Chapter 8: The Reappearance of the Map
I considered that. For about half a second, though, tops.
Voice, I called in my mind. Can you hear what people say aloud? Other people?
Sometimes, the voice answered. Not right now, almost all my energy is spent talking to you, Roxiekins!
I grumbled slightly at the name. Who gave you permission to call me that?
And besides, what Death Eater in his right mind would call me "Roxiekins?" His other little Death Eater friends would positively torment him to death if he went around talking like that. Surely Stefan was wrong in his assumption.
"He says talking takes energy," I said aloud. "I've been suspecting this! He can only speak so many times in a certain period because it drains his energy!"
"Where does the Great Lord and Master Voice want his lowly slaves to go now?" Stefan asked sardonically.
Voice? I asked. Where is the thing you're trying to show us?
On the third floor, behind the bust of Dumbledore. I relayed the information to Stefan. Hey! That rhymed! The third floor Dumbledore thing! It's rhyme time! I'm such a great poet and I didn't even know it. That's pretty good, don't you think?
It was lovely.
"What's it saying? Why are you smiling?" Stefan was asking suspiciously. "Do you really think we should do this? What if it's bringing us to an ambush?"
"Don't be silly," I admonished him, grabbing his arm. "Let's go!" We rushed up the stairs and through corridors, black robes billowing out behind us.
"There it is," I gasped, coming to a stop. I had to completely crane my neck all the way up to see it; it was closer to the ceiling than anything. The thing was huge, probably the size of a small child. The alcove where it was stored was surrounded by portraits.
One more question, Voice.
Yes?
Are you...dead?
The voice didn't answer.
"It's gone," I sighed. But then it spoke once more.
I am dead. But not permanently, if y'know what I mean? I haven't kicked the can or pushed up any daisies. That I know of. Oh by the way, I find the phrase "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" is a helpful thing to remember, when it doubt. Also, "Mischief ma...With that, the voice faded completely.
No! I don't know what you mean! Come back! Who are you?! I screamed in my head, and this time I knew he was really gone.
"What did it-he-say?" Stefan asked, evaluating the bust of Dumbledore, who looked down sternly at us, his glasses perched on the edge of his nose. Unlike the portraits, he was stationary. Maybe that was a good thing...a bodiless marble head would be slightly unnerving, shouting down to students but never able to move.
"He said he wasn't permanently dead," I said excitedly. "D'you know what that means?! We've got a chance to save him, maybe!"
Stefan was looking at me like I'd reached a whole new level of crazy.
Several minutes later I was suspended magically in the air, with Stefan carefully levitating me from the ground.
"Bit to the left!" I called down, wobbling precariously.
"In my day, impertinent young girls did not go flying about corridors, disturbing perfectly respectable portraits." One of the feather-hatted ladies sniffed daintily from her painting, delicately lifting her wine glass. I eyed her disdainfully, with one eyebrow raised.
"I suppose in your day girls weren't supposed to have opinions, either?" I crossed my arms.
"The nerve!" The second woman gasped, her copious body swathed in great sheets of violet silk. "Girls and boys were never permitted to wander about without a chaperone; they are probably having pre-marital relations!" She gasped, sounding absolutely scandalized.
"Oh, shove off!" I rolled my eyes, and Stefan brought me up even higher. "Careful!" I shrieked, stomach swooping as I found myself abruptly lowered; I was back even with the portrait of the two prissy ladies who were still gossiping about me.
"It's hard to levitate this high up!" He protested, wiping his forehead. He pointed his wand upward and I shot to the ceiling-
"Whoa!" I shouted, flinging my arms up so I wouldn't bash my head against the rocky surface. My voice echoed, and I could see not only the floor we were on, which was the little bit in between staircases, but all the way down to the main floor. I gulped.
"Sorry!" Stefan apologized again, and this time I successfully floated to the bust of Dumbledore.
"Sorry Professor," I whispered before taking his marble head and turning it to the right, accidentally bumping his nose into the wall.
"What are you doing?"
I whirled around quickly, looking down at the new voice which had spoken below. Who had spotted us?
Stefan quickly turned around as well, hiding his wand behind his back. I grabbed onto the ledge and stepped in beside Dumbledore's giant head, rather cramped.
"Hello, Professor," I whispered. "Mind if I step in? No? Alright." I squashed myself further back into the corner. I felt the levitation spell leave me, and I was stuck in the alcove with Dumbledore's stern head, whose nose was touching the wall.
I would probably laugh at the situation later; right now, my legs were cramping from my squatting position and my neck was developing a crick from bending over.
Wait-was that Lucy who had spoken? Cousin Lucy? Why wasn't she at the Quidditch game?
"I, uh...I'm just..." Stefan fumbled.
"Never mind that mate, I don't even know you. But what are you doing, levitating my cousin?" I held my breath. Maybe she hadn't really seen me, maybe if I just stayed here...
"Which cousin?" Stefan tried to stall. Maybe she hadn't really seen me, maybe if I just stayed there...
"What do you mean, there's more than one up there? Did I miss something? Shall I go up as well?" I slapped my forehead. Lucy was the sweetest girl in the world, but she wasn't a Ravenclaw for a reason.
"Erm, that's alright. I think it might have just been a moving portrait that you saw...what's your name?" Stefan asked politely, not sure what to make of Lucy.
"Names are fickle, but spirits are eternal," Lucy said solemnly. "I know a spell that will imprint our spirits to each other, so we know each other without saying each other's names. Want to try? We'll need seventeen candles and the feathers of a Jabberknoll..." I winced as Stefan began babbling, something about being allergic to Jabberknoll feathers.
"Oh, that's alright," Lucy said, though sounding slightly disappointed. "Well, I'll see you later, goodbye!"
I waited for the sound of her skipping off, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She was too much like Uncle Harry's friend Luna for her own good.
Then I remembered: I was up here for a reason. But I had seen the back of Dumbledore's head, and nothing was there. That was where the voice had told me to look...
"Roxanne?" Stefan called up, sounding slightly panicked. For a moment I seriously considered letting him think I had been swallowed by Dumbledore.
Hm. Maybe our whole family was a bit strange, I realized, then shrugged. Normal was an illusion, as Luna always said.
"I don't see anything," I said, barely concealing my disappointment. The voice had never let me down, why had it lied this time?
I felt along the edges of his head and looked around where the bust had been touching on the wall. Then I got on my hands and knees, and looked all over the floor. There was not a single thing.
"I can't find anything!" I exclaimed, smacking the wall with frustration.
"I need your help, voice," I whispered, sitting back on my butt. I let out a breath, not wanting to give up so early...but it wasn't like there were a ton of hiding places up here. I couldn't even stand up without bashing my head, or put my legs out in front of me without hitting the wall.
I looked up to the back of Dumbledore's head once more, and my eyes widened.
Help will always be given to those at Hogwarts for those who ask for it.
These words had somehow etched themselves in tiny cursive onto the marble surface...
My heart began to race with anticipation, and I leaned forward for a closer look, running my fingers over the message. That had not been there a moment ago.
"Help me," I whispered to Dumbledore. "Please." Whoever had put this into place, whoever the voice was, had obviously intended for Dumbledore to be a sort of guardian. Meaning, whatever it was the voice was showing us...it was important.
"Ah!" A shriek escaped my lips as a shadow crossed the corner of my eyes.
"Stefan, what are you doing?" I protested as he squeezed in next to me, and after a great struggle we were finally in a semi-comfortable position, our legs pointing toward the opening of the alcove. If anyone else passed under, they'd see four feet. On my right, my shoulder was crowded by Stefan, who was pressed against the wall, and on my left side, the back of Dumbledore's stony neck was pressing hard against my arm.
"I couldn't let you have all the fun!" He grinned. "This is cozy."
"Erm, yeah, if by cozy you mean completely cramped," I said awkwardly. "Well...that just appeared on the back of Dumbledore's head," I told him nonchalantly, nodding my head toward it and turning away from Stefan's intense gaze; his face was very close to mine.
"That's...that's just plain weird," Stefan admitted. "Listen, Roxanne, I know this isn't exactly the opportune time to tell you, but..."
"Yes?" I prompted.
"Well-ahhhhh!" With no warning, the wall supporting our backs gave away and we were falling through the air, tumbling head over heels.
"Aaaaaughhhhh!" I screamed, hands scrambling for purchase, but there was nothing to hold on to.
I fumbled for my wand, but my robes and hair were being blown straight up. My mouth was dry, and my heart was racing. My stomach was in my throat, and lunch was threatening to make its reappearance...
We continued to fall in the dark nothingness. I couldn't get to my wand! The pocket it was in was out of my reach, floating tantalizingly just above me. At least I thought it was; I couldn't see two inches in front of my face. I tried yanking my cloak down so I could get to it, and finally I caught the familiar feel of my eleven and a half inch wand.
"Arresto Momentum!" I screamed,waving my wand wildly. The tip of my wand lit up and we were jerked to an unceremonious halt, dangling in the air and panting.
"Lumos," Stefan croaked, fumbling for his wand now that we weren't falling. I was breathing hard as if I'd just run a marathon, and my heart was wildly jackrabbiting around in my rib cage.
"We're still not anywhere near the floor!" I exclaimed, holding my wand light up. The spell held us horizontal to the floor; if there was any floor, that was. The tunnel we were in stretched down and down endlessly, and when I looked up I could only see a pinprick of light from where we'd fallen.
"Maybe we should lower ourselves down slo-aghhh!" Stefan screamed just as the spell gave way.
We were falling again, and I was clutching for Stefan, arms flailing.
"Stefannnn!" I shrieked, and finally caught onto his robe. He grabbed my arms and pulled me in tight. I secured my arms around his back and he locked his hands around my waist as we continued on our way, probably falling to our deaths.
The tunnel began to lighten up, and open out-
"Hey!" I screamed. "We're going-"
Splash.
We hit the water hard, and it shot straight up my nose. I swam to the surface, choking and coughing as soon as I began to tread water. My robes were weighing me down, and my hair was plastered to my face.
Stefan resurfaced next to me, looking very much like a drowned cat as he began to tread water. I grinned, trying not to laugh at his hair, which he had run a hand through and was now sticking straight up. Water was running into both of our faces and our heavy robes were working hard to pull us under, but what were we doing? Staring at each other and grinning like idiots in a tiny, circular pool of rather gross looking water.
"We should probably get out." I coughed one more time and lifted myself up, groaning at the weight of my robes as I rolled over onto my side, then stood up.
Stefan got out of the pool, and my eyes widened. Not to be a hormonal teenage girl or anything, but the water had caused his shirt to cling to his muscular torso in a way which made me blush very hard. I wanted to look away, but I really couldn't find the willpower. Stefan smirked smugly at me, like he could read my mind.
"Erm," I spluttered and pulled my robes away from my body so they wouldn't stick so tightly. "Maybe we should dry each other off a bit."
"Good idea," Stefan said, still trying to bite down a smile, and he turned around and masked it as a cough. I wasn't sure if he was snickering at the fact I had been ogling him, or that I had a wet shirt...
He flipped his hair out of his face and held out his arms for me to administer the drying spell.
"Why are you all red?" He asked innocently as I took out my wand, looking anywhere but him.
"Hm?" I turned toward his face, realizing that I had been pointing the wand to the left of him, completely missing.
"Why are you blushing?" He rephrased, eyes wide with innocence.
"Oh, I'm not blushing," I said sweetly. "Just uncomfortable that my robes are sticking to me, is all. Hey Stefan, why are you blushing?" I added devilishly, grin widening. Now it was Stefan's turn for wide eyes and a red cheeks; he quickly averted his eyes until it was his turn to dry me.
"Here," I called, pointing toward a small tunnel that was no larger than a crawl space. "I guess we've got to get out this way." I dropped to my hands and knees and began to crawl forward, Stefan following close behind. The tunnel was dank and grimy, and I got a face full of cobwebs several times. Finally, we came to the end...I stood up, and-
"Bloody hell!" I screamed in shock, stumbling and practically slipping. Stefan jumped to his feet as soon as he exited the tunnel and stood up.
"Holy shit," Stefan breathed as we took in the scene in front of us. He reached for my hand and I took it gratefully, glad for the warmth and familiarity.
I looked out from the stone mouth we were standing in, the mouth of Salazar Slytherin.
We were in the Chamber of Secrets.
In front of us a huge sort of walkway, like the kind a model would walk down only much wider. It was covered with a thin film of water, and the whole room was bathed in a sickly green glow.
A shiver ran through my whole body, and suddenly I was freezing.
On either sides of the walkway, giant stone snake heads were primed and ready to strike, fangs out.
"I don't like this place," I whispered. "It's the Chamber of Secrets," I added, voice shaking.
"Dark magic," Stefan murmured, taking a step forward. "There's all sorts of dark magic residue in here, can you feel it?"
I stood still for a moment, just listening. Stefan was right, I could sense another force here, something that was lacing the air with evil energy and hissing around my ears, like it was mocking us.
I closed my eyes and images bombarded my mind; a red-haired girl lay dying on the floor, an evil boy watching over her with an evil smile.
I took in a shaking breath. It was Voldemort and Aunt Ginny. I forced my eyes to stay open after that. There was no one here, no one but Stefan and me.
"Sorry," I whispered once I realized I'd been crushing Stefan's hand in a death grip.
"It's okay," he whispered back. "It's kind of good to know you're here too." I turned toward him and gave him a small smile, which he returned. Nothing like an evil chamber to solidify a friendship.
Wordlessly we both stepped out of the giant head's mouth, and onto the floor. It was marble, slick with water.
"Why would the voice bring us here?" I asked aloud, and Stefan didn't answer.
We broke apart and began to inspect opposite sides of the chamber in silence. The whole time I felt like something was creeping up on me, watching me. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
"Look!" Stefan called, running forward and grabbing my arm. Our feet slapped against the water as we ran toward where he directed, sending up droplets to further soak the bottoms of our clothes. I took Stefan's hand again and he looked at me in surprise, his dark eyes even darker against his pale skin.
"Sorry, this place is kind of..." I trailed off. "Creepy, evil...you know."
"Yeah." Stefan nodded, squeezing my hand and taking a step closer to me. "I know. Look." He pointed upward towards the last snake in the row. It was covered in glitter and sequins, with an enlarged feathery pink boa encircling its fans and a great glittering tiara sitting on its stone head.
I burst out laughing, looking at Stefan.
"The voice has got a sense of humor!" He admitted, grinning as well. "There's some sort of parchment sitting in the mouth, if we can just reach it..." he began. The snake's mouth was just above mine and Stefan's head. "I'll give you a hand and boost you up, ready?"
I nodded and stepped forward as he laced his hands together. I placed my foot in his hand and prepared to jump up, putting my hands up so I could grab the snake's mouth as soon as possible.
"One-two-three!" Stefan grunted as he lifted up, and I was eye and eye with the snake's bottom fangs.
"Oof, "Stefan grunted. "You're heavier than you look, woman."
"Hey!" I protested, holding onto the lip of the mouth with one hand and flailing around with the other, trying to find the map. My fingers just brushed it, but I missed it. "That must mean you're weaker than you look, you know." Stefan pretended to drop me down an inch and I screamed, grabbing with both hands onto the snake's mouth.
"Don't do that!" I shrieked, the noise reverberating around the chamber.
"I had to get retribution for your cheek somehow," Stefan said mockingly, and I finally got a hold of the papers.
"Got it!" I jumped down, papers in one hand and smacking Stefan with the other.
"Ow?" He said sarcastically. "You're weaker than you look," he mocked, smiling and leaning down to eye level with me. I snorted and shoved at his chest, but he didn't move.
"Alright come on, Leonov," I rolled my eyes, pulling the collar of his shirt till he was right behind me, looking over my shoulder as I opened the parchment. I could feel his breath stirring my hair. For some reason, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up and a shiver travelled down my back. It must have been the-what was it? Dark magic residue? That was probably it.
Stefan reached out his wand around my shoulder and touched the map.
From the point where his wand met parchment, ink began to flood out and cover the page.
Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present the MARAUDER'S MAP-But not to you, Stefan Aleksander Leonov, you slippery Durmstrang bloke! We finally get to open our eyes to the world again and who do we see but you! Hand it over to the lady, sir, that's a good lad...stop gawking like flobberworms, go on then! We've been stuck in this damned snake's mouth for years!
We exchanged a slack-jawed, wide-eyed look.
"How could I be so stupid?!" I exclaimed, whipping out my wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" I was practically yelling in excitement now.
"What's it doing?" Stefan leaned against my shoulder, so close I could see him in my peripheral vision. The front of his shoulder was pressed against mine as he leaned over me.
The map had belonged to Harry, but the voice obviously wasn't his. Who had it belonged to besides Harry? I vaguely remembered James talking about how he'd smuggled the map out of his Dad's desk...but then how had it gotten here? James was very much alive; he couldn't be the voice.
I began to shake, and my eyes starting tearing up.
"Stefan," I whispered, turning around to meet his eyes.
"What?" He gasped, thinking something was wrong. "What is it?"
"Stefan, I know who's the voice is." My voice was thick with tears, but I was immensely happy. "It's Fred!" I blurted, face breaking into a huge grin. "It's my Uncle Fred, Stefan, my dad's twin!" I shouted happily, throwing my arms around him.
"What's wrong?" I asked, grin fading as he set me down and looked at my grimly.
"Roxanne, do you know where we are right now?" He asked tentatively.
"Of course." I narrowed my eyes.
"Why would Fred put his map thingie in-"
"-a sparkly covered snake in a tiara?" I interrupted.
"It's not Fred-"
"Oh, you're not on this Death Eater theory again are you?" I snapped. "Stefan, I think I know my own uncle when I hear him!"
"Roxanne, you never even met him!" Stefan snapped back, immediately fired up. Ouch.
"I know my dad, don't I?" I shouted, getting right up in his face. "And they're twins!" I wanted to cry. He couldn't be right! He couldn't be!
He searched my eyes, jaw tight. He looked strained, and I couldn't read his eyes. He lurched forward a bit, like he was going to try and intimidate me, but then stopped and took a deep breath.
"Alright, Roxanne," he said calmly. "Say it is Fred. Wait..." he stopped, and his eyes took on a far away look. "Roxanne! I've got an idea!" He exclaimed, and began to sprint off down the rest of the walkway towards the opening.
"Wait-Stefan!" I called after him. "Where are you going?" I chased after him. "The exit's the other way!"
"This might be an exit too," he called back over his shoulder. "Just follow me!"
What did he think he was doing? I sprinted to catch up with him, almost slipping as I turned the corner. I put my hands on the wall for support. Now we were in a completely different corridor; small and dark, the tunnel we had entered into was large enough for us to walk comfortably, but not as large as the chamber itself.
"What-ackk," I moaned in disgust as I looked down to what was crunching under my feet.
"Bones," Stefan said from ahead of me, holding his lit wand above his head so I could see. "Come on, let's get through here." He gestured to a pile of rubble that had been blasted through, by the looks of it, enough to walk through.
We continued up until we met a wall, where a circular door with snakes streaming out from the bottom was latched tightly.
"Oh, no." My heart sank. "Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione told us about this part. We've got to speak Parseltongue...or close to it anyway," I modified, remembering that Uncle Ron had gotten through on impersonated Parseltongue without actually speaking it.
Stefan eyed me carefully, like he was about to do something embarrassing. Then he looked forward to the door and muttered something under his breath, something that sounded like a whole lot of garbled hissing.
"Hey, nice!" I cheered, clapping him on the shoulder as the snakes began to slide backwards, unlocking the door.
"Thanks," Stefan muttered, not sounding proud at all. I didn't know why, he'd probably heard a bit somewhere and been able to mimic it. It wasn't like he was an actual Parselmouth.
We came to the next opening after walking through more tunnels, and he spoke in the snake language once more.
Eventually, we came out into the girls' lavatory where I had hoped Moaning Myrtle would not be occupying currently, but she was.
She gasped loudly, floating down from her stall.
"Oh my," she said, sounding very shocked. "Students, come to visit Myrtle...I haven't had visitors in so long! She floated down toward us, a huge smile on her transparent face.
"Why, hello there," she batted her eyes at Stefan, floating right in front of him. "Aren't you a handsome one?" She tittered, and pretended to kiss him.
"Ah!" Stefan exclaimed, stumbling back on the sink.
Then I realized, Myrtle must not have seen us come out of the chamber. She didn't know!
"Hello Myrtle," I greeted, but she was too busy cackling and flying through Stefan, thoroughly freaking him out.
"Can we go?" He hissed out of the corner of his mouth at me, completely backed up against the sink as Myrtle stalked toward him, laughing her head off.
"Myrtle, we've really got to go!" I called, grabbing Stefan's hand as we bolted through the doors.
"No-wait!" Myrtle shrieked after us, zooming toward Stefan and putting her head right in front of his, floating backwards. "Hello, pretty boy," she simpered, batting her eyelashes. "Lots of handsome boys have come in my lavatory before but d'you know what? I think you're the most handsome of them all," she grinned, and we quickly slipped out the door.
"Do you think she'll follow us?" Stefan shuddered.
"No, she generally stays in her toilet," I said uncertainly. I could still hear her wailing on the other side of the wall.
Students walking down the corridors were giving us suspicious looks. It probably looked rather odd, us having just come out of an abandoned bathroom together. The Quidditch game must have been finished; sulky looking Slytherins were heading toward their dormitories and beaming Ravenclaws were high-fiving each other happily. I turned around to Stefan, but he was already gone. I caught a glimpse of him sprinting at the end of the hallway, toward the library.
"Well, see you later too," I said to empty air.
I slowly made my way to the library, sure that was where he had headed. Maybe he was finally going to drop his ridiculous Death Eater theory.
"-absolutely no progress on him!" Someone was hissing behind the door to the library, and I stopped abruptly. I pressed my ear to the door...maybe eavesdropping was immoral, but that voice sounded familiar. "I think your son has made more progress than I."
"Don't let anyone hear you say that, fool!" Someone else was speaking in low voices...an adult. Professor Nikola. They were whispering, conspiring. Again, the memory of the portkey station was brought to the front of my mind.
Stefan had to know that his professor was evil, because he and the other students were there when he had stupefied the Security Wizards! No, Nikola had made them do it themselves! I wracked my brains, trying to think if I had seen Stefan specifically. I know I had seen Nadia..."You can't be getting too close to them, Nadia. Remember what we're here for."
Nadia muttered something under her breath that I didn't hear.
"Well, you know what you have to do now," Nikola growled, and then in a very threatening tone he uttered a stream of quick sentences in another language.
Nadia spoke back in the same tongue, and then the door was pulled open. I staggered forward, almost running straight into Nadia's shocked expression.
"Roxanne!" She gasped, looking at me in shock. She stepped back and looked at my face anxiously, like she was terrified I'd heard what she said. "How long were you there?"
"Long enough to hear you!" My face was flaming red. "You were talking about Al, weren't you?" My mind was whirling. It was a stab in the dark, but Nadia looked like I'd punched her in the face.
"What?" She spluttered. I couldn't tell if she was lying.
Nikola merely snorted disbelievingly and turned away, walking out of the library.