The only thing Kiara could think as she walked to the headmistresses office was that she really hoped this wouldn't land her in getting suspended, or expelled, from one too many snarky comments and arguments. She really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone about Elizabeth's death, and she got reckless when she was angry.
Moments earlier, an older student had walked into her potions class, looking breathless and glancing around the room. "Is there an Kiara Belyarchik?" she asked. Kiara tentatively raised her hand. "You need to report to the Headmistress' office." Oh no, she thought, sinking into her chair. And there she was, standing in front of a griffin… door, awkwardly waiting for someone to let her in.
"Are you here to see the Headmistress?" Kiara turned and saw a man she didn't recognise in polished wizard robes and a bowler hat.
Biting back a sarcastic comment, she nodded.
The two entered the office and the man walked to the side, allowing Kiara to go up to her desk, where McGonagall sat. The room was sparse, with no decoration other than portraits of past headmasters and mistresses. It's a little underwhelming, she thought as she glanced around the room.
"As you know," Headmistress McGonagall said slowly, "a friend of yours, Miss Collingwood, has recently passed." No really? I thought, she just, I don't know, left on vacation, and left her body behind, Kiara thought, sarcastically. "Though I do not exactly… approve of what she did on a daily basis," the headmistress continued, "I cannot refuse a deceased girl's wish. For some reason, she had written a will, and has left these items in your possession." The headmistress motioned for the man to come over, and he handed her a beaten old trunk with gold lining.
Headmistress McGonagall placed a briefcase in Kiara's hands, along with- "Luke?" Kiara said aloud, looking at the white cat. The cat hissed, it's deadpanned stare containing an abnormal amount of malice and hatred. "Lukas," Kiara corrected herself before turning back the the headmistress. "Can I leave now?"
"Yes, you may return to your classes."
When she finally returned to her bed, Kiara unlatched the trunk and gaped at the strange contents inside. All of them seemed like things Elizabeth would own, but Kiara had always pegged her as a more organised person, and not someone to randomly chuck items with no similarities into a single trunk. A switchblade, a pack of tarot cards, two battered journals (one much smaller and one with a blue cover), a sheet of parchment, a folded up piece of printer paper, a few books, a miniature typewriter, an old handgun, and a wand.
Kiara ignored all the items to pick up the gun, which she got a weird rush of delight from having. So this is what Elizabeth meant, she thought, flipping the gun in her hand, being in power does feel pretty good. Kiara set the gun back down and closed the trunk, uninterested in everything else inside. She looked around and spotted Lukas curled up in the corner, his body completely frozen and his blank eyes staring into nothing.
Kiara walked over to the cat and was about to pick him up before he hissed and glared menacingly at her. "Oh, come on," she whined, "just let me pick you up." Lukas ignored her and padded over to the trunk, motioning with his head towards the latch. Kiara furrowed her eyebrows and opened the trunk in slight confusion. Lukas pulled out the typewriter with his mouth and began using his nose to click on the buttons before taking the paper out and handing it to her.
Don't touch me.
Kiara looked at the cat, then back at the paper, then back at the cat. "What?" Lukas pawed the sheet of paper before taking it back and typing more.
Elizabeth left you the trunk because she thought you wouldn't be an idiot and actually use the stuff inside. And no, I wasn't at her death. And no, I don't know what any of the items actually are. I'm a cat.
"Fine, fine, Honestly, I'm just surprised Elizabeth had that much faith in me. She was more stupid then I thought," she grumbled, opening the trunk again, slightly peeved at the fact that she was just told off by a cat. Looking at Lukas, she asked, "Hey, do you like snakes? Because Hermes is always complaining about being bored, it's getting annoying. Also, you're sort of creeping me out, staring at me like that. Don't you have better things to do with your time?"
Lukas looked at her with the utmost contempt and typed out, Elizabeth told me to guard the box. She'd hit you up top the head if she knew you were really this ignorant. And no, I will not "play" with your silly reptilian monster.
Kiara laughed, "God, you and Elizabeth were a match made in heaven. And ok, I'll look at the items. If you go and play with Hermes." She flashed him a smirk.
Lukas made a very human like expression nearly identical to nose wrinkling. I will not play with your snake. I refuse. Inspect the items. Now.
Kiara shrugged, but instead of looking at the items, she opened a book, and started to read. However, before she could even read two sentences, Lukas bit down on her wrist. "Ow," Kiara complained half-heartedly, "You know what? I'm sort of sick of you."
Picking the cat up by his neck, Kiara carried him into a cage, and locked it, before putting it next to Hermes' cage. Before she could savour her moment of victory, Lukas tapped the cage and the bars melted, allowing him to get out. He padded over to the trunk and pointed to it with his tail.
"Ugh, I hate magic cats," Kiara muttered, turning to Lukas, "And you're just making me more stubborn, I will not open the box."
Lukas narrowed his eyes before typing out, I will make you slap yourself if you do not inspect the items.
Pointing her wand at Lukas, Kiara muttered a spell, and grinned. "I'd like to see you try." Lukas' eyes starting glowing an eerie white colour and Kiara was suddenly overcome with a peculiar urge to hit herself in the face. What is this cat? She thought, why is it so damn powerful? The urge intensified, but so did her will to not inflicted damage on herself. The end result was Kiara making some weird hand gesture and swiping off her pillow in the process.
"I'm not slapping myself," she told Lukas, "Give it up." Lukas bit Kiara again, this time slightly harder.
"Why did Elizabeth decide to give me Satan incarnated as a pet?" Kiara whined, glaring at Lukas.
Because Rose is dead and Elizabeth didn't know Naomi well enough, Lukas typed out furiously. But she told me that she anticipated you to not understand anything she left you. Now, inspect the items or I will unleash helvete on your insolent little mind.
"I don't think so," Kiara told him. "I won't inspect the items until you stop annoying me." Lukas jumped off the bed, padded over to the corner of the room, and curled up, glaring at Kiara. "Yes!" Kiara cheered, "I won!" Lukas made a noise similar to huffing before waving his tail and conjuring magic butterflies to look at.
Kiara finally opened the trunk and took out the switchblade, inspecting it to see if there was anything special about it. When she was satisfied there wasn't, she put it down and took out the tarot cards, which her hate for divination urged her to throw away. However, she ignored the it, since Elizabeth wouldn't place them there if they didn't have a meaning. Satisfied there was nothing too special about those either she moved on to the next item, the wand. She pegged it as Elizabeth's wand, and decided to try a spell out with it.
"Lumos," she tried, but nothing happened. Narrowing her eyes, Kiara tried again. "Lumos," she repeated, this time more forcefully. Again, nothing happened. Sulking, Kiara threw it across the room. "Well, that's useless," she muttered. The butterflies around Lukas dissipated as he glared at Kiara, padding over to the wand. He picked it up with his mouth and gently placed it back into the case before going back to his previous spot.
Still sulking, Kiara picked up the next item; a leather bound book with gold trimming titled Fortune-Telling For Beginners: Tarot Addition. "She didn't," Kiara muttered, "She's been trying to get me to see the value for divination for forever. I'm not starting just because she's dead." Setting the book aside, Kiara picked up a second one, which she recognised as Elizabeth's prized Quidditch Through the Ages. Woah, Kiara thought, she must have been out of her mind. I thought she'd want it locked up so no one could ever touch it. The last book, which was by far the strangest, was titled War Eagles: The Story of the Eagle Squadron, the book in a run down condition and the colours slightly washed out. Why does she have a book about eagles? Kiara wondered, that's stupid.
Putting the book away she turned to the parchment and opened it up, only to find it blank. Kiara groaned inwardly. "Why is everything so hard to figure out," she complained out loud. Turning it around, she noticed something vaguely familiar with it, and took out the parchment Elizabeth had given Shruthi and her at one of the meetings. Comparing the two, she noticed that they were relatively similar, save for the fact that this one was bigger. She muttered, "This is illegal but I'm doing it anyway"
In a hasty but elegant scrawl, words wrote itself on the paper. Miss Collingwood would like to inform Miss Belyarchik that this is the master copy, and not the other ones.
"Yes!" Kiara cheered, "I can finally change the password!"
Miss Collingwood would like to inform Miss Belyarchik that no, the passwords are unchangeable. Also, that is not the password. Miss Collingwood does not quite understand what Miss Belyarchik is trying to say.
"Miss Collingwood is dead, so shut up." Kiara told the parchment.
Miss Collingwood would like to inform Miss Belyarchik that she is not speaking, so she can't possibly shut up. Also, that is not the password.
"Ok…" Kiara muttered, and tried again, "I am an emo loser," she told the parchment.
Miss Collingwood would like to very aggressively inform Miss Belyarchik that she prefers electronic dance music over post-punk and alternative rock.
"Ugh, I am a Panic! At the Disco fan," she tried once again.
Miss Collingwood would like to inform Miss Belyarchik that, though she is correct on the statement, it is not the password. However, Miss Collingwood would also like to point out that groups of people are often referred to as gangs.
"Uhhh, what?" Kiara asked, confused.
Miss Collingwood would like to repeat herself by pointing out the fact that groups of people are often referred to as gangs. She would also like to wink, if that was physically possible.
"Ummmm, I am part of a gang?" Kiara all but asked.
Miss Collingwood would like to point out that Miss Belyarchik is a dense piece of shit, and that her attempts should be similar to those of the other parchment sheets.
Scowling, Kiara didn't guess the answer but instead said, "Miss Belyarchik is wondering how Miss Collingwood didn't know that she was a dense piece of shit, and somehow put faith in her to guess the password. If anything, this means that Miss Collingwood was the dense piece of shit."
Miss Collingwood would like to revive herself from the dead so she can rise up kick Miss Belyarchik's skinny little ass over the Great Wall of China. Also, Miss Collingwood would like to very obviously give out the hint that SHE IS THE LEADER OF THE GANG, AND PERHAPS THAT WOULD BE A PASSWORD.
Kiara smiled, and said, "Miss Belyarchik is delighted to know that Miss Collingwood thinks that she is skinny."
Miss Collingwood would like to inform Miss Belyarchik that she is so done with her. At this point, blind guessing would be better than attempting to hint at something. Kiara let out a half growl, half groan of frustration before she put the parchment back inside and took out the printer paper. She unfolded it and, after a long minute of waiting for text to appear, Kiara deemed it as a completely ordinary. She put it back and finally addressed the last two items; two slightly worn down notebooks.
She took the smaller one and took of the strap, opening it up to the first page. After a long moment of silence, ink started to appear on the page, forming calligraphic handwriting that read, Lisa. Kiara let out a long groan, falling into her pillow and screaming in frustration. "Another goddamn password," she muttered, rubbing her temples and staring at the paper. "Who the hell is Lisa? Why should I care about Lisa?"
A pause went by before the word was replaced with home. "Is this supposed to mean something to me?" Kiara demanded, her common sense leaving her as she resorted into yelling at an inanimate object.
The word disappeared, and instead was replaced with, No, that's the second hint. You said it yourself. It's another password. Dumbass.
"Why," Kiara stated flatly, "Just why. If you think I can guess a password from 'Lisa' and 'home,' you must be the dumbass. Because why not? Why the fuck not? Let me guess a password from two words. Completely logical. I totally get it."
Underneath the word, a sentence began to write itself. Okay, so obviously you need a new hint. How about green? Emerald green, specifically.
"I don't know," Kiara groaned, "Slytherin? Black markets?"
No, but good guess. What do you call a part of a grocery store with shelves?
Kiara blinked, staring at the sentence in complete and utter confusion. "…What?" Instead of another sentence, the question was underlined with a two millimeter thick black line. "I'm not an expert on grocery stores! I don't know!"
Jesus, you're so useless. I'd scoff, if I actually could. So, the answer rhymes with the beginning part of the word island.
"If I'm useless, don't give me passwords to crack," Kiara retorted. "And is the answer aisle?"
Ooh, good job. Now what's another way to spell the same thing?
Kiara paused, thinking. "Gangway?"
What the hell. That was so out of context. Oh, my wording was iffy. What sounds the same as aisle, but is spelt differently?
"Oh, you mean isle?"
Wow, you're on a roll! That was sarcasm. But you're right. Now, connect the dots.
"Lisa, home, isle," Kiara muttered.
You forgot one.
"And emerald green? Lisa, home, isle, emerald, green… Lisa, home, isle, emerald, green… emerald green isle… Oh! Ireland. That's where you live, right?" All of the words on the page disappeared, replaced with long lists of names underneath underlined titles. The first few pages were filled with names Kiara recognized as mostly Slytherins, with a few others. They were labeled things like Pens, Pencils, and Spidget Finners. The people that bought Elizabeth's illegally imported muggle objects, Kiara assumed. The rest of the pages were filled with lengthy notes about each of the students and the teachers, with marks in red littered around the margins. On the very last page was completely smudged, with water and ink spills over it. Kiara figured Elizabeth was trying to crack down the mystery killer, but was slightly concerned at how she had managed to get detailed physically features about the people.
One more, Kiara thought as she picked up the weathered, blue, leather bound journal. She flicked through the pages and wasn't surprised when she saw that every page was blank. And of course there's another password. Kiara opened to the front page and waited for the familiar spidery handwriting filled the page. Haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn book? Kiara shut the book rather harshly, even though she was trying her best not to show her anger. She opened it again, only to find that her idea hadn't worked. Instead, the sentence had been replaced with, C'mon, I figured you'd get that one. At some point or another, my mind is going to burst trying to give you all of these hints.
"Is that meant to be a hint?" Kiara demanded, giving her best stink eye to the book. "Because if it is, I don't get it."
Okay, so my super subtle hints aren't working, so I have to break it down for you. I'm sighing, just so you know. Now, who's the ice tiger of Russia?
"Ice… tiger?" Kiara thought back to everything Elizabeth had ever told her. The answer was right at the tip of her tongue, and it bothered her that she didn't remember it. "Ice tiger… Ice tiger… Oh, right. Is it that guy from that anime you watched? The gay skating one. What's his face. Yuri Plisetsky?"
Good. Now, focus on that first name and say it in a REALLY American accent. Like, SUPER American. Kiara furrowed her eyebrows at the words, concentrating. However, it was impossible for her mind to pronounce it any other way besides "yoo-ree." It was probably the first time in years where Kiara had actually wished she couldn't speak Russian.
"I can't," Kiara admitted, defeated.
Ugh, you're awful at this. Okay, so assuming you ARE Kiara, this is going to be the last hint. Who's got a vocal range bigger than my future?
"That dude that sings in Panic! At the Disco," Kiara said instantly, recalling a past conversation with Elizabeth. "Brandon? No, Brendon. Brendon… Urie? Is that it? And I don't think he had a very big vocal range, because you're future was literally just three more weeks."
Finally. Most of my hints were P!atD references. Now, buckled your seatbelts, because we're going on a helluva ride. The last thing Kiara remembered was her saying, "What?" aloud in confusion before the world around her went dark.
(Author's Notes)
Dear Reader-
*startled gasps*
Readers: LuNa! hAvE yOu ReSoRtEd To WrItInG fIlLeRs?!
Yeah, sorry. ^^; Also, the two of us basically gave up on writing the last chapter. At some point, we'll get back to it, but for now, we're just relying on the pre-written chapters to keep us kinda sorta relevant.
By the way, happy December! I don't celebrate Christmas, but I still feel festive enough to have Michael Buble on loop. Seeing other people having fun, wearing big sweaters, giving each other presents, and just enjoying the winter makes me warm and fuzzy inside. Growing up in the US really did something to a non-secular Asian like me. Every time I look out the window, I can see my neighbours' already decorated houses. It's ridiculous. My birthday is this month, though (28th), so I'm pretty excited for that, even though my family never does anything that big.
My favourite holiday songs are "Home for the Holidays," "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Underneath the Tree," and "Seasons of Love." I've got a spotify Christmas playlist (/user/rg2bd5ieyfxatff163oqv9ygs/playlist/7CTWNVHTK4Yrg8mQQ4BzTV) if you want to know what I'm listening to the rest of the month.
-Luna
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Yay! Elizabeth died! (I know that happened last chapter, but I didn't do a note for that so it's going here) So fun, I know. Uhhh sorry the last chapter was was late, I don't know roman numerals but guess who decided to use them anyway? That's right, it was Luna! (and then she got mad at me for being stupid, but that isn't my fault) Be prepared for Kiara being even more dense, as well as an even more impulsive piece of shit.
-Lupus