Ginny took the boy's hand, and that was it. She did not speak.
"Ah, not talking now Princess?" Aubrey smiled. He did have a nice smile. "I have something to show you, but you're going to have to follow me, okay? I'm the only one who knows where it is."
Once again, she did not speak. But she did follow Aubrey down the hall, and into the dark corridors of the school. They went down staircases that seemingly could reach the sky, and might go down to the bowels of Hell itself. Finally they reached the bottom of the staircase.
Ginny felt awe for the first time in what felt like decades. They were at the bottom floor of the castle. Deeper, even than the dungeons, which were pretty deep in the ground.
"This is the first thing the founders added. Down here there are tombs of the Headmasters and Headmistresses. It's rumoured that even the tombs of the Founders are down here. But no one has ever come down to check- not many know the way down here."
She chose this time to speak. "Yet you do. How is this possible? You were just transferred here."
"Would the fact that I don't know be a satisfactory answer?"
She didn't respond. So, as they walked down the various passage ways and twisted corridors he asked her another question. "
Why are you wearing those gloves?"
She took off one of the gloves and showed him her hand. He took in the shiny burn scars, so different from the rest of her flesh, and gaped. "How did that happen?" he finally managed to ask.
"
Power surge. Don't tell anyone."
"As you wish." He said teasingly. "Now hurry, we're almost there." And with that he pulled her along quickly through the halls- excitedly as a child might. That is if a child were to find their way down into the abyss underneath the school. When they got to the room Ginny was surprised. By the dust that had settled on the floor it looked as if no one had been in there for at least a thousand years. As they entered the room dust swirled around their feet and onto their faces.
"Well, its not so bad down here. We could use a good cleaning spell." Said Aubrey cheerfully.
"Scourgify," said Ginny pointing at the walls and the floor. The dust gradually left the room, and let Ginny and Aubrey look around. It was a dark room, with darker stone than the majority of the school. Looking around there seemed to be some sort of etching on the far wall. The wall kind of glowed with a magic that wasn't often seen in these days.
Seemingly the wall glowed with an ancient spell used for lighting information on stone. Magic only used now by the most powerful wizards, as it took so long to do. Something that a mage would have done easily with no second thought
Ginny walked to the wall almost in a trance, and traced her fingers down the wall. Words no one had seen for centuries. As she traced her fingers along the words she felt something.
The music was back. Old and melancholy. Still kind of chilling, like the music of a wind up jewellery box, the kind that every little girl hopes to be gifted with. But she wasn't the ballerina dancing on the mirror. The pretty ballerina.
No, she was the one in the corner. Unseen by the ancient eyes of the woman she was watching. The woman's strawberry blond hair was out of her face as she worked on the stone tapestry. Occasionally she would mutter some words and raise her hand to the wall. It would glow momentarily and then it would fade into the wall once again to leave the woman working with the flowing script onto the wall.
She was so engrossed with her work that she didn't notice the man walk in behind her until he placed a wizened hand on her shoulder. She crumpled to the ground, her face to the cold stone floor.
"Rise child. Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you." The old man said this in a sage voice, obviously meant to reassure.
The woman rose to her feet, but kept her shoulders hunched and her face towards the ground.
"Silly girl," the old man said, almost affectionately. "I came down to admire your work. Your brother tells me you spend much of your time down here. So did your cousin, and his wife. They don't know what you do down here. But with my gift of foresight I saw what you are doing."
"It's a tapestry, sir. A stone tapestry," she said, a hint of pride in her voice.
"Like I said, quite a feat. When will it be done?"
"Maybe tomorrow, sir, or the day after."
He looked at the tapestry, and noticed the picture of a woman. Her features were non-descript, but she had a head of long red hair. And in the picture the hair seemed to be flying with the wind. Flicking the air with its fiery locks. And in her hands she clutched a sword with a black handle. But the man did not comment on the fact that the woman had a sword.
"Ah, black. The colour that draws allinto to it. She will be quite beautiful I imagine. Who is she?"
"She is the princess of Hogwarts."
Ginny came out of her trance-like state to see Aubrey staring at her in concern. "What just happened?"
"I saw the tapestry, when it wasn't done. I think one of the Founders made it."
"Which one?"
"Maybe Hufflepuff. The old man mentioned her having a brother."
"Her brother?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "You're so involved in this twist of fate and you didn't know that Hufflepuff had a brother?"
"Well no. Is it common knowledge?"
"If you know the story it is. But I suppose you never heard it, have you? Are you muggle-born?"
"I don't know. I'm an orphan."
"I'll tell you the story sometime. But I have something to do right now." And she pushed past him to get a better look at the wall. Most of the paint had worn off, and the features had all worn off, leaving a blank face. But the colour of the hair had stayed the exactly the same. Leaving them with a crude caricature of some sort of faceless doll.
"You see Princess? It is you, and Hufflepuff knew that. Now you have no reason not to perform your duty to the school and to the founders."
"I suppose."
Aubrey was about to respond when he stopped, and appeared to be listening for something. Suddenly he took off his cloak (which Ginny hadn't noticed until that moment) and threw it over her, and pushed her into the shadows and backed into them himself.
As Ginny peered around a side of the cloak and watched what was going on in the room. At first she saw nothing, but then she did notice things that hadn't been there before. Little insect-like creatures were floating around the room, exploring the little crevices and details that people took for granted.
"Sprites," muttered Aubrey as he watched them (maybe with as much awe as Ginny) floating around the room. The little elves explored the room for maybe a quarter of an hour, and then they left suddenly. A mewing came forth from in the forgotten corridors.
"Mrs. Norris!" whispered Ginny urgently. 'The caretaker's cat- she's his second set of eyes!"
Aubrey, it seemed, didn't have anything to say to that statement, but instead chose to move over under the cloak, and put a hand over Ginny's mouth. She heard a shushing noise in her ear.
For a few minutes they sat like that, all the while footsteps getting seemingly louder and louder. Simultaneously the thought that it was Filch crossed both the Princess' and the Watcher's mind. Their breathing became even more shallow, to try to mask the fact that they were indeed hiding in the shadowy realms of this forgotten chamber.
"What is it my sweet?" asked the man "Is it students out for a stroll in the Forgotten Corridors?" Filch looked around the room, hoping that the students might let out a hint as to where they were located. When he saw nothing the old man, obviously frustrated, turned and walked out of the room. Muttering all the way. "The Princess room? Why were they in the princess room?"
Hearing those words, Ginny did something incredibly brave- or stupid (it really depended on whom you asked). Tearing out of Aubrey's reach, and out from the cloak she ran after the caretaker.
"Mr Filch! Wait!" she yelled out after him.
He turned around, and a grin of maniacal glee crossed his face. "Students in the Forgotten corridors of the school. Must be terrible punishment for this offence."
"Mr Filch, you called that room the Princess room. What do you know about it?"
"Lurking in the hallways. A student should be strung up by his thumbs for that."
"You swore an oath to the school Mr. Filch. And I am the school Mr. Filch. I am the Princess, what do you know about me?"
"The Princess says you. Prove it says I."
"Feel the link to the school. I know it's there- every caretaker of the school has it."
The man closed his eyes, and kept them closed. For at least five minutes- though it felt like, and probably was more like half an hour. When he opened his eyes, his pupils were dilated and unfocused. When they refocused he noted the Princess, and a young man behind her, his hands on her waist in a protective stance. His noticed this young man had old eyes, eyes so blue they looked black.
"Very well, I'll have to be taking you both to see the headmaster. He'd like to know about this."
The walk through the forgotten corridors was quiet, and when the odd foursome reached the top levels Ginny gasped. It was so noisy that soon she felt she was going to go into sensory overload. Seeing this Aubrey conjured her up some earmuffs, and she put these on.
As they came closer to the Headmaster's office Ginny realized that most of the buttons on her shirt were undone, and Ginny did them up.
The old caretaker laughed at her actions. "Clever Princess." And with that he continued leading them through the hallways. Soon enough they reached the office. And without anyone speaking the password, the gargoyle popped open. Going up the revolving staircase, Ginny vaguely wondered whether they were going to be punished. But when they reached the top, she figured that she needn't had to worry. Dumbledore always told you where you weren't allowed to go at the beginning of the school year. He never mentioned the Forgotten corridors- but then again they had been Forgotten.
Inside the office they met Dumbledore, who was already sitting at his desk and writing. "I gathered you would be here tonight Mr. Filch. Do sit down. And you two should also sit down." All three who had been addressed sat down in the chairs. And while Dumbledore finished his sentence in a flowing script they watched. The man had some sort of power, whether inherent or intentional, it kept everyone enthralled.
"Now I do believe you are all here for a reason, but first, would anyone like a sherbet lemon? No? Well then, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Filch spoke first. "These two were in the Princess room."
"The Princess room? In the Forgotten corridors?" He turned to the two students in question, "How ever did you find your way down there?"
Ginny was just about to open her mouth in response when Aubrey beat her to it. "I led her to them, I thought that she would like to see them."
And once again before Ginny could say anything (quite irritating actually) Filch spoke again. The smile on his face perhaps a bit frightening, considering they didn't know what they had done. "Headmaster, this girl here's the princess!"
Dumbledore opened his mouth like he was going to speak, and then paused. "Yes Argus I'm quite aware of it. The castle tells me many things, you're not the only one to whom she speaks."
Aubrey spoke then, completely surprising all three of them. "Well Princess, maybe you should see if she would speak to you?"
"The school might speak to me? There has been no bond set up between us!" said Ginny, still kind of confused to what she was supposed to do with the school.
"What Mr. Dreliken has suggested is sound Ms. Weasley. Even if it won't work there isn't any harm. The castle won't care." Comforted Dumbledore, "Now all you have to do is close you eyes and relax, if she wants to, she will speak."
Ginny closed her eyes and relaxed. At first she felt nothing, but then suddenly there was something. It was tingling of sorts, not unlike being gently tickled. And there were colours flying around her, colours meaning other things that she could only guess how she knew what they meant. She was so lost in the meaning that she didn't realize what was going on until someone tapped her shoulder.
"Princess? What did you see?" came the soothing voice of the Headmaster. I
t took Ginny awhile to figure out what to respond to this question. "She is very happy." At this admission Dumbledore smiled.
The castle was increasingly happy. Her princess had come, and now she could stay here forever with her, at her home.
Ever since the castle was made it had been lonely. The loneliness had been so deep that she had only been vaguely aware of what was going on deep in her walls, until it had been done. And once it had been figured out what it had all been about she had waited. But the castle had to admit to herself that a thousand years was a little long to wait. And that she had been on the verge of giving up the idea that her princess would ever come home.
But 5 years ago she had suddenly felt something. It had only been at the tip of her consciousness, but it had nibbled and eventually turned into a full-blown itch. Until finally she had realized she would never be alone again.
Since then she had been planning how to help the Princess along. First she had planted the knowledge of the Princess Room in that boy's head. He would lead her to the room. She hadn't yet given the girl any power, but when the time came she would.
But now wasn't the time for any of that, now was the time to watch, and to wait.
A.N.: Another chapter closer to the end, and a little bit closer to what I'm getting at with this fic. I hate to tell you all this, but the rating will be going up as of chapter eleven. This is war, and we all know that with war comes death. Anyways, thanks to all my reviewers, they make this entire story worthwhile, and special thanks to Susire, and The Pill's Pretzel for being ever so faithful reviewers.
