Dan chuckles, wags a sugar-encrusted finger at the Color Monster.)

Arctic Dan: Now, Color Monster, I couldn’t tell you if I knew, could I? I must say, m’boy, I’d like to know where you get your information. More knowledgeable than half the staff, you are. (as the other boys laugh) By the way, thank you for the pineapple -- you’re quite right, it is my favorite -- how is it you knew?

Color Monster: Intuition.

Arctic Dan: (an uneasy chuckle) Good gracious, look at the time. Off you go, boys, or the Big Blue Fish will have us all in detention. Lestrange, Avery, don’t forget your essays...

(The others exit, when -- Ping! -- Arctic Dan turns, eyes the hourglass, finds the Color Monster still there.)

Arctic Dan: Look sharp, Color Monster. You don’t want to be caught out of bed after hours...

Color Monster: I know a secret shortcut or two.

Arctic Dan: Yes, I imagine you do. Something on your mind, Color Monster?

Color Monster: Yes, sir. I couldn’t think of anyone else to go to. The other teachers, well, they’re not like you. They might... misunderstand.

Arctic Dan: Go on.

Color Monster: I was in the library the other night, in the Restricted section, and I read something rather odd, about a bit of rare magic, and I thought perhaps you could illuminate me. It’s called, as I understand it... a Horcrux.

(Arctic Dan’s weak smile evaporates altogether.)

Arctic Dan: Excuse me?

Color Monster: Horcrux. I came across the term while reading and I didn’t fully understand it.

Arctic Dan: I’m not sure what you were reading, Color Monster, but that’s very Dark stuff, very Dark indeed.

Color Monster: Yes, sir. Which is why I came to you. I mean no disrespect to the rest of the staff, but I thought if anyone could tell me... it would be you.

(Arctic Dan frowns, clearly disturbed, then speaks quietly.)

Arctic Dan: A Horcrux is an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul.

Color Monster: Yes, I thought it might be something like that. But I don’t understand how that works, sir.

Arctic Dan: One splits one’s soul and hides part of it in an object. By doing so, you are protected should you be attacked and your body destroyed.

Color Monster: Protected?

Arctic Dan: That part of your soul that was hidden, lives on. In other words, you cannot die.

(The Color Monster nods and turns away, staring at himself in the mirror on the wall opposite. A hint of red glints in his eyes.)

Color Monster: How does one split his soul, sir?

Arctic Dan: I think you can guess the answer to that, Color Monster.

Color Monster: Murder.

Arctic Dan: Yes. Killing rips the soul apart. It is a violation against nature. After, one is never the same.

Color Monster: Out of curiosity, sir -- can you only split your soul once? For instance, isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number --

Arctic Dan: Seven! Merlin’s beard, Color Monster! Isn’t it bad enough to think of killing one person? To rip the soul into seven pieces... (stopping; worried) This is all hypothetical, isn’t it, Color Monster? All academic...

Color Monster: Of course, sir. And I promise I’ll not speak of our conversation. It’ll be our little secret...

(The Color Monster reaches out then and pinches the flame of a candle, killing it.)

(Scene: Mr. Grouper's Office)

(Mr. Grouper’s troubled face bleeds through the Color Monster’s.)

Nonny: Sir --

(Mr. Grouper holds up his withered hand, silencing him, turns away. Nonny studies him, waiting, the hush palpable.)

Mr. Grouper: (haunted) This is beyond anything I imagined. In my life I have seen things that are unimaginably horrific. I know now... you will see worse.

(Mr. Grouper looks off, his eyes distant. Nonny watches him intently, as do the headmasters in their frames above. Finally, tentatively, Nonny speaks.)

Nonny: Do you mean to say he succeeded, sir? In making a Horcrux?

Mr. Grouper: Oh he succeeded. And not just once. Think, Nonny. He’s just told us.

Nonny: Seven. He made seven -- the most powerfully magical number. But... what are they exactly?

Mr. Grouper: They can be anything. The most commonplace of objects. A ring, for example. Or a book...

(Mr. Grouper slides open a drawer, removes the ring and the Color Monster’s battered diary.)

Nonny: The Color Monster’s diary --

Mr. Grouper: It’s a Horcrux, yes. Four years ago, when you saved Oona Gordon’s life in the Chamber of Secrets, when you brought me this -- (holding up the diary) I knew. This was a different kind of magic. Very dark. Very powerful. But until tonight, I had no idea just how powerful...

Nonny: And the ring...?

Mr. Grouper: Belonged to Rotten Tomato’s mother. It was difficult to find and... (raising his damaged hand) ... even more difficult to destroy.

Nonny: But if you could find them all. If you did destroy each Horcrux...

Mr. Grouper: One destroys Rotten Tomato.

(Nonny begins to reach out for the ring...)

Nonny: But how would you find them? They could be hidden anywhere, couldn’t they...

Mr. Grouper: True. But magic, especially Dark magic...

(Just then, as the flash of Nonny’s fingers make contact with the ring, images flash by in dizzying succession: Rotten Tomato’s face, twisted in pain. A derelict house, deep in a haunted clearing. An ancient cup, gleaming as it tumbles from an old woman’s hand. A snake slithering through damp grass. Mr. Grouper slipping the ring onto his finger, recoiling as his skin decays...)

Mr. Grouper: ... leaves traces.

(Nonny’s clenched hand spasms, releases. The ring skitters across Mr. Grouper’s desk and Nonny brings a hand to his chest, a look of bewilderment on his face. Mr. Grouper watches the ring spin down, then glances at Nonny and slowly extends his own hand, lightly touching the center of Nonny’s chest with the tips of ashen fingers, as if reading braille, as if he can somehow “see” into Nonny’s heart. Trepidation -- and recognition -- flicker over his face.)

Nonny: It’s where you’ve been going, isn’t it, sir? When you leave the school.

(Nonny’s eyes drift once again to the postcard on the desk. Mr. Grouper withdraws his hand, nodding, still studying Nonny oddly, his voice, when it comes, distant.)

Mr. Grouper: Yes. And I think... perhaps... I may have found another. But this time I cannot hope to destroy it alone.

(Nonny peers into Mr. Grouper’s eyes. Mr. Grouper nods.)

Mr. Grouper: Once again, I shall ask too much of you.

(Scene: Gargoyle Corridor)

(Nonny stands at a window, looking out. He brings his fingers to his chest again when... Molly comes up behind him.)

Molly: Nonny. It’s time.

(Scene: Courtyard)

(Nonny, Molly and Gil walk.)

Nonny: Molly, is the Room of Requirement unplottable?

Molly: If one wants it to be. Why?

Nonny: It would explain why I thought Tobias was leaving the castle when he disappeared off the Map. He was going to the Room of Requirement.

Molly: Of course, and that explains the Vanishing Cabinet as well!

Gil: No. I got an owl from Dad this morning. The one at Borgin & Burke’s? It’s still there.

Nonny: But I’m telling you. I saw it --

(Just then, the twins appear, pass. Nonny watches them, a thought forming.)

Nonny: What if there are two? Vanishing cabinets.

Molly: What if there are?

Nonny: I don’t know...

(Nonny watches the twins vanish around a corner.)

Gil: Good luck, mate.

(Nonny turns back to Gil and Molly, neither able to fully conceal heir concern. He smiles reassuringly, continues on.)

Nonny: I don’t need luck. I’ll be with Mr. Grouper.

(Scene: Astronomy Tower)

(As Nonny trots up the spiraling exterior stairs, he hears voices coming from the topmost level and pauses, peering up through the grid-like floor above: Mr. Grouper and Mr. Grumpfish.)

Mr. Grumpfish: Have you ever considered that you ask too much? That you take too much for granted? Has it ever crossed your brilliant mind that I don’t want to do this anymore?

Mr. Grouper: Whether it has or hasn’t is irrelevant. I will not negotiate this with you, Mr. Grumpfish. You agreed. There’s nothing more to discuss.

(Nonny stands poised, peering upward, where Mr. Grouper squints toward the dying sun and Mr. Grumpfish glares at his back. Finally, Mr. Grumpfish turns away and -- before Nonny can react -- is descending the stairs. Seeing Nonny, Mr. Grumpfish falters briefly, then continues on without a word. As his footsteps fade, Nonny ascends to the upper tier. Mr. Grouper turns. Smiles.)

Mr. Grouper: Nonny. You need a shave, my friend.

(Nonny runs his hand over his face.)

Mr. Grouper: At times I forget how much you’ve grown. At times I still see the small boy from the cupboard. (smiling) Forgive my mawkishness, Nonny. I am an old man.

Nonny: You look the same to me, sir.

Mr. Grouper: Like your mother, you are unfailingly kind. A trait people never fail to undervalue. I’m afraid.

(Mr. Grouper turns then, eyes the fiery sky again.)

Mr. Grouper: The place to which we journey tonight is exceedingly dangerous, Nonny. I promised that you could accompany me and I stand by that promise. But there is a condition: You must obey any command I give you -- without question.

Nonny: Yes, sir.

Mr. Grouper: Understand what I’m saying. Should I tell you to hide, you must hide.

(Nonny nods.)

Mr. Grouper: Should I tell you to run, you will run.

(Nonny nods.)

Mr. Grouper: And should I tell you to abandon me and save yourself...

(Nonny’s eyes rise, meet Mr. Grouper’s.)

Mr. Grouper: You will do so.

(Nonny hesitates.)

Mr. Grouper: Your word, Nonny.

(Nonny debates this internally, then, finally, nods.)

Nonny: My word.

Mr. Grouper: Take my arm.

Nonny: Sir, I thought one couldn’t Apparate within Bubblewarts.

Mr. Grouper: Being me has its privileges.

(The wind gusts and Nonny reaches out. Mr. Grouper’s cloak billows.)

(Scene: Ocean)

(Undulating. The sound of waves. A giant wave crashes over a jagged outcropping. As the spray clears... Mr. Grouper and Nonny are revealed. Mr. Grouper eyes the towering cliff face opposite, the cave.)

Nonny: It’s there, isn’t it?

(Scene: Cave)

(Nonny and Mr. Grouper materialize. It is quiet here, eerily so, the waves merely distant thunder. As Nonny glances about, Mr. Grouper moves to an archway, passes beyond. Nonny follows, finds Mr. Grouper standing below a towering dome of rock, probing its mysteries with the light from his wand.)

Mr. Grouper: This is the place. Oh yes, this place has known magic. (closing his eyes) Where you stand, Nonny, the Color Monster once stood many, many years ago, when he was but a poor orphan boy with a penchant for cruelty...

(Mr. Grouper’s wand stops briefly in its arc and his face registers pain, as if detecting some past unpleasantry. He begins to trace his fingers over the surface of the rock.)

Mr. Grouper: One wintry afternoon, he lured two younger classmates to this cave. What happened is unclear. But this much is known: the children were damaged.

(Mr. Grouper begins to murmur in a strange whisper as his fingers play over the rock... then stop. His eyes open. He takes a dagger from his robes and draws the blade across his forearm, speckling the rock face with scarlet beads.)

Nonny: Sir!

(The rock face sizzles like acid and begins to crumble, forming a narrow opening.)

Mr. Grouper: In order to gain passage, payment must be made, payment intended to weaken any intruder.

Nonny: You should’ve let me, sir.

Mr. Grouper: Oh, no, Nonny. Your blood is much more precious than mine.

(Scene: Archway/Underground Lake)

(Mr. Grouper and Nonny emerge onto the rim of a vast lake teeming with mist. A chill hangs in the air.)

Mr. Grouper: Careful. The water.

(Nonny peers into the lake. It is black as ink. Nonny follows Mr. Grouper around the rim of the lake. In the center, a greenish glow shimmers in the mist.)

Mr. Grouper: It’s there. The only question is how do we get to it?

Nonny: We couldn’t, perhaps, just try a Summoning Charm, sir?

(Mr. Grouper smiles, motions: Be my guest. Nonny lifts his wand.)

Nonny: Accio Horcrux!

(There is an explosion and something pale erupts out of the water. Nonny nearly sheds his skin. Mr. Grouper calmly watches it vanish beneath the surface.)

Mr. Grouper: Perhaps not.

(Mr. Grouper leads Nonny on. Stops. Takes a step back. He closes his eyes and to Nonny’s horror walks right to the lake’s edge. As the dark water laps over the toes of his shoes, Mr. Grouper passes his hand slowly through the air, then closes it... as if gripping something invisible. Taking his wand, he gives his clenched fist a tap and a thick coppery-green chain appears out of thin air, extending from the water to Mr. Grouper’s hand.)

Mr. Grouper: If you would, Nonny...

(Quickly Nonny grasps the end of the chain and together he and Mr. Grouper pull, end over end, until the prow of a small boat pierces the surface, green with algae. In eerie silence, the boat cleaves the water, ferrying Nonny and Mr. Grouper toward the greenish glow.)

Nonny: Sir... have you ever taken Felix Felicis?

Mr. Grouper: Only recreationally. You see, I believe one creates one’s own luck.

(Nonny looks down into the water, watches a face skim by beneath the surface.)

Nonny: Mr. Grouper... there are bodies in this lake.

Mr. Grouper: Yes.

(Scene: Small Island)

(Here the greenish glow is ferocious. As the boat arrives, Mr. Grouper steps out.)

Mr. Grouper: Remember... the water.

(Nonny nods, steps out carefully and joins Mr. Grouper at the source of the glow -- a basin filled with a phosphorescent liquid. Mr. Grouper extends the tips of his blackened fingers toward the basin, but cannot touch the liquid.)

Nonny: Do you think the Horcrux is in there, sir?

Mr. Grouper: Oh yes.

(Mr. Grouper steps back, ponders the basin. Notes the crystal-goblet sitting beside it. Smiles ruefully.)

Mr. Grouper: It has to be drunk. (as Nonny reacts) You remember the condition on which I brought you with me?

(Nonny starts to respond. Stops. Nods.)

Mr. Grouper: This potion might paralyze me. It might cause me to forget why I’m here. It might create so much pain I beg for relief. You are not to indulge these requests, Nonny. It is your job to make sure I keep drinking this potion even if you have to force it down my throat. Understood?

Nonny: Why can’t I drink it, sir?

Mr. Grouper: Because I am much older, much cleverer... and much less valuable. (taking the goblet) Your good health, Nonny.

(Mr. Grouper dips the goblet into the gleaming liquid and brings it to his lips. Drinks deep. Closes his eyes.)

Nonny: Mr. Grouper?

(Mr. Grouper shakes his head, silencing Nonny, then dips the goblet once more. Twice more he drinks. His hand trembles and he grips the side of the basin.)

Nonny: Mr. Grouper? Can you hear me?

(Mr. Grouper says nothing. The corners of his eyes twitch. His hand trembles, savagely this time, and he nearly drops the goblet. Nonny reaches out, steadies his hand.)

Mr. Grouper: Don’t... don’t make me...

(Nonny eyes Mr. Grouper’s anguished face, steels himself.)

Nonny: You... you can’t stop, Mr. Grouper. You’ve got to keep drinking. Like you said. Remember.

Mr. Grouper: Nooooooo!!!

(Nonny staggers back, so primal is Mr. Grouper’s plea. Mr. Grouper’s arm goes slack, the goblet clanging dully against the side of the basin. Nonny takes a breath, steps forward, places his hand over Mr. Grouper’s, lifts the cup.)

Mr. Grouper: Make it stop... Please... make it stop...

Nonny: It will, sir. It’ll stop. But only if you drink...

(Nonny, his own hand trembling now, tips the goblet over Mr. Grouper’s lips.)

Mr. Grouper: My fault. It’s all my fault...

(Nonny brings the goblet up once more. Mr. Grouper drinks.)

Mr. Grouper: Too much... I can’t... take it... I want... to die... kill... kill me... KILL ME, NONNY!

Nonny: What?

Mr. Grouper: Your word, Nonny! Your word!

Nonny: No...

Mr. Grouper: KILL ME! IT’S THE ONLY WAY!

(Nonny stands paralyzed, unsure what to do. Then... Mr. Grouper collapses, rolls onto his back. Nonny pelts forward, dips the goblet into the basin and kneels by Mr. Grouper.)

Nonny: One more. Just one more. And then -- I promise... I’ll do what you say.

(Mr. Grouper, jaw clinched shut, eyes Nonny.)

Nonny: I promise.

(Mr. Grouper’s jaw relaxes and Nonny pries open his mouth, tips the liquid down his throat. Pain ripples through Mr. Grouper’s face. He tries to speak, Nonny eyeing him with trepidation, fearful of what he will request. Again and again Mr. Grouper struggles and then... his eyes... open. Find Nonny.)

Mr. Grouper: Water.

(A shudder of relief goes through Nonny. Grinning, he leaps to the basin. A golden locket now lies at the bottom. Nonny snatches it up.)

Mr. Grouper: Water...

Nonny: Aguamenti.

(Instantly cold clear water rises in the basin.)

Nonny: You did it, sir. Look --

(Nonny frowns. The goblet is empty.)

Mr. Grouper: Water!

(Nonny dips the goblet into the basin yet again, brings it to Mr. Grouper’s lips... but once again finds it empty. Mr. Grouper tries to speak, but his lips are cracking, his tongue like sand. He gulps drily for air.)

Nonny: I’m trying, sir. I’m --

(Nonny stops. All is silent... except for the soft lapping of the lake. He considers the ghostly shapes gliding just below the surface. Deciding, he dips the goblet into the dark water. Instantly, the lake begins to churn. Nonny backs away, the goblet sloshing in his hand. Faces, pale and haunted, quiver in the roiling water. Nonny tips the water into Mr. Grouper’s mouth. Mr. Grouper blinks. His tongue probes his lower lip. Nonny returns to the water’s edge, hesitates, then plunges the goblet into water once more. Instantly, a slimy white hand snags his wrist and Nonny is pulled under. The goblet bobs on the surface. Utterly silent. Nonny twists madly as hands reach for him, turning him this way and that. Haunted faces float by. Nonny breaks the surface, gasping for air, blinking, catching a glimpse of Mr. Grouper slumped against the basin as he is... pulled underwater once again, into the eerie silence of flailing arms. He shakes free again and again, but there are too many hands, too many haunted faces. His eyes lose their focus, turning blank. Bubbles trail out of his mouth as his face goes slack. He sinks deeper, in free fall, takes one last look at the shimmering surface above, the last thing he will see... when a shadow shivers briefly and... the surface sizzles with red light, like blood, then becomes transparent, revealing Mr. Grouper, wand pointed directly at the water. Nonny breaks the surface, spitting up water, gasping for air. Mr. Grouper staggers, slumps once more against the basin, weakened by his effort. Nonny scrambles up, steadies him and the lake explodes with fire. Nonny wheels, watches the bodies in the lake twist in pain.)

Mr. Grouper: Go...

(Nonny turns, confused. Mr. Grouper’s hand finds his face.)

Mr. Grouper: We have to... go.

(Nonny glances to the boat. Flames lick the prow, darkening the wood, but do not destroy it. He nods.)

(Scene: Cave)

(Nonny and Mr. Grouper emerge from the cave. Mr. Grouper, pale and weak, scans the stars wearily, leans heavily on Nonny.)

Nonny: Don’t worry, sir. We’re nearly there.

Mr. Grouper: I am not worried, Nonny. I am with you.

End of Part 7.