Chapter 3: Hidden Messages
Three weeks passed by with no sign of hidden chambers, evil professors, or loose trolls. What he got instead was a whole lot of ostracization, name-calling, and bizarre nightmares involving a whole lot of red doors and . . . someone or something that wouldn't stop chasing him. He hasn't told anyone of course, still on the fence whether it was anything more than your anxieties taking form. He thought his insomnia was bad before, but it certainly couldn't compare to his current two-hour sleep schedule.
Oh, and shit like the Gryffindors avoiding him? Well, he sort of expected that to happen, but it didn't help him any that all the other houses followed suit. He's received the most glares and snide remarks from the goddamn Hufflepuffs for crying out loud. Besides the shock of Albus being a Slytherin, his little demonic episode certainly affected his reputation as well. Apparently, he's won the award for longest hat stall ever: got himself stuck in some sort of trance for a grand total of ten minutes. The professors went all out trying to wake him once the candles and paintings started going haywire.
"Scariest sorting I've ever seen," was how Rose described it, but Albus can't seem to remember the incident at all. The last thing he can recall is the hat calling out Slytherin. Everything that happened afterward comes as a total blank. . . except this nagging feeling of overwhelming dread.
The adults of the school seemed unsure whether to treat him like broken glass or the next coming of Voldemort. Albus is sure his brother falls in the latter category; he's certainly been getting many glares and scowls in the hallways. On the other hand, for Rose, his snake status didn't seem to annoy her as much as his weird freak-out did. She's adamant that he's got a curse put on him.
There's not much he could do to figure out what happened though. No one seems to be of any help, keen on spreading nonsensical rumors of hat ghosts rather than offering plausible theories. Madam Pomfrey had required him to stop by the hospital wing once a week to make sure nothing was wrong with him. After the initial three checkups, she seemed to conclude that there were no abnormalities other than his disorder: of which the sleeping potions didn't help any.
However, less sleep provided him a lot of time to ruminate over his thoughts. Scorpius being in Slytherin doesn't really bother him, surprisingly. Him being a Malfoy, though? That took a while, he'll admit, to get over his initial prejudices. But by week two, it was a thing of the past. Albus always felt that his friendship with Scorpius was an ironic but destined affair. Their fellow Slytherins shunned Albus because he was a Potter. They envied and scorned Scorpius because his family was the only one spared from Azkaban.
Pariahs, that's what they were, so they sort of have to rely on each other.
Albus can already picture his parents' disappointment in him: an outcast who befriended a Malfoy out of all people. He's also an idiot, thinking his Hogwarts days would be anything like his dad's, and recently, he's come to accept that it may continue to worsen.
However, there is a bright side to all of his bad luck.
The requirement room was left relatively untouched before he got to it.
He's worked on his super secret hangout room for days on end, and his insomnia, which grew worse lately, actually helped this time around since he'd have to sneak out at night to do all his decorating. James' ire would probably bite him back soon or later since he stole his cloak, but Albus had been extra careful to avoid him so far. He learned two jinxes on his own in case it got nasty.
He modeled the room after his own bedroom, so he intended there to be long nights of gaming and mid-day junk cravings. Right now, Albus has just about finished setting up his computer set; it won't be long until his dad figures out he stole it, but he'll deal with that when break comes. The old vintage computer was small, bulky, and ugly, but worked just fine the last time he was on it. Whether it will work in Hogwarts is a different story. He knows just as well as any other wizard that too much magic interferes with technology, but the requirement room was a bit different. He's tested out other shit before, like radio and stereos. Those seemed to work just fine.
Taking in a deep breath, on that fated Thursday night, Albus finally reaches out to press the power button. From behind him, Scorpius can't help but loom over with curiosity, his figure projecting a dark shadow, masking Albus' line of sight within the already dim room. Albus his head with a scowl. "Do you mind?" His voice is quiet due to exhaustion but his ire could still be heard.
Shuffling his feet like a drunk uncle, the other teen shoots him an impish grin. Scorpius gives Albus a harsh pat on the back for reassurance, almost knocking the wind out of him. He only flips him the bird in return.
Getting to know Scorpius over the past three weeks, Albus thinks his initial impression wasn't too far off. The guy is nothing like the senior Malfoy, going off how his dad described him. The teen is fun and easygoing, not caring much about riches, fame, or all other sorts of pureblood nonsense. However, there's a hint of something eerie behind his playful jokes and sunny smiles, but whatever his deal may be, Albus can't bring himself to care as long as the teen continues as his partner in crime.
He directs his attention back to the black screen and swallows his stale saliva, index finger a mere centimeter away from the small green button. His finger lingers there for an extra heartbeat before he finally gives it a go.
Three seconds stretch to five then ten until a small beep could be heard. Lines of white text suddenly fill the dark screen.
Starting Windows 95. . .
Bright blue illuminates the desk's stained wood and the gasping faces of the outcast duo. The login screen replaces the colorful Windows logo, the background being a picture of killer hamsters in clown suits. Scorpius couldn't help but erupt with laughter as Albus tries to cover his reddening face.
"What the hell is that?"
"I found it funny okay?!"
Thankfully, Scorpius doesn't give him a concerned rundown of how the internet rots the brain like Rose often would. A short jingle plays as his home screen opens up to him. Files and folders were scattered all over with nonsensical names such as freedomisdead and jpegs of funny cat poses.
How utterly embarrassing.
Albus quickly moves forward, intending to clean up the mess as best as he could, but Scorpius beats him to it. He uses the mouse to open up his internet browser. Albus immediately tries to wrestle for control, making sporadic grabs and elbow punches, but the other teen hardly budges. His form blocks the bright computer screen, so Albus has no idea what he could be looking at.
But finally, Scorpius' voice rings out- uncharacteristically quiet. It comes out as a gravely whisper, fear evident in how he chokes on his words.
"Al, what-what is this?"
Fed up with his friend blocking his view, Albus gives him another push as to which the silver-haired teen finally obliges, moving out of the way to reveal something. . . truly horrifying.
In the dead center of the black page was a blurry video of someone being tortured. Or at least, it looked like torture with all those needles, metal devices, and-oh, oh no, the blood. Red splotches stained every surface imaginable: on the chair, the white gown, pink blistered skin, and dirty towels.
Albus thinks might be suffocating, having stopped breathing due to his shock and horror.
The video was shot from a bird's eye view, almost as if it was recorded on a security camera. He couldn't tell if the victim was a boy or a girl with all the injuries they sported. So far, there was no audio either, and It didn't help that their head was shaved or that the image quality was worse than 240p.
Color Immediately drained from Scorpius' face, his mouth feeling extremely dry. "Is this real? Why are you watching a child being tortured like this?" He shoots Albus a harsh but confused glare, his hand trembling and furiously raking through his messy hair. Unable to speak yet, the brunette forced himself to take several deep breaths. His heart pounded loudly in his chest as he frantically shakes his head, still unsure of what he has just seen.
This video. Just why? Why did it look so familiar to him? Like he's seen that place before? In his dreams? Maybe? The blood and that gown. . .
Albus gives Scorpius his best pleading look. "Y-you've got to believe me, I've never seen this before in my entire life."
Unfortunately, that was a half-lie.
The other teen remains frowning, clearly skeptical and upset at what he just saw.
"Look, where, just where did you find this site?" Albus urgently demands. Scorpius shrugs in response. "I just clicked a link on the other tab and it took me there." Eyes bulging in panic, Albus pushed the other teen behind him and gives himself only three seconds to find the chat, scroll through, then exit the page. He then gives Scorpius a hard shove, and the teen stumbles back in surprise.
"Haven't you ever heard of privacy?!"
Unbeknownst to Albus, ironically, his words seemed to predict an intruder lurking from outside the room of requirement.
One Chiyo Nakamura stood impatiently on the other side, tapping her shoes in a quick rhythmic manner.
The girl never considered herself to be the adventurous sort, content with following family traditions and keeping out of trouble. In fact, Chiyo has already accepted her fate as the next shrine keeper and came to realize that all her years spent at Mahoutokro and Hogwarts will probably go to waste. She usually isn't the type to poke around where she's not supposed to, but it was her first year away from home! When she saw Damien Boot from Herbology class snooping around the seventh floor, curiosity got the best of her. The last time she saw the Ravenclaw, he had entered a door that definitely wasn't there before.
Just what could it be? Chiyo's curiosity was growing ever larger by the minute. A secret passageway maybe? Hogwarts was old enough to have those right? Mahoutokro only had boring cave tunnels, the ones that lead to sealed demons. Yes, sometimes, she can be rather mischievous, but she'd rather not unleash baby-eating horrors into the world just for the fun of it. . . wait a damn minute. Was Damien a demon? Chiyo muses in deep thought, picturing the boy's dour face. It certainly would explain his unnatural pallor and scary eye smiles.
Staring up at the empty wall, Chiyo gave out a loud sigh. She was smart but not smart enough to crack the door puzzle in ten minutes. She stares down at her wand in contemplation before reaching into her robe's pockets, unfurling a number of crumpled-up paper charms. Using seals to break other seals! She gives herself an imaginary pat on the back. What great thinking!
She held up three ofuda, closing her eyes to concentrate.
"漏らす."
The paper charms react almost immediately to her command, attaching to the stone surface in a triangular formation. The black kanji glow a bright blue color but otherwise, the wall appears to be unaffected.
"Huh. . . this thing is more stubborn than I thought."
Scorpius gives Albus a pointed look. "Are you seriously going off about privacy when I just found a fucking torture video on your computer!? And I don't know how this whole technology thing works alright?"
"Well you know enough to put your greasy hands all over the mouse and open up internet explorer," Albus accuses, his voice shaky and strained. Scorpius only shakes his head at his dramatics, gesturing to the computer screen. "You can argue with me on that later." His expression tenses as if he were arguing with himself before he unpauses the video with a quick click of the mouse.
Albus wants to yell at him: for touching his set without permission and for playing that god-awful video again. Was he crazy? Or sadistic? Why would anyone want to see any more of its. . . disturbing content. . .
Within the pixelated screen, the child starts to behave strangely. Eyes begin to roll uncontrollably. The individual thrashes in their cuffs and chains, screaming, crying, and clawing chunks of skin off. Then hands, multiple large adult hands appear out of nowhere, forcing wild limbs to stay put.
Whether the video was fake or not, what would happen next will traumatize any sort of viewer. The intruding hands shake uncontrollably, each layer of skin, muscle, and bone stripped away in rapid succession by an unknown force. Despite there being no audio, he could clearly hear the bloodcurdling screams reverberating in his head.
Albus was no stranger to gore. He's seen his fair share of R-rated horror in secret, but something tells him that what he's seeing is anything but fake blood and CGI.
If this was real then was this what the government was hiding? Some sort of paranormal experiment involving defenseless tortured children? The metal props start to bend and warp at odd angles as if reacting to the child's distress. Was this magic? Albus tries to wrack his brain for an explanation. Accidental magic perhaps?
The video finally ends with an abrupt screech: a loud rushing noise, high-pitched and overwhelmingly loud. For certain, he could audibly hear it now. It wasn't just all in his head.
Only twenty seconds in and the camera lens becomes obscured by a shock of visceral fluid and red flesh. For a solid minute, Albus is frozen in his spot, unable to tear his eyes from the screen. Only when he feels a hand touch his shoulder does he snap back to reality. He realizes his hands are pressed flush against his ears, nails painfully digging into his scalp. He lets go, slowly, turning to see Scorpius' concerned expression. The teen wasn't looking too good either. He was unnaturally pale, his light hair damp with sweat.
"Al."
He doesn't respond, not because he doesn't want to but because he can't. He silently stares at the carpeted floor with a blank expression, eyeing the meticulous stitching on his brown loafers. He wasn't ready to talk, not when his brain was still trying to register what he had just seen. He felt cold and shaken, the chilly air only worsening his mood.
"Al, man, you need to get it together. What the bloody hell was that? Was it fake? Please tell me it is. Like those Muggle movies, right?"
Scorpius is trying his best not to scream or yell, knowing that neither of them needs that for the time being.
"You have to give me some background on this, cause otherwise, I'm going to think you're a psycho, or that computers are out to traumatize you for some reason."
Albus crouches into a squat, rubbing his forehead to ease a growing headache. "It's-it's. . . God, I don't even fucking know. I don't know," he mumbles. Nodding, Scorpius slowly comes closer. "Okay, okay yeah, I think I get it-"
"Th-there's just so much, but none of it makes any sens-"
A loud bang makes both boys jump in fright. Albus scrambles to get his wand out while Scorpius, remembering that he left his on the desk, settles into an amateur fighting pose. The wooden door was swung open by an exuberant Asian girl. Her fingers are stained with ink and her eyes wide with fervor.
"Aha! I got you Demon Boy!" she yells in triumph. "What evil schemes are you cooking up in this. . . in this. . . lair?" Not wasting another second, Albus quickly blocks the screen monitor. The two boys share a nervous look, unsure of what to make of their intruder.
Chiyo lets out an amused grin. "Damn you guys look like you've seen a ghost or something." She gestures to her face. "Very pale." At her comment, the two boys try their best to compose themselves, despite clearly being traumatized.
"Anyways, Albus and Scorpius, right?"
Scorpius frowns."Didn't know we were on first name basis already," he retorts nervously, glancing at the obscured computer. "Sorry to say this, but who you are, and why are you trespassing onto our hideout?"
Chiyo smiles before giving a half-hearted bow. "Chiyo Nakamura, third-year Hufflepuff. I came by this mystery room by chance. Nothing more to it really."
"And Demon boy?" Albus quips. "That's-that's supposed to be me isn't it?"
"Uhhh, no comment," she chirps before heading toward the sofas. She feels her shoe step on something brittle on the way and sees a half-eaten chocolate bar on the floor. Scanning the messy room, she notes the candy wrappers and soda cans littered here and there. The room was quite a letdown to how she imagined it. Stains and watermarks marred the wooden furniture while dirty clothes were thrown over the couch in a large pile.
"What a dump. I'd expected a bit more pizazz you know, something worthy of being called a secret hideout or something." Chiyo plops herself on a rundown sofa, kicking the musty sweatshirts and pajamas off of her. "And it's not really fair is it, to have this secret room all to yourselves," she muses. "Especially if you're just going to keep it like this," she remarks, scanning the bare walls and their poor choice of interior design.
"If-if you don't like it, then feel free to leave. We found this room first," Albus retorts, his voice still shaky. Chiyo only scoffs at his comment. "Unless what? You'll jinx me? I'll just let everyone else know about this secret hideout of yours then."
"Blackmail. . . not very Hufflepuff of you, Nakamura," Scorpius grunts out. Albus decides then to shuffle his posture. He pretends to scratch his back, turning the computer off as discretely as he can. Unfortunately, the sound alerts the other two. Scorpius purses his lips with a pained expression. Chiyo, on the other hand, shoots Albus a mischievous smile.
"Okay, here's the deal. You let me join this little secret club of yours and my lips are sealed! I'll be a great addition to the outcast duo!"
"Outcast duo!?"
"Now, outcast trio," Chiyo hums to herself.
The two boys share a pained expression, obviously too tired and shaken for this bullshit.
"So. . . thoughts?"
The Chat Room
2:15 A.M. 09.18.2019
MetalAlchemist8808: You better be here Pink
3 People are Online
MetalAlchemist8808: the link
MetalAlchemist8808: what the fuck is wrong with you
WitchyPeasant44: . . .
MetalAlchemist8808: aren't you going to explain? You leave us this dark web bait for us then expect us to be fine after watching it!?
WitchyPeasant44: Pink, please talk to us. What did we just see?
PinkPyramid1024: . . .
PinkPyramid1024: its what they're doing inside their facilities
WitchyPeasant44: experimenting. . . on children? Does this have to do with what Dr. Richard said? Are they testing out that secret energy of them? Like a bunch of lab rats?!
MetalAlchemist8808: well that's one conjecture. Maybe they trying to make more super-girls like that 2015 witch.
PinkPyramid1024: I don't know for sure either. All, I know is that it's some Resident evil shit.
WitchyPeasant44: I-I think we're all in danger. This is just another nuclear bomb situation waiting to happen
WitchyPeasant44: what are they trying to accomplish?
PinkPyramid1024: I don't know
WitchyPeasant44: and here i was. . . excited about all this news of the paranormal
pink: jus another resource we can abuse if we had the chance
MetalAlchemist8808: not to be that guy here, but how much does this relate to the other sightings? Like ghosts? Monsters? That kind of shit
PinkPyramid1024: well, whatever this energy that Dr. Richard explained was, wouldn't it be tied to their existence too?
WitchyPeasant44: ugh, why can't scientists just say magic! It sounds so much better than "hidden energy"
MetalAlchemist8808: cause magic is fun, chaotic, and mystifying
PinkPyramid1024: and that's not what they want all
MetalAlchemist8808: no, it's not. What they want is something they can control, so why not re-name it, distort its story and being until it's something else entirely?
WitchyPeasant44: . . .
PinkPyramid1024: it's getting late guys, any questions u have will have to wait till next time
MetalAlchemist8808: oh you bet we have questions
MetalAlchemist8808: for starters, whether we should trust you or not
WitchyPeasant44: I do hope you aren't an evil alien or spy agent Pink
Chat has ended