Hey guys, sorry for the lateness of this chapter but my dads work cancelled our internet connection by accident and we have to wait for them to fix it. So doom on them…doom on them. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
Lord provost Tom Marvolo Riddle was not in a good mood.
This particular gent was not usually in a pleasant frame of mind but today he was particularly cantankerous.
A merchant ship was pilfered from under his very nose by the most sordid breed known to the high class society, pirates.
He did not care much for the fabric, gems and wealth that was on board. After all items like that were taken every day and merchant ships were never out of supply of such reserves. No, the item that he had in mind was much more valuable.
Though Tom knew many a man who would sell their mothers to get their hands on such a treasure the value of the article was more sentimental and Tom wanted it.
He had employed a man by the name of Pettigrew to assist in the acquisition and arrival of the map but somehow the snivelling worm ran into pirates.
And he couldn't even remember anything about the attack. The only clue so far was a bizarre ghostly picture in the sky above where the raid had taken place.
Tom subtly probed Pettigrew's mind with legilimency and found nothing of aid. It was as if the mans memory had been cleared of anything that may have assisted in the capture of the pirates who were audacious enough to steal an item belonging to Tom in his own territory.
They would pay for showing up his strength and his control. If the pirates got away unscathed then the public would begin to doubt his handle on the pirates and maybe even his competence in his position as provost.
He could-no would not let that happen. The people of London were too stupid to know that they needed him but he knew that they would not survive with out him.
The muggles would infiltrate even the purest of blood lines and magic would be tarnished even more than it was with all the mudbloods cunningly placed within the magical society.
There had to be something that would persecute the buccaneers, they had to have made a slip up that would enable him to find their whereabouts and once again be in possession of the map.
In Peter Pettigrew's memories where there should have been images of the assault there was only a flash of vivacious colours and a voice murmuring "Activer l'amnésie".
Tom vaguely realised that as the effect if the Orb of Amnesia which had gone missing from civilisation a few years ago. Now we know where it has been Tom though to himself.
The voice commanding it was unmistakably female from the pitch. Though she spoke French with familiarity Tom doubted that it was her first language, there was a slight English tinge to the accent though it was hardly recognisable.
Stubbornly he flicked through Pettigrew's memories to find even a clue of the identity of the pirates. Until he came across an image a split second long of two maidens in modest white dresses.
One of the maidens had the messiest black hair he had ever seen on a woman; the girl was obviously a Potter. The youngest female Alexia had been missing for four years and not a trace was seen of her, until now.
So the Potter girl joined with pirates, what kind of crew would allow a girl to remain in their ranks?
Tom decided to have a 'talk' with Mrs Potter and see if she had any information on her wayward daughter.
The other girl he hardly recognised until he saw the eyes. This was of course Mrs Violet Evans daughter Lily; no one could mistake the emerald green of the eyes that was usually passed through the male relatives but somehow made it's way into the eyes of the second eldest.
So Alexia Potter and Lily Evans are the key to finding the pirates and Tom's prize. He grinned at the cowering figure before his feet.
"Get up Pettigrew" he commanded in a slightly high pitched icy voice
"We are going to pay dear Mrs Potter a visit."
"I hate poetry" Lily complained "It kills romance".
James who was writing down the verse on a spare bit of parchment shook his head in disagreement
"Actually it has been taught that poetry is the food of love not the eradicator"
"Absolutely Prongs. There is nothing like a bit of overindulgent rhymes to get lasses into your bed" Sirius grinned at Alexia's shocked expression
"Bite your tongue Sirius Orion Black!" She warned "You're mother would be ashamed of you"
Sirius scowled at her "My mother was a heartless bat and you know it"
Their banter was interrupted by a large ripping sound outside. Lily smacked her palm on her forehead
"Lara that had better not be my sail" she yelled running outside. Outside there was a large tear in the mail sail and the crew were crowded round it laughing.
"What the hell happened?" Lily demanded
"Lara threw and Delia ducked about sums it up" Shaiera giggled pointing to the spear lodged halfway in the sail.
"It was completely Ambers fault" Lara claimed
"What for not being hit?" Delia growled at her "And who throws a spear at a trainee?"
Lara rolled her eyes "Well in a battle field they ain't going to put off killing you until you learn the proper skills to defend yourself are they?"
"As much as it pains me to admit Lara is right in theory but that still doesn't mean she can throw weapons at the trainees.I mean what if Delia has gotten hit" Shaiera asked. Lily grinned manically
"Then Amethyst would have gotten a visit from our resident healer Andalusite"
"Oh Goddess not Pomfrey. She will murder me then feed me some disgusting tasting potion to fix me just so she can kill me again. I swear that woman is a sadist" Lara wailed theatrically.
"You are such a drama queen" Lily remarked dryly "Alright crew back to work! You've had your fill of today's Amethyst stupidity. Run away now before you get infected" Pulling out her wand she cast a Repario charm onto the sail
"Maybe it's time for some nice safe calligraphy. Lapis Lazuli, could you please get some parchment, inkwells and a quill?" Lily asked
"Why don't you just use the parchment in Jamie's hand?" Alexia snatched at the paper. She started to read it
"Search for me now but take heed, for what I possess is not for greed, a treasure that is not of asset, it can only be found when the sunsets, first find a woman which age is strong, gift a flower that blooms yearlong, she will direct you on your way, accept the flower as her pay, listen closely for she dare not lie, to pure of heart that be thy, follow the clue but be wary, for the consequences may vary, or those with tainted intent, may not find the desired content. Wow James I never knew that you were a poet. Is this one of the abstract ones?" she asked earnestly.
"It's a warning that we found on the map, Sirius translated it from Gaelic for us. We're still trying to figure out what it means" Remus clarified.
"You speak Gaelic?" Lara asked Sirius sceptically.
"My cousin Araminta is a leprechaun" he explained.
"It's like clues" Shaiera thought out loud "The treasure is found when the sunsets and it seems to be more sentimental value than monetary. It needs to be found by pure of heart and not for greed. We need a woman with whom age is strong and give her a flower that blooms yearlong as her payment for telling us the next step. She will not lie to those she thinks are innocent but if you want the treasure for sin then the penalty will change"
"So we have to give an old lady a flower so she will tell us more poetry?" James raised his eyebrows.
"It never said whether her clue would be in a poem or not. It just said direct us on our way" Lily glared at him "I guess that the old woman could be someone very old"
"Are you meaning Minnie McGonagall old or Penny Flamel old?" Lara asked inquisitively.
"That's it!" Shaiera grinned hugging a shocked Lara "Penella Flamel is the oldest woman in the world topping six centuries. That's a strong age"
Lily nodded "But how are we going to find Mrs Flamel? Do any of you know where she lives?"
"Dumbledore may, after all he is acquaintances with the Flamel's" Remus mused
"How do you know that Dumbledork isn't the one we're looking for ay? At least a hundred and fifty on that one. Plus we want strength and I think that Dumbles is stronger than Penella" Lara looked warily at Remus who rolled his eyes
"Dumbledork-dore is a man and we are looking for a woman"
"You say that he is a man but how do you know? Have you looked under his robes? Is that what you were doing during all those 'talks' in his office" Sirius joined in with Lara looking suspiciously at Remus.
"You know exactly what those talks were about Sirius. They were about my 'condition' do you remember?" he looked pointedly at Sirius who had realisation dawning on his face.
"So we are calling on Dumbledore at Hogwarts and acquiring the address of Mrs Flamel. Correct?" James enquired.
"Of course" Lily agreed with him then bellowed out "Attention ladies! Prepare to set sail. We're heading for Hogwarts"
So we got a glimpse into the twisted mind of one Tom Marvolo Riddle aka Lord Voldemort. And what a twisted mind it is indeed. Once again I apologise for the internet thing but blame my dads work. Doom on them… –Cough- I kind of did well in my exams I fail some bit that I decided not to study for I.e. Human biology, math. So review anyways.
Thou shalt not disturb thy sleeping dragon for thou art crispy and good with ketchup.
Love Lady Topaz
XXX