Secrets of the Silver Locket
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters. *looks in mirror* nope, still not J.K. Rowling.
August 31, 2017
Luna Scamander woke up from her vivid dream with a start, eyes wider than usual. This dream had been different from her usual ones. It felt so real. Luna could feel that what she had dreamt was true. Immediately, she jumped out of bed and ran up the stairs to the attic where her school trunk was. She must not have been very quiet in her running, because she could hear Rolf behind her asking her if something was wrong.
Luna didn't answer.
She was too busy digging through her old trunk, pulling away at a false bottom she must have forgotten about.
And there it was. A faded, green leather cover of a small, securely locked little diary. On the front, Luna could just faintly make out the words The Diary of Gabrielle Slytherin. As Luna picked it up, she noticed a small sheet of parchment float down from it.
"Bring this to Helena Ravenclaw" it read. Luna knew what she had to do. She knew, from her dream, that she was not the one meant to find the diary, but merely an instrument in giving it to the one who was meant to read it. The only problem was how to give it to the person. Wracking her brain as to how she could give it to the boy who could find the key without having him ask her any questions she knew she would be unable to answer.
Who do I know that could get me inside Hogwarts...? Luna wondered. Neville! Neville would help me. Luna thought, determined that tomorrow she would floo over to Hogwarts to find Neville and convince him to help her.
September 1, 2017
At eight o'clock in the morning, Neville was having a very pleasant breakfast with his wife, Hannah, when there was a knock at his door.
"Who could that be?" Hannah asked. Neville shrugged.
"I don't know. The kids haven't even arrived and it isn't my year to go on the train." Neville said as he opened the door. Standing there was a disheveled Luna, eyes wild, holding an ancient looking green book.
"Neville - I need your help." Luna said breathlessly. "Oh - hi Hannah!"
"Wait right there Hannah - I'll be right back." Neville said, gesturing to Luna to follow him outside, in the corridor. Luna shook her head.
"Neville, we need to talk in private - I can't have too many ears listening." Luna explained. Neville nodded.
"The Room of Requirement than?" he asked. She nodded. Together they walked brusquely down the familiar passageways to the familiar room.
When they got to where the door was, it opened before Luna or Neville could walk by three times.
"After you." Neville said, gesturing to the door that opened for the two.
Once the door was closed tightly, Luna took a deep breath and held out the diary, showing Neville the cover, watching as Neville's eyes widened in disbelief at the words.
"Gabrielle Slytherin? Who - who was she?" Neville asked the disbelief clear from his tone of voice.
"I can't tell you." Luna replied. Neville blinked at her.
"Can't or won't?" he asked.
"Can't." Luna stated as calmly as if they had been talking about the weather.
"I can however, tell you that this diary needs to be snuck into the trunk of Albus Severus Potter. But that's all I can tell you." Neville closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment, before deciding that Luna would tell him if he could, but since she couldn't tell him, he'd just have to trust her.
"Fine." he said. He didn't quite know how or when he would be able to get into Albus's trunks, but he knew that he'd find a way.
Luna walked out of the Room of Requirement, leaving Neville there to have a moment alone as she made her way back to the entrance of Hogwarts. It felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. As she was passing by the Great Hall, she saw the Grey Lady whispering quietly to the Bloody Baron. Thinking back to her dream, Luna stopped.
"Hello!" she called to the two ghosts. With a start, they slowly turned toward where the woman was standing.
"Hello. It's Luna, right?" the Grey Lady said. Luna nodded.
"You're name is Helena, right? And - well, I know you're the Bloody Baron, but, what is your real name?" Luna babbled. Helena laughed, giving the Baron a look. It was surprising, but, this girl had been one of the first people alive to ever ask what his name was. It was quite comical, to be honest.
"Baron Sinclair Gaenor." he answered.
"It's very nice to meet you." Luna said brightly. The two ghosts answered, confused as to why Luna was in Hogwarts. Luna then turned and walked back on her way toward the entrance to Hogwarts. As she exited the building, she did a quick Disillusionment Charm, heading straight toward the Forbidden Forest.
Albus Severus Potter wandered through the train corridor as the train pulled away from the station. He was trying to find his way to the compartment he had been sitting in with Rose, James and several of his cousins, when he bumped into a small blonde boy who was still carrying a trunk.
"Oh! Sorry." the boy said, "I - wait. You're Albus Potter - Harry Potter's kid" Albus groaned. He hated when people would do that.
"Yes." Albus sighed.
"I - I'm Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy." Albus's head snapped up at that.
"You mean Draco Malfoy - the Death Eater's kid?" Scorpius nodded, wincing. He knew that that would happen. He hated when people did that. Albus, seeing Scorpius's wince, knew that they had something in common - they hated when people would judge them based on their father.
"Alright, look. I know that our dads hated each other and everything, but you do know what it's like to have everyone have certain expectations of you because of your parents." Albus said. Scorpius looked at Albus curiously.
"Do you... want to sit in my compartment?" Albus asked. The look of shock on Scorpius's face was comical.
"Are you sure?" he asked. Albus nodded.
"Alright." Scorpius sighed. Albus smiled.
"Come on - it's this way." Albus said, walking down the corridor with Scorpius who was dragging his trunk, the two boys chatting all the way.
When Albus and Scorpius entered the compartment, only Rose noticed their arrival.
"Hey, there you are Albus. Who's this?" she asked.
"Rose, meet Scorpius Malfoy, Scorpius, meet my cousin-slash-best friend, Rose Weasley." Albus said.
"Hi." Scorpius said sheepishly as the rest of the compartment looked up in surprise at the mention of Scorpius's name. Rose looked him up and down for several tense moments, before nodding, as if approving of Albus's new friend and smiled, greeting him back.
All of a sudden, everyone else in the carriage started talking again, seemingly ignoring Scorpius as he, Albus and Rose began to talk, although every so often, one of them would look up and stare at the three first years. Scorpius noticed, of course, but pretended as though nothing was wrong. Scorpius was used to having people stare at him like that. After all, his father had been a Death Eater. It was no big deal.
Luna had been walking in the forest for a good half hour before she found the clearing where Harry had walked to his death.
"It was somewhere around here that he dropped the ring." Luna thought out loud. Doing another Four-Point Spell, Luna began her search.
After twenty minutes, Luna let out a triumphant "Ah ha! I found it!"
Hunched over, she brushed off the dirt from a small, gold ring right above - what appeared to be - the footprint of a centaur. Looking at it for a moment in wonder, she put the ring on, marveling at it.
"So my father was right. It does exist!" Luna whispered excitedly. Taking a deep breath, Luna put the ring in her hand, turning it over three times; the faces from her dream in the front of her mind. Luna could feel them rushing toward her, the long-dead souls of the ones who came to her in a dream.
"Gabrielle! Michael!" Luna cried. The two almost-ghosts nodded.
"You can see me?" she asked.
"Yes. And only you can see us." Michael told her as she put the ring onto her finger.
"Come. We must head back to the Castle, quickly. No one must see us!" Gabrielle told Luna.
The three of them walked back up to the Castle, all three invisible to those they passed, going through the corridors in silence until they reached the girl's bathroom on the first floor. When they finally entered Myrtle's bathroom, Luna made herself visible, knowing Myrtle would keep her presence a secret.
"I seek the silver locket" Luna whispered to the sink. As the sink sunk down and the pipes rearranged themselves, Luna played with the ring on her finger before following the two almost-ghosts down the staircase.
It was dark, going down the stairs. Luna did, however, see a faint light down below as she descended the winding staircase. Just in front of her, she could see Michael and Gabrielle holding hands very sweetly as they rushed down the stairs.
"This way!" Gabrielle cried, her excitement evident by her tone. Michael laughed at his lover's enthusiasm. Smiling, Luna followed them through a labyrinth of pipes. Once Luna begins to wonder if they'd ever make it to the end of their journey, she sees the door at the end of the pipe where Michael and Gabrielle are waiting impatiently. Laughing at the expressions of the two impatient souls, Luna slowly makes her way to the door. Taking a deep breath, Luna pushes the door open and steps into the room.
Albus, Rose and Scorpius all sit side by side on the boat with Demeter Longbottom as they all stare up at the castle in wonder. Demeter begins whispering excitedly, asking about which house they think they will make it into.
Albus is unsure as to which house he will end up in - he knows his parents want him to be in Gryffindor, like the rest of the family, but a small voice in his head tells him that perhaps Slytherin would be better - after all, he is a parselmouth, even if no one actually knows that.
Rose thinks that either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw would be fine with her. Either way it would be good - she knows she loves learning, so she would have that in common with the Ravenclaws, but her whole family has been in Gryffindor.
Scorpius thinks that he will end up in Slytherin - after all, that would be where everyone expects him to go, isn't it? Demeter says that although she is unsure, she thinks that perhaps Hufflepuff would be nice.
Finally, they reach the castle and stand nervously outside the Great Hall as they wait to be sorted. Just as it seems that the whole group of first years will erupt into a panic, the doors open and the scared First years enter the Hall, where they see four long tables filled with students, the staff table, and a stool with an old looking hat on it.
Luna looked around in wonder at the homey room that she found herself in. There were several comfortable looking chairs dotting the room, a small desk filled with letters and parchment, an old quill lying, unused, next to an unopened ink bottle.
A small table stood off in one corner of the room, with an open letter laying on it. And oh, the books, strewn about everywhere, some still opened as if the reader had just left the room a moment earlier. Luna smiled as she heard the tick-tock of a grandfather clock that seemed to have outlived its original owners.
"Where is the locket?" Luna asked in a quiet voice, quite aware that this had been the first time that Michael and Gabrielle had been in that room for around a millennium.
"On the desk, in the small box." Gabrielle said absentmindedly. Luna walked over to the desk, picking up the small wooden box atop it. Looking over it, Luna could just make out a faint but beautiful carving on the box of two snakes intertwined in such a way that they created a heart, with another small snake carved in a way so that it made an elegant, curling "S."
"When you take the ring off, we will disappear." Michael warned her.
"It's alright - I know the way back." Luna replied. She looked up at the two lovers, who were looking back at her expectantly.
Slowly, Luna removed the ring from her finger, placing it atop the box carefully. As Luna let go of the ring, Gabrielle and Michael faded in a matter of seconds, before disappearing completely.
"Malfoy, Scorpius" Professor Flitwick called out as Demeter Longbottom makes her way to the Hufflepuff table. The hall erupted into whispers as the blond first year walked calmly down to the stool where the hat was located. To the average student he may have seemed confident and cool, but if one looked very closely, you could see the small bit of pink that tinged the top of his ears. Taking a deep breath, he put the Sorting Hat on.
"Oh! What do we have here now? A Malfoy who does not wish to be a Slytherin? How unusual. So, you wish to get out of your father's shadow? Well, I do see a ridiculous amount of courage in here...there is loyalty too, and you are plenty clever...however, I do believe that from what I've seen you belong in - GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat yelled.
Scorpius thought that his heart might just stop as he took the hat off with shaky arms. The entire hall had been shocked into silence. Gryffindor? But they would hate him there... they all thought that he would be just like his father, a junior Death Eater-to-be. No one but Rose, Albus, and a few of the Weasley-Potter clan clapped as he made his way over to the Gryffindor table, where James Potter made room for him.
"Perhaps now Al will have at least one good friend that he isn't related to." James whispered to Scorpius, trying to cheer him up. After several more names are called, Flitwick calls out "Potter, Albus." and once again, the hall erupts with whispers as the small black-haired boy walks up to the stool. Like his blonde haired friend, he nervously places the Sorting Hat on his head.
"Well, well, well. Look here. The second of the famous Harry Potter's children. But you are tired of just being known as you're father's son, aren't you? Don't try to hide it, I can see that you have long wished to step out of your father's very large shadow. You have a nice thirst to prove yourself, I see, very cunning, ambitious...now, I must insist that you be placed in the house of - SLYTHERIN!" the Hat cried.
For the second time that night the students of the Great Hall went completely quiet. Albus merely took off the Hat, stood up, placed the Hat back on the stool and made his way to the Slytherin table, as only Scorpius, Rose and Demeter clapped. Albus looked for an empty seat, finding the only one near the rest of the first years next to the Bloody Baron. Albus sits down in the seat, finding himself placed between the Bloody Baron, and a small, quiet girl with dark blonde hair.
Albus sits there quietly as he listens as the rest of the first years are sorted, only mildly surprised when Rose goes to Ravenclaw, sitting down next to the Grey Lady. Headmistress McGonagall says a few words, and then the food appears on the table. Albus, ever polite, turns to the Bloody Baron, the only other person within his vicinity who is not otherwise occupied in a conversation.
"Hello, I'm Albus Potter. I - I know that you're the Bloody Baron and all, but what is your real name?" he stammers. The Baron is taken aback by that. Not even Tom Marvolo Riddle had been polite enough to ask his true name - everyone called him 'Baron' or 'Bloody Baron,' Helena being the only exception.
"Baron Sinclair Gaenor, Mr. Potter. It is very nice to meet you." Sinclair replies. Albus smiles, nodding and then turns to the food and begins to eat.
Sitting at the Staff Table, Neville excuses himself, saying he'll be right back, before quietly leaving the Hall. Neville quickly makes his way over to the Slytherin dungeons.
"Password?" the portrait asks. Neville merely holds up the diary of Gabrielle Slytherin. The portrait gasps at the sight of it, letting Neville in, promising that not a word would be said to anyone. Neville thanks him as he runs up the stairs to the first year boy's room. Spying the trunk that has the initials ASP written on it, he quickly opens the trunk, levitates the clothing onto the bed, and places the diary on the very bottom, with a note attached to it, telling the finder of the diary to take it to the Ravenclaw ghost.
Neville places the clothing back in the trunk, closes it, and rushes back to the Great Hall, thanking the portrait on the Slytherin entrance. No one notices as the Herbology professor sits down at his seat. In fact, almost no one even knew he had ever left.
Neville smiled.
Mission accomplished.
A/N: Hi! This is my first fanfiction. I have the whole thing planned out, basically, but it might take me a little while to update. I'll try to get a new chapter done every week or so.
Review!!!! Please!!!! (and by the way, thanks to silvia8917, Cliodhna, Spamcake McShort Short, and StunningSpellRocks2345 for being my first four reviewers!!!)