Updated as of 7/19/20.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The Locket's Secret

"Cassie! Cassie, wait!"

The young witch gave no sign of having heard her pursuers, continuing her brisk pace back to the castle with the Marauders on her heels.

"Cassie, will you please just stop for a minute?"

At James's insistent plea, she finally turned to face the four boys scrambling in her wake. "What?" she demanded, eyeing James with a steely glint in her gaze as he clutched at a stitch in his side, panting.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To talk to Moaning Myrtle," she said. "Didn't I just say that five minutes ago?"

"Yeah, but…why?"

She shot an exasperated look to Remus, who took his silent cue and kindly filled James in. "Myrtle might know something about Miranda, or at least where her ghost might be."

Sirius held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said. "You think Miranda is a ghost, and Moaning Myrtle might know her?"

"Myrtle said I reminded her of someone, months ago," Cassie said. "I thought she meant my brother, but she said it was a ghost." When James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged a dubious glance, she sighed in frustration. "This could be the last clue! Think about it: Miranda went to Hogwarts, and she was in love with Godric Gryffindor. If she became a ghost, where would be the most logical place for her to haunt?"

"But we would've seen her by now, wouldn't we?" Peter said nervously. "I mean, there's a ton of ghosts at Hogwarts, but I think you would've recognized one that looks exactly like you."

"Unless she's hiding," Remus suggested. "Not every ghost wishes to be seen. Or she could be haunting a part of the castle that's off-limits."

Cassie nodded, glad that at least Remus seemed to be on her side. She looked to Sirius and found him watching her intently. She raised an eyebrow at him in silent challenge.

"I'm not doubting you, Cass," he said, "but are you really sure you're ready to have an answer?"

She blinked, uncomprehending, and he elaborated.

"Whatever answers Miranda may have," he said slowly, "are you sure you're ready to hear them?"

Her first instinct was to roll her eyes and scoff, but the brunt of his question made her hesitate, the full realization of it hitting her all at once.

If she found Miranda, and her ancestor provided her with what she sought, then that would be it. There would be no more clues, no more mystery. She might be able to find the Gauntlet of Gryffindor—but what then? She would be in possession of the object Will, Carlisle, and Lord Voldemort all wanted, but what would she do with it?

Her obvious answer would be to destroy it, but could she? Did she even know how? Giving it away also sounded enticing, but if Voldemort and the Death Eaters wanted it so badly, then it would be better off gone entirely. The gauntlet was powerful, that much she could infer, and allowing it to fall into the wrong hands could be disastrous.

Then what was she to do?

She looked back to Remus, and some sort of understanding seemed to pass between them, for she suddenly had her answer.

"I'm ready," she said. "Whatever we find, I know I was meant to be the one to find it. And when we do, we'll go straight to Dumbledore. He's the only one Voldemort fears, and if anyone can help us, then it's him."

The Marauders all flinched at the use of the Dark Lord's name, but they glanced from her to each other, determination filling their gazes. She caught Sirius's eye and he winked, a flicker of pride in his eyes that strengthened her resolve.

"It's time to end this once and for all."

The castle was blessedly empty when the five returned from Hogsmeade. Most students and staff were still in the village for the day, and their progress was unhindered as they made their way to the girls' lavatory on the second floor.

Cassie had not been back to the lavatory since her confrontation with Peggy Sloane and the other Slytherin girls, and she hoped that Myrtle would be willing to help her again, especially if she knew where Miranda was. They came upon the lavatory, and Cassie began to push her way inside until she realized that the boys had all stopped following her. She turned and saw them standing uncertainly, trading anxious looks.

"What are you lot waiting on?" she said. "Let's go!"

"But…it's the girls' loo," said Peter with an uneasy look to the door behind her.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for Merlin's sake," she snapped. "No one's used it in years, and there's nobody around to see. Now, come on!"

She marched inside without waiting for an answer, but a few moments later the Marauders reluctantly trailed after her, gazing about the lavatory as if something nasty were going to jump out of the shadows and attack them.

"Myrtle?" Cassie called when there was no sign of the moping ghost. "Myrtle, are you there? We need to speak to you!"

"You don't have to shout quite so loud," a petulant voice said from behind her, and they spun around to see Moaning Myrtle gliding through one of the stall doors, her translucent form melting through like smoke. She gazed forlornly at Cassie before her eyes—large behind her circular spectacles—landed on the Marauders, and her gaze turned suspicious.

"Boys aren't allowed in here," she said. Her eyes tracked over each of the Marauders in turn, but her cold expression softened when she spotted James. "Oh. I'll make an exception for that one. He's rather handsome."

James spluttered, his face turning red, and Remus thumped him on the back, smothering his laughter behind his hand. Peter stared in equal parts awe and fear at the ghost, while Sirius seemed vaguely insulted that she had called James the handsomer one.

"Er, yeah," said Cassie. "Don't worry though, Myrtle, they're friends."

"Bullies and troublemakers, more like," the ghost said, sniffing. "Oh, yes, news travels, even down to my drainpipe," she said to the Marauders' baffled looks. "You four boys are always the ones pranking and jinxing people for fun. Peeves talks about you all the time." Her eyes narrowed, which produced a slightly comical effect with her glasses. "And the people Peeves likes, I hate."

"They're not like that anymore," said Cassie hastily, hoping she could keep Myrtle's attention long enough to get the answers she needed. "But you remember me though, right, Myrtle?"

"Of course I do," she said, turning her owlish gaze back to Cassie. "You're the girl those Slytherins dragged in here that one time."

Cassie nodded encouragingly. "And do you remember anything you told me?" she asked, eager. "About how I looked like someone you had seen before? A ghost?"

Myrtle seemed to sigh, drifting over to the row of sinks and perching on the edge of one. Cassie didn't know how that was possible, but she wasn't there to debate ghost logic, and instead looked at Myrtle pleadingly.

"She told me you would come looking for her one of these days," she said, and Cassie exchanged a thrilled look with the Marauders.

"Miranda?" asked Cassie. "Are you talking about Miranda?"

Myrtle nodded slowly.

"I've only seen her a handful of times," she admitted. "Talked to her even less; she's very lonely, even for a ghost. Sad. She chooses to stay away from the castle most of the time."

"But she's here?" Cassie said. Myrtle nodded. "Where?"

"She'll come when she's ready," the ghost said morosely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" piped up James.

"That ghosts have their own free will, just the same as the living," Myrtle snapped, and he held up his hands in a placating gesture. The ghostly girl sighed, her gaze softening again. "How splendid it would feel to be alive again, though. Especially with a boy like you around to make existence so much more bearable."

"What happened to you, anyway?" asked Sirius.

Myrtle cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"Er, how did you…you know…" He trailed off, gesturing vaguely to her, and Myrtle's cheeks turned pearly as his question sank in.

"None of your business," she snapped, before turning back to James. "But if you really want to know… Well, I suppose the whole thing is rather tragic…"

"Another time, perhaps, Myrtle."

Cassie whirled at the sound of the voice, her heart leaping into her throat. Even if she had not heard that very same voice in her dreams before, the similarity to her own was enough to conclude who it belonged to, and she turned to see her ancestor staring right at her.

"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered behind her, which about summed up her own feelings as she looked into a face eerily identical to hers.

Even as a ghost, Miranda's features were as distinct as Cassie's own, though it was obvious that Miranda had grown into her womanhood gracefully, while Cassie still appeared adolescent in most aspects. The likeness was still there, however, and Cassie couldn't help but to stare as Miranda drifted closer, long hair unbound and ghostly robes trailing after her.

"Marvelous," the ghost murmured, gazing at Cassie intently, and Cassie was sure that if she were alive, Miranda's eyes would be the exact shade of her own. "It is rare for two people to look so alike, but our resemblance is uncanny." Her eyes swept over Cassie, and Cassie suppressed the urge to shiver. "Some think that doppelgangers appear in old family lines to correct the past mistakes of their ancestors. I used to scoff at the theory, but seeing you in the flesh…" She smiled ruefully. "Well, let us say that there are many things I did wrong in my life."

"How are you here?" asked Cassie, finding her voice again. "I read about your life in an old family book. It said you died somewhere else, not Hogwarts."

"The soul returns to the place where earthly ties are the strongest," Miranda said. "For mine, it was my beloved school—the first place I could call home, the first place where I found love."

"Godric Gryffindor," Cassie said, and there was a pain in Miranda's eyes at the mention of her old lover that made Cassie's heart pinch. "You loved him."

"More than anything," whispered Miranda.

"That's why you hid the last memory of him," Cassie said. "The gauntlet."

"I couldn't let anyone have it," Miranda said, her face anguished. "It was cursed by that vile creature. Godric died because of it. I had to hide it."

"And the serpent?" asked Cassie hesitantly, remembering her dream of Godric's death.

Miranda's eyes flickered with a deep rage, and her form seemed to tremble for an instant before she became stable again.

"Slytherin," she hissed. "His lust for me was as strong as his hatred for Godric. He followed us into the forest that night, in the form of a serpent. He struck Godric down, I am sure of it." Her features contorted painfully. "I left Godric to fend for himself that night. A thousand years, and the blame still rests on me."

"You were pregnant," said Cassie gently. "You had to protect yourself and your son."

"My son." Miranda smiled tremulously at some long-forgotten memory. "I gave him that locket, you know." She pointed to the clockwork locket around Cassie's neck, and Cassie touched her fingers to it, feeling it pulse against her skin.

"My brother found it," she said. "He gave it to me and enchanted it with a warning." She raised the locket and touched it to her lips, her breath fogging against the ruby as she whispered, "Sparks."

Instantly, the locket sprang open, the gears whirring, and the enchantment echoed around the bathroom:

"A thousand years' slumber,

In a tomb beyond light,

If Darkness adds to its number,

The world shall fall to night."

The words hung heavy in the air as Cassie closed the locket, and Miranda seemed paler than her usual ghostly pallor as she stared at Cassie. "What does it mean?"

Cassie traded a disappointed look with the Marauders. "We were hoping you could tell us," she said, trying to hide the bitterness in her voice, and Miranda pursed her lips.

"Why would your brother enchant it with such a message?" she asked.

"There's a Dark wizard gathering followers and trying to gain power," she explained. "My brother infiltrated his ranks to find something to bring him down, and he gave me the locket to help him. We think that this Dark wizard is trying to find Gryffindor's gauntlet—for what, we don't know, but we intend to stop that from happening, so we never have to find out."

She looked to her ancestor pleadingly.

"That's why we need your help. Please, if there's anything you can tell us about the gauntlet, or where to find it, then please help us. If not for the sake of the wizarding world, then for my brother—your descendant, too. Please."

Miranda gazed at Cassie for a long time, her features unreadable, before sighing.

"I swore I would never allow the gauntlet to see the light of day again. But," she said, holding up a hand when Cassie's face fell, "if it means getting rid of it forever, then I cannot stand in your way."

"Then you'll help us?"

Miranda nodded. "I will."

Hope surged in Cassie's chest, and she faced Miranda squarely, determined. "What do we have to do?"

"There is a well, hidden deep in the Forbidden Forest. I concealed it with a protection spell, but I am afraid the seal may have broken after my death. I hid the gauntlet inside the well, locked away in a chest at the very bottom." She nodded to the locket at Cassie's throat. "The locket is the only way to open the chest. Simply place it in the lock and turn it like a key. The enchantment should be enough to gain you access to the gauntlet.

"However, you should be warned that I was not the only one who knew of the well's location."

"Salazar Slytherin," Cassie guessed. "He knew where it was, too."

Miranda looked grave. "Indeed. He may have gone back after my death to find the gauntlet, and placed curses or other foul things in your path. You must be careful. Others have been seeking the gauntlet as well."

"We know," Cassie said, scowling at the reminder of Carlisle and the Slytherins, "but we'll find it first."

Miranda suddenly looked ponderous as she studied Cassie.

"You are a true Gryffindor," she said. "Godric's legacy lives on in his descendant. He would be proud."

Cassie flushed at the high praise, and Miranda smiled warmly before speaking again.

"You must promise me one thing, Cassie Alderfair," she said. "Destroy the gauntlet. The power left behind in it should never fall into the wrong hands."

"Believe me," Cassie said, "no one is going to be getting anywhere near that gauntlet."

"Then it is done," said Miranda. "Once the gauntlet is destroyed, then the curse upon it will be broken."

"And you?" Miranda seemed confused, so Cassie elaborated. "Once the gauntlet is gone, then you won't have reason to stay here anymore, right?"

"Perhaps." Miranda pursed her lips. "My soul imprinted to this world because I was afraid of death. I chose not to pass on." Her gaze turned haunted. "I have regretted my choice every day since. It has prevented me from being reunited with my soulmate and my son. If I am ever given the choice again after the curse is broken, then I will pass on without hesitation. If not…"

Cassie had the sudden urge to reach out and take her hand, but resisted, knowing it was impossible.

"You'll be free, I promise," Cassie swore. "Thank you, Miranda. We'll find the gauntlet."

"Good luck, Cassie Alderfair," her ancestor said, drifting back to wherever she had kept herself hidden for a thousand years. "You will need it before your task is completed."

The five emerged from the girls' lavatory to stand in an awkward cluster in the middle of the corridor, Miranda's words still looming over their heads like an ominous cloud.

Naturally, James was the one to break the silence.

"Well," he said, with fake enthusiasm, "that was the weirdest fucking thing that's happened to me so far."

"Keep your voice down," Remus hissed. "There could be teachers nearby."

"I need a shower," Peter murmured, his eyes wide. "A long, hot shower where I can forget about everything that I just saw."

"What, was the girls' loo really that terrifying?" Sirius jeered.

"Says the bloke who looked at the faucet like it was about to bite him," Cassie said, raising a brow, but he only rolled his eyes at her.

"I can't believe a ghost hit on me," James said, shaking his head. "Where'd she go, anyway? She just disappeared when Miranda showed up."

"Didn't you see her poking her head out of the toilet behind you, Prongs?" said Sirius. "Wicked little thing; couldn't keep those bug eyes of hers off your ass."

"Moving away from the subject of James's ass," Remus interjected, turning to face Cassie curiously, "what are we going to do about the you-know-what?"

"Find it," Cassie said firmly. "I made a promise to Miranda, and besides that, this thing needs to be taken care of. I could thwart Voldemort and Carlisle and help Will in one go. It has to be me."

"Us," James said, winking when Cassie turned to him in confusion. "You really think we'd let you handle this on your own, Princess?"

"James is right," Remus agreed. "We've come this far with you, Cassie. We're not backing out now."

He nudged Peter, and the smaller boy squeaked, "Yeah, what Moony said."

"We made an alliance," Sirius said, his eyes intent upon her face. "We're with you, no matter what."

Cassie glanced around, seeing the same look of resolve in each of their faces—even Peter, despite his clear uneasiness. She didn't know how they had gotten to this place, from an insignificant scavenger hunt to here, willing to do whatever it took to find some cursed object together, but she knew that she would do it all again in a heartbeat. They were the Marauders, and she could tell that, now, after only looking at them, that she was their fifth.

"After the Easter holidays, then," she said. "My mum wants me home, but after that, we'll find the gauntlet."

"Sounds like a plan," said James, his face lighting up at the prospect of mischief and adventure. "Who wants to save the world?"

Next Chapter: The House of Alderfair