Chapter 7 – The Secret Meeting

September and October past quickly and it was soon Halloween. The weather was getting worse. Storms were raging the island and students preferred to stay inside instead of being outside. The light slowly disappeared and it was getting darker. The students weren't allowed to be outside after seven pm. On the day of Halloween, everyone was sitting in the Ice Hall, except from one student. He was walking down the empty hallways, he didn't like the crowded Ice Hall, and he wanted to be by himself. He had been exploring the castle the last couple of months, ever since he got here. The boy was tall for his age and slim. He had dark long hair and dark eyes. His name was Jan Muur. He went by the doors that lead into the Ice Hall; he could hear the other students talk and laugh. He stopped for a second and looked at the massive ice door before he went over to a staircase that leads down to the dungeons. He liked to walk around down there, the dim hallways and the many secret passageways there were down there. He walked over to a tapestry and looked around before he moved it a little. Behind it was a hidden hallway. He walked in behind the tapestry and walked down the dark hallway. When he had walked a little he could suddenly hear voices, he thought all were at the dinner in the Ice Hall. Behind a door that Jan knew led into a study room he could hear 3 voices, what sounded like a male and two female voices. He stopped and put his ear to the door, so he could better hear.

"It must be here somewhere," the male voice said. He sounded frustrated and angry.

"I bet Goldenheart has removed it or something," one of the female voices said.

"He can't, Charna, I've already told you. Only the true heir can touch the book without getting hurt," the male voice said.

"What about you know downstairs. I've heard there're catacombs under the school, which only Lupinus students can enter," the other female voice said.

"I've thought about it, Beatrice," the male voice said.

"It would be great to see what's down there," the voice of Charna said.

"Yeah, I've been here for almost 7 years and I've never found a way down there," the male voice said. The two girls laughed.

"Well I bet it's hidden down there, Arne," Beatrice said. Jan was stuck, he couldn't move, his interest was awaken and wanted to know what the three students were talking about.

"I would really like to get my hands on the book before I leave school, could really improve my chances," Arne said.

"You're sure there are no other possible students here who could be the rightful heir," Charna said. A grunt came from the boy.

"I doubt it, half the school is full with mud bloods," Arne said.

"If that first year is the heir, then I don't know what I'll do," he said.

"What first year?" Beatrice said.

"That girl from Arctos, can't remember her name, she's my cousin or something, we don't speak of her in the family," Arne said.

"Oh why not," Charna asked.

"She's a half breed, you know Muggle father, witch for a mother," Arne said.

"You're related to people who've….who've married a Muggle," Beatrice whispered.

"Yes can you believe it; my mum is so embarrassed that her sister married a Muggle. She comes from a long line of witches and wizards, all pure bloods," Arne said.

"But can an heir be a half-blood," Charna asked.

"I hope not, it would be disgraceful to the memory of my ancestor," Arne said.

"Ssshhhh, did you hear that," Charna said.

"What?" Beatrice asked.

"It came from outside the door," Charna said. Jan moved his ear away from the door and looked around and noticed a statue not far from there and hurried down to hide behind it. Shortly after the door opened. Jan was afraid of looking.

"I'm sure I heard something," the voice of Charna said.

"We better get up to the Ice Hall before any of the professors figure out we're gone," the voice of Arne said. The two females agreed with him and Jan could hear their footsteps as they walked away. When their footsteps had disappeared, Jan looked if the coast was clear. He couldn't see anyone. He hurried up to the dormitories, while his mind racing, what had they been talking about, a book, what kind of book could it be?

Jan hurried up to Cygneus' common room. The rest of the students hadn't returned from the Halloween feast yet, so Jan found a chair in a dark corner and sat down. His mind was racing, what was it all about? And who were the older kids talking about in that abandoned classroom. He decided that he would try and find out, what they were up to. Jan sat in his own thoughts when the door opened and the students rushed in. Some sat down in the various chairs and couches; others went up to the dormitories. Jan looked up and studied the different students. He noticed the girls from his year, they had found a group of chairs and now they joyfully talked and laughing. One of the girls looked over at him and she smiled to him.

"Want to join us, Jan?" the girl said. She had dark blond curly hair and blue eyes. Jan looked at her for a little while, like the words had to sink in, then he shook his head. The girl shrugged her shoulders and returned to the conversation with the other girls. Jan decided to go upstairs; the common room was too crowded for his taste.

The next day was windy and most students stayed inside, unless you had Quidditch practise, but Jan hadn't any Quidditch practise, so he could spend the day as he wanted. He had done his homework for next week, so he had nothing else to do than to walk around. He had made a plan over how to find out what the three students from the evening before could be observed. So early that morning, went Jan downstairs and took a seat at the Cygneus table and ate a little breakfast. He had brought a book in case he had to wait for a while, but he didn't have to. Shortly after he had finished his breakfast, he saw the two girls from the evening before entering the Ice Hall in a whispering discussion. They walked over to the Lupinus table and sat down, where they started to eat breakfast. A couple of minutes later the boy also entered and walked over to the two girls and sat down. Jan could hear they were discussing something, but he couldn't hear what they were talking about. He pretended to read his book, while he glanced at the three students.

"Morning, Jan," a girl's voice said next to him. Jan was startled, he hadn't noticed the other students entering the Ice Hall, when Jan looked up he saw a girl from his house.

"Morning, Tari," he said and glanced over at the Lupinus table. The girl, who had spoken to him, sat down next to him and started to take some cereal. She started to talk, but Jan wasn't listening, he was too concentrated about the three students at the Lupinus table.

"Morning, guys," another voice said. This time it was the girl who had spoken to Jan common room last night.

"Morning, Melissa," Tari said with a smile. Jan didn't say anything as he hadn't noticed Melissa. Melissa glanced at Jan for a second, and then she sat down upper sit him, so he lost his sight of the three students.

"What are you looking at, Jan?" Melissa asked and looked in the same direction as Jan did.

"What? Oh nothing," he said and looked into his book, he was furious, but he hid it. The last thing he wanted was getting into an argument.

"Yes you were," Melissa said, "you were looking at the Lupinus table."

"No I wasn't," Jan said.

"What ever," Melissa said and gave up; instead she started on her breakfast. Jan couldn't keep an eye on the three students anymore, so he decided to go out and wait outside the Ice Hall. He took his book and got up.

"See you later," he said shortly and left the Ice Hall.

When he got outside he bumped into another student.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"No problem, Jan," the voice said. When Jan saw who it was, he noticed it was Trym, from the Arctos house.

"Hey Trym," Jan said. It was the only guy in his year he could talk to sort of. Trym hadn't asked him too many questions about his life and gave him space when he needed it.

"Doing anything special today," Trym asked.

"No, think I'll take a walk," Jan said.

"Cool, I've got some homework I have to go through," Trym said with a groan. The two boys said goodbye to each other and Trym went in to get some breakfast, while Jan took at seat on the ice stairs and opened his book. He hadn't sat long, before the door went up and the three students came out.

"Let's meet at the same place as last night, say in 10 minutes time?" the boy said.

"Okay," the girls said. Jan sat quiet as a mouse, pretending he wasn't there.

"Oy, what are you sitting there for, it's not allowed to sit on the stairs boy," one of the girls said. She had a sign with a P on her chest, so Jan knew at once she was a Prefect.

Jan looked up from his book, which he pretended to read.

"I didn't know that," he said and got up.

"I should take some points from you, for breaking the rules," the girl said with a smirk.

"No you don't," a boy behind Jan said. Jan turned around and saw a boy walk down the stairs.

"Uh, well if it isn't Bobby Makupa," the girl said.

"You know Beatrice; I think you and your wolf pack should vanish. You're very close to loosing your prefect badge if you continue harassing the younger students. Besides you can sit anywhere you like and you know that, B," Bobby said. Beatrice looked harshly at Bobby.

"You know Bobby, I wouldn't be so high and mighty if I were you," the boy from Lupinus said.

"Oh and why not Arne?" Bobby asked with a big grin.

"Aren't you a muggleborn?" Arne asked. Bobby looked rather puzzled.

"What's that got to do with it?"

"Well just let me say that it's not a good thing to be one of those, you see before long it won't be so safe for you as you might think," Arne said with a smirk. Then the three Lupinus students turned around and walked away. Bobby stood for a while looking rather concerned after the three. Then he walked down to Jan.

"Are you alright?" Bobby asked. Jan nodded. His mind again raced like crazy, who were those three students. Apparently they weren't the most pleasant people to be around.

"If they try and pull a stunt like that on you again, then report it to your Head of House," Bobby said, before he entered the Ice Hall.

"We have to find a way down there," Arne said. He sat in a big armchair, he had folded his hands and placed them on his right knee.

"But how?" Beatrice asked. She sat in a big couch next to her sister Charna.

"I don't know, but we might be able to dig up some information about the catacombs, perhaps the library," Arne said, he got up from his chair and walked over to the door and placed his hand on the door knob, ready to open the door.

"I don't know if we'll find much there, you know how Goldenheart is about these things, I'm sure he's hidden all books about it," Charna said.

"Maybe, but he's a fool, so it wouldn't surprise me if he's forgotten some of the books," Beatrice and got up. Arne opened the door and was ready to go out, when a boy fell in through the open doorway. The three Lupinus students looked surprised at the boy.

"Well if it isn't the first year from the stairs," Arne said and dragged the boy up by his collar.

"Let go of me," Jan said, but Arne had a good grip in Jan, so he wouldn't run off.

"You're a little sneaky one, listening to private conversations, what should we do with you?" Beatrice said and walked over to Arne and Jan by the door. She grabbed the book, the boy had been holding and read it.

"Not quite what I had imagined," Beatrice said and showed the book to Arne, he laughed.

"Interested in the dark arts are we? I hadn't imagined Ms. Jonson lent out books like that to first years," Arne said.

"It's not the library's, it's mine," Jan said, still trying to get out of Arne's grip.

"Well, well," Beatrice said with a smirk, she looked at Jan for a second before she turned to Arne.

"We could use him," she said. Arne looked at Beatrice for a second before he took a good look at Jan, he was thinking.

"We could, close the door B," Arne said and dragged Jan into the room. He dropped him into one of the armchairs.

"Want to join us in a little quest," Arne asked and looked down at Jan, who sat shivering in the big armchair.

"I I don't know," Jan began.

"Sure you know, you're interested in what we're doing aren't you?" Arne said with a smirk.

"Well if you help us, we can promise you, you'll get something out of it, everything you've ever wanted," Beatrice said. Jan looked at the three Lupinus students.

"Promise?"

"Yes, we promise," Arne said.

"So what do you say, want to help us a little?" Beatrice asked. Jan sat for a moment thinking about the offer.

"Okay, I'll help you."

"Great! Meet us outside the library tonight at seven," Arne said.