Ok, I got chapter three all proof read and edited. I hope you have been enjoying the story.
Chapter 3 is now revised. There have been some subtle changes to it, but nothing too intense. I'm planning on this revision process being a rather quick one, so that I can catch the big issues before I start on chapter 9. Suggestions are more than welcome, and please point out any gramatical issues you see.
Calida sank onto the couch next to Hector and smiled. She wasn't sure if he was hugging her because he was glad she made it or because her parents had filled him in on what had happened. Either way, she was glad he was here. He brushed her hair back out of her eyes and she giggled.
"So did they tell you everything?"
"No, they said you were fine and that it was your story to tell, not theirs. So what happened? They made me leave you know," he cast an aggravated glance at her parents and turned back to hear her story.
"Well, that Auror, Robards was his name I think, he tried to curse me, so I hit him with the Laughing Charm. He said I was playing childish games and that he expected more from the people who were supposed to be masters of the Dark Arts," she said calmly, even though his taunt about being childish still stung.
"So what did you do to that son of a bludger?" Hector inquired.
Calida noticed that her parents were both listening intently to her story, as well. "Well, I put him under the Cruciatus Curse, naturally. I disarmed him and stood on his chest, and when the time came I used a spell that Severus taught me," she said. "It was no big deal really," but she couldn't keep herself from smiling.
Her mother burst into tears and sobbed into her father's shoulder. "Our little baby girl," she wailed, "all grown up and serving the Dark Lord. I'm just so proud of her."
Triton patted his wife on the back chuckling softly. "You know, Helena, I think most Death Eaters don't burst into tears because someone died. I could be wrong of course, but I don't think I am."
Everyone laughed and her mother wiped her eyes.
"Sorry, I'm just so proud. We've worked so hard to raise her, and now she's all grown up and everything we had hoped she would be. You're right though. I've just been so emotional lately. I'll pull myself together, don't you worry about me."
"I think you need some rest. Come on, let's go up to bed," her father helped her mother up and started to walk toward the door.
"Oh, and Calida, wake us when your brother gets home. Hector, don't stay too late, I'm sure your parents miss you, too," he gave one last proud smile to his daughter before turning and sweeping his wife into his arms and climbing the stairs.
Calida cuddled up with Hector on the sofa to wait for Atabulus. She was sure her parents were right, he had never been one to spend much time in Azkaban, and Merlin knows they tried to lock him up there all the time.
Her brother had been so excited when the Dark Lord rose, and for the last year he was thrown in and broke out of Azkaban at least once a month. He seemed to have made a game of it.
She laid there for a while, until Hector said he had better go. She kissed him good-bye and lay back down. She could stay awake a little longer; surely Atabulus would be home soon. She closed her eyes. She would just rest her eyes, that was all, Atabulus would be home soon.
She was flying through the air on a Firebolt. The wind whipped at her face and the rain stung her cheeks. She looked around trying to find her teammates, but the rain poured down on all sides of her. The Firebolt began to squirm; it was a large black snake.
She fell through the air holding the writhing snake in her hands. There was a soft thump as she landed on the ground. Calida turned to look for the snake, it had to have been twelve feet long, surely it hadn't gotten too far away. It wasn't anywhere in sight.
A gold ring with a cracked black stone and a serpentine S on it was lying next to her. There was something vaguely familiar about it. Calida was sure she had seen it before. She reached out to pick it up when pop!
Calida awoke with a start. Atabulus was sitting across from her with a smug look on his face. She jumped up and ran to get her parents without saying a word to her brother. He was still sitting there when they returned, looking just as he always did after living some spectacular story or another. She sat down in a chair off to the side and let her parents have the sofa across from Atabulus.
"You want to know how I did it this time, don't you?" he said.
Calida detected a large amount of arrogance in that statement.
"Of course we do, your fascinating escapes never cease to amaze us," she said trying to give off an air of reverence.
Atabulus smirked and made a rude hand gesture at her, at which point her mother scoffed and glared at her son.
"Well, if you must know, I guess I'll tell you," he sighed.
Calida really did like his stories, but he was always so conceded about them. She sat trying not to look too interested, but merely like she was listening politely.
"Right, so they all showed up and we started fighting. Well, I was dueling with Alinger and Naylor, when Spalding snuck up behind me and put me in the Full Body Bind. The three of them grabbed me and disapparated. We showed up at the apparation safe point on the island that Azkaban sits on. It's always heavily guarded, but I think they have upped security a little since Lucius and McNair got out. They searched me and went to take my wand, as is regulation of course, but luckily I had a hold of my wand so tightly that they had to lift the Body Bind curse for them to get it."
Calida could tell he was really enjoying this story, and she was just thinking of how sure she was that his "Quidditch Reflexes" as he called them, were about to come into play.
"Well, I was lucky then. You know how I've always had good reflexes from Quidditch, well, before they could make a move toward my wand, I stunned the closest one. They all pointed their wands at me, there were about 10 of them left now, and I knew it would take quick thinking to get out of this one.
"They all started sending stunning and disarming spells at me, but I dodged them and used a nice Shield Charm that rebounded several of the stunners. That right there took out about 4 of them. There was a loud BANG from inside the prison at that point, but I didn't have time to look and see what happened.
"Three of them took off to take care of whatever had just happened. The last three were Naylor, Alinger, and some other Auror that I've never met, probably a new guy. Well Naylor and Alinger kept their distance, they've fought me a few times you know, but the new guy just kept shooting spell after spell at me, and I just brushed them off.
"It started getting annoying because Alinger and Naylor were both taking advantage of the distraction he was causing and kept trying to get my while my back was turned to them. I sent a Killing Curse at that irritating little guy, he either wasn't smart enough, or wasn't fast enough to dodge it. It hit him anyways, dead on target.
"He flew like 10 feet and landed on Naylor, who started screaming wildly; she never did deal with death well. Anyways, Alinger ran over to help her out. I took the opportunity to set the Dark Mark and then disapparated before they caught me.
"I went back to the field to see if you all were still there dueling, but all I saw was the Dark Mark in the air. That told me all I needed to know," he got up and walked over to pat Calida hard on the back, catching her completely off guard.
"I knew it had to be my baby sis that did it, so I came straight here and found her sleeping on the couch." He smiled at them all impressively, waiting for applause or looks of awe.
"How did you know it was me who did it?" she asked him.
To her surprise he smiled at her as though she were overlooking the most obvious thing in the world.
" Cali, Lida, Sis, you were fighting way off from everyone else with the Head of the Auror Office when they took me. It was clear where the rest of us had been fighting, and that's not where the Mark was. What else was I supposed to think? You got scared and ran off, that someone else did the dirty work for you? No, Sis, I know you better than that, I knew it had to be you." He smiled at her, as a big brother, proud of his sister for what she had done.
Calida gave him a hug, and then her parents, and said she needed to get to bed, and that she would be staying in the guest room across the hall from the library tonight. No one thought this odd; she frequently stayed across from the library if there was something she wanted to study. She hoped they would surmise as much this time. The real reason she was staying there was because she had now protected her own room so heavily, and did not want to risk another incident with the cup.
She stepped in the room and looked around sighing. She took out her wand and waved it around the room. The furniture already there disappeared and furniture resembling her own took its place, though she had added a beautiful armoire for her clothing. It matched her desk, mirror, bed and chair perfectly. She flicked her wand again placing an Imperturbable Charm like the one on her old room, on this one. Her wand disappeared with a twirl of her fingers and she changed clothes with a snap.
Calida slipped between the warm sheets on her bed and looked out at the moon visible through her window. It would be a full moon in a few days time she knew, and she hoped that she wouldn't have to be out in it. She turned on her side and drifted comfortably to sleep.
Calida spent the next several days in the library learning new and reviewing old spells of the Dark Arts. Her family was, and always had been as far as she knew, quite wealthy. The library was full of books that had been passed down generation to generation from both her mother and father's sides of the family. It was at least as vast as the Hogwarts library, but mostly full of books about the Dark Arts.
Calida reviewed spells that would blister the skin, increase strength, block off the airways, and cause instant insanity. These she was familiar with. She had conjured a large cage full of rats on which to practice.
She practiced making potions that she might need to know, a number of poisons and their antidotes, the Polyjuice Potion, and some that caused the drinker to sprout extra parts (which usually acted as more of a hindrance than a help, as it seemed to take a long time to get the hang of using three arms rather than two).
Finally, she vanished the cage of rats, several of which were now dead or severely disfigured, and decided it was time to learn something new.
Calida walked over to a shelf and pulled of a large dusty book. She could feel the Dark Magic flowing through its pages. This was a very dangerous book, but she had been taught to use it at an early age. Calida sat down at the desk rather than in her comfy chair, this was not a book to cozy up with.
She pricked her finger with a needle and placed her hand on the cover of the book. She felt the magic wrap around her hand and she whispered the word that would allow her to open it. The tingling of the protective spells lingered as she opened to the first page.
The words seemed to swim until she touched the pages with her still bleeding finger. Calida flicked through the pages taking in the spells. She read for some time about the legends of werewolves. It told of the effects of transformed and non-transformed bites, and how if the werewolf frequently bit people in its transformed state, it would develop a taste for human flesh all month long.
She smirked and thought of Fenrir Greyback. Calida had met Fenrir before, both times she was much younger and both times he had sniffed her and said she smelled 'like a delicious child' before her father had drug him off to the den to discuss matters she knew nothing about.
Calida stopped at the top of a very short section entitled "Of Horcruxes." She had never heard of Horcruxes before, and she knew there were very few topics in this library that she hadn't at least heard of, so she read on;
The Horcrux is some of the darkest magic known to wizard kind. The use of a Horcrux is believed to make one immortal. When making a Horcrux, the witch or wizard must commit the 'act of ultimate evil', more commonly referred to as murder.
Committing a murder will cause the soul to tear into two pieces for a short time. Once this rift has occurred, should the witch or wizard so desire, half of the soul can be harnessed and placed inside an object of the witch or wizard's choosing.
As long as a portion of the soul remains undestroyed, it is said to make the witch or wizard immortal. Their body may be destroyed, but the soul within the body cannot be destroyed unless all portions remaining outside it are destroyed first.
Calida read the small bit several times. She never knew that it was possible for someone to be so close to immortality. Though, the Dark Lord was questing for immortality, perhaps she would mention this to him on their next meeting.
She thought that the shredding of the soul sounded rather painful, but if she understood the passage right, it happened every time you murdered, and the soul could return to its whole state if half of it wasn't harnessed. She glanced over the page looking for the harnessing spell, but it was no where to be seen. Calida remembered her parents telling her how with this book it would conceal as much information as possible, and the more dangerous the spells, the harder they would be to find.
Calida shuddered and flipped several more pages. She was just about to start a chapter on restorative potions when it happened. Calida jumped in excitement, she had felt it, for the first time.
She pulled up her sleeve and looked at the Dark Mark that had just burned black once more upon her arm. She slammed the book shut and stood up, snapping her fingers to change into her Death Eater's robes, and disapparated.
She appeared in a brightly lit clearing that closely resembled the one where her initiation took place. Calida joined the line and proceeded with the ritual that always took place at the beginning of a meeting. She stood up into her spot in the circle and smiled, though no one could see it.
"My friends, welcome," came the cold voice of the Dark Lord. "There is much that must be done today."
Slowly he began to walk around the circle, motioning for people to step either forward from the line, back from the line, or else they stayed put. When he passed Calida, he motioned her to the very center of the circle, away from all three of the forming lines.
She nodded quickly and obeyed, wondering why she had been singled out. She looked around at the others, attempting to recognize them by their eyes, but was having no luck, when another figure joined the center of the circle next to her.
Finally there were three perfectly formed lines, almost equal in numbers. The Dark Lord surveyed them closely for a moment. Calida got the impression that he knew each person's name despite the fact that only their eyes were visible through the slits in their hoods.
The Dark Lord nodded and motioned for her and the figure next to her to follow him. He led them just out of earshot of the others. As they walked, she thought the flow of the black robes next to her was vaguely familiar.
The Dark Lord turned to face her. "Calida, Severus here," he motioned at the man standing next to her, "has given me information that leads me to believe that other possessions of mine may be in danger. Have you seen anything that could either confirm or deny the information he has provided me?"
Calida was slightly startled by the question. He seemed to expect her to just know his possessions when she saw them. Her first thought was that it would be impossible, and then something floated to the surface of her memory. She recalled a visit to the Headmaster's office at the beginning of the school year. When she had entered the office she had just had time to register the serpentine S on a gold-and-black ring before it was snatched up off the table and disappeared. She recalled that S from her years of study, but wasn't positive of its meaning.
"I-I believe I may have some confirmation, my Lord, but I would have to look into it before I can say for sure," she felt very uneasy, she had only been a Death Eater for a few days and had now already met with the Dark Lord about his personal possessions twice.
"Very well, Calida, you are to find out if the information you believe you hold is valid and report back to me as soon as you know. Severus will aid you should you require it. You are both dismissed."
Calida allowed her former professor to go through the ending ritual first, as he possessed a higher rank than she did. She glanced briefly back to see that the Dark Lord was now discussing something with just one of the remaining three groups, and disapparated.
She was back in her library pulling book after book down off the shelves. She set them all on the desk and looked at the immense pile she had now collected. It would take at least days, if not weeks, to look through all these books.
She flopped down into a chair and started flipping through the pages on a book entitled "Ancient Symbols and Their Meanings." After finding nothing in that book she started to look through "The Dark Arts and Jewelry", then "The Lasting Marks of Ancient Spells", and "Engraving the Dark Arts Into Your Life". After several hours she finally turned the last page of "The Purple Book: A Wizards Guide to Buying and Selling Their Valuables".
She tossed the book on top of the pile of books she had now checked with a sigh and suddenly thought that she could have hit herself. Of course, she thought as she slapped her hand to her forehead.
Calida ran to the stone hearth in the living room, igniting a fire as she ran. She grabbed a pinch of floo powder off the mantle and threw it into the flames. The fire suddenly turned emerald and she stepped in them. She felt the familiar warm tingling feeling and decided that it would be best to arrive at "Diagon Alley," and she was gone.
After several seconds spent rotating in the Floo Network, Calida emerged from the fire in a run-down looking boarding pub called the Leaky Cauldron. She waved to the barman, Tom, and exited into the back. She pulled her wand from thin air and tapped the appropriate bricks to enter. As the archway formed she quickly snapped her fingers, changing into her crimson robes, as she had just realized she was still dressed like a Death Eater.
She walked down the cobbled street, trying to quickly blend in as several witches and wizards ran out of the pub after her. She silently cursed herself for forgetting to change before arriving. Calida turned her attention back to the street, and saw that many shops were boarded up and the ones that weren't had blown up versions of the Ministry safety pamphlets sent out last summer, or pictures of escape Death Eaters.
Calida smiled as she saw her brother's picture in one of the shop windows and wondered if the family resemblance would cause problems for her now that she was out of school. The street was almost deserted and with all the windows covered in posters, there wasn't much to look at, so she walked on quickly.
She was stopped three times by wandering peddlers. The first had tried to sell her a "Dark Mark Detector" which was supposed to emit a loud whistle if someone who had conjured the Dark Mark at some point in their life was near. The second was an amulet that would protect from werewolves, inferi, and dementors. The third peddler was trying to sell the most ludicrous item Calida had ever seen. It was a squat little old witch in bright orange robes carrying a tray that bore a sign reading "Protective Slugs: Just eat one and your enemies can't touch you". Calida had a difficult time shaking this old lady off; she kept insisting that if a werewolf tried to bite you after you ate one it would implode.
Calida was almost to the end of the street when a bright flashing sign caught her eye. Last year when she bought her school supplies this sign, which was hanging in the window of a store called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, had read "Why are you worrying about you-know-who? You should be worrying about u-no-poo, the constipation sensation that's gripping the nation." This year the twins who owned it seemed to come up with something new as it now read;
Getting bored of hearing about the Dark Lord?
Then come on in for a new Bewitched Sword.
They're fast as lighting and you can practice fighting.
(Or sick them on your friends)
Calida laughed to herself. She remembered the twins from school. They had always had a good sense of humor, and were still regarded as something of a legend for the way they left school about mid-way through their seventh year.
She walked on and turned the corner at Gringotts Bank, where it seemed that the line to get in was wrapped around the building, and walked down a dark street that had been dubbed Knocturn Alley, by the sign hanging back at the corner. The street seemed to be deserted, and most of the shops looked closed.
Calida stopped in front of a large store with a sign that informed the passersby that it was called Borgin and Burkes. The door opened with a soft tinkle and she stepped inside the shop. She had been in here only twice before, but both times she had not been allowed much of a chance to look around, and so she was itching to do so.
Luckily, though, this thought was wiped from her mind as a man she recognized as Mr. Borgin walked up to the counter. He was a stooped man who greeted her with a voice almost as oily as his hair.
"Good afternoon, Miss. How may I assist you?"
"Afternoon, Borgin. I came to inquire about a ring. I was wondering what information you could tell me about it," she said curtly.
Borgin held out his hand, but Calida merely smiled.
"I don't have the ring with me, sorry."
"Well how am I supposed to tell you what I know about it," he replied with a very annoyed voice.
"I can describe it to you in perfect detail, Borgin. The ring I speak of is gold with a black stone set into it. On the stone there is a small symbol of a serpent-like S."
She knew that most people would have missed the look that flashed across his face, but Calida had had too many years of experience at watching people for signs that they were hiding something. As a result, she saw quite plainly the look of pure glee that crossed his face.
Calida waited for a moment before adding "Today, Mr. Borgin, I'm in something of a hurry."
"I have heard tell of a ring fitting that description, Miss. We once sold a locket that was very similar to a Miss Hephzibah Smith, but she was robbed and we never got it back, unfortunately." Calida made an impatient sort of noise and he continued. "The S, should it not be a forgery, is the mark of Salazar Slytherin. If you would bring it in to me, I could perform a few simple spells and tell you for sure if it once belonged to him. I would, of course, be willing to offer a fair price for it," he nodded politely at her.
"No, I'm sorry; I can't bring it in for you. Thank you for your help, Mr. Borgin," she responded swiftly and left the shop before he could say another word.
Calida paced around her library thinking. If it was the ring that belonged to Salazar Slytherin, then it definitely belonged to the Dark Lord, she thought. Then that means that Dumbledore stole it from him. And if he did, where did it go?
She pulled down a large book of wizarding genealogy and flipped through trying to find where the Dark Lord had grown up. If what she had seen really wasn't the ring, then surely she could find it at his ancestor's house. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She pulled on her traveling cloak and was gone again.
Calida was standing next to a path that was overgrown with brush. In the distance she could barely make out a sign that informed her she was very near to a town called Little Hangleton. She pulled out her wand and walked off down the path blasting the brambles out of her way.
There was a small house that was almost completely destroyed. At this distance, Calida couldn't tell if it was the work of nature or magic. She cautiously stepped forward and a small door came into view. For a second she wasn't sure what she was seeing, but with another step she realized that there was a skeleton of a snake hanging from a nail on the door. The skeleton was chipped and looked as if it would crumble into dust if someone opened the door, so she guessed it had been there for quite some time.
Very carefully, Calida approached the door. She reached out her hand and an angry hissing noise met her ears. She spun around and found at least a hundred adders slithering towards her. She could just barely make out phrases like 'be gone' and 'you are not welcome' from all the hissing.
"Stop!" she commanded, and they did so. She was suddenly struck by an idea. These snakes had obviously lived here for quite some time, and surely they wouldn't let everyone else pass but her.
"I come here on a quest. I seek something from within these walls. I wonder, has someone beaten me to it?" she turned to address a particularly large male. "Can you tell me, has anyone else been here? Perhaps recently?"
"Yes, there was someone here. Around a year ago," the elderly adder replied slowly.
"Can you tell me what they looked like," she inquired.
"He was tall. Lots of long white hair. That was all we saw," he said with finality.
"Thank you very much for you time," she said, and turned to walk off.
"Be careful," the snakes called after her. She smiled at them and nodded. As she walked off she heard calls of 'powerful' and 'bad wizard' coming from them.
Calida giggled trying to imagine what kinds of things Dumbledore must have done to scare them so badly.
Sometime later she found herself facing the gates of Hogwarts. She knew she wouldn't be allowed to cross them. She was just turning to walk off when a voice met her ears.
"Calida? Calida, is that you?" came the sharp voice of her former transfiguration teacher, who would now be Headmistress.
Calida turned and saw Professor McGonagall walking up the road from Hogsmead. She smiled and nodded. A look of immense relief crossed the woman's face. Calida noticed that she looked much older and more distressed than she had ever seen her.
"What brings you all the way back her, Miss Aderas?" McGonagall inquired with a stern look.
Calida put on a look of sincere grief. "I was just wondering, Professor, if Professor Dumbledore's belongings had been distributed yet," she small stifled sob as if the matter was greatly distressing to her. Of course, she was distressed, just not for the reasons she was hoping McGonagall would believe.
"I never had the impression the two of you were that close."
"Well, we weren't, but, well," she tried to make herself blush, "Whenever I was in trouble and in his office, he had this ring that I really loved, he used to say that maybe someday, once I'd graduated, that he might give it to me."
"I'm not aware of any ring," she said. "If he possessed it, then it was not there when we searched his office. I'm sorry Calida," she added.
Calida nodded and turned to walk down the street. She glanced back and thought she saw the old woman wipe her eyes on the sleeve of her robes. Calida smiled to herself, wiping the tears out of her own eyes. Her eyes never failed to water when she pretended to be upset. She was pleased with her convincing behavior, but disappointed that it had yielded nothing. Calida turned down a small side road, watching the occasional villager skirt quickly from one building to another.
A little ways down the street she turned into a small pub called The Hog's Head. She noticed a beautiful black snake that was sitting curled up underneath the sign, and wondered who it belonged to, or else why such a large snake had slithered into Hogsmead. The pub was usually dark with a strong smell of goats, but it was quieter here than in Three Broomsticks and she needed to think.
She ordered and paid for a glass of fire whiskey and walked off to a seat in the corner, away from the other strange guests here. Calida sat sipping her drink and staring around, as if the answer might be written on the walls.
After a while she found herself watching the bartender, and wondering why he looked so familiar. She drained the last few drops from her bottle, got up and took a seat at the bar, right in front of where the old man stood. He looked at her but didn't say anything, so she ordered another whiskey and gave the man his three sickles. She sat for a moment, and finally decided to ask him.
"Were you at Professor Dumbledore's funeral?" she said softly, looking him directly in the eyes.
He nodded curtly and started wiping the counter furiously with a very dirty rag. Calida wasn't sure it was doing any good; she suspected he was actually making it dirtier with the rag.
"How did you know him?" Again, she stared right into his blueish eyes.
The man was silent for a long time and finally he said, so softly he had to lean closer to hear him, "He was my brother."
Now she knew why he looked familiar. He did resemble his brother, but not closely enough that they could easily be distinguished as family. She gave him a small nod and a look of sadness before turning his head away from her.
"Sir, could I ask you something?" she thought she would be pushing her luck, but she had to try anyways. She didn't wait for a response of any kind, but pressed on. "See, Professor Dumbledore occasionally spoke to me in his office. He had this ring that I really loved, and he said that, maybe, someday I could have it. Well, as it turns out, no one knows where it is. I was wondering if you might," she finished.
The man looked at her in mild surprise and muttered that he didn't know anything about a ring. Calida had expected this, and even as he said it, she caught a flash of the very ring she was searching for in her mind's eye. It was on a shelf behind the counter. She saw his eyes dart to the exact spot as she saw the image in her mind's eye.
Calida didn't say another word, but drank in silence for several minutes before getting up and leaving. The sun was casting an orange glow on the sky, and clouds were drifting in lazily from the east. Calida took a seat in the grass by the snake. She whispered to herself all the ways that she might be able to get it, but each seemed unlikely.
She knew that she could have waited until after nightfall, but tonight was the full moon, and she didn't want to risk that Fenrir or one of his acquaintances might be near by, or wherever she would end up going. Calida let out a frustrated groan and put her head in her hands. She was about to get up and walk away when she heard a soft voice hissing in her ear.
"I wish I could help you," it said. Calida saw the beautiful black snake eyeing her with a look of concern. Something seemed a little off about her, but her intentions were honest. Calida looked back at the snake and thought.
"Maybe you can help me," she said. "All you would have to do is get something for me."
"What do I have to get…and how?" the snake hissed back.
"There is a gap in that door there. If you went in, there would be a long counter. Go behind it. On the bottom shelf, in the very center, is a gold-and-black ring with a cracked stone and an S on it. Do you think you could get it for me?"
Calida wasn't so sure why she trusted this particular snake so, but she had a familiar feel to her.
The snake nodded and slithered off. It was several long minutes before the snake returned, and Calida saw, with a look of relief, that she had her tail curled around a golden ring. The snake slithered right up to her and dropped the ring into her lap. Calida picked it up and looked at it. It was the ring alright; she had seen Dumbledore with it. She could tell, just by touching it, that it had indeed belonged to Salazar Slytherin.
"Thank you," Calida said, turning to face the snake. "Thank you. I-, this means a lot to me…" Calida paused wishing she knew the snake's name.
"Nagini," came the soft hiss of the snake, almost as if it could read her mind. "Just Nagini. And you don't need to thank me," and the snake slithered away.
Calida sat there in the setting sun, the now red glow illuminating her face, she was a fairly beautiful girl, but this light suited her much better than any other. Lights of other shades tended to make her look either like a vampire, or else, like she was dead.
She stared off over the trees watching the sun set and twirling the ring around her fingers. There was something odd about that snake; she just couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Yay for developing plot. Calida has a lot of suprises in store up ahead. Please read and review. I want to hear what you all think! I hope to get chapter 4 up for you in the next couple of days.
The chapter 4 revision will be along very shortly. The revision process is doing me good, some of my notes are starting to make sense to me again.