CHAPTER 24/EPILOGUE: DANGER LOOMS...
INT. THE GNARLED OAK TREE, MAPHERIA'S PRIVATE CHAMBERS - EARLY EVENING (OCT. 30TH, 2018)
Grispell quickly gathered up some rolled up maps, parchment which had some scribbled writing and strange symbols on it and made hast back to the gnarled oak tree. Mapheria had originally sent Grispell to Hogwarts to find maps of the hidden places and hidden corridors of Hogwarts, though why she wanted to know any of this was beyond Grispell at the moment. With maps and parchment held close to his chest, Grispell sneaked into the gnarled oak tree, going through the main chamber and past other slaves, Death Eaters, Dementors and Accusers alike. Suddenly, Grispell heard some angered chirping sounds coming from a glittering sliver bird cage nearby. Inside the bird cage was a beautifully colored peacock-dove, a bird that looked like a peacock but was the size of a dove. The creature was biting at a silver chain on its leg and was trying to get out of the cage, angrily flapping its wings. One of the other Death Eaters looked over at it in amusement and soon spoke, "You shouldn't have refused Mapheria's advances, Crielis. Now you have to suffer for it!"
The peacock-dove, now known to be Crielis, squawked disagreeably, wanting so much to get out of the cage and claw at the Death Eater's eyes. But he was helpless to get out of the cage or even get revenge on his fellow Death Eater. Grispell quickly moved on, running towards Mapheria's private chambers. The only people that were ever allowed into her private chambers were those she would summon for something important or for a personal private meeting. No one was allowed in Mapheria's private chamber unless summoned and if any of her followers would barge into her private chambers, they needed to have a very good reason or she would punish them then and there.
Grispell had been silently summoned to Mapheria's private chamber and thus was meant to come there. But as he approached the doors to Mapheria's private chambers, going down a narrow corridor and past brightly lit torches, he was stopped at the door by a pair of Accusers, one on either side of the doors, who were holding spears and pointing them at Grispell. The doors were both sound proof and spectral proof, so nothing and no one outside the doors could see or hear what was going on inside.
"Ssssssssssss, What are you doing here, Grispell? Sssssssssss Her ladyship does not wish to be bothered now," said one of the guards, nudging a spear at Grispell.
Grispell stopped a few feet away and spoke, "Mapheria summoned me, sir. She wishes to see me."
The two Accusers looked at one another, then brought their spears back to resting position, "Very well, Sssssssss you may enter."
Grispell cautiously walked past the Accusers, pushing the one door open, then closing it behind him. Inside Mapheria's private chamber, candles were glowing dimly all around, making the room appear calm and serene. Grispell then noticed the familiar sounds of love making in the air: quick breathing, moaning, groaning and huffing. These were all sounds that Grispell recognized as intimate sounds, which in his opinion sounded unlike something that would be heard in Mapheria's chambers. Grispell followed the sounds to Mapheria's bedroom chamber. There, Grispell could see two naked figures in Mapheria's bed through the crimson red see-through drapes, with a man on top of the woman. Grispell knew the woman to be Mapheria, but he wasn't certain as to who the man was. Though he could not see either person clearly, he could tell what they were doing and was just about to step back out away from the entrance to the bedroom chamber until he heard, "And where do you think you are going, Grispell?" said the man suddenly.
Grispell gulped slightly and stepped back into the entrance, speaking nervously, "Lady Mapheria summoned me here, sir. But I did not know that she was with someone."
"Are you blind, Grispell? Or more rather deaf?" said the man harshly, but Mapheria, saying nothing, brought her hand up to the man's mouth and shook her head. The man looked at Mapheria, bowed his head and then lifted himself off her. Then, standing up and putting a robe around himself, the man came up to the drapes and pulled them apart just enough so that he could see Grispell clearly.
It was at this moment that Grispell realized who the man was. It was Dreth, another one of Mapheria's loyal Death Eater henchmen. He had fair skin, black shoulder-length bedraggled hair and cold blue eyes.
Dreth peered down at Grispell and spoke, "What do you want, Grispell? I am rather busy with our Lady Mapheria at the moment."
"Lady Mapheria wanted me to get these for her," said Grispell, lifting the maps and parchment up in front of him, then brought them down again, holding them close to his chest once more, "She said that they were a part of her plans."
"You mean our plans, Grispell. Lady Mapheria isn't the only one here involved in her great plans. And since Crielis has shunned our Lady's advances, I have completely taken over his place in our lady's plans. I am her second-in-command now, so be mindful of what you say and do around me, Grispell. If Lady Mapheria is not around for you to answer to, then you will have to answer to me."
"But what of Crielis's loyal lieutenant, Fredric Pipel?"
"I have already dealt with Pipel. He has agreed to work with me on the condition that I don't hurt, torment and tease his beloved cousin Crielis while he is...well, imprisoned. You may put those maps and parchment on the table over there," said Dreth, nodding over to a table nearby, "Afterwards, I suggest that you leave and go back to doing the other things that Mapheria has sent you out to do. Your job is to watch Albus Potter, observe him, but don't speak to him to tell him of our Lady Mapheria's plans." - Grispell walked over and placed the maps and parchments on the table and listened as Dreth continued to speak, "If you say anything to the boy about what is going on, you will be punished."
"And what of the witch Abigail, sir?" asked Grispell nervously, "I have heard that reformed Accusers came to her rescue and sent her somewhere where she can't be reached,"
"Yes, an unfortunate circumstance that will soon be rectified once our Lady Mapheria or the rebel Accuser children have found her again. We need the Abigail woman to help us find the other things that our Lady Mapheria seeks, not just what the Albus boy has."
"But what does Master Albus have that Lady Mapheria wants so badly from him, sir?" asked Grispell once again.
Dreth then grinned wickedly as he spoke, "If you don't already know, Grispell, what our Lady Mapheria seeks to take from Albus lies within the potions book that was given to him at the beginning of the school year. A page that was torn from the Book Of Resurrections, somewhere hidden within it. The most important page in the Book of Resurrections to our Lady Mapheria. The page, Grispell, that our Lady Mapheria knows to be the key to bringing her beloved Tobias back from the grave. The Albus boy carries the power of the Auranan within him, Grispell. It is the same power that our Lady Mapheria carries within herself and it will certainly cause havoc in our plans if it is unleashed within the boy. He has yet to truly tap into his gifted powers does he not?"
"Yes. I've heard that Master Albus does not know his true potential and that Lady Mapheria wishes to teach him how to use them properly. But surely Lady Mapheria knows that he will use his powers against her. So why does she want to teach him how to use his Auranan powers, sir?"
Dreth smiled wickedly once more as he spoke, "Why Grispell, so that she can take his Auranan powers away from him when the time comes. Her purpose of wanting to teach him how to use his Auranan powers is to find his strengths and weaknesses, then match him. Oh certainly it would be easy for our Lady Mapheria to take away Albus's Auranan powers right now...but she won't. She would only make him a martyr and that, my dear Grispell, is something that she doesn't wish to do. With an untimely loss of the Albus boy's Auranan powers, wizards and witches of every nation would rally behind him, making it even harder to achieve victory in our plans. The Albus boy you see, is the only chance for hope of victory and peace to those who are against us. But our Lady Mapheria will soon put an end to their...fantasies."
"Stop chattering at Grispell, Dreth, and get your big self back into bed!" hissed Mapheria from her bed. Dreth was of small to medium build, so it was obvious to Grispell that the big part she spoke of lied down where Grispell did not want to see.
Dreth smiled mischievously, "I am in demand, Grispell. I suggest that you leave now before our Lady Mapheria gets restless. Go back to Hogwarts and keep an eye on the Albus boy. And if the Abigail woman appears, you will report to either me or Lady Mapheria immediately. Good night, Grispell."
And with that, Dreth closed the drapes suit and went back to entertaining Lady Mapheria while Grispell turned on his heels and ran out, listening to Lady Mapheria's and Dreth's cries of pleasure as he left.
INT. HOGWARTS CASTLE, CUPBOARD NEAR THE GREAT HALL - EARLY EVENING (OCT. 30TH, 2018)
Struting past brightly lit lanterns which lined the corridor going towards the Great Hall and past several finely dressed students wearing masks of all shapes, colors and designs, Verena found herself at the door to the cupboard that Albus claimed Abigail was waiting for her and waiting to be freed from. Verena looked around cautiously and shifted her eyes a moment, making sure that no one or nothing was around. Verena then quietly slipped through the cupboard door and into the narrow broom cupboard, facing the wall to the left. Verena then placed her left hand onto the wall, trying to find where Abigail was located within the wall. As Verena was trying to locate Abigail, she could hear a couple sources of small child's laughter, a sign that she was being watched by Accuser children that were hiding within the wall nearby. Verena looked around in mild concern a moment, then looked back and tapped her finger on a spot on the wall. She then took out her wand and placed the tip of her wand onto the wall and spoke, "Accusa Solvo Vallum!" causing a flash of light to burst from the tip of her wand and dance across the wall. Suddenly, the wall began to groan, stretching and bending, acting like an elastic band or putty. Suddenly, in a sparkling haze of light, Abigail fell out of the wall and landed on the floor of the broom cupboard. Then, as quickly as the wall had seemingly turned into putty, it became solid and flat once more, becoming silent.
Verena looked down at Abigail, noticing that she was without her sash, exposing the left side of her face and her whited-out left eye. Abigail sat up and began looking around confusingly as Verena spoke softly, "Abigail? Are you alright?"
There was a brief moment's pause as Abigail suddenly got her bearings and looked up at Verena, "Verena? Oh...I'm fine. I wish I knew how to get out of these blasted walls, I would have gotten out myself long ago." - Verena helped Abigail onto her feet as Verena continued, "Albus Potter told me that you were here so I came to fetch you."
"I know, and I've been waiting for hours to get out of this wall. Where is Albus Potter now?"
"Getting ready for the ball. Why do you ask?"
Abigail looked concernedly at Verena and spoke with mild excitement, "The boy must be warned of what I've learned. Lady Mapheria is using Polyjuice Potion to take on the form of one of the teachers here at Hogwarts. She intends to teach Albus Potter how to use his Auranan powers so that she can find out his weaknesses. And I know which of the teachers that she is..."
"I know, Abigail. So do I..." said Verena nonchalantly, who didn't seem to surprised at what Abigail had just said. Abigail cocked her head slightly and looked at Verena puzzlingly.
EXT. A CURIOS SHOP, DIAGON ALLEY - AN HOUR BEFORE DAWN (AUTUMN, 1998)
(extended from epilogue in Chronicle 1)
Inside the window display of the curios shop, several curios and magical items were being displayed, including an enchanted sliver tin with a sold tag attached to it. At first, there was only silence, then suddenly, a fist broke through the section of the window where the enchanted silver tin sat. The hand appeared to be of a fair-skinned figure with long and gnarly-looking pointed fingernails. Then slowly and ominously, the hand stretched over the top of the enchanted sliver tin and then slowly dragged it towards the unseen figure.
THE END...THE STORY CONTINUES...CHRONICLE 3...