A/N: I had insane writers block… so yeah… hope you like it. :P
Chapter twenty five: Ashes to heirlooms.
"Oh thank goodness!" I heard Rosalie sigh in relief as we stepped out of the fire place and into the common room only moments later. Her pale cheeks darkened as the breath she had been holding flooded into the room around us. As the color continued to fill her face, the large purple bags beneath her eyes became increasingly less noticeable.
"Sorry it took us so long," I said sheepishly as I made my way over to the long black leather couch, I let my body fall onto it in exhaustion. "He's very long winded." I laughed closing my eyes. I couldn't have been anymore glad to be back in the confines of the safe warm Slytherin common room, which is saying a lot. I had always found this room to be cold and dreary, but after visiting Voldemort, I had learned differently.
"The dark lord? Long winded? I would have expected him to have someone else do all of the talking." She said as she sat down on the ebony coffee table in front of me, Jace sat down on the couch beside me.
"No, I assure you, he did most of it." I said letting my eyes flutter open once more.
"Did you find anything out?" Ali, asked after a pregnant pause, I knew that she had been itching to ask this ever since we had reappeared in the common room. And I really couldn't blame her either, had i been in her situation I wouldn't have been able to make it a minuet without asking.
I smiled as I began to nod, I knew that if I said much more than that I would be in violation of my contract. If she wanted anymore information it would have to be based on what Jace knew, or it would have to wait. "Lots of stuff," I said obscurely knowing that it couldn't possibly kill me to say that little.
I could feel the dark magic lingering over my body like a shadow. I knew it would follow me from this day onward, or until the dark lord was destroyed. I also knew that in the moment when I had said to much, this deadly curse would complete its job. The unbreakable vow isn't something to play with; it is the most serious thing around. Everyone knows that if you break it, you die a terribly painful death.
"What did he say?" She asked, she looking like a hyper squirrel as she bounced up and down in excitement. I knew I couldn't give her that information. I glanced over at Jace with a pained expression on my face; I could feel the lingering of the spell deep within my stomach, waiting to attack if needed.
"She can't tell you, she had to make an unbreakable vow." He said quickly.
"YOU DID WHAT!" She screamed in rage, I wouldn't have been surprised if she had woken up the entire castle, if not all of Scotland.
"Shhhh." I hissed as I threw my hand over her mouth as I listened to the echoing silence that rang through the common room.
"Do you want to wake the entire castle?" I hissed under my breath, expecting to be interrupted at any moment by a prefect or a professor.
"Well how are we going to help if telling us will kill you?" She demanded, betrayal shone within her eyes.
I rolled my eyes as I moved to stand, I could hear footsteps echoing off the walls. "Well for one, I am much smarter than aunt Bellatrix, I know about loopholes… second, we have to hide, I think you woke up Professor Beeler." I said grabbing her by the wrist and pushing Jace in the direction of his dorms.
This conversation would have to wait till tomorrow.
OoOo Later oOoO
I could feel the eyes of all of the portraits on me as I made my way up to the seventh floor early the next morning. The sun had only just began to peak above the horizon and the moon had yet to set in the western sky.
"What are you up to?" I heard a portrait ask suspiciously as I passed him.
"I should be asking you the same." I said flatly as I turned to face him, "I do believe that this isn't your portrait and that 'that'…" I said pointing at the vase in his hand "belongs to the portrait of King Arthur," I watched as his expression turned to one of Terror. I smiled sweetly at him, my mission had been achieved. I turned my attention back down the hall and continued on as if nothing had happened.
It didn't take me long to reach the seventh floor corridor, nor did it take me long to find the door. The Door to the room of requirements was just as clean and pristine as it had been fifteen years ago when the battle had raged through these magnificent halls. From this vantage point, nothing wrong was expected.
I slowly reached forward and let my hand curl around the thick golden handle of the door, ready to pull it open. I let myself open the door and I held my breath. I had never set foot in this room, nor had I ever wanted to. I knew that the room would do me no good what so ever, it would only bring up harsh realities. I also knew that this room probably wouldn't exist anymore, along with all the junk contained within it.
The moment I stepped in, I knew that I had been correct. Instead of the vast room full of trinkets, furniture, secrets, heirlooms, horcruxes and miscellaneous objects I had been told about; there were piles and piles of ebony black ash and grime.
"Wow," I said as I let the large door close behind me, causing me to be locked with in the large room. As I looked on at the room I watched as the room tried to change it, giving me exclusive glances at the magnificence of its passed. If I watched long enough I could almost see the towering piles of hidden treasures, but just as they appeared, they disappeared.
As I looked across the changing scene before me I caught sight of something gold glistening in the ashes. I scrunched my face up in confusion as I made my way towards it with caution. Everything was supposed to be destroyed; nothing should exist within the mounds of ash.
When I got to the gold piece of mound I slowly let my body sink to the ground so that I could pick it up. Once I had it I realized it was an exquisite old necklace. It was a locket on an old loop chain that would extend down to my stomach if I were to wear it. The locket its self was large in size and shaped like a diamond. The surface of the locket was textured delicately and had intricate designs spreading across its surface. On one side of the locket there was a perfect purple circle entwined with in the gold. On the other side there was another circle, only it was white and color and small.
"Wow," I found myself saying for time in the last ten minutes. The locket was the most breathtaking thing I had seen in a while. "Now, how did you make it through that fire?" I asked turning it over in my hand. Fiend fire is known for its ability to destroy. It would destroy anything in its path, and beyond magical repair. That's why it was able to destroy a horcrux.
I frowned as I looked at the locket in defeat. How this trinket had survived was beyond me. I sighed as I went to stand up and placed the locket into my pocket. I didn't really see a reason to leave it behind, especially if I wanted to find out why it had survived this massive fire, while the horcrux had not. It was yet another puzzle I wanted to solve.
OoOo Later oOoO
I felt a sharp pain run through my body as I attempted to write my letter to grandfather, I could feel the dark magic surging through my every cell, telling me that I hadn't done what was asked of me. I took my wand and burned the paper in front of me, hoping to satisfy the magic.
"Damn," I muttered as I stomped back over to my bed and threw open the lid of my trunk. "Damn," I repeated angrily. After I had returned back from the room of requirements I had begun to think about my decision to not go check on the other horcrux as I had been told, something in the back of my mind had told me that it was a bad Idea, that it wasn't exactly doing his bidding. And my assumption had been correct. The Unbreakable bond was going to make me go check on it. I would have to, before I could move any farther in my search for his other horcruxes.
"What are you doing?" Ali asked me as I pulled a light sweater out of my trunk and onto my bed before pulling out the marauders map.
"That's classified information right there." I said picking up the jacket and slipping in on before grabbing up the map as placing it in my pocket.
"Oh," She said dejectedly, she was smart enough to know not to press the subject. She knew that by me telling her, that it was likely to kill me. "Well, be careful…" She said, trying to sound as supportive and as helpful as possible, but I knew she didn't like this whole bond thing.
"Yeah, careful…" I laughed as I made my way to the stairs; there was no way to be careful. You never know what is going to happen to you.
I silently made my way out of the castle and into the deserted courtyard. I shivered as the bitter wind bit into my skin and did its best to pull my sweater away from me. This was one of the things I hated about Scotland… it was always so cold… I looked down at the map to make sure no one else would see me as I walked out into the moonlight, I saw no one.
"Here goes nothing." I whispered to myself as I stepped out of the shadowy confines of the entry way. I slowly made my way down through the chilly court yard and across the bridge leading to the Pumpkin patch. When I reached the stone circle I turned to my left and made a mad dash towards the Whomping Willow. If anyone was going to spot me it would be known, when McGonagall could see me from the castle. Soon I was standing before the large tree with my wand out stretched toward it. In one swift motion the tree became lifeless.
I made my way into the secret passage way. Inside of said passage way it was cold, damp, and dark; it was downright awful. I knew that the shrieking shack wouldn't be much better than this.
I quietly muttered a spell under my breath that instantly lit the tip of my wand. This action illuminated the tunnel ahead of me. I walked carefully through the tunnel for what felt like hours before I reached the tall brass ladder that rested against a dead end. I pointed my wand up at the ceiling before grabbing onto one of the higher rungs and pulling myself up onto it.
When I reached the top of the ladder I lifted my hand so that I could move the panel out of the way. I felt the panel slide off of my fingers and onto the floor, sending dust flying through the room in large clouds. I coughed as I inhaled as the dust invaded my lungs.
I lifted myself up into the room carefully and made to stand up as I looked around the room. It was just as dusty as I had imagined. Dust covered every available surface and then some… The wall paper was torn at the edges and was falling off the walls. I could see large claw marks in the furniture; I could only imagine what had made them. Though I had a hunch…
I slowly inched myself forward, careful as to not fall through a rotting floor boards. There was a great possibility of that, seeing as the floor creaked every time I took a step. The stairs were what scared me the most, they didn't look like the sturdiest thing in the world, and they definitely weren't made of the magically enhanced marble like the school stairs.
I was relieved to have reached the top of these stairs in on piece and unharmed. I knew that had I been any heavier I wouldn't have been so lucky. I let myself glide through the hall and down to the room I had been told to search. When I reached the desired door, I could tell that at some point it had been blasted open. All that remained of the door was a tiny shard that hung from the one remaining hinge. The rest of the door was spread across the room.
I eyed the room from where I stood and pointed my wand at it, careful as to make no sound at all. I inched forward with caution as I poked my head into the room. I was the only one in the room.
I relaxed a little as I took in the room, it was a disaster zone. The large four poster bed the resided against the wall to my right was no longer in one piece and had blood stains on it sheets. The piano in front of me was blasted to pieces and the couch was covered in blood.
I frowned at the room, imagining what could have taken place here… I could see why people thought it to be haunted… I shook my thoughts from my head as I stepped farther into the room, searching for my fire place. I found it beside the couch. It was covered in dust, just as the rest of the house had been, and still had ashes and wood in the bottom.
I let my body sink onto the floor as I brushed the debris out of my way. Just as my grandfather had said, there was a panel in this fire place. I placed my hand a top of the panel as I searched for some kind of handle or button. I found none. I watched the panel for a moment, analyzing it for something I might have missed, but saw noting. I felt like an idiot as I sat there looking at it.
"What could I possibly be missing…" I whispered to myself as I looked at the almost empty grate. I knew there had to be something to it, there was no way that my grandfather had told me the wrong location… He wasn't one to forget things of great importance.
I bit my lip curiously as I placed my hand against the cool stone of the fireplace and let my fingers run across it once more. I could still feel the gritty surface of dust against my flesh. After a moment of doing this I could feel the vaguest of indentions with in the surface of the stone, as well as an unfamiliar surge of magic... One that I knew I had never in my life felt before… It was somehow stronger than the magic I was used to experiencing.
My eyes grew wide as I watched the panel slowly begin to fade out of existence, and it wasn't long before it revealed a small shaft just big enough for my hand to fit inside of. I was careful as I let my hand reach into the little shaft; I knew that these things weren't that simple. I felt around the bottom of the shaft until my fingers curled around the smooth metal of the ring.
I pulled it out and looked at it closely. The first thing I noticed about it was how familiar it was. It was as if I had seen this ring once before, if not twice. It was a fairly simple ring; it was made of fine silver. The only ornamental thing about this ring was the designs that were carved into the surface. There was really anything all that special about it, aside from its meaning. I thought back on what my Grandfather had told me when I had met with him. I knew that this ring was an old family heirloom and that it had once belonged to his mother...
After a moment it hit me that the ring must have been my great grandmother's wedding band… And then another thought hit me. Only this time it came in the form of a freight train. As I looked at the ring I began to remember where I had seen it before, only I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention at the time. It was the ring the woman in the painting had been wearing… that woman in the painting was my Great grandmother.
OoOo A/N oOoO
I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! I had a horrible case of writers block and then when I got over it we went on vacation (Wizarding world of Harry Potter :D) and the past few days I have been exhausted and mad at a few people (who are pretty much clueless to the fact…) and just haven't been in the mood to finish this… So I finally made myself finish it… The last little paragraph isn't my favorite, but it serves the purpose… I hope you liked it..
Did you like this chapter?
What was your favorite part?
Did make sense in the slightest?
What shall happen next?
How has yall's summer been :P
Okay well I guess that's all the questions I have… again I am sorry for the lateness. I will try to be less late next time… Please review. :P
~Taylor (Slytherin at heart)