The next day was terrible.
Gerrod sighed as he walked aimlessly through the corridors after breakfast. What a mess.
He wanted Daphne and Cho to settle their differences, be it blood or negotiation. He'd hope that after they argued and fought a little, they'd gain mutual respect for each other. Clearly, he was wrong. Luna jumping in between the Spells Daphne, Cho, and Harry fired was disastrous. Rumors and gossip was running rampant and uncontrolled courtesy of Lavender Brown and Cormac McLaggen, both of who were terrible gossipers and loudmouths. Gerrod wondered why the Court kept McLaggen around, he was annoying and arrogant. Much like himself but to a more spotlight-demanding degree, not even Draco was as bad as McLaggen.
The students had the day off, it was to be used for studying and doing homework or catching up on it for some. Many of the Court Members took the day to relax as well as find some solitude and peace from what happened at the fight from the previous night. A great deal of them eyed each other with loathing, many at Gerrod, the most, some at friends, others at enemies and rivals. Harry himself looked at Gerrod with loathing, though more with a look of disappointment than anything. Hermione and Draco were neutral about Gerrod, this was due to his lack of interference and intervention with the fight as well as lack of support to either side. Historia however, looked at her Brother in a mixture of loathing, disappointment, and rage.
Gerrod ignored the looks and whispers, he didn't care for them. He walked into the hospital, hoping to visit Luna. She was still unconscious, Daphne and Nermaius were taking turns standing vigil over her limp form. Madam Pomfrey was resting her head on the bedside, she had stayed up all night caring for Luna, empty Potions, scraps of cloth for wounds, and blood was littered all around Luna's bedside. Luna was breathing, though very shallowly, her life had almost been lost with the Spells that merged when they hit her. Pomfrey had to cut Luna open at points to drain blood that was tainted with unstable Magic, which happens to a Witch or Wizard when they are hit with a multitude of Spells from different casters and the Magic merges, working together to kill its stricken host.
Nermaius turned to see who had entered, he felt Gerrod's Magic from outside the hospital and realized it was coming closer. "Gerrod." He said curtly, Nermaius eyed Gerrod up and down, noticing that he was more tired-looking than usual.
"How is she?" Gerrod asked in a somber tone.
"She's stable." Nermaius said once again in a curt voice. The three, Daphne sat while the two stood, watched the pale body before them breathe slow and steady breaths. The silence which hung around them was near suffocating, an awkwardness that happened only during some unbelievable scene at a party or rave of such. "I don't blame you." Nermaius said to break the silence permeating around them. He eyed the still sleeping form of Madam Pomfrey. "It wasn't your fault."
"Yes, it was." Daphne spoke angrily as she stood up in rage to face Gerrod and Nermaius. "This is all your fault. It is your fault that Luna, that my fiancé, is in this hospital." She said in quiet condemnation. Poking Gerrod fiercely in between the joint of his shoulder.
"Luna is in this hospital bed because of your idiocy, because of your own actions, Daphne." Nermaius answered back in defense of Gerrod, Daphne turned to him and he took a step forward. "If you had learned to keep your mouth shut, none of this would have happened."
"And what of my honor?" Daphne responded, taking a step of her own. "What of Luna's, what of yours, huh?"
Nermaius squinted just the slightest in annoyance. "House Lovegood has always been in decline." He stated as a matter of fact. "We use to be a respectable Noble House, but now we are not. Yours however, are. You endangering your future wife for some petty reasons and insults, is jeopardizing House Greengrass' reputation. It is also endangering one of my few remaining relatives." Nermaius took one more step and the two were now staring menacingly into each other's eyes. "I am Lord Heir of the main branch of House Lovegood and if I wish it so, I can end our contract, and this farce of a relationship."
"You wouldn't dare." Daphne seethed. "And you can't, you don't have the authority."
"Really?" Nermaius asked. "Last time I checked, Xenophilius Lovegood wrote me to act as the main bearer of the contract, making me Luna's guardian, if I so deem it, I can end our little Marriage Contract between our Houses. And I am very tempted to do so and believe me when I say this, I find your behavior very appalling and it has become one of my reasons that I probably will end your Marriage Contract with my Cousin."
"And would Luna have any say?" Asked Daphne, teeth clenched in anger.
"No." It was Gerrod answered, Daphne looked at him. "Nermaius showed me the Marriage Contract, and we both went over it in our free time with Lord Malfoy when he was visiting Marcus in the hospital before he awoken. The Marriage Contract stated that it could be changed whenever House Lovegood, Nermaius, wanted to, or wished it so. House Greengrass would be able to see the changes and would then decide on whether or not they'll continue with the said changes, or break it off due to possible absurdities in said contract."
"Break what off?" The raspy voice of Luna asked, much to the shock of many, Madam Pomfrey stirred from her sleep when she felt Luna move, she looked to see the barely awakened form of Luna Lovegood, blabbering something incoherently she woke up fully and went to the back of the hospital, probably to fetch supplies.
"Our Marriage Contract." Daphne said meekly once Pomfrey left. She was feeling guilty of what happened the moment she turned to look into Luna's eyes, the joyful and happy light she had always seen in them seem faded. "Luna, I-"
"I want to speak with my Cousin and Gerrod... alone, Daphne." Luna whispered out, she stared at the ceiling with a dazed look. Daphne opened her mouth to speak.
"Luna-" Luna turned her head away from Daphne, not in the mood to listen to her fiancée. She reached for Luna's shoulder but Gerrod stopped her, grabbing her arm, shaking his head no. Daphne sighed, it was a tired sigh, one of defeat. "I'm sorry, I'll leave now." Her receding footsteps cause Luna to turn back over to face Nermaius and Gerrod.
Silence.
"So..." Nermaius began. "What did you want to talk about?" He had a reasonable guess but wasn't completely sure.
Luna rolled back over, as her eyes began staring longingly at the ceiling, they watered with tears, and she sniffled in anguish. Her limps quivered. "I want to go home." She weakly said. "I want to go home. Please. I want to go home." She whispered in a cry of desperation, her voice sounded hopeless.
"Alright, it's okay, it's okay, you're fine. You're safe now. I'll write to your Father, get you out as soon as we can." Nermaius said as he went to kneel by her bedside, he cupped Luna's hand into his and held it as she broke down. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Luna?"
Luna cried and cried. "I can't- I can't- I can't feel my legs." She hiccupped out, her breathing becoming more and more sporadic. Nermaius clenched his jaw, his breathing shook as did his lips and body, he told himself that he needed to be strong, that he needed to support his Cousin in her time of need, that he would express his emotions later. Time was slow as Nermaius held onto Luna's hand, he was trying his best to comfort her to the best of his abilities, being on his own for most of his life, he learned to be cold, to be emotionless and impassive, he truly didn't know what to do to comfort his Cousin.
Madam Pomfrey rushed back to Luna's bed and saw that she was going into shock, she pulled a Potion from a pocket in her matron outfit and administered it to Luna, it was a Calming Draught, the Potion took full effect in a matter of seconds and Luna fell into a dreamless sleep. Pomfrey then began to change the dirty sheets Luna slept in, after expelling most of her Magic for four hours trying to save Luna's life, she had collapsed from exhaustion and wasn't able to do anything more. "What happened to the girl while I was gone?" She asked the boys.
"She can't feel her legs." Gerrod said sternly, a dark feeling crept into the hospital as he answered for Nermaius once he noticed that he was in no state to do so. "What happened." Pomfrey sighed.
"When Lord Flint brought Miss Lovegood into the hospital, the foreign Magic she was hit with had already done its work. She'd been hit twice around her spinal cord and once at her legs, her legs were shattered from blunt force trauma from the Spell she was hit with, a Bone Breaker," Pomfrey explained, her knowledge of medicine was both Magical and Muggle, so she knew the signs. "The foreign Magic that had hit her body was mainly Dark Magic, they had, in a sense, infected her nervous system and caused the loss of her legs."
"Damn it!" Nermaius shouted, he slammed his hand into the bed mattress. He shook with anger.
"I am sorry Lord Heir," Madam Pomfrey consoled, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as he buried his head in his hands in frustration. "It'll be miracle if she were to walk again. Had I been present when such a thing happened, I might have been able to save her legs. The damage is done. There is no Potion nor Magic I know of that can restore her ability to walk."
"Alright that's enough," Gerrod said somberly, Pomfrey nodded silently, and left to prepare more Potions, Gerrod grabbed Nermaius' shoulder. "Nermaius, let's let her Father know." Nermaius angrily jerked his head towards Gerrod, his eyes aflame in anger. "C'mon." Nermaius exhaled loudly and stood up to leave with Gerrod, Pomfrey just watched the interaction from afar with a tired look. To her, the children of the Wizarding World carried too many burdens on their shoulders to have a decent and happy childhood, or life, for that matter.
The two silently traversed the halls, Gerrod wore a calm and collected face, while Nermaius wore, unbefitting from his calm persona, a dark and menacing look. They passed students who made way for them, some openly speculated what was riling Nermaius up, others were quietly whispering what had him so angry to the point where he made his displeasure visible. "Let your Uncle know what's happened, I suspect he'll want to know what's been going on and what's happened with Luna," Gerrod said in a stating manner. The two walked outside and towards Hagrid's hut, the giant wasn't home, probably in the Forbidden Forest doing something dangerous. They made their way to the Owlery, a large black tower located a good short walk from where Hagrid's house was built, and Nermaius wrote a short letter from the provided parchment in the Owlery to Xenophilius Lovegood, telling him to quickly make his way to Hogwarts, be it by Floo, flight, or Apparition to the outside of Hogwarts' defenses.
"We need to find Daphne and Cho." Gerrod announced as soon as Nermaius had told the owl where it was supposed to go. "I've taken the liberty to decide that they will not be either Court Members or on the Court until they get their act together."
Nermaius scoffed and turned to face Gerrod. "The other's won't like that. Daphne's part of the Twelve." He remarked bitterly, knowing the others would argue against Gerrod's decision and his lack of getting input from them.
"Then they can fuck themselves if they don't fucking like it." Gerrod spat out. "An innocent person was hurt, your Cousin no less, anyone of the Court who says what I'm doing is an abuse of power can fuck themselves." He stepped forward and grabbed both of the sides of Nermaius' shoulders. "Are you with me, or not? Choose now, or hold your peace."
"With." Nermaius said instantly with conviction. Gerrod nodded and the two made their way back towards Hogwarts. Their Magical Aura radiating with an intent that felt violent, dangerous even. Many hoped that they hadn't done anything to anger the Court, some were actively running away in fear, others slowly turned their back, and most pretended they hadn't seen a thing, hoping to become invisible or unnoticed by the two. They made their way towards Ravenclaw's Common Rooms as they knew Cho would most likely be hiding there, Daphne was another matter. As the two marched through the halls they suddenly came upon Daphne's confidant, Tracey Davis. She was gossiping with another one of her friends, a person neither of the two knew, nor cared to know or remember, at the entrance of Ravenclaw's dormitories. Both looked at each other and decided they might as well kill two birds with one stone and ask if she, Tracey, had seen Daphne anywhere.
"Davis." Gerrod said tonelessly. Tracey turned and gasped in surprise and shock, her friend stood where they were in silent shock.
"Gerrod," Tracey said in a genuinely surprised voice. She then noticed Nermaius. She smiled charmingly and bowed her head. "Nermaius, what ever can I do for you two?" She kindly asked, not out of fear, but out of genuine interest for them.
"Daphne Greengrass." Said Nermaius, his voice, and tone were cold, frigid, and serious. Tracey crossed her arms almost defensively and frowned, what did they want with her? "Where is she?"
"Why do you want to know?" Tracey asked curiously, a little guarded knowing that angry Court Members, especially those who were part of the Twelve, were looking for her.
"House business." Nermaius answered. Tracey sighed, she knew she was probably going to regret letting them know.
"Daphne's in Ravenclaw's Common Room, she's talking to-"
Bang! Crash! Crack!
Loud smashing sounds erupted from the entrance of the knobless door of the Common Room that had a bronze and silver eagle on it mounted on it. The door opened and Cho Chang unceremoniously crawled out, Tracey gasped and covered her mouth in horror, her friend ran away the moment she saw the bloodied student, probably to get a Professor. Cho's face was bloodied, she was missing a tooth or two, and she was breathing rapidly and looking back in fear of something or someone, when she spotted Gerrod and Nermaius, she felt a small feeling of hope surge through her and cried out in vain.
"Help me," she cried out. "Help me, please, she's going to kill me!" Gerrod and Nermaius drew their wands the moment those words came from her mouth.
"Fucking bitch." The furious voice of Daphne spat from behind the entrance, the knobless door slowly opened up and she stepped out into view. Daphne's blonde hair was in disarray, her face contorted to a permanent scowl. Wand being held in one of her bloodied hands. Behind her was Theo, and Crabbe, and Goyle. Daphne moved and grabbed the crawling Cho by her hair forcibly. Cho begged, cried, and pleaded for mercy.
"Please don't, please don't kill me, I'm sorry." She cried out. Tears rolling down her bloodstained cheeks, collecting the wet blood as it did. "I'M SORRY! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
"You should have though of that before you hurt her." Daphne said menacingly as Cho choked and cried more. Daphne held her wand at Cho's throat, her hand shaking from the adrenaline.
"Daphne!" Gerrod yelled. He had his wand pointed at her and the other three behind her. Daphne and Theo looked up in shock while Crabbe and Goyle blinked in confusion, not realizing the situation. "Let her go." Gerrod commanded calmly, doing his best to take control of the situation.
"She's the reason Luna is in the hospital!" Daphne screamed.
"Maybe," Gerrod said, he shrugged. "Maybe not." He started to reason with her. "It was both of your guys' fault that Luna is in the hospital." Now wands were being pointed everywhere. Tracey had her wand pointed at Gerrod and Nermaius because of House Davis' featly towards House Greengrass, meanwhile, Nermaius had his back turned to protect his friend.
"It doesn't fucking matter." Daphne said, her emotions getting the better of her as her eyes teared up. "Luna is hurt and there isn't a fucking thing I can do!"
"Yes." Gerrod agreed. "She is, and you can do something, you guys can lower your wands, especially you Daphne before you do something you'll regret. You're already on thin ice with Luna. Don't make it worse."
"What's the point?" Daphne asked, her voice became a little crazed. "She hates me, haha, it's not like she'll talk to me anymore. So what's the point?" She dropped her head and chuckled more and more, her laugh wasn't one of insanity, rather of defeat and grief, of brokenness. Nermaius, as he listened to everything, made a decision the moment he spotted Tracey lower her guard. He cast the Disarming Charm, disarming Tracey, her shock kept her from reacting further. Daphne heard his exclamation and looked up to see what was happening, she saw that Nermaius had rolled to Gerrod's side and casted a Stunner at her, Daphne was knocked out and whipped back, hitting the wall before sliding down at a sitting position. Cho dropped to the ground in relief and promptly fainted. Nermaius shot another Disarming Charm, this time it was at Theo, his wand flew from his hand and onto the ground. Crabbe and Goyle raised their hands in surrender. Theo scowled in annoyance at his fun being ruined. He raised his hands up and moved to get his wand, slowly that is, Gerrod and Nermaius both had their wands pointed at his back in case he did something. After picking up his wand, Theo, and Crabbe and Goyle, all walked away from the scene after a minute of collected silence.
Gerrod walked to Cho and knelt down, he grabbed her right hand and pulled the Court Ring off her finger. He did the same thing to Daphne as well. He nodded to Nermaius and the two left, not before Gerrod pocketed the rings and stopped in front of Tracey. "You didn't see us. Daphne and Cho had a quarrel, they knocked each other out. You just arrived to the scene and am now in great shock, you did your best to clean them up." Gerrod leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "I'll know if you didn't do as I said." And with that, the two left and disappeared from her sight, just minutes before Professor McGonagall came striding to the scene in earnest. And so Tracey Davis expertly lied for the Court, telling McGonagall exactly what happened in the reanimation of Gerrod's words.
Gerrod and Nermaius walked solemnly down the halls. Not a word was spoken between them for what seemed to be the longest amount of time. "I'm ending the Marriage Contract." Nermaius finally said. Gerrod nodded and hummed to indicate that he was listening. "Well, at least suspend their betrothal. Luna will be in no mood to be married off to someone who cares more for revenge than they do for her health and well-being. No matter how ditsy and naïve, Luna is."
"Did you just call your Cousin, stupid?" Gerrod asked in slight amusement.
"Absolutely." Answered Nermaius, his voice was void of emotion, his answer was curt and quick. Ruthless even. "Aside from laying off the marriage, I'm going to modify some of the agreements."
"Why am I being informed this?" Gerrod asked, he ran a hand through his white bangs, they were getting excessively long. He really didn't care what Nermaius did with Daphne and Luna's Marriage Contract.
"Because I need to rant, and you're here. Now shut up and listen." Nermaius retorted dryly. "Merlin, the only thing worse is that Luna somehow gains another suitor vying for her attention and affections, someone worse than Daphne."
"I honestly can't imagine that." Gerrod said with a small frown. "Though I quite honestly surprised, in this day and age in the Wizarding World, anything can happen, multiple spouses are tame to the shit that's happening around the world, we have stuff like Hit Wizards and such, for Merlin's sake. Besides, it isn't like Polygamy is an uncommon practice, the French do it, many of the Chinese do it as well, though it's more tame in other countries like the USA, its still a widely accepted cultural practice for our people."
"Yeah, no kidding, a lot of England's Wizarding Nobility are always trying to marry multiple women or men, or both." Nermaius scoffed in disgust and annoyance. "It's pathetic thinking and knowing that we were once a a powerful and influential nation but because of centuries of traditional and poor ideas, we've become a backwatered community." He paused before continuing on. "Anyways, I plan on making the Marriage Contract between Daphne and Luna be based solely on Luna's preference. It'll give her absolute control on whether or not she decides to go through with it. If not I'll put in a clause that'll end it once she or I rips the papers in half."
"So a failsafe?" Gerrod questioned.
"Yes." Nermaius nodded.
"I can only imagine the fallout we'll have." Gerrod mused, a smirk graced his face as he looked to the ceiling like he was reliving a nostalgic memory. "So much shit is happening way too fast. Harry, Daphne and Cho, the Chamber of Secrets, whatever the fuck that is, the Beast of Slytherin, the Court."
"You're burdening yourself with too many things," Nermaius said, the two took a turn to the Great Hall. "You need to let other's do things as well."
"True." Gerrod scoffed amusingly. They entered the Great Hall and both went to their respective tables. Many students were eating snacks like bread and pastries that were being provided. Many looked and whispered, the gossip with what was happening with the Court was spreading like wildfire and most were speculating that the Court was soon to be disbanded. News which pleased many of the oppressed Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepfuffs. Court Members were eying each other with a loathing, members like Cedric and Harry, along with most of Gryffindor, openly showed their distaste for Gerrod, Slytherin were neutral with showing their opinions of one of their own, Hufflepuff was mostly neutral, Gerrod didn't oppress them as much as he did with the others. Ravenclaw was indifferent, they were being paid for their services, so they didn't mind. People like Hermione and Historia, while they didn't mind Gerrods lack of intervention or lack support for either side, they still did not approve of his methods of problem-solving.
"Seems like I've made myself less popular." Gerrod commented boringly as he sat down. He noticed Theo and Blaise were glaring at each other from across their side of the table. Historia rolled her eyes at her Brother's behavior.
"You could at least try to intervene on matters when someone's life is on the line." Historia critiqued with anger. "Cho almost died."
"Twice now." Theo added with a devious smirk. Blaise stood up angrily, he wanted to leap across the table and tackle Theo on the ground to beat him up mercilessly. There was a silent pause, filled with baited breaths, all of which were hoping a fight would break out. Instead, Blaise walked away with a scowl on his face while Theo watched from behind and chuckled amusingly to himself.
"And what does this have to do with me?" Gerrod said, he grabbed a strawberry-filled pastry and began to eat it. Marcus walked over from his friend and sat down with them, Pansy followed suit after speaking with some of her friends. Historia narrowed her eyes at her Brother. "What?" He asked in between bites.
"There's blood on the cuff of your robes." Historia said darkly. Those present, or near them, instantly focused their attention on the scene happening between the Grindelwalds. "Where did that come from?" The somber atmosphere turned dark and grim once again. Gerrod peacefully ate his pastry, not answering his Sister's question. "Where the fuck did it come from!" She questioned louder, slamming her hand on the table, this garnered the attention of many of the students who weren't Slytherin and even some of the Professors who also began to watch them.
Gerrod ate the rest of his pastry without saying a word. Sighing in annoyance, he raised his arms and checked his cuffs, and indeed there was blood on them. One of them anyway, the one that probably dipped in the puddle of blood when he took the Court Rings off of Daphne and Cho after Nermaius fired Stunners at them. Gerrod breathed out another sigh and reached into his pockets, he pulled out his wand and the Court Rings he took off of Daphne and Cho, placing them on the table.
"What the fuck." Marcus whispered quietly. He eyed Gerrod, as did everyone else, as he casted the Scouring Charm onto his bloodied robes and then onto the bloodied rings. He pocketed his wand afterward. "Whose are those, and where did you get them?" Marcus asked in the same dark manner Historia said it in.
"I bet I know where they're from." Theo smugly said under his breath, Gerrod heard him and turned to him. He grabbed another pasty and began to eat it.
"I bet you do, Theo." Gerrod said, taking a bite, Theo paled in shock, completely surprised that Gerrod heard him. He turned back to Historia and Marcus, and the rest who weren't acting like an ass. "These are both Daphne's and Cho's Court Rings." He paused to take another bite before continuing. "I've taken the liberty to strip them of their titles and privileges they have on the Court of Hogwarts until they get their acts together."
"On whose authority?" Historia questioned, standing up in protest to her Brother's actions.
"Mine." Gerrod shot back. "Daphne and Cho's actions have harmed an innocent person, I will not allow that to happen again."
"So you're abusing your power?" Historia said condescendingly.
"We voted Gerrod as head of the Court for a reason, Historia." Pansy spoke up. "Besides, anyone of us would have done the same thing. Be it abuse of his power or not, Gerrod did what was right and necessary to prevent any further violence."
Historia sighed exasperatedly. "I'm not saying he didn't do the wrong thing, I'm saying that he should have at least called some of us to discuss the next course of action." She said. "I'm glad you took the two off the Court, they needed to be off with all the drama ensuing from each side, but I'm a little annoyed and worried that you'll use this to continue to make choices for the Court on your own."
"So accountability?" Marcus remarked casually.
"Yes." Historia said with some tone of finality. She looked at Gerrod who shrugged, he didn't really care. He was watching Harry, clutching his head as left the Great Hall in a hurry with Hermione and Neville in tow. The Weasley Twins, Wood, and Angelina watched him leave with curiosity, as did many other students and Court Members. Historia as well as the other Slytherin's noticed where Gerrod was looking, and their attention was drawn to Harry too. "Should we follow him?" Historia asked aloud as her head moved with the direction and path Harry was taking, out of the Great Hall, and to the left.
Gerrod slowly got up from the table, making a dramatic showing of placing his hands on the hard oak table as he stood up to stretch. He, along with his Sister, Marcus, and Pansy, all went to what was wrong with Harry. The others walked fast, Gerrod, well he walked at a leisurely pace, almost like a waltz of some sort. Taking his sweat time, that and he was being cautious, whenever and whatever Harry was involved in, there was always something bad that was bound to happen. Like with the debacle with Filch's cat. Somehow that turned him into some killer apparently, even though there was absolutely no way he could have killed Filch's cat, the evidence, or lack thereof proving his innocence. Even then, Harry's reputation was in tatters and was being held together on a thin line, the students were susceptible, and the Professors weren't any help as they did not give them any answers to their questions on the supposed Heir of Slytherin.
The halls were mostly empty. The occasional student passed by him and the others, Historia and the others searched relentlessly for Harry, Hermione, and Neville. Gerrod kept walking as the others searched the empty rooms, the bathrooms, and around the many, sometimes, ever-changing corridors and hallways the mysterious castle had. They moved to the second floor, then the third, the fourth, then the fifth, the sixth, and then, they finally reached the seventh floor of Hogwarts castle. Where they found a single set of fresh shoe prints. To say the seventh floor was interesting was an understatement, it was different. It was dirty, seems that no one had been up there in a long time, dust was collected into a thick layer on the walls, the empty classrooms were... damaged, from Spellfire no less, odd, burnt marks were scorched onto the walls in pitch dark splatters. Explosions of some kind, of the Magical sort, that much they could tell and distinguish, there were also large gashes on the wood-covered stone walls of the classrooms and hallways as well. It was like a dragon had clawed the entire floor, splinters of the wood wall stuck out in a creeping manner, rubble from the stone laid on the marble flooring. Unlike the other floors of Hogwarts which were laid with simple sand-colored stone flooring and walls, the seventh floor was furbished extravagantly, it was a living space fit for kings and queens.
The scorch marks and gashes on the castle walls of the seventh floor should have been restored easily, was the thought of the four, Hogwarts would have Magically repaired itself. Unless the Magic that was used whatever happened was extremely powerful, and of darker origins. The shoe prints lead the four in and out of each and every room, except every time they searched the rooms, they found nothing. The shoe prints eventually lead them through a suspiciously dark hallway, one that was barely navigable even with Marcus casting and using the Wand-Lighting Charm, Lumos Maxima. The dark was ensnaring, consuming, and dangerous feeling, dark as if it had been tainted with something foul and evil.
The four walked on until they reached a door. Not just any type of door, one that was almost exactly like Hogwarts' main gate that guarded the entrance of the school on the long Viaduct. The door was pristine as if it had been cleaned regularly. It was made of black and white stone, it was a square double door. The black and white met in the middle of the airtight line, the color mixing to a grey and spreading to each side in the shape of tentacles, white on black, and black on white. There were no handles on it, and from what they could tell, there was a plaque above it, but it was blank.
"The hell is this?" Marcus said, questioning deeply on what was in front of him, including the others as well. Gerrod was clueless, Historia was clueless, Pansy was clueless, Marcus, in all his years at Hogwarts, had never even read or heard of such a thing, nevertheless a door like the one before him, existing in the castle.
"Perhaps we should go back?" Pansy said with a scared tone, they nodded with her. Gerrod looked at it with interest, he lifted his hand to touch, to examine it. His face was one of awe and obsession, his eyes seemingly focused on the doors before him, as if he had been possessed and absolutely needed to touch them and enter the blocked room.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" An inhuman scream sounded throughout the school, even they heard it. Without thinking, including Gerrod, they all ran in fear to the scream, it sounded like a student. They ran, and ran breathlessly down the seventh floor, Hogwarts, sensing their need, created a stairway for them to get all the way down to the first floor faster, when the four of them arrived, they saw most of the student body huddled around something. Gerrod, Historia, Marcus and Pansy pushed their way through the crowd. They stumbled into the circle where they saw absolute chaos. It was Filch's cat all over again, but this time it was worse. Ginny was in the circle crying, Harry, Hermione, and Neville were near-catatonic, their eyes wide with disbelief at what they were seeing. Draco was shaking Hermione to try and snap her out of her trance, the only movement he got out of the three of them were shaking breaths and quivering lips. In the center of it all was Oliver Wood and Percy Weasley. Percy was hyperventilating, looking at his blood-stained hands as he was consoled by Professor McGonagall while Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore were with Oliver, trying their best to get any information out of them.
And in the hands of Oliver Wood, was a body that had been, from the looks of it eaten away, it was the nearly destroyed, it was mutilated. The entire right half of the body, head and all had been ripped, crushed, clean off, blood had been spilled everywhere, their intestines had spilled on the ground, leaving the remaining left portion of the body, half-emptied of its contents. The student was long gone. Their remaining eye still open, filled with pain, sorrow, and brokenness, as well as every other emotion.
"Mum, Dad!" Ginny ran to Marcus and Pansy, who hugged and comforted her. They were shocked and disgusted to the core as they comforted their Daughter and watched the chaotic scene unfold.
Historia hugged her Brother as he stared in shock at the dead student before him.
The dead and lifeless body of Anthony Goldstein.
To be continued...
A/N; 5k+ words, I'm a little disappointed with myself, Gerrod's POV keeps coming up short. That being said, shit's getting real. I wonder who's controlling the Beast of Slytherin and what will happen next? Whatever shall our flawed heroes do? Oh no, egad, goodness gracious, gee wiz.
[Edited 07/03/2021]
Added some stuff, also my mouse is spasming which is pissing me off.
[Edited 07/18/2021]