Chapter Six
The Ravenclaw Common Room
Luna's blonde curls bounced as she hurried up the stairs to the fifth floor. The Gryffindors were close behind. They collided when Luna suddenly stopped in front of a door missing both a doorknob and a keyhole. The only thing on its wooden surface was a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
Its beak began to move. The eagle asked, "Which magical plant, native to the Mediterranean Sea, holds the ability to give temporary gills to one who consumes it?"
"Gillyweed," said Luna in her airy voice.
The eagle nodded and the door swung open and the group entered the Ravenclaw common room.
It was a warm room lavished in gold and purple. Its walls where filled with shelves that needed charms to stop them from breaking under the weight of the massive amount of books.
On one couch sat Cho Chang. She nibbled the end of her quill as she reread her essay. On the floor beside her sat Roger Davis. He shuffled through his many papers and jotted down notes.
The next thing to catch the Gryffindors' attention was the table surrounded by card decks shuffling themselves. The occupants of the table were playing a card game.
"Good game poke is," said Seamus.
Wizard poker was slightly different from muggle poker. Sherry Chambers smirked as Anthony Goldstein tool a sip of his pumpkin juice which, not to his knowledge, she had spiked with a truth serum. Stella Fawcett silently cast a spell on herself which allowed her to see through her opponents cards. All except for Melinda Bobbin who was smart enough to put a protection charm on her cards.
"Parvati!" Terry joined the group.
"What are they doing here," asked Cho, looking up from her parchment.
Terry began to guide the Gryffindors to the stairs. "Potential clients. They're here to listen to a business proposal."
Cho nodded as if this was a usual occurrence in the common room.
"Where's my sister?"
Terry looked over his shoulder to Parvati. "She's up in the Boys' Dormitory."
Mandy, who guarded the room, arched her eyebrow when Luna walked in.
Terry whispered to her, "She's smart Mandy. She'll be a big help to us."
Wide-eyed Mandy nodded and followed Terry closely while swishing her hair.
Parvati sat beside her sister. "Where're the blueprints?"
Lisa took them out of her bag, but did not pass them to Parvati's open hand. "We have to discuss things first."
"What sort of things?" said Seamus who had taken a seat beside Perry on one of the beds.
"First, we marked the easiest path for you to take." Lisa unrolled the map. A path was marked in red ink.
Colin laughed. "Prince is going to have a fit when she sees that."
"We used vanishing ink," said Terry. "It will be gone within thirty-six hours."
Padma turned to Perry. "When were you guys planning to break in?"
"Friday night."
"That's tomorrow, not a lot of time," said Luna.
"But you saved us time by picking out a path for us," said Neville with a smile.
"The least we could do," said Mandy eyeing Luna. But she stopped when Terry gave her a cut eye of his own. She felt herself begin to blush.
Lisa spoke, "If you get caught you won't tell about our involvement will you?"
"Do we look like Slytherins to you," said Dean.
"I have an idea." All eyes went to Luna. "Who here is familiar with the teriando charm?"
Colin shook his head. "Teriando charm?"
"It's a simple charm. Anyone that tells the secret reveals a secret of their own right after."
Everyone stood in a circle surrounding Luna. She took out her wand and swished it through the air. "Teriando stealing Dumbledore's stash."