Secrets of the Silver Locket
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters. *looks in mirror* nope, still not J.K. Rowling. I also do not own Wicked.
Actually, I don't seem to own much of anything, really…
September 1st, 2017, Midnight
Two figures cloaked in black swiftly made their way down the corridors of Hogwarts, one from a tower, the other, from a dungeon room. Invisible to all but the portraits, they quickly ran to a bathroom on the first floor, where Moaning Myrtle was standing guard, waiting for them both. When they arrived, Myrtle gave them a solemn nod and quietly floated out of the bathroom, promising her silence.
Once she was gone, the two figures slowly made their way toward the sink with a small, intricately designed snake on it. One of the two cloaked figures pulled down her hood, letting her silver-blonde hair cascade down her back as she hissed something quietly into the sink. She turned to the other figure beside her as he lifted the hood of her cloak for her. Hands clasped, they made their way down the now-open staircase, making their way to the secret room.
When they arrived, the door opened for them, and they entered the room. Pulling down their hoods, the blonde girl made her way to the small box atop the desk. She quickly opened it and gently took out the silver locket, cradling it in her hands. The other cloaked figure - a dark haired boy - took it out of her hands, and carefully clasped the locket around her neck, as she hid the silver heart beneath her blouse. They placed the hoods back on, effectively hiding their faces as they recast the glamours they had on earlier that day. Glamours firmly in place, the two quickly made their way back to the bathroom, and from there, to their respective rooms.
As the clock struck one in the morning, the two were already in their beds, one in the tower, the other in a dungeon room.
Albus wasn't quite sure what to make of his fellow Slytherins. None of them seemed hostile toward him, nor were any of them overly polite. In fact, out of the lot of them, he had only made one friend - Ellie Adder. She was a pretty girl, with dark blonde hair and dark brown eyes.
The morning after the Sorting, Albus had been sitting alone at the table in the Great Hall, eating breakfast, when Ellie sat herself down, turned toward Albus, and immediately began talking his ear off, before, finally, Scorpius and another Gryffindor boy came up to their table, effectively stopping the girl's chatter.
"Al, I want you to meet my new friend, Riel Gold. He's an exchange student, from America." Scorpius said, gesturing to the boy next to him. Albus waved, chewing on his food.
"Nice to meet you Al. Hey, Ellie. Hope you're not talking Al's ear off." he said in a distinct New York accent. Ellie threw him a smirk, tossed her hair and turned back toward her food.
"Nice to meet you, too." Albus said glancing toward Ellie who was daintily buttering her toast. "Not to be rude but... how do you know Ellie? It is Ellie, right?" he asked.
"We both are from America - New York, to be exact." Riel explained. "Ellie here just likes to imitate British accents. She practiced all summer on one."
"I wanted to see how many of you Brits I could fool." Ellie told them in a very distinct Manhattan accent.
"Well, it seems you fooled Albus here." Riel pointed out.
"My roommates too. They didn't realize I was American until Celeste Zabini asked where I was from. You should have seen the look on their faces - it was hilarious. Actually, Celeste didn't look too surprised. Oh – hello Baron. I remember last night you told Al here your name, but I can't quite remember what it was." Ellie said as the Bloody Baron floated past the first years.
The Baron was shocked. Two students – first years no less – ask him what his true name was in as many days! Over by the Ravenclaw table, Helena Ravenclaw saw what was going on and laughed quietly. Only Rose Weasley and Demeter Longbottom – who had joined Rose at the Ravenclaw table – noticed her laughter and where her gaze went to.
"Baron Sinclair Gaenor, Miss…?"
"Adder, Ellie Adder." Ellie readjusted her shirt and the silver chain she was wearing flashed brightly, almost deliberately. Over by the Ravenclaw table, the Grey Lady suddenly became opaque for a moment, reminded of a silver necklace in a secret room not too far from where they were.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Miss Adder." Baron Sinclair said and, with a bow, floated off.
As Demeter and Rose saw the Baron float away, Demeter dragged the redhead over to the Slytherin table, where they joined Albus, Scorpius, and the two Americans, immediately becoming friends with the two Yanks.
One week later, Nicole Bones, a Hufflepuff and Henry Davies, a Ravenclaw, joined their little group and they became known as "the Hogwarts Eight."
It was Halloween once more at Hogwarts. The Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron made their yearly trek down to the secret room. Only, this time, it seemed that the portraits were giving them odd looks as they made their way to the girls' bathroom – it seemed as though the portraits knew a secret. Myrtle, too, it seemed, gave them a long and hard look before she smiled to herself and disappeared down the pipes of the toilet.
The two ghosts decided to put the incident out of their mind as Helena whispered the pass phrase. The stone moaned as it re-arranged itself. They descended the staircase.
Upon arrival at the room, the door did not open at once, as it usually did. Puzzled, the two ghosts floated through, only to find that there was someone waiting by the desk.
It was a small figure, cloaked in black, hood up so that none could see the wearer's face.
"Who are you?" Helena said timidly.
"A messenger. No more, no less." The cloaked figure replied.
"What is your message then?" Sinclair asked warily.
"I have come to tell you that when the finder of the diary shall come soon. When he or she approaches you, you are to take him or her down here. The finder of the diary is to take the ring on the desk and summon the souls of Gabrielle and Michael. They will tell them what they need to know. Once the finder of the diary knows the story of Gabrielle Slytherin and Michael Gryffindor, the two of you will have until Halloween of 2023 to decide whether the two of you will move on. You will have one chance and one chance only. For your sakes, I would hope you two do not choose wrong." the messenger informed them.
"Wait! Can you at least tell us who will find the diary – or when it will be found?" Helena cried
"I am but a messenger. No more, no less, and I answer no questions." the messenger informed them and then disappeared in a flash of smoke.
Helena and Sinclair looked at each other, disbelief in their eyes, before turning to the desk. And there it was. Shining in the glow of the torches Michael himself enchanted to never darken, a small silver ring with a black stone with a crack down the middle sat on the desk.
It was Gavin's old ring, Sinclair realized, given to him by his great-uncle Cadmus Peverell, who had committed suicide three days after giving it to him.
The clock chimed midnight once more. Without a word, Helena and Sinclair made their way back to Myrtle's bathroom.
They could not see the two figures, cloaked in black, making their way down the staircase as the two ghosts exited the room.
No one but Myrtle knew that the two figures in black cloaks left silently an hour after midnight, promising to come back and talk with her, the only ones who had ever actually kept that promise.
The year passes. The diary still lies in Al's trunk, untouched, unread, unused, where it will stay for several more years. But he does not know that. It has been a wonderful year and he has great friends and has even been warming up to his roommates.
The summer is filled with trips to Malfoy Manor for sleepovers with Scorpius and the guys and trips to his various Weasley cousins and letters from Ellie and Riel who are back in America but swear that they will come and visit before the summer ends and that they will go around muggle London with the group.
Their second year starts and all is normal. Albus and the rest of the Weasley cousins all swear that Scorpius and Rose's constant bickering is strangely reminiscent of Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. Riel and Ellie start giving each other odd looks that seem to prompt the rest of the group to make bets about which couple will get together first – Rose and Scorpius or Riel and Ellie. Demeter and Albus are sure that Rose may have inherited a bit too much of her parents' cluelessness and collectively bet ten galleons against Nicole Bones and Henry Davies, who are firm in their belief that Rose and Scorpius will get together first.
As Halloween approaches, the girls of the group come up with an idea – an inter-house common room – after all, there should be a room where members of all houses can be encouraged to hang out together instead of holing up in their own common rooms.
They pass around a petition for an inter-house common room which a surprising amount of people sign. Even some of the ghosts seem to be for it – the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron the most enthusiastic of the ghosts to agree to it, it seems.
By Christmas, there is a large room down the corridor from the Great Hall where students of all houses can hang out. There are desks where students can study, several comfy chairs, a few couches, and a very nice fireplace.
The Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron cannot believe it and start to wonder if a member of the "Hogwarts Eight" will be the finder of Gabrielle's diary… after all, a group of people from each house being such a tight-knit group? That had not happened since the Founders themselves had been alive – and they would know.
Al and Rose receive a letter informing them that Teddy and Victoire were engaged, and that they would be married during the summer.
The rest of the year passes happily for the Hogwarts Eight, and the diary still lies in the bottom of Al's trunk, not even found when Al re-packs his trunk for the following school year.
Third year is eventful only in that it begins with three quarters of the Hogwarts Eight finding Ellie and Riel in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, snogging. Al and Demeter laugh, high fiving each other as Henry and Nicole groan.
"You owe us ten galleons." Al reminds the two quietly as Scorpius and Rose sit on the other side of the compartment, talking quietly.
During the Sorting, there was once again whispering as Lily Potter was Sorted into Slytherin, where she immediately sat by her brother and Ellie. Hugo was Sorted into Gryffindor, where he joined the rest of the Weasley clan.
As September passed, Lily began making friends with her roommates, and somehow managed to convince a few of them to occasionally hang out with some of Hugo's Gryffindor friends.
During their first Hogsmeade trip, Al can swear that he feels the eyes of pretty Celeste Zabini looking at him in a way that makes his stomach turn somersaults and the tips of his ears turn pink. Demeter sees this and quietly begins teasing him, crooning softly
"Al and Celeste sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"
Al firmly ignores her, and seems to find himself becoming very awkward when a certain redheaded Slytherin tries to engage him in conversation.
Scorpius and Rose keep dancing around each other, unwilling to let themselves realize how they truly feel. The rest of the group finds it maddening. It is not until the Christmas break that they manage to get the two of them under a bit of mistletoe at the Christmas party being held at Rose's house. Uncle Ron actually fainted when he saw his daughter kissing Scorpius Malfoy. Aunt Hermione just laughs as she revives her husband, saying, jokingly, that it seemed Rose and Scorpius were not nearly as clueless as she and her husband had been.
According to Scorpius, his father fainted and started convulsing when he told his parents he and Rose Weasley were going out.
The rest of the group could only roll their eyes as Henry and Nicole ask them how in the world could it have taken them that long to realize their feelings for one another, the two of them secretly wishing that Ellie and Riel could have gotten together just a few months later than they did.
During Fourth year, Al takes six months before finally asking Celeste Zabini to go to Hogsmeade with him on Valentines' Day. The two endure only ten minutes in the disgustingly romantic Madame Pudifoot's Tea Shop before walking out and joining Al's friends in the Three Broomsticks, where Demeter, Henry and Nicole took a special delight in teasing the two.
That summer, Al and Celeste, who are still a couple, go into muggle London with Scorpius and Rose on a double date, with Teddy and Victoire Lupin joining them as 'chaperones.'
During their fifth year, they are not surprised when half their group become prefects for their respective houses. Ellie, Riel, Nicole, and Henry do not mind not having prefect duties, stating that they would much rather focus on their studies and the upcoming O.W.L. exams. Their parents decide that, as a treat, the eight of them get a chance to go into muggle London to do what ever they want, for an entire day.
The girls decide to use most of this day to drag the boys around while they shop for clothes, and later that night, Ellie drags them to see a show on Broadway that she claims they will love.
Surprisingly, everyone in the group does end up loving the show they see – Wicked – although they laugh as Rose and Henry try to figure out if a person really could travel via bubble, deciding to try to see if Rose and Al's Uncle George can figure it out.
Ellie is merely grinning like a Cheshire cat when they all commend her on her choice for the night's entertainment. Rose and Al vow that their Granddad Weasley will be seeing a Broadway show for his next birthday, secretly hoping that perhaps Broadway shows could replace airplanes as Granddad Weasley's obsession.
The next day, the group ends up at Al's house. When Celeste comes over, Al gets a strange look in his eye, and whispers something to Celeste. She giggles, as the two of them walk over to a large tree that Al and his siblings used to climb. Al climbs up, Celeste following him. When the two reach a fairly large, stable branch, Al flashes Demeter a smirk, and the two begin kissing. Demeter begins to flush, and starts giggling. The rest of the group however, remains confused until James comes out and calls out,
"Hey look, Al and Celeste, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
Demeter literally falls down laughing.
They are once again at Hogwarts, waiting to start their sixth year, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall quieted the students as the last of the first years made his way down to his table.
"Attention students! This year, we are to have a Halloween Masquerade Ball. It will be held in the Great Hall at eight o'clock. Masks are a must. Half an hour before midnight, everyone will be required to remove their mask, and students must be in their common rooms by twelve thirty." Professor McGonagall announced.
The students burst out into whispers as the Headmistress sat down and the food appeared before them. Al was amused when a cocky Seventh year tried asking Ellie to the Masquerade, only to be shot down and asked if he was stupid, or had he not noticed that she already had a boyfriend, thank you very much. Al laughed even harder when he saw Rose to be in the same predicament, only Scorpius had been walking over to the Ravenclaw table and nearly decked the boy, only to be stopped by Rose who whispered something into Scorpius's ear, mollifying him somewhat.
Al quietly asked Celeste if she would go to the Halloween Ball with him, before someone else got any wild ideas about taking his girl to the dance, secretly wondering what had happened to those dress robes his mother had made him buy over the summer.
A/N: Sorry that it seems to have taken me so long to update, but it is the end of the school year, and I do have projects and papers to finish. I also was banned from using the computer for two weeks due to some bad grades in my least favorite class, and I'm probably not going to be able to get another chapter up for another two weeks or so, due to finals.
Since I only have nine reviews, most of which are by the same people, I beg of you, readers, PLEASE REVIEW!(Those who do review may just get a preview of the next chapter, whenever I get to start writing that, although I have a History paper due on Wednesday, so you might not get the preview until then.)