Girls' Day Out!
A lone figure crossed over the snowy courtyard. Rosaria Vargas muttered very rapidly to herself in her native tongue. The girl was stressed out. Not only did she have her schoolwork, she also had to help Professor Jones at the Greenhouses and try to calm Lovino down as well.
Out of nowhere, something covered Rosaria's mouth and a blindfold was put over her eyes. The girl kicked the snow towards whoever had grabbed her, but it was no use as she was dragged off.
"Hey!" Rosaria said for the fifth time, "Let me go!"
"Oh, calm down," said a familiar voice. A pair of quick hands untied the blindfold and Rosaria's captors were revealed to her. In front of the Italian were Elizabeta, Emma, Katyusha, Hanna, Lili and Michelle.
"Is there a reason you guys dragged me off to who knows where?"
"Chill, midget," Hanna said coldly.
"I'm only a year younger than you."
"Wow, Rose," said Michelle as she twisted one of her brown pigtails around her tan finger, "I didn't zink we would 'ave to kidnap you just to get you to go with us!"
"Go with you to do what, exactly?"
"Katyusha got special permission for us to go to Hogsmeade," Lili explained.
"Ve're going out for the day!" said Elizabeta excitedly.
"No thank you," Rosaria stated flatly.
"Yes," hissed Hanna, "If I'm going, then you are to!" Rosaria inched away from Hanna and towards Emma as the temperature dropped slightly.
"It vill be fun!" Elizabeta begged, "Please? Kérem?" Rosaria sighed.
"I don't like doing all that girly stuff," she said, "Not to mention I have things to do."
"What zings?" asked Michelle curiously.
"I need to help Professor Jones in the Greenhouses, and I also need to calm Lovino down! He's still angry about what happened."
"So?" Elizabeta said sternly, "Hanna doesn't like this girly stuff either, but she's still going."
"I will freeze you," said Hanna sharply. Katyusha put her hands on Rosaria's shoulders.
"I already spoke to Professor Jones," the Ukrainian explained, "You're free to come with us."
"But what about Lovino?" asked Rosaria. The boy had not spoken to either her nor Feliciano since he had stormed away from them in the corridors. This made her very upset. Lovino never ignored her. Truthfully, Rosaria just wanted Lovino to speak to her again.
"Let him sit in his emo corner," Elizabeta said.
"Please?" asked Lili as sweetly as possible. Rosaria sighed.
"Fine," she said in defeat. "I'll come with you."
"Geweldig!" exclaimed Emma in Dutch, "I know a great store we could go to! It's this little shop near Honeyduke's."
"Great." The Italian sighed.
"Oh, cheer up," Elizabeta said as she put her arm around the Hufflepuff's shoulders, "You've been spending too much time vith the boys. A little girl time vill be good for you."
"What's wrong with spending most of your time with boys?" asked Hanna, offended by the statement.
"Nozing, if you're a tomboy, like you are, and wear pants instead of ze uniforms' skirts," Michelle muttered loudly. Hanna looked down at the black dress pants she was wearing.
"I don't see what's wrong with it. Tino doesn't mind that I take them anyway. We're the same height and size, so it really doesn't matter." Michelle opened her mouth to retaliate, but was cut off.
"Enough about Hanna's clothing choices!" interuppted Emma, "I got money from my parents this morning and it's just waiting to be spent!"
"Then let's go!" Katyusha added cheerily. The troupe of girls walked off the grounds and headed for their destination.
The town was absolutely alive with holiday spirit. Decorations lined the streets and lights glittered beautifully. Emma led the girls to a small shop that had beautiful dresses on display in the window. Warm air hit their faces as they entered.
"Ah, the smell of fabric in the morning!" Hanna said as she stepped into the store.
"What's so special about that?" asked Emma. Hanna shrugged as Elizabeta gestured the girls towards the various clothing racks.
"Come on, girls!" The Hungarian called out to her friends, "Let's get to vork!" Hanna groaned loudly while Rosaria sighed.
"Oh, stop complaining," said Michelle while she shifted through the clothes, "I'm sure zere is somezing for ze both of you 'ere." Rosaria nodded and took one of the racks off to the side.
"But they are DRESSES!" Hanna said with distaste. "I hate wearing anything that has a skirt!"
"The Ball's formal attire only, Hanna," reminded Elizabeta. The Greenlandic shot a frosty glare at her before leaning against one of the racks.
"Hanna, I think I found something you might like," Katyusha told her, "At least I hope you like it." Hanna raised a pale eyebrow suspiciously.
"Really?" She said. The Ukrainian nodded and held up a dress for the Nordic to see. It was a crystal-blue, off-the-shoulder dress with a right knee-high slit, a crystallized bodice and translucent, powder blue sleeves. Attached to the back of the bodice was a long, transparent cape which was decorated with large snowflakes and was long enough to sweep the floor. The entire gown looked like it was made out of ice. (A/N: Yes, the dress described is Elsa's ice dress. Angel gave me the description for it and I agreed I could see Hanna in this) Hanna's emerald green eyes sparkled.
"Cool..." she said in awe as Katyusha handed the dress.
"And I zought you didn't like 'wearing anyzing with a skirt'?" Michelle said with a smirk. Hanna shot an icy glare at the Seychellois girl.
"I'm making an exception." Michelle laughed before her brown eyes fell on a dress. She pulled it off the rack to get a better look at it.
"Ooo! That is so cute!" commented Elizabeta. The Seychellois held up the gown so the Hungarian could get a better look. It was a green, off-the-shoulder dress with sliver hemming on the skirt and the sleeves of the bodice.
"No matter what," Michelle said, "I zink my family will approve." Elizabeta nodded in agreement.
"Hey, girls!" called out Emma. The females' attention fell on the Belgian. Emma held up a dress with a black sweetheart bodice with off-the-shoulder dark green sleeves and rose, teal, blue and purple prints on it, and had greenish-gold trim and an olive drab skirt with sashes.
"That looks really beautiful!" Katyusha commented.
"I know, right?" Emma spun around. "What do you guys think?" Elizabeta nodded.
"It suits you perfectly," she said, draping something over her arm.
"Vhat do you have zhere, Elizabeta?" asked Lili.
"A dress I found over there for me. Vhat do you think?" The Hungarian held out a lavender dress with a bodice that would cling to her form and had a low neckline. It had long sleeves and the skirt filled out and stretched to the floor. A dark purple sash was circled around the waist.
"I like it. It will look great on you," Michelle said with a smile.
"What about your stick-in-the-mud boyfriend?" acknowledged Hanna as she shifted through the clothing.
"Oh, shut it," Elizabeta said sharply, "He respects my choices."
"That's cause he's scared your gonna hit him with your skillet..."
"Roderich is not scared of me. Vhen ve vere younger, maybe, but most definitely not now!"
"True. He's scared of your frying pan."
"I vill hit you with it." growled Elizabeta.
"Bring it on!" Hanna snapped, "I'll freeze you solid!"
"Please stop fighting!" exclaimed Rosaria, "We're in a public place!" The Hungarian and Greenlandic shot green eyed glares at each other before going back to shifting through the racks. Hanna pulled two gowns away from the others.
"Hey Kat! I think I found one for you...and maybe Lili too!"
"Can ve see zhem?" Lili asked sweetly as she and the Ukrainian walked over to the Greenlandic. Hanna nodded and show them the dresses. The first one was a strapless, golden gown that had a full skirt and shimmered in the light. The second was a beautiful silver dress with the sleeves reaching down to the elbows. A white sash was tied around the waist, and the dress looked like it was entirely made out of moonlight.
"What do you think?" Hanna asked.
"They're beautiful, Hanna!" said Katyusha with a sensitive smile.
"I know." She handed over the dresses to the two, giving Lili the sliver and Katyusha the gold.
"So far, so good," Michelle said with a smile, "Ze only one without a dress is Rosaria." At the mention of her name, Rosaria looked up.
"What?" she asked.
"Have you found anything yet?" Emma clarified as she messed Rosaria's hair up a bit. Rosaria pushed Emma's hand away and smoothed her hair back down before securing it back. The Italian shook her head.
"I really can't seem to find anything that catches my eye."
"Hmm...I'll go ask the shopkeeper for some help," hummed Elizabeta. She handed the item in her hands to Katyusha before walking away. After moments later, the Hungarian came back with a tall, blonde woman who had several bright blue streaks in her hair.
"Can I help you girls?" asked the shopkeeper.
"We're looking for a dress our friend here-" Elizabeta pointed to Rosaria- "can wear to the Yule Ball." Rosaria waved and laughed nervously. The shopkeeper nodded.
"I remember the Yule Ball when I was in school. It was truly a memorable event."
"Do you think you could help?" asked Katyusha.
"Yes," said the shopkeeper before turning to Rosaria. "Is there anything specific you're looking for?" Rosaria thought briefly, with no image what so ever came to her mind. In the end, she shook her head no.
"No, signorina," The Sicilian said, "I really didn't have anything in mind. I really don't like doing all this, to be honest." To everyone's surprise, the shopkeeper laughed.
"I understand," said the blonde/bluenette. "I had a friend who hated doing girly stuff all her life. You remind me very much of her. You even look like Diana." Rosaria's face paled and her heart skipped a beat.
"Y-You knew my mother?" She stuttered.
"Your anya?" Elizabeta asked, curiously. Rosaria nodded.
"I knew that Diana had two boys," said the shopkeeper with her arms crossed, "Never knew she had a little girl as well."
"Yeah, well here she is," Hanna added sarcastically.
"Well...I do have one more dress in the back," the shopkeeper added, "It's not ready to be put out with the others yet, but it's finished. Stay here. You, come with me." The shopkeeper took Rosaria by the hand and lead her to tge back room.
A few minutes later, the shopkeeper and the Italian came back out, with Rosaria holding a dress in her hands.
"Let's see it!" Elizabeta said excitedly. Rosaria unfolded the dress and showed it to her friends. The dress was sleeveless and skimmed the floor. It was a beautiful, bright red with a silver sash. Silver swirls shimmered on the skirt.
"That's really nice work," said Michelle in amazement. She ran a hand along the bodice before Rosaria folded it up again.
"Grazie, signorina!" Rosaria said with a smile.
"It's no problem," said the shopkeeper modestly.
"How much do we owe you for the dresses?" Emma asked, "We have to be back at the school in an two hours."
"Their 16 galleons each. My materials aren't cheap, you know."
Each girl paid individually and left. However, the shopkeeper called one of them back.
"Miss Vargas!" called out the dual haired woman. The fourth year turned as the lady ran out into the snow to meet her.
"Si?" Rosaria asked, "Did I leave something behind?" The shopkeeper shook her head.
"No, not at all. It just that I thought that this ought to be returned to the family it came from." Rosaria tilted her head slightly in confusion. The shopkeeper took the girl's hand and closed something into it. Rosaria opened her hand to find a sliver locket on a red ribbon. "It's free of charge. It does belong to your family, after all."
"Where did you find this?" The Italian asked in amazement.
"Diana gave it to me for safekeeping. I don't know why, though. The thing won't open, so I have no idea what she put inside it."
"Thank you." Rosaria nodded and ran after the other female students.
Later on, the girls had settled at the Three Broomsticks before they had to return to the school. Rosaria was playing with the locket she had received earlier, wondering what could have been so important her mother had given it away.
"Rosaria, where'd you get that locket?" Hanna asked, pointing to the metallic object. "You didn't have that thing earlier."
"The Shopkeeper gave it to me," explained Rosaria, not taking her attention off the necklace, "She said it belonged to my mother."
"What's in it?" Michelle asked, resting her elbows on the table. Rosaria shrugged, and Elizabeta streched out her hand.
"Let me try and open it," said the Hungarian. Rosaria hesitantly handed the locket over to Elizabeta. The Gryffindor tried to unclick the locket, but it stayed shut. She even dug her nails between the two halves, hoping to pry them apart, but the thing wouldn't budge. "It's stuck or something. I can't get it open!"
"Give it to me," Michelle said. She tried to open it, but, like her predecessor, failed. "I zink Elizabeta iz right. The mechanisms must be jammed by somezing."
"Let me try to freeze it," Hanna suggested, "Maybe it will help open it."
"I don't think that will work..." sighed Katyusha.
"Why? It always does. Even with magical locks and things like that."
"But you might break it," Lili explained.
"Oh." The Germanic girl turned to the Italian.
"Maybe it's magic? I have a book zhat can only be unlocked by people in my family. It could be like zhat."
"Maybe," Rosaria sighed. "I haven't tried opening it yet."
"Well try then, huh?" said Hanna sarcastically. Elizabeta hit the North American in the back of the head. Michelle reached over the table and dropped the locket in Rosaria's open hand. The Italian worked her finger onto the lock and pushed down. It popped open with a small click. A shimmer of silver dust came out of the locket in a sudden burst and floated above the metal. All the girls looked in wonder at the locket. A image formed in the dust. The image was of a woman and a man. The woman has curly auburn hair, which was elegantly styled with a white, translucent veil, and she had beautiful hazel eyes. She was also smiling brightly. The man had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was smiling as well. The woman was dressed in an elegent white gown and the man was in a suit.
"Who are they?" asked Hanna.
"Whom ever they are, they make such a cute couple!" Katyusha said. Elizabeta stared at the scene and snapped her fingers in realization, making everyone jump.
"I know who they are," said Elizabeta, "The voman is Ms. Vargas."
"My...mother?" Rosaria said breathlessly with shock.
"Zhat man must be your father zhen," added Lili.
"Wow, that shopkeeper was right," Hanna said with a laugh. "You do look a lot like your mom."
"What is it?" asked Rosaria as she ran her fingers along to ribbon that held the necklace together.
"It's a memory locket. We learned about them in my advanced Charms class," Katyusha explained, "Similar to how a regular locket holds a picture, a memory locket holds memories. They're usually given to someone's lover as a sign of true affection in magical Italian culture. Your father most likely gave it to your mother."
"B-But if this was given to mia madre by my father...things just don't add up."
"What do you mean?" asked Emma with extreme curiosity.
"Nonno told me my father was a muggle...not a wizard."
"It could have been a school love," Elizabeta suggested. "Maybe after school, they lost contact and never saw each other again. Then, your mom met your dad and had you and your brothers."
"Then why would she have a memory of her wedding day in a locket given to her by another man?" Emma contradicted. Elizabeta sighed and shugged.
"Whatever ze reason," cut in Michelle, "Ze two stories don't match up."
"You could ask your grandfather," Hanna suggested, "He's been here for a while, I'd bet he might know." Rosaria shook her head rapidly.
"I'd rather not," she said, "He doesn't like to talk about Mama at all."
"Vhat about your grandmother?" Lili asked. The Italian shook her head sadly.
"She died in the Battle of Hogwarts, protecting my mother from a Death Eater. Or at least that's what I was told. I'm not sure I believe anything my grandfather has told me...not after seeing this." Rosaria shut the locket with a click, and the happy wedding memory got sucked back inside the necklace.
"Ve could look in zhe library for help."
"True," added Elizabeta, "Maybe they have a registery of the students who vent here. Vhen did your anya leave school?"
"I think it was 1994," Rosaria answered.
"Alright. Let's go then," said Hanna, standing up. "To the library!"
Elizabeta moved any belongings the girls had on hand to their dormitories, and the seven raced back to the castle. They soon reached the library with little breath.
"Where do we look first?" Rosaria panted.
"I think it's the student registery," said Katyusha, "But I don't know where it is..."
"I know someone who would," Hanna said with a sly smile.
"Who exactly?" asked Emma, raising a blonde eyebrow.
"Someone who is always in the library, even helps out here. Come on." Hanna briskly walked away from everyone. The others followed, with extreme confusion and curiosity.
After walking around for about ten minutes, the girls stopped at a student, who was reading to themselves quietly, muttering the words as they went.
"Luke!" exclaimed Hanna. The Norwegian jumped a bit, before looking over his book and at the Greenlandic. "We need your knowledge of the library." Lukas sighed.
"Don't call me that," he stated flatly.
"Ugh. Fine."
"Now, what do you need?" Lukas said, snapping the book closed, "Are you finally asking me to help you study for your OWL exams?" Hanna began laughing.
"Me? Study? That's a good joke Lukas," she said though her giggles, "No, we need to know where they keep info on past students." Lukas stared at Hanna with his dull blue eyes.
"Is there a good reason?" Hanna nodded.
"Rosaria needs it." She pointed to the Italian, who gave a small wave and a short smile. Lukas raised a pale eyebrow.
"Why?"
"It's about her parents," said Hanna, lowering her voice significantly.
"Please, Lukas?" Rosaria begged with wide eyes, "I want to know more about them." Lukas sighed and slid the book he had into his bag.
"I realize this, truly I do," he said, "But I don't think I can do anything to help you."
"Vhy not?!" Elizabeta asked, clenching her hands in anger. Katyusha placed a hand on the Hungarian's shoulder and shook her head. Elizabeta sighed and relaxed her hands.
"Believe me when I tell you this, but I've been in your position before. I don't have access to everything that may help you find answers."
"Vhat can you do?" asked Lili sweetly.
"I can give you as much information that I have access to, but that may be very little."
"Any information you 'ave would be 'elpful," Michelle added.
"Alright," Lukas sighed. "Follow me." The Norwegian walked away, motioning for the girls to follow him.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Hanna did a two fingered salute and followed Lukas.
The girls follow the Norwegian to an older section of the library. Dust covered a good area of the books, and there were a handful of cobwebs strung up around the place. It wasn't as well lit as the rest of the library, either. All they had was the dim glow of the older three girls' wands to guide them.
"I haven't been in this section before..." breathed Emma.
"Very few students have access to this area," Lukas explained. "I'm most likely risking my permission to be here just by showing you." Hanna patted Lukas on his shoulder. "Don't worry," she said nonchalantly, "I'll bring you coffee whenever you want for the next three months."
"You have no idea how wrong you were in making that deal." Hanna sweatdropped as the Norwegian stopped. "Here it is. The student registery. Every single student that has been here since the school was founded are all recorded here."
"This is huge!" Elizabeta exclaimed in shock, "It vill take us forever!"
"I'll leave you girls to it." Lukas walked away from the girls, his footsteps rapid and brisk.
"Tak, Lukas!" called out Hanna before she turned back. Emma reached up and pulled a book off one of the shelves.
"Let's get started!" The Belgian said excitedly.
As time passed, the girls didn't find any information that would be helpful to their investigation. Hanna slammed the book she had in front of her shut.
"We've been looking through these for two freaking hours!" said the Greenlandic angrily. "There's nothing here!"
"There has to be!" Rosaria said. She was determined to do something important in her own for once. She didn't want to feel useless.
"I found it!" Elizabeta called out. Everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded around the Hungarian. "Here it is. 1988 to 1993. This looks like your father, right?" She pointed to seven photos- each of the same person. The year it was taken was written out underneath them, along with the year of his schooling. The face was unmistakable- same dark brown hair, same brown eyes. Rosaria nodded.
"I think," she answered, "I don't remember much about him. He does look like fratello and big brother, though."
"What's the name?" asked Michelle. Elizabeta looked to the top of the page, where the name was supposed to be. Instead, there was a thick, black box- censoring out the person's name.
"Someone crossed it out..." sighed the Gryffindor. "Everything else is here. His house, his school history...but everywhere his name is supposed to be mentioned is crossed out."
"The name doesn't matter," Emma cut in, "What does matter is that your dad was a wizard. But why the whole muggle lie, then? And doesn't Lovino say he saw him act as a muggle? What about that?"
"I don't know," said Rosaria sadly, "I was just a baby. Like I said, I don't remember him or my mama very much."
Before any one of the girls could speak again, loud and fast footsteps came quickly towards them. The girls rushed behind a bookcase, which was concealed by the shadows, in panic. They weren't supposed to be there in the first place. As the footsteps got closer, the figure appeared in the females' vision. Their face, however was obscured by the darkness like a veil.
"Who is it?" whispered the frightened Ukrainian.
"I can't tell..." Elizabeta muttered. The figure looked around the room. They leaned up against on of the walls, seemingly out of breath. Their eyes fell upon the open book on the desk. The figure walked over to the book to inspect it. They traced their hands along the page it was on, sighing. They looked briefly around the room before slamming the book shut.
"Please leave," muttered Michelle, "Please leave. S'il vous plaît!" Elizabeta covered Michelle's mouth quickly and put a finger to her lips, signalling for her to be quiet. Not long after, the sound of receeding footsteps relaxed the girls.
"Who do you think zhat vas?" asked Lili, her hands still shaking slightly. "Lukas said zhat not many people have access here."
"It could have been one of the teachers," Katyusha suggested. Her voice cracked a little bit as she spoke.
"But who would want to come back 'ere?" countered Michelle.
"I don't know," Elizabeta said as she shook her head. During this, Rosaria had walked back over to where the book lay. "Maybe someone heard us."
"Yeah, but who'd be here at this hour?" added Hanna, "It's pretty late by the looks of it." Rosaria opened the book back up to the page that showed her father.
"Who knows how teachers work?" Emma said with a shrug.
"You mean work hours? Cause then I do." On the page was a hastily written note. Rosaria picked it up and read it silentlt to herself.
"I don't zink she means zat," sighed Michelle.
"Oh."
"What do you have there Rosaria?" Katyusha said, taking notice of the girl's action. The Italian jumped at the sudden approach. The girls gathering around her.
"I-It's just a note I found," stuttered Rosaria quickly.
"Vhat does it say?" Elizabeta asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
"I don't think you guys understand it...it's in Italian."
"Then translate it!" ordered Hanna. Rosaria nodded.
"'Everything is not what it seems. Beware the darkness that is clouding your school, m-' ... That's all it says." She turned her gaze away from the other girls.
"It just cuts off? Like, right at the end?"
"Not really. It says 'mia figlia', I don't want to translate it."
"Hvorfor?!" Rosaria stepped away from Hanna and behind Emma.
"She doesn't have to translate it if she doesn't want to!" Emma interjected, running a hand through Rosaria's hair to calm her down. Hanna crossed her arms in defeat.
"Kill joy."
"It's getting late," said Katyusha, "Let's return to our dormitories. We all need a little rest."
"Right," Lili added.
The girls headed back to their dungeon, tower and basement respectively. Rosaria, however, was still distracted. She sat in front of the fireplace in the Hufflepuff Common Room, playing with the locket in her hands. Katyusha and Lili tried to get her to come to bed, but she had refused.
The door suddenly opened and Rosaria whipped her head around. In walked Feliciano and Lovino. They were still in their uniforms, and the boys looked as tired as ever. Feliciano lit up when he saw the girl.
"You're okay!" He said cheerily as he wrapped the girl in a warm embrace.
"Where were you?" asked Lovino, crossing his arms.
"The girls took me out," Rosaria answered. "It's pretty late. Why do you two look like that?"
"We did just come down," said Feliciano as he leaned onto her.
"Did something happen?"
"Someone broke into the school," Lovino explained, "Didn't you hear about it, or are you going deaf?"
"No," said Rosaria, a little surprised by the statement, "I was gone almost all day."
"Ve~ We were so worried about you," Feliciano said with a small yawn, "Lovino actually-" Lovino slapped a hand over Feliciano's mouth
"Shut up," he hissed, "I'm still angry with you."
"What did Lovino do?" Rosaria said with a mischievous smile.
"I didn't do anything!"
"Yes, yes you did!" said Feliciano as he pushed Lovino off of him, "You put a hole in the wall! It's right over- " Lovino covered his brother's mouth with a bandaged hand. Rosaria covered her own mouth, concealing a laugh or two.
"It's not funny!"
"It kind of is," the girl laughed. She cleared her throat, and her laughter died down. "But it still doesn't explain why you two were out so late."
"We got sent to our grandfather's office, if you must know," said Lovino, "It was supposed to be all three of us, but you weren't there. You're lucky that Professor Jones covered for you." Rosaria's hands tensed. She remembered the figure the girls had seen while in the library. Could that have been the person who broke into the school?
"Why were you in the office?" She asked quickly. Feliciano shrugged.
"I don't know," said the middle sibling, "Everyone else was sent to their dormitories." There was silence between the three. Rosaria shifted uncomfortably, her hand in her pocket the whole time. She had this feeling of gulit in her chest, and she felt like it was going to kill her.
"Ve, sorella, are you okay?" Rosaria snapped out of her trance and looked over at Feliciano.
"Si, fratello," she answered. "It's just...I...I found something...unsettling."
"What is it?" asked Lovino with his eyebrow raised.
"I'll tell you...because you two should help me figure it out...but...just keep it between us, si?" The brothers exchanged glances before nodding. Rosaria held her breath as she shakily pulled the necklace from her pocket. She held it out in front of the twins. The two boys stared at it with a mixed look of shock and confusion.
"Is that..." Feliciano muttered. Rosaria nodded. She clicked the locket open. Instead of the wedding scene, like before, it was a younger Diana dancing with a younger version of their father at the Yule Ball during the previous Tournament. She was in a beautiful slivery blue dress and looked like a goddess.
"Where did you get that?" asked Lovino, his eyes not moving from the locket.
"One of the shopkeepers in town," Rosaria explained. "She said that Mama gave to her."
"Really?" said Feliciano in wonder. The girl nodded. "I thought Mama lost it! She used to wear it all the time. She said it reminded her of our father."
"Well...a memory locket is a sign of true affection in our culture. But...that's not the more important thing."
"What is?" Rosaria gestured towards the image playing in front of them.
"What about it?" Lovino asked.
"Please tell me you're messing with me," said Rosaria. The boys shook their heads no, and the girl sighed. "I know he has to look familiar to you two. You spent more time with our parents than I did!"
"He looks sort of familiar, if that helps," Feliciano said with a embarrassed laugh. Lovino leaned in a little closer to the scene and realized what his sister was talking about. He hit Feliciano in the back of the head with loud smack.
"Idiota!" He exclaimed, "It's our father!"
"But he's a muggle!"
"He isn't," countered Rosaria. "I looked in the school registery myself. He left here in 1993."
"But...I always remember him as a muggle. This is confusing."
"I'm confused as you are, fratello. Nonno told me he was a muggle, so why did he lie?"
"We could always, I don't know, ask him!" Lovino said. Feliciano shook his head rapidly.
"But he's busy," he reminded his twin, "Someone did break into the school after all." Lovino waved him off.
"I think this is more important than that break-in."
"I agree with Feliciano," added Rosaria as she shifted uncomfortably, "We sort of went into an area of the library that was off limits. I don't want to get the girls in trouble."
"Fine, we won't go to him," Lovino said, "What did you find, anyway?" Rosaria shrugged.
"Not much. Just that Papa was in Ravenclaw, his school records, but nothing else. The strange thing is was that everytime his name was mentioned, someone censored it out."
"If you couldn't find his name, how do you know it was him?"
"Elizabeta found it. There were pictures but not a name."
"That's weird..." Feliciano sighed, "Now that I think about it...I can't remember his name either. Or anything else about him, really. Fratello? What about you?"
"Come to think of it..." added Lovino, "I can't remember him either. The only memory I have of him is..." He caught himself before he could finish the sentence, "The only memory I have of him is something I don't want to talk about."
"This mystery just gets deeper and stranger," said Rosaria as she shut the locket with a loud click.
Somewhere else, two men were locking up a third. The first man had dark auburn hair and a dastardly smirk. The second was blonde and tied the third's wrists together. The third man looked like a fugitive. His clothes were dirty and torn, and his dark brown hair was tangled and matted.
"I did what you asked. I did it all," said the prisoner, "Now let me go and give back what you took!" The blonde grinned.
"And just let you slip away like that?" He said, "Never." The dark haired one pulled out a picture and showed it to his prisoner. It shown the three same people the prisoner longed to see. Two boys and one girl, each sharing similarities to him. They were in school uniforms and smiling brightly. The dark auburn smirked. He pulled out a handful of violet stones. The blonde produced a gold pocketwatch and swung it in his prisoner's view. Seeing these, the prisoner tried to lunge and grab the items but was jerked back by the wall. The two men laughed.
"Think about trying to escape again, and we'll destroy them all," the dark auburn laughed. The prisoner growled lowly.
"I will find my way out! I'll return their memories! I WILL STOP YOU," shouted the prisoner, "Lovino is a smart boy. He'll win the Tournament and your little plan will fail!"
"We'll see about that." The blonde and the dark auburn left the room, locking the door behind them. The prisoner fell to his knees, left in the darkness, with only the memories of his children to keep him going.
Holy plot twist, Batman.
Yup.
What are you saying that for?! You're the one who wrote in the plot twist!
Yes. Yes I did. Mwhahaha!
...Are you alright?
Yeah, I'm fine. I just have to write out and edit what we have for the next chapter in three days. That's how long the process will take.
So...we're going to be late by one day?
Pretty much.
Next Time on Hogwarts from Around the World!
The Yule Ball!
We'll see you then!