Chapter 16: The Half- Blood Prince

James and I entered the silent common room on tiptoe. We had left the girl's dormitory by way of a small section of removable wall behind the tapestry beside my bed. One had only to tap each corner of the section with his or her wand and it would disappear for approximately ten seconds. James theorised that it was meant to allow escape in case the tower was ever under attack, (as it appeared to continue down all the way to the first floor) but I foresaw that as not being its main purpose if the other students ever found out about it...

"So where are we going?" I whispered.

"You'll see." James whispered back maddeningly.

I growled slightly. I hated surprises. James only smiled impishly at me and began digging in the pockets of his robes. From within he drew out an ancient looking piece of parchment and handed it to me.

"Hold this." I held the old parchment away from me, eying it in slight disgust. It smelled rather musty and felt as though it was about to dissolve between my fingertips. I was about to ask him what he needed with such a very old piece of parchment when he drew something else from his pocket that caught my attention. He had pulled out a folded piece of cloth. Or at least, I thought it was cloth. That was the most precise way to describe it that I could think of. The material was as silver as a full moon and looked as though it was woven from water. I reached out as he unfolded it, entranced by its
beauty. It slid smoothly through my fingers and tumbled elegantly to the floor.

"What-what is it?" I asked, still in awe.

"An invisibility cloak. Probably one of the oldest invisibility cloaks in the world."

"How do you have it?"

"Ever heard of the Peverell Brothers?"

I nodded. Of course I had. I was a pureblood after all.

"I'm distantly descended from them. This has been passed down in my
family through generations. The legend says that it was given to the third Peverell brother by death itself."

"Does Al know you have this?" I was unable to understand how my best friend wasn't bursting with jealousy every second of the day.

"Of course he does. It's our dad's." He said simply. He prevented me from badgering him with more questions by wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me tightly against his side. He then tossed the cloak over us and fixed it around us to make sure we were completely covered.

I didn't say anything as we climbed through the portrait hole and crept away from the Fat Lady. I resumed questioning the moment she was out of earshot.

"But why did your dad give it to you?"

James shrugged. "He's pretty good at the Disillusionment Charm now so he doesn't need it for auror stuff much anymore. He gave it to me so that I could explore the castle by night."

I laughed. "Isn't he just enabling you to break the rules then?"

James shrugged again. "Well he knows I'm gonna sneak out at night anyways. It's just my nature. So instead of trying to stop me he just gave me the tools not to get caught."

I shook my head. The Potter's really were a bizarre bunch.

"This however," James continued, "is even more useful." He took the piece of parchment from me and unfolded it.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "…For when you have those random epiphanies?" I suggested.

He chuckled. "No. Because of this…" He tapped the parchment with the tip of his wand and said,

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

I was about to laugh at his choice of words but the guffaw died in my throat when I examined the parchment. From the tip of James wand spread an intricate web of thin black lines, diving and criss-crossing across the page to form complex shapes. It was a moment before I recognised the images being created.

"Hold on," I said suddenly, "This is a map of Hogwarts." I stared up into his shadowy face, astounded. "This is amaz-" then I noticed something else. The map was moving. Small dots roamed the corridors of the castle, each with a minute label beside it proclaiming a name.

"Filch and Mrs. Norris Jr. are over here." He pointed to the third floor, his brow wrinkling in concentration. "McGonagall is in her office. Neville is on the fifth…" He rattled off the names of a few more teachers and ghosts and pointed out their locations to me. While he was talking, my eyes travelled up to the seventh floor where I saw the names James Potter and Olivera Malfoy in close proximity to one another. The two dots were so close together that they made me realize just how close our real bodies were. I looked up at his face and my heart started to beat faster. The dim wand light was flattering for his features. It emphasised the elegant curve of his long nose and the sharpness of his cheekbones and cast stars in his amber coloured eyes. Finally he looked at me.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing." I replied hastily. "So where - how did you get this?" I asked, struggling to make words.

"Another gift from dad. The original James Potter and his friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, made it when they were at school. My dad got ahold of it in his third year and five years ago he gave it to me. I've been updating it. A lot of new things were created during reconstruction after the Second War."

"It's fantastic." I said breathlessly.

"It is." He paused for a moment. "Well should we start on our tour?"

"Of course!" I replied, substantially more excited after seeing such glorious magical artifacts.

"Excellent!" He fixed his arm more tightly around my waist and began guiding me the through the sleeping castle.

It was always strange to see Hogwarts in the dead of night. It was still and dark. The lamps were extinguished and the hustle and bustle of everyday life was long gone. No matter how many times I had patrolled these corridors during the odd hours of the night, I could not get used to the stark difference between night and day.

"Where are we going?" I asked as James observed the map by wand light.

He grinned at me again, and once again the vivid, white wand light emphasised his sharp cheekbones.

"Well you know what they say? Save the best for last? Well I don't really believe what 'they' say about anything. So I'm gonna start with the coolest thing at Hogwarts."

"Which is?"

"You'll see." His smile was mischievous once more.

I soon discovered that moving around under the invisibility cloak was very slow going. We had to tread slowly so that the cloak would not flap around our ankles. Every time James detected an oncoming presence he pulled me into an alcove where we were forced to wait until the person or ghost passed. We were almost discovered by Peeves once, who was bouncing around the seventh floor corridor, loosening torches from their settings and piling them in an abandoned classroom. I had no doubt he planned to chuck them at passersby if business lagged the next day. With all these interruptions, it was a half an hour before we reached our destination, which was remarkable as it was only down the corridor from Gryffindor tower.

We stopped in front of a tapestry of a scruffy little man waving his wand in frustration and cursing at a group of bewildered looking trolls wearing tutus. I stopped to admire the artwork, but James spun me impatiently around to face the opposite wall. I stared at the blank stretch of wall in front of me. I had passed by this spot many times and had often wondered why no one ever thought to interrupt the barrenness with a portrait or a tapestry.

"Now Vera," James placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me about to face him. "Close your eyes."

I did so rather hesitantly and felt his hands vanish from my shoulders. I felt the flutter of the cloak as he slipped out from under it and then a series of deliberate footsteps, as if he was pacing back and forth. From the rhythm and volume of his footsteps, I determined he had crossed back and forth in front of the wall three times. A moment later he brushed his lips over my eyes and his hot breath caressed my face as he whispered,

"Open your eyes."

I did so, and caught only a brief glimpse of amber coloured eyes before I registered that something had changed. I looked past James to see that a door had appeared in the centre of the blank wall; a heavy, ancient looking door. Amazed, I started toward it and slid my fingers over its rough wooden surface.

"How..." I was going to ask.

"You have seen anything yet." He strode forward and pushed open the door, motioning for me to enter. I was overawed by what I saw.

I was in a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what I knew must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhabitants. There were alleyways and roads bordered by teetering piles of broken and damaged furniture, stowed away, perhaps, to hide the evidence of mishandled magic, or else hidden by castle-proud house-elves. There were thousands upon thousands of winged catapults and Fanged Frisbees, some still with enough life in them to hover half-heartedly over the mountains of other forbidden items; there were chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; there were what looked like dragon-egg shells, corked bottles whose contents still shimmered evilly, several rusting swords and a heavy, blood-stained axe.

I gazed around in amazement.

"What is this place?" I asked, awe-struck.

"It's whatever I want it to be." I looked back to see him leaning against the closed door, folding up the invisibility cloak.

"What do you mean?" I queried perplexedly.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. It's an enchanted room that, as the name suggests, can turn into any space you need it to be." I stared around at all the strange objects littering the large area.

"It's fantastic." I whispered.

"Yeah, it is." He replied, gazing lovingly around the room. "This room isn't the original though. The original one is gone." He moved to my side.

"What happened to it?" I asked curiously.

"It burnt down by way of black fire. During the Battle of Hogwarts. By one of your dad's old mates actually. He ever mention Vincent Crabbe?"

"Dad doesn't really like to talk about the war." I muttered evasively.

James examined me carefully.

"So you don't know anything about it?" He asked.

"Well, the basics. The Dark Lord's rise to power and your dad killing him even though no one else could."

"Do you know how?"

"The killing curse." I replied with an implied "duh" at the end.

James shook his head, an unamused smile on his face.

"It wasn't that simple. It's not that easy to kill a wizard like Voldemort. Your parents really didn't tell you anything?"

"I don't exactly... talk to my parents. They aren't good at , the war wasn't... easy for my dad. The Dark Lord was as cruel to his followers as he was to muggles and muggle-borns if they didn't do what they were told. He tortured them. He killed to ones they loved. Grandfather and father were set free from Azkaban because of your dad, but they've never seemed...entirely there, if you know what I mean. They left some part of themselves in the past. Their spirit, I guess. But they don't talk about it. They never have. I didn't even know there was a war until I was old enough for them to start taking me to parties. The other kids told me. I didn't believe them though. Not 'til I started going out in public. 'Til I started noticing the way people stared...the way they glared. But I never really minded. My dad would always tell me, 'You're a Malfoy. Malfoys should never be ashamed.' He told me to be proud of who I am. I can't say it worked. But I've kept that with me. I'm proud of my parents. I'm proud of what they've overcome, who they've become. They're good people. I don't care what anyone says to the contrary."

James was silent for a moment. He sat down on a red, Victorian looking couch and began twirling his wand idly between his fingertips.

"Well they'd have to be."

"What do you mean?" I asked, coming to sit beside him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

"Well you're such a good person. You had to get it from somewhere."

I grinned into his chest but otherwise didn't respond to his compliment. Eventually I murmured,

"Thank you for listening to me ramble on about it. I know it's not easy for you to accept my...background."

He stopped twirling his wand and moved his fingertips to play with the curls in my hair.

"It doesn't matter what I think. I'm just glad you feel like you can talk to me. You seem very closed off sometimes."

I snorted and got to my feet.

"What?" He demanded defensively, jumping up as well.

"You're one of the most closed off people I know. Girls don't just like you because you're attractive. You also have that smooth, Mr. Mysterious thing going on."

"What Mr. Mysterious thing?" He asked. I felt like he knew exactly what I meant but wanted me to describe it him anyway. The damn flirt.

"Well you know…" I said, approaching him steadily until we were only a few inches apart. "With the dark hair," I ran my fingers slowly through his soft black locks. "The smouldering eyes…" My fingers travelled lightly to rest on his cheekbone.

"Smouldering, huh?" He asked, as though clarifying.

"Like the dying embers of a fire." I affirmed.

"Go on." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my body against his.

"You're also quite tall…" I ran my fingers teasingly down his arm.

"Mhm…"

"And you have this way of looking at girls that just makes them want to…" I chose to exemplify my point by pressing my lips to his. I felt him grinning through the kiss. Then he became more serious. He kissed me back forcefully as he moved his hands from around my waist to rest on either side of my face. I responded by wrapping my hands tightly in his T-shirt and pulling him even closer to me. His breath began to grow ragged after a moment and in one swift movement he pressed me up against the wall. My heart sped up rapidly and my hands flew to tangle in his hair. His hands moved from my face to travel down my side all the way to my knee, which he grasped and pulled up around his waist. His mouth moved to my neck and I sighed, knowing I should stop him now before we made another secret to hide away in this room which recorded so many other scandalous events in the history of Hogwarts. I moved my hands to his chest and gently pushed him away. I slid smoothly out of his grip to land back on the Victorian couch.

"So tell me more about this place." My voice was high and breathy as I tried to move past the previous moment.

James coughed slightly and came to sit beside me. When he spoke his voice sounded much more calm and collected than mine had. "Well, no one really knows how it got here. The enchantment that controls it is so ancient and powerful that it's probably as old as the school itself. Hundreds of generations of wizards have passed through Hogwarts and I doubt even half of them ever knew the Room existed. I find this location particularly interesting. It shows the generations from our school that have passed through here. This is actually where my dad found one of the things he needed to defeat Voldemort. Crabbe burnt it down right after that."

"Well if he burnt it down, how is all of this stuff still here?"

"The Room is whatever I want it to be right? My dad told me about this location in particular, so I asked it to become that same place in the condition it was in June of 1996, just so I could see it, you know. Unfortunately that means we can't remove anything from in here though. The Room created it, so it all belongs to the Room now."

"So it transcends time also? Not just space?"

"Not exactly. We haven't travelled back in time. This is simply a recreation of what the room looked like at a particular time. I could also ask it to become a library from 1979, or a room full of chamber pots from 1862. You get the idea."

I stared around at all the strange objects that lay higglty-pigglety about the room. So everything I saw now was actually a copy of something from twenty-five years ago. Strange. It was the blast from the past that all historians had wet dreams about. Deciding I wanted to see more of this bizarre magical exhibtion, I jumped to my feet saying,

"Let's go explore." I held out my hand for him to take. He looked at my hand and then my face before grinning and getting to his feet as well. I weaved my way between piles of junk from generations past, pulling James behind me. I stared around at all the strange objects as I passed them, coming up with back-stories in my head for each of them. Then I had a better idea. I came to a stop and turned to face James.

"This would be an excellent location for a game of hide and seek." I informed him.

He grinned. "I concur."

I stood on my tippy toes and pecked him on the lips saying, "You're it." Then I took off through the makeshift alleyways of hidden treasure. I turned right past an enormous stuffed troll, ran on a short way, took a left at a broken Vanishing Cabinet before sliding to a stop. This particular alleyway came to a dead end. Directly opposite me was a large, ancient looking armoire. But what caught my eye was the strange combination of objects clustering around it. On top of it was a chipped bust of an ugly old warlock wearing a dusty wig and a tarnished tiara. I may have been imagining things but it looked as though he was placed there to guard whatever resided in the cabinet. I raised an eyebrow at the cross-dressing warlock before examining the cupboard more closely. It was very old and looked as though it hadn't been used since Queen Elizabeth the first had walked the earth.

I paused to run my fingers over the blistered surface. What an odd place, I thought. Curiosity driving me forward, I gripped the tarnished, Victorian handle and pulled the creaking cupboard door open. I winced at what I saw. Inside was a rusted cage that looked as though it had once contained a bizarre, many-legged creature which had long since died. I was about to slam the door shut in disgust and make a run for it when I noticed something else. Behind the cage lay an old, unassuming book. There were, of course, thousands of books in this room, but this particular one caught my attention because it looked as though someone had been trying to conceal it. I levitated the cage out of the way and reached forward to grab the book, positive I was about to discover one of Hogwarts most ancient secrets. I pulled it out and...released a sigh of disappointment. In my hands I held a dirty, dog-eared copy of Advanced Potion Making. Shrugging, I moved to place the book back in the cupboard. It slipped from between my fingers and tumbled to the floor, landing open on its front at my feet. I was kneeling to pick it up when I noticed spiky writing on the bottom of the back cover. I plucked the book from the ground and brought it up to my face to read,

This is the property of the Half-Blood Prince

I froze, convinced I had somehow misunderstood the words. My heart sped up. It couldn't be...I gasped and nearly dropped the book again when a large hand touched my shoulder. I whipped around, tucking the book behind my back, and found James' face inches from my own.

"Found you." He said, pecking me playfully on the lips. Then he noticed my expression. "Are you alright?"

"I..." The book suddenly felt as heavy as a cinderblock in my hands. Should I tell him? Something in my gut told me that this secret was not to be shared with anyone, but he did have the right to know. So…

"I - I'm fine."

Author's Note: Once again, I'm SO sorry this is so late. Updates will become more frequent soon I swear. I'd also like to apologise for the length, or rather lack there of. This portion of the story had a distinctly definitive beginning and ending that I had to adhere to so I hope you will understand. This story is officially a year old so happy anniversary to anyone still reading!

Thank you to the following readers for taking the time review: Nimea, Forever Siriusly Sirius, Fauxfan, Grazielly, EmmaB, Griffie7198

Thank you also to those who provided ideas. Reviews are fuel to the writer's imagination so take a few seconds to give some (preferably glowing) feedback!