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Chapter Four: The Secret on the Seventh Floor
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Monday morning dawned dark and dreary. A strong storm front had blown in overnight, drenching the castle in pouring rain. The downpour outside only served to further depress the already overworked first years, and by the end of the day, Scarlett and her friends were already thoroughly exhausted. And while the others planned on returning to the common room for a relaxing evening after dinner, Scarlett had her special lessons Balathar to attend.
Bidding her friends goodbye, Scarlett crawled out of the portrait hole and set off down the corridor toward the Grand Staircase. As she walked, she realized it was the first time she had been out of bed this late at night on her own. In fact, it was well after curfew, but Balathar had seen to it that she had special permission to be out and about for their lessons.
The castle was very dark and quite spooky so late in the evening, and Scarlett found herself looking nervously over her shoulder as she walked. Suddenly, one of the many doors that lined the corridor to Gryffindor Tower snapped closed. Scarlett practically jumped out of her skin and clapped a hand to her chest. Although her heart was racing and she was scared out of her mind, her curiosity was too strong to resist.
Knowing she was supposed to be meeting Professor Balathar, she eased toward the door that had closed so suddenly and cautiously pressed her ear up against it. She couldn't hear anything, but someone must be inside. The door had closed, after all... unless doors could close themselves, which wouldn't have come as a surprise to Scarlett if they could.
Carefully, she reached for the knob and tried to turn it, but it was locked. She sighed, defeated, and continued on to the Grand Staircase. She got turned around as she tried to climb the constantly moving staircase, but a last she arrived at Balathar's classroom. She knocked gently on the door.
"Enter," Balathar called. Scarlett opened the door. Balathar stood in front of his desk with his arms folded across his chest. He stared unblinkingly at her as she approached, his black eyes locked onto her as though he were studying her in far more detail than was appropriate.
"Sit," he said when she reached him, pointing toward one of the empty desks. Scarlett sank into the chair and crossed her legs, having rarely felt as nervous as she did in that moment.
"You truly are remarkable," he said idly, still gazing at her in that searching way, his eyes running up the full length of her body. "I can see the power radiating out of you, the... the pure magical energy coursing through you. It is wild, uncontrolled, but it is there in levels I could never have predicted. You, Scarlett, are more powerful and perhaps more dangerous than any witch or wizard to have ever lived."
"I... I don't want that kind of power," Scarlett said weakly. "I... I'm scared."
"And that's why I'm here," said Balathar in a far warmer voice than she had ever expected of him. He moved around her and sat down in the seat next to her. "I'm here to help you understand your power, Scarlett. Being scared, quite frankly, is natural. I would be surprised if you weren't. So much has been heaped upon you so quickly and it isn't fair. I want to help you ease into this."
"What if... what if I would just rather not learn any of this?" Scarlett asked. "What if I just don't want to be... special?"
"You don't have a choice, my dear," Balathar said gently, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Not learning how to control your abilities would be far too dangerous. Listen, it isn't as though anyone will be looking to you to be... well, some sort of hero charging off to overthrow evil. Powerful or not, you're only an eleven-year-old girl and your place is here at Hogwarts. You may well be powerful, but you're in no danger here."
"Can... can I tell you something?" Scarlett asked in a very quiet voice. "Something... personal?" Balathar nodded.
"Of course," he said kindly.
"You've met Mr. Ollivander, right?" she inquired. "The wandmaker?"
"Well, certainly," said Balathar. "Everyone has!"
"Right, well... well, he told me that another witch bought a wand identical to mine years and years ago and both she and the wand went on to do incredible things... He said I was, well... special." Balathar considered her for a long moment.
"Well, you are special," he said at last. "And you may well go on to do incredible things as well. But that doesn't mean you'll be expected to overthrow empires and challenge kings. It simply means that your life in the magical world will be far easier than most. This is a good thing for you, Scarlett. It certainly isn't anything to fear. Now, how about we get started?"
Professor Balathar began was the Disarming Charm, Expelliarmus, which Scarlett managed to perform without any trouble. Balathar's wand flew out of his hand and landed at the feet of a very surprised Scarlett.
"Very well done," Balathar praised as he collected his wand. "Very well done, indeed." He paused, considering her with slightly narrowed eyes. "Truth be told, we could spend weeks slowly working our way up to find out at what level this inherent ability dwindles away, but perhaps it would be more prudent to work in the opposite direction. I am going to teach you a spell that is well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level. You know what dementors are, yes?"
"The guards of Azkaban prison," Scarlett replied slowly. "Of course I've heard of them,"
"Truly foul creatures, dementors," said Balathar. "They feed on hope, happiness and joy. But we have long ago developed a method of defending against them. The spell I will attempt to teach you is called the Patronus Charm. Once conjured, a proper Patronus will drive away a dementor... but this is a spell that many fully grown wizards have trouble with. If you can perform this spell as easily as all of the others, I truly don't believe that your abilities have a ceiling at all." Scarlett swallowed hard.
"Now, I don't have a dementor for you to practice on, nor would I subject a first year student to the horrors of a dementor. So, we'll just be working to see if you can produce a Patronus at all."
"Okay," Scarlett said nervously. "What do I do?"
"Well, firstly you must concentrate with all of your might on a single, very happy memory. This memory will provide the power for your Patronus. Without a powerful memory, a Patronus cannot be formed. Now, do you have a memory?"
"Okay..." said Scarlett, settling on the memory of her eleventh birthday back in August when she was finally old enough to come to Hogwarts. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Very good," said Balathar. "Now for the incantation. Expecto Patronum."
"Expecto Patronum," Scarlett repeated.
"Excellent," praised Balathar. "Now, focus on that happy memory and try the spell." Scarlett let out a long breath and gripped her wand firmly. Forcing her mind to focus on that happy feeling she remembered from a month earlier, she closed her eyes.
"Expecto Patronum!" she shouted and much to her surprise, and great relief, nothing happened.
"Again," said Balathar firmly.
"Expecto Patronum!" And again, nothing happened. Balathar's eyes narrowed.
"Hmm..." he said thoughtfully. "Perhaps the memory you've chosen isn't strong enough. It must be a very powerful memory. Select another and try again. Scarlett thought long and hard and finally settled on Lilly. Not a particular memory of Lilly, but simply her feelings for the blonde girl. Taking a deep breath, she raised her wand.
"Expecto Patronum!" If there were ever an anti-climactic moment, it was that one. Not even a wisp of white smoke escaped Scarlett's wand. Half relieved, half disappointed, Scarlett looked up at Balathar, who was staring at her with narrowed eyes.
"Excellent," he said brightly, surprising Scarlett who had expected him to be upset. "We have a basis to start from and I know to limit our lessons to spells lower than the Patronus Charm. This will help us progress more quickly." He paused and glanced at the clock. "It's getting late, so I think we'll leave it here for tonight. We will meet again tomorrow at the same time." Scarlett nodded and turned to leave.
"Professor," she asked, pausing at the doorway.
"Yes?" asked Balathar, moving to extinguish remaining candles.
"I was just wondering..." she said nervously. "Why is the seventh floor out-of-bounds?" Balathar considered her for a long moment before putting out the last candle, plunging the classroom into darkness.
"Suffice to say, my dear, that the seventh floor is out-of-bounds because there is something immensely powerful locked away there."
"So... you're keeping something important up there? Something powerful... is it dangerous?" Scarlett asked. Balathar simply smiled and Scarlett knew she would get no straight answers. "Right," she said with a shrug. "'Night, Professor."
"Goodnight, Scarlett,"
-.-
Scarlett wound her way back up through the many passages of Hogwarts and at last found herself on the seventh floor corridor. She stopped when she got there, her eyes scanning the doors that lined the corridor. All of them were closed. Keeping her eyes locked firmly on the portrait of the Brown-Eyed Girl at the end of the corridor, Scarlett strode to the portrait and gave the password. The picture frame swung forward to admit her and she crawled inside without so much as a backwards glance at the corridor behind her.
The common room was dark and quiet as she crossed it, her mind firmly focused on collapsing into bed. A gentle groan from the area of the couch caught her attention, however, and she went over to investigate. Lilly lay on the sofa, quite clearly fast asleep. Smiling slightly, Scarlett made her way over and dropped to her knees beside her oblivious best friend and softly ran her finger across the girl's neck.
"Geroff!" Lilly exclaimed sleepily, waving her arms over her head. Scarlett ducked down behind the sofa as Lilly sat up and looked around. "Dream..." she lay back down and promptly fell asleep again. Giggling madly, Scarlett crawled back over to Lilly and this time brushed a strand of her dark hair over the blonde's nose. Lilly jerked awake again, nearly head butting Scarlett in the process.
"Bloody hell, Carly!" Lilly exclaimed, holding a hand to her chest. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"No," said Scarlett, who was still chortling. "The opportunity was just to perfect. Besides, it's been a... long day. I needed a laugh."
"How was the lesson with Balathar?" Lilly asked, sitting up on the sofa and patting the spot next to her. Scarlett sank onto the couch beside her and rested her head on the other girl's shoulder.
"I... don't know," she admitted. "Okay, I guess..." Scarlett explained what had happened during the lesson, as well as Balathar's comment about what may lay somewhere on the seventh floor.
"Well, it's not like we should be worrying about it anyway," said Lilly. "Whatever the teachers are keeping, if they're really keeping anything at all, well... I mean, it couldn't be dangerous. This is a school, after all."
"Yeah, right, I know that, I just... I just want to go to bed." She jerked her head toward the staircase. "C'mon," Scarlett and Lilly made their way upstairs and fell into their respective beds. Scarlett was almost asleep before Professor Phoebus's voice filled her sleepy mind.
"There are many dangers within these walls that you would do well to avoid." Scarlett couldn't help but wonder if one of them happened to rest just outside of Gryffindor Tower.
-.-
It turned out that Jake and Hope took to Lilly's line of thought on the subject of the seventh floor when Scarlett told them about what she had seen and what Balathar had told her the night before.
"We've got enough to worry about with all the homework we've got," said Jake as the four of them sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table. "Whatever's on the seventh floor... I highly doubt it's anything dangerous."
"Besides, the teachers know what they're doing," Hope put in. "Even if there is something dangerous up there, the teachers wouldn't let it hurt us." Scarlett wasn't convinced, but it was clear that she wasn't going to change her friend's minds, so she dropped it.
Scarlett didn't have much time to worry about whatever the teachers might be hiding on the seventh floor over the following week. With the ever-increasing piles of homework they were receiving and her private lessons with Balathar, the seventh floor mystery was the least of Scarlett's worries. As September faded into October and the Forbidden Forest turned into a field of autumn colors, Scarlett and Lilly decided, firmly against Jake's dire warnings, to take a Saturday off from homework and chose to spend what might well be the last warm day that year outside sitting under their favorite beech tree by the lake.
"We've got to do this more often," said Lilly contentedly, taking in a deep breath and tilting her head to her left, toward Scarlett.
"Agreed," said Scarlett happily. "Every Saturday. I don't care how much homework we've got to do."
"You know, Grace is gonna be pissed about that essay," said Lilly blissfully. "I'm still nine inches short and my writing's huge."
"I thought you said we couldn't talk about schoolwork on our time off." Scarlett reminded her gently.
"Yeah, well..." Lilly muttered. "It's not like I... Oh, hi Doddard!" she called out to the groundskeeper as he trudged passed them.
"'Ello there, Lilly," said Doddard. "Scarlett. How've you two been gettin' on?"
"Just fine," said Lilly pleasantly. "We're just taking the weekend off from homework,"
"We'll it's a fine day to be doin' that," Doddard replied. "You girls enjoy yourselves, now. Say, you two wouldn't want to come 'round my house would you? I was just thinkin' about makin' a cup o' tea and I'd welcome the company." Lilly and Scarlett were both up for it, so they gathered the blanket they'd been laying on and followed Doddard across the lawn to the castle wall where the gamekeepers house had been built.
The massive stone wall, built many centuries before to fight a long-forgotten war, was more than thirty feet thick and towered high over them. Built into the wall was the front of a small house. A door, two windows, and a torch bracket were the only things that distinguished the house from the rest of the wall that surrounded it.
"You'll have to forgive the mess," said Doddard as he retrieved a set of keys and unlocked the door. "It's rare I have guests," He pushed the door open and let them in. To have been built into a stone wall, Doddard's house was nice and quiet spacious. They stood in a sitting room with a sofa, several chairs and a fireplace. A kitchen lay behind a wall directly ahead of them and a dark hallway to the right led off into a number of other rooms that neither Lilly nor Scarlett could see.
"Well, have a seat you two," said Doddard, motioning toward the sofa. "I'll go an' make tea." Doddard went off into the kitchen while Lilly and Scarlett settled themselves onto the sofa. As they sat there, the largest cat either girl had ever seen came slinking out of the hallway and leapt lightly onto the couch, stretched, and promptly curled up in Lilly's lap while purring quite contentedly.
"Looks like you've got a new friend," said Scarlett with a grin, watching a Lilly lifted her right hand to stroke the massive cat's silky black fur.
"Oh, that's Wombat," said Doddard, returning to the sitting room and placing a kettle and three mugs on the small table in front of the sofa.
"You named your cat Wombat?" Lilly asked incredulously. Wombat looked up reproachfully at her and swatted her arm with his thick tail.
"He doesn't like when people make fun of his name," Doddard pointed out, pouring the girls tea before taking a sip of his own.
"No offense," said Lilly gently. "I've just never... It's just not the name I'd have picked for him, that's all." Wombat hissed furiously and leapt out of Lilly's lap, stretched again and sprawled out across Scarlett's lap instead.
"He picked the name out himself," said Doddard dryly. Lilly and Scarlett exchanged a brief glance.
"So, Doddard," said Scarlett, hoping to replace the uncomfortable conversation with what she knew might well be another one, but it was something that had been bothering her for weeks. "When Professor Balathar came up when we were talking under the beech tree a few weeks ago... well, we all though he was really rude to you, and I've been wondering... well,"
"You're thinkin' there's some bad blood between the two of us," Doddard finished Scarlett's question for her. Doddard sighed deeply. "Yeah, well, I suppose there is a bit... and I guess in a way... it's about you." Scarlett's eyes widened.
"Me?" Scarlett asked in a disbelieving voice. "What... what did I do?"
"It's nothing you did, darlin'," said Doddard kindly. "It's who you are. Your mother's daughter, I expect. You see, years ago when your mum and dad were up at the school, Balathar developed a... well, how can I put this? He developed an inappropriate interest in your mother."
"An 'inappropriate interest'?" Scarlett repeated. Doddard shook his head.
"It's not what you're thinkin'," he said. "Well, it didn't start out like what you're thinkin' anyway. No, he… saw somethin' in your mother. Somethin' she didn't see in herself, that's for sure. She was his favorite student from day one and he didn't hide the fact, either."
"If that doesn't sound familiar…" said Lilly idly.
"Shush," said Scarlett.
"Well, you've got a point there, Lilly," said Doddard. "Balathar's relationship with Sara started off much like his relationship with you. He often invited her to his classroom in the evenings to tutor her…"
"So… so my mother… she had what I have? I mean, she was gifted when it came to magic, or…"
"Oh, no," said Doddard, shaking his head. "No, no, no, she wasn't anythin' like you. I don't think there's ever been a wizard alive quite like you, dear. But, no your mother was obviously very smart. Her skill with magic and her level of intelligence was practically unmatched… but it was all book-smarts. Everythin' she knew, she learned. Not like with you… you're just…"
"Special," said Scarlett dryly. "Yeah, I know."
"Well, there's nothin' wrong with bein' special," said Doddard. "Well, nothin' 'cept it draws attention to you."
"I still don't see how this has anything to do with me," said Scarlett uncertainly.
"Well, I'm getting' there," said Doddard. "You see, your mum and dad were always close friends at school. Met on the train, as I recall. Anyway, after they left school your mum and Balathar kept in contact… they still maintained a close relationship. But then your mum and dad started datin', and well… I think Balathar got a little jealous."
"So, Balathar was interested in Scarlett's mum?" Lilly inquired.
"Oh, I know he was," said Doddard firmly. "The problem was, dear, that your mum returned his feelings. Your mum and dad eventually got married, of course, but just before they did… your mum and Balathar… well, they… they had a bit of an affair." Scarlett and Lilly's jaws dropped.
"They did… they had… But why would..." Scarlett babbled. "I… I don't understand…"
"I can't say I know the how's and why's, Scarlett," Doddard said delicately. "But I caught 'em… both of 'em, comin' out of Balathar's office. I heard enough to get what had happened and I later confronted Sara about it. She confessed and begged me not to say anything to Michael. I… I didn't know what to do. Mike had been my friend for years, I… well, then I found out that Sara was pregnant." And then the pieces came together.
"Are... are you saying... Is there a chance that Balathar is my father?" Scarlett asked, barely able to believe she had spoken the words. Doddard gave her a warm smile.
"Oh, no child, no," he said gently. "No, your parents confirmed that Mike was your true father, but before they did Balathar firmly believed you were his. That's when I stuck my nose into it. I knew there was a least a chance that you might be Balathar's daughter, so I... I did what I felt was right. I told Mike what I'd seen... what Sara had done.
"Now, you won't know this Scarlett, but Mike had a real short fuse. And naturally, he was furious. He stormed off in a rage, right up to the castle and... well, he and Balathar got in quite the fight. Wands were drawn, and well... Balathar ended up losing his arm."
"So Balathar blames you for losing his arm?" Lilly asked incredulously.
"Yes," Doddard replied grimly. "And, in a way, for taking his daughter from him. When he heard Sara was pregnant, he... he was happy." He broke off, gazing into Scarlett's stunned face. "He truly cared for your mother, and for you, Scarlett." He sighed deeply. "I know when you asked me that question that you had no idea where it would lead. I have little doubt that Balathar wouldn't have wanted me to tell you, but I... Well, you asked."
-.-
"Come," Balathar called when Scarlett rapped on his office door later that evening. She opened the door and stepped inside. Balathar looked up from behind his desk and smiled.
"Ah, Scarlett," he said pleasantly. "I'm glad you're here. I've just been working on our next lesson. I was thinking... What's wrong?" he asked when he noticed the grim look on her face. Slowly, Scarlett approached Balathar's desk and sank down into the chair in front of it.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked succinctly. Balathar's eyes narrowed.
"Why didn't I tell you... what, exactly?" he asked.
"Why didn't you tell me about you and my mother," she explained. "That you had an affair with her... that you thought you were my father... that you felt like you lost a daughter when you found out the truth." Scarlett sighed. "Is... is that why you're doing all this? These late-night lessons? So you can... get close to me or something?"
"I'm doing this because I firmly believe you may well be the most powerful witch to have ever lived in the history of magic," Balathar said firmly.
"That doesn't answer my question," Scarlett said angrily. "I deserved to know the truth and I had to learn it from Doddard!"
"So, he told you?" Balathar asked slowly.
"He did," said Scarlett. "He also said that you blame him for my dad blowing your arm off or whatever he did to you." Balathar stood up and walked around his desk. Judging by the look on his face, for one wild moment Scarlett thought he might hit her. But he did not. Instead, he knelt down in front of her and took her hand in his.
"I must apologize," he said softly. "You… you're right, I should have told you. I just thought… well, it was so long ago and you already had so much going on that I… I didn't want to add this to the list. I didn't think it mattered that much; I didn't think you would care."
"I… don't," Scarlett muttered. But she did. She cared a very great deal. She had found someone, someone who wasn't her mother or her father that she could talk to about her birth parents… someone who had known both of them.
"You do," said Balathar plainly. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have reacted so rashly. It was never my intention to deceive you, and these lessons are nothing more than what I have presented them as. I will not lie to you, Scarlett. I do… care for you, perhaps more than I should… more than I have any right to." He paused and smiled warmly up at her.
"It didn't matter that Sara felt certain you were Michael's child, I still believed you were mine. I did, even after that fight with Michael. I held to that belief up until the day you were born… but it was clear then that you were certainly Michael's child… I knew it even before any tests were run. Losing you… even if I never had you to begin with, was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Yes, girl, even more painful than losing my arm." Blinking back tears, Scarlett looked down to where their hands were clasped in her lap.
"I… I don't really know what to say," she said sniffling. Balathar smiled.
"You needn't say anything," he told her. "I never meant for you to know any of this. I was many years ago and I am certainly not your father. I didn't want to concern you with any of it." Scarlett nodded slowly. Balathar reached up and gently wiped away a tear that she could no longer hold in.
-.-
With Halloween fast approaching, the mood within Hogwarts began to slowly turn more festive. The homework load on the first years had at last begun to wane, just in time for the weather to take a turn for the worst. Pour rains pounded the castle for nearly a fortnight before the sun again shone above the school.
Scarlett and Balathar had continued their late-night lessons, and Scarlett had to admit that she was growing more and more confident in her powers and abilities. This was mostly due to Balathar's encouragement and in part to a newfound understanding and connection between them that she shared with no one else. She had found in Balathar a sort of surrogate father, someone she felt she could trust and confide in about subjects she wouldn't have felt comfortable sharing with her parents. Not because she didn't feel at ease bringing problems or questions before her parents, but because the subjects in question often related to her birth parents, a topic Scarlett tended to avoid like the plague when she was at home.
But despite all this, there was one thing that still bothered Scarlett to a certain degree and that happened to be whatever lay hidden somewhere on the seventh floor. While she hadn't mentioned it to her friends since that first morning, she had questioned Balathar about it once more and he had at the very least made an effort to soothe her fears.
"I know you can't give me any details," Scarlett had said nervously as their lesson ended one night in the middle of October. "But, whatever's on the seventh floor… Are you guarding it from someone… or are you guarding everyone else from it?" Balathar gazed at her for a long moment. His piercing eyes burned into hers.
"What lies on the seventh floor is not dangerous," said Balathar lightly. "It is... powerful, certainly. And should it fall into the wrong hands, it would be incredibly dangerous."
"So... is someone after it... whatever it is?" Scarlett asked. Balathar shrugged.
"Professor Phoebus believes so," he replied. "I cannot say myself, but the headmistress has ordered that we professors place as many forms of magical protection over the... over what's being protected up there. I actually have a few new ideas I intend to pass to Professor Phoebus soon."
"I'm not trying to be nosy," said Scarlett." It's just... this thing is pretty close to where me and my friends sleep and I..."
"Professor Phoebus would never allow anything dangerous within these walls," said Balathar. "Well," he added with a grin. "Nothing that she couldn't control, at least," Scarlett nodded, at least somewhat reassured.
"Thanks, Professor,"
"Of course, my dear," said Balathar. "Goodnight,"
"'Night, Professor,"