Chapter 12- The Diamond of Shadow
"I'll see you later guys," Cassie said, collecting her things.
"Where are you going?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"Library," she replied blankly, leaving the Great Hall.
"She's another Hermione," Ron said as Hermione glared at him. "Something's odd about her. I should follow her," he said, starting to get up.
"Ron!" Hermione tugged on his sleeve, pulling him back down. "You're being paranoid. And besides, what do you think she's gonna say if she finds out your spying on her?"
"But...but..."
"No buts," she commanded.
"How about we go to the Quidditch pitch for a bit of practice?" Harry suggested.
"Sounds better than trying to read smoke," Ron replied.
"It's the second day of school and you're already taking a break?!" Hermione retorted.
Harry felt wonderful as he pushed off from the ground. He flew around the pitch a few times, feeling the wind flow through him. He flew as high as he could and dove down, pulling out of the dive at the very last second. Harry helped Ron practice for about an hour before they decided they shouldn't stay out any longer (before Hermione had a fit).
It was slowly growing darker as they headed back up to the castle. As Harry and Ron turned around a corner, a malicious voice called to them.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Potty and the Weasel. I'd at least expect a prefect not to be out after hours."
"Oh, shut it Malfoy. What are you doing here anyway?" Ron snapped.
"I'm patrolling the halls, like I'm supposed to. Now let's see, I think a detention is in order for you two. And twenty points in Gryffindor," he said evilly.
"Twenty?!" Harry and Ron exclaimed in unison.
"Be good boys and run along now, before I make it fifty."
"Come on Ron, let's just go," Harry muttered, pulling Ron behind him.
"And Weasley," Draco called, "Tell Cassie I said hi." He was smirking wickedly now, eyebrows raised. He had done it now. Harry could feel Ron pulling against him, trying to wring his hands around Malfoy's neck, and he was winning. He couldn't hold him back; he had gotten too strong over the summer. "It's not worth it," Harry said through clenched teeth, straining to hold on to Ron, who was trashing to get out of Harry's grip. Malfoy seemed unalarmed by the scene; there was no expression in his pale face.
"You're a nasty little prick, you know that?" Ron said violently.
"Better than being you Weasley," he spat.
Harry couldn't hold on anymore. He wished Malfoy would just leave so he could let go of Ron. The tension in his arms weren't tight enough to hold on.
'Leave,' Harry thought, 'Just leave already.'
"Friday, after dinner, in the library, detention," he turned on his heel and walked out of sight. Harry was relieved when he finally let go of Ron, who was now red and panting.
"Slimy git," he muttered under his breath.
"We're missing a Quidditch practice for this," Harry grumbled as he and Ron walked towards the library. They pushed through the large oak doors and began searching the tables for Malfoy. They found him sitting at a table across from Cassie who was intensely reading a book, smirking at her.
"I thought you'd never get here," Draco said angrily, getting up from the table. Cassie looked up at Harry and Ron and gave them a halfhearted smile before returning to her book. Draco brushed past them and all they could do was follow.
The came to the door that led into the Restricted section. Draco pulled a key out of his robes and unlocked the doors. Harry had been in the Restricted section once before. Since his last venture inside it looked as though it had become more dark and dusty than ever. They were led to a filing cabinet that was about the size of a closet. He turned to them.
"This is the card catalog of all the books in the Restricted section," Draco snarled. "Over the years, it's become a bigger and bigger mess in there. Put all the files in order by call number. If you need any help, too bad." He stormed off and slammed the door behind him.
"This is so unfair," Ron grumbled as he began to go through one of the drawers in the cabinet. "We were out ten minutes past curfew and we have to miss practice and suffer through this mess. First practice of the season! I swear..."
Harry wasn't listening, he was wrapped up in all the books there were in the Restricted section. He couldn't believe it. They were so hard to sort, so many numbers and decimals. He came across some interesting titles once in a while though. He entertained himself slightly by keeping count of how many books he would like to check out one day. Quidditch Injuries Throughout the Ages, Aurors of Our Time, Dark Gems of the World.
The last title caught his attention, Dark Gems of the World. Harry was curious. He didn't know there were books about dark artifacts in his school library. That was probably why it was restricted. Curiosity got the best of him. He took the card and walked towards one of the shelves, looking for the book. He found it at last, Dark Gems of the World by Christina Wetford. He pulled it out from the shelf. It was dusty and the pages were worn. He skimmed through it (coughing occasionally from the dust) and came upon something of interest, something he had seen before. It was a picture of a diamond, the one from his dream.
The Diamond of Shadow
It is said that concealed inside this diamond is the key to immortality. The diamond is believed to be made by Salazar Slytherin, and the power only works for his heir or any worthy descendant of the heir. The heir and all blood descendants of it are bound to the diamond, if the diamond is destroyed, they will die. The way to conjure the power of the diamond is currently unknown.
Harry reread the paragraph many times, analyzing it all in his head. He was starting to understand now. Voldemort was the heir of Slytherin. He needed immortality.
'If he gets it, you will never be able to kill him,' a voice said to him.
Harry returned to the filing cabinet, Ron didn't seem to notice he had left.
"You almost done with your half?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, almost." Harry replied, his mind lost in thought. If Voldemort got hold of that diamond, it was over. He would be immortal and Harry couldn't kill him, and if Harry couldn't, nobody could.
Harry and Ron finished up their work, locked the door to the Restricted section behind them, and headed to find Malfoy to return the key. They found him where he was earlier this evening, settled at a table, flipping through a book, Cassie asleep next to him, her head on his shoulder.
"We're done," Ron said grumpily, thrusting the key down the table to him. He walked over and started to shake Cassie in an effort to wake her up. Her eyes flickered open.
"Where am I?" she asked sleepily.
"You fell asleep in the library." Ron explained.
"Is that where I am?"
"Yeah, we're going back to the common room now."
Cassie sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it? How long have we been here?"
"A while now," Draco said, running his hands through her hair.
"Alright already," Ron said irritably, grabbing Cassie by her wrist. "We gotta go," he pulled her and Harry out of the library and eventually let go of them.
"You have really strong grip," Cassie said crankily, rubbing her wrists, which were white from Ron's grasp.
"Sorry," muttered Ron as he led them up the stairs to the common room.
"What were you doing in the library for so long anyway?" Harry asked, as they waited for one of the staircases to change.
"Me and Draco," she strained to remember, "We were reading, then, we were talking, and I fell asleep."
"Fell asleep on his shoulder," grumbled Ron.
"Sorry," she said apologetically.
The Fat Lady was dozing in her portrait; Ron poked her impatiently and said the password.
"I say, children out this late at night, after so many years you'd think they'd know better..." she complained, as she swung open, letting them in.
The common room was empty, which was no surprise to Harry as everyone had usually gone to bed by this hour.
"Well, I'm beat, see you guys in the morning," Cassie said as she walked up the stairs to the girls' dorms.
Harry and Ron went up the stairs towards their dorm. Harry could hear Neville's snoring from behind the curtains of his four-poster bed. His mind was swimming with thoughts. If Voldemort were to get a hold of that diamond Harry couldn't imagine the terror that could be wrought. What if he had gotten hold of it already? What if...
"Harry?"
Ron's voice made Harry become aware of his surroundings again. He snapped his head up in the direction from where he heard Ron call him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"
"You just seemed, I dunno. Never mind then."
Harry couldn't stop thinking about what he read. What if he knew how the diamond worked? What if he knew where it was? But the Order knew something about it so he couldn't obtain it that easily. Harry's head was throbbing with thoughts as he slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep.
