Chapter 10 – The Riddle

"Rose!" Albus pulled her out of Scorpius's arms. "Have you seen Veronica?"

"Huh? No," she said dreamily as she stared at Scorpius.

"Come on we have to find her!" Albus tugged on her arm but she wouldn't budge.

"I'm sure she's just in the bathroom or something," said Rose carelessly.

"Selesta might be in danger! She said the Death Eaters were back and that Veronica has something to do with it." Albus said quickly.

"But the Death Eaters have fallen ever since Voldemort died," said Rose.

"I don't know if it's true but I did see Nicholas drag Selesta out of here and she didn't want to go with him."

"Oh my gosh, do you know where he could've taken her?" she asked.

"I don't know, but she mentioned something about the Death Eaters meeting in the forest."

"The Forbidden Forest? Oh dear. Okay, let's go!" Rose followed Albus towards the doors that led to the outside of the Great Hall.

"Wait, I'm coming with you!" Scorpius took Rose's hand.

"NO." Albus said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not going if Scorpius doesn't come," said Rose.

"Fine," Albus sighed.

The three of them were about to head out the door when a wrinkled hand blocked their path. It was Professor McGonagall.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Um, we were just going for a little walk outside," said Albus.

"Now you know very well Mr. Potter that you cannot leave the school grounds this late at night. So it's either you stay here at the dance and enjoy yourself or you can go to bed. And don't even try to sneak out. I knew your father." McGonagall patted her afro. "I've got eyes all over these halls watching so don't even think about it."

They walked back into the Great Hall in disappointment.

"What now?" Rose asked.

"I've got an idea," Albus grinned.

~.~.~.~.~

"James!" called Albus.

"What little brother? Can't you see I'm kind of in the middle of something here?" said James annoyed as he did the Tango with Delilah.

"I know you have it," whispered Albus.

"What?"

"The cloak."

"Huh? How did you—"

"Oh please. It's pretty obvious that you're the one who's always taking it from dad's closet when you're grounded so you can sneak out and see Delilah. Or when you're pulling pranks, I'm not a dim-wit. I remember that one night when a bunch of spoons were attacking me, and I was sure it wasn't just some ghost. Who else would know that I have a slight fear of spoons? And who would be so malicious to even try to traumatize me? You. Lily is not the prankster type and even if she did pull one off, she'd feel really guilty and apologize. And mom and dad would never do such a thing. So do you have it? I need it to sneak out into the forest," ranted Albus.

James stopped dancing and pulled Albus aside to a corner.

"Doing a little sneaking, eh? I'm proud of you!" James patted Albus on the back. "Well, you're just in luck! I have it in my robe right now. I shrunk it so it would fit," James handed him a small sheet of invisible fabric the size of a handkerchief. "Don't ask why I kept it with me. It's just for…emergencies."

Albus ran up to Rose and Scorpius and showed them the cloak.

"That's it? That's your idea, to make your hand invisible? The cloak is so tiny!" said Rose.

"Engorgio!" Albus pointed his wand at the cloak when the teachers weren't looking.

"That's better, but all 3 of us still won't be able to fit under that thing," said Scorpius.

Rose's eyes lit up as she dragged the boys under the table and hid behind the table cloth. She then pointed her wand on them and said, "Reducio!"

Both Albus and Scorpius shrunk half their usual size. When they stood up, their heads wouldn't even reach the table that was over them. Rose then did the spell on herself and she put the cloak over the three of them.

When they walked up to the door again, they saw that this time Professor Binns was guarding it. He was telling a few students off and said, "Nuh-uh-uh. No one is allowed to leave. It's either you get to bed early or you stay here and enjoy the dance. Professor McGonagall's orders."

The students were disappointed but obeyed and went back to the dance. Pretty soon, Professor Binns yawned and his eyes flickered shut.

Albus, Rose and Scorpius carefully turned the knob of the door and quietly stepped out. Once they heard Binns shout, "Huh? WHO'S THERE?" The three of them quickly dashed out as far away from the Great Hall as possible.

Once they got outside of the castle and passed Hagrid's hut, they took off the cloak and returned to their normal size.

Rose looked at Albus nervously. "S-s-so are you sure she's in the forest?"

"Well she mentioned that that was where she saw the new Death Eaters," replied Albus.

"Okay," Rose gulped as the three of them stepped into the Forbidden Forest.

"It's really dark, I can't see a thing." Scorpius pulled out his wand and said, "Lumos!"

As they stepped deeper and deeper into the forest, the moon became smaller with each move they made. The trees were getting so thick that soon, all they could see was a speck of moonlight and small patches of the night sky through the branches. Even though all their wands were lit, they still had trouble seeing what was in front of them and they tripped on a few tree roots and stumbled on some rocks. They also heard ominous chirping from birds they could not see and become more and more creeped out.

"Albus, do you think they're really back?" asked Rose. "The Death Eaters I mean."

"I hope not, but Selesta claims that Veronica is their new leader." Albus replied.

"Veronica Elddir? But she's a prefect! She even told me once that she was planning on becoming Head Girl next year. She would never! It's so not like her," said Rose.

Albus shrugged, "I honestly don't know. But for now let's just focus on finding Selesta and that creep Nicholas Fledge."

Rose scrunched up her face. It was what she would do whenever she was thinking or concentrating. Imagine her during exams. Everyone was afraid to sit anyone near her since she looked like she was about to rip someone's head off if she got one question wrong.

"Wait a minute Albus," Rose froze. "Veronica … Elddir. E-L-D-D-I-R. That's 'Riddle' backwards. And Voldemort's real name is …"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," Albus finished her sentence.

"We all know that! Mum's told Hugo and I loads of times," said Rose.

"Could she be a descendant of Voldemort's?" wondered Scorpius.

"It's a possibility," replied Rose. "Well they both have the power-hungry trait; I mean remember when she couldn't stop talking about that Elder Wand? And she was also gushing about Voldemort like he was the greatest thing ever!"

"Do you think she was the one that stole those books? I hadn't seen Veronica in her room that day," said Albus. "And the day before that, when she refused to join in the snowball fight, my father mentioned something about how his and mum's room looked rather messy. It was almost as if someone had searched their bedroom."

"Maybe she thought you had the Deathly Hallows …" whispered Rose.

"I should never have doubted Selesta," said Albus. "She was telling the truth!"

"That's right," a cold, ravenous voice sneered.

"Veronica!" Albus's voice echoed throughout the Forbidden Forest.

Rose held on to Scorpius's arm nervously.

"We know who you really are!" Albus said. "You're related to Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Albus thought he saw a shadow from the corner of his eye which quickly zoomed all around them randomly. He then heard the cold voice shriek, "DON'T CALL HIM THAT! You do not refer to the Dark Lord by that name. The same one that was given to him after his stupid Muggle father."

"So you know that I am a descendant of the greatest wizard of all time?" The voice calmed down.

Rose couldn't help but laugh, "Voldemort? The greatest wizard? Oh please! Harry Potter is currently the greatest wizard of all time. Not to mention, he's still living."

"Not for long," a dark figure stepped forward under the moonlight. It was Veronica and in her hands was the Elder Wand. "Soon the whole Potter family will go extinct. But I'll make an exception for you Albus. Join me and together we will rise and become the most powerful wizard couple."

"Me? Join you and betray my family?" Albus barked into laughter. "Never."

"Such a shame. I really liked you Albus, I really did. But now I guess you can join your little girlfriend and hold hands while you die." Veronica grinned.

"Selesta? Where is she? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?" Albus cried.

Veronica laughed in delight. "Probably being beaten to death by now. She might have said some rude things to the centaurs."

"You put her under the Imperius curse!" Albus accused.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," Veronica shrugged. "Remember that time when you had a little chat with Selesta outside in the snow? That wasn't Selesta."

"That was you?" Albus said disgusted. "We almost— ugh, kissed. I'm guessing you used the Polyjuice Potion."

Veronica nodded. "And that thumping in the closet was your girlfriend under a Full Body-Bind Curse. She must've tipped over. I needed her body to get the information I wanted from you."

"Why are you doing this to her? She has never done anything to you!" Rose cried.

"Silly Rosie, does Snape ring a bell?" Veronica spun her wand around playfully in her fingers.

"Snape? She's related to him, so what?" Rose put her hands on her hips.

"So what? I thought you were smarter than that Rosie. Smarty Rosie is that what your mummy calls you?" taunted Veronica.

"Is it revenge for when Snape double-crossed Voldemort?" Scorpius asked.

"DING! DING! DING! Yes, the Malfoy boy gets it!" Veronica clapped her hands excitedly. "You should join me Scorpius. I'm recruiting new Death Eaters. You might recognize some familiar faces."

Just then, 6 dark figures in black hooded cloaks descended behind Veronica. Scorpius's jaw dropped. He recognized 2 of them. It was his best friends— Milo and Cunis. There were also 2 girls that stood beside them, Patty and Kourtney. The girls Selesta had befriended. On the other side of where Veronica stood, was Ralph Thomas, the boy that Albus hardly ever heard talk. And beside Ralph was a tall, muscular boy with a face that rivaled a bulldog's— Nicholas Fledge.

"Milo? Cunis?" mumbled Scorpius.

"Why am I not surprised?" coughed Albus. Rose kicked him in the shin.

"No," Scorpius took Rose's hand. "I won't join you!"

"I see you've chosen your side," Veronica nodded.

"Why are you so obsessed with continuing what Voldemort started?" asked Albus.

"Ugh, I have to explain everything to you three dimwits." Veronica rolled her eyes. "Okay, so here's a big shocker guys. Voldemort is my grandfather."

"Er …I didn't know he um … mated," said Rose. "He wasn't the loving type. All he cared about was power."

"Put a sock in it! So anyways …" continued Veronica.

"Hey! Don't talk to my girlfriend like that!" shouted Scorpius.

Rose gasped, "Really?"

"Yeah really," he smiled.

"CRUUUUUCIOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Veronica as she pointed her wand at Scorpius.

Scorpius yelled from the top of his lungs in agony as he fell to the ground twitching.

"Scorpius!" Rose quickly fell down beside him.

Veronica smiled happily. "So as I was saying, Voldemort is my grandfather and Bellatrix is my grandmother. They had a son together – my father, but they disowned him since he was a useless Squib! They pretended like he didn't even exist and he was adopted by some stupid Muggles that raised him like their own. He then married a Muggle woman and they had me. All my life I was raised like a Muggle until I realized I had powers. That was when my father told me who I really was and that I wasn't just some ordinary person. Ever since I've been going to Hogwarts, I've been learning more and more about Voldemort and all of the great things he has done. I even started teaching myself Dark Magic. When my parents found out, they went ballistic and said I couldn't go to Hogwarts anymore. So I killed them. My Muggle grandparents also got in the way so I killed them too."

"So all that crying …was just an act? You didn't even have Muggle grandparents when I invited you to my home!" said Albus.

"Yes Al, they've been long dead for almost 2 years now," she grinned. "And now I'm here to bring back the Dark Lord."

"But he's dead," said Rose.

"I know idiot. That's why I'm looking for the Deathly Hallows!" snapped Veronica. "I was hoping to find the wand at your house but I didn't find it. So I took those books about your father instead. I then learned where the Elder Wand was and stole it from Dumbledore's tomb. How stupid of him to think no one would ever find it. And now I'll use it to find the Resurrection Stone."

Rose found herself blurting out, "But you can't just—"

"ACCIO RESURRECTION STONE!" commanded Veronica.

Nothing.

The stone didn't reveal itself, nor did it fall into Veronica's greedy hands.

"WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?" she growled.

"Powerful magical objects are immune to Summoning Charms. It doesn't matter what kind of wand you have, even if you have the Elder Wand it won't work." Rose said matter-of-factly.

"REDUCTOOOOOO!" Veronica shouted angrily as she pointed her wand at Rose.

Luckily, Scorpius pushed her out of the way just in time as the spell blasted a nearby tree into pieces.

"Stupefy!" Albus aimed at Veronica who quickly fell to the ground.

The other Death Eaters automatically fired their wands at Albus as he helped Rose and Scorpius up.

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Albus screamed.

Green light flashed all around them as they ran as far as their legs would take them. They didn't know exactly where they were going, as long as they were away from the Death Eaters.

"Stupefy!" Scorpius stunned Nicholas Fledge who came crashing down to the ground.

"S-S-SONORUS!" Rose pointed her wand at Ralph Thomas.

"What the…" Ralph's voice sounded like he was talking through a megaphone.

Albus and Scorpius covered their ears as Ralph babbled on loudly. They then stared at Rose in confusion.

"I panicked! I couldn't think of anything so I just said the first spell that came to mind," she explained.

"Immobulus!" Kourtney Pettigrew pointed her wand at Rose. Her whole body froze immediately as she tipped to the ground like a stiff log.

"Rose!" Scorpius tried picking her up but Patty stunned him before he got a chance.

Albus tripped over a tree root as he watched what had just happened. He had dropped his wand and desperately tried feeling the forest ground around him with his hands.

Unfortunately, all Albus could find were a bunch of pebbles and smooth round rocks. He felt them roll between his fingers until he touched one that didn't feel like the others. It was much more pointed and had almost cut through his palm.

Suddenly, Milo and Cunis got a hold of Albus's collar as they dragged him through the dirt.

"Veronica wants to have the pleasure of killing you herself," Cunis grinned.

"And don't worry, you'll be last," said Milo. "She wants you to watch your whole family die before your eyes."