[A/N: Thanks for the lots of love guys for this story! I'm so happy that so many of you like this story so far. As always, I'm using Google Translate for the Russian and French, so please let me know if you see any mistakes. Now off to the story! Please comment, favorite or subscribe to be updated for the next chapter.]
Chapter 5
"Mione, what are you reading?" Daphne asked in curiosity. The gang was in Diana's bedroom, the boys playing chess on the carpeted floor and the girls were on Diana's bed reading the latest edition of Witch Weekly. Said brunette was curled up in the armchair right next to the snow covered window with a rather thick looking book, looked up from her book. "I've been thinking. If we are going to do things in secret, we need to have a form of communication that no one can know." The gang paused what they were doing, the conversation peeked Diana's interest as she looked up from writing something in a leather notebook that she received for Christmas.
"You mean like a cryptic language?" Diana asked the brunette. "Exactly," Hermione said as she tucked a finger to mark the spot while closing the book before walking over to the bed. She opened the book to the same page she was on to show a diagram as the boys moved off the floor to sit on the bed. "You see, Muggles use this form of communication called Morse code. The alphabet is represented by a combination of short or long clicking or tapping sounds. For example, something like this." She closed the book back up and began tapping the hard book cover with her forefinger in an almost rhythmic pattern. "What did you say?" Draco asked.
"I spelled out my name," Hermione said, her eyes lingering at the gangs' faces to gauge their reaction to her idea. "Hm, this is an interesting idea, Mione," Diana said slowly. "Let us have another look at the diagram again." She inquired and Hermione consented. The gang leaned in close as they looked over the diagram once again in greater detail. "Let's practice. I'll go first." Pansy said after a few minutes. "What does this mean?" She leaned over towards her side and began tapping the wooden bedpost in a series of taps. "-.-. ... .- -. -. . / - ..-. / .-. .-.. .- -."
"What does that mean?" She said. The gang had to look over the book as they had the short haired girl repeat the sound several times. "Change of plan?" Blaise said after a little bit. Pansy grinned and nods. "Correct." Theodore frowned when he realized something. "The messages...it will need to be short then. The sound would alert others if they noticed the excessive tapping for long messages." The others realized what the male was saying and nodded in agreement. "That is a risk we will have to take for now," Diana said after a few minutes of silence. "I'll think up of a solution."
The moment was interrupted by the sound of knuckles rapping against the door. "Come in," Diana said over the soft muttering of the others softly talking to each other. Valentina peeked her head in, a soft smile on her face as she caught Diana's attention. "Severus zdes'. On govorit, chto khochet pogovorit' s toboy." (R) (Severus is here. He says he wants to talk to you.) Diana silently nodded and climbed off of the bed. "I'll be right back." She said to the others as she walked to the door. The last sound she heard before the door closed was Hermione declaring that she would pass everyone a copy of the diagram for them to practice on their own time.
Diana walked with Valentina down the stairs to the doors of the living room where the Potion master was. "Severus." She said as she closed the double doors behind her. "What brings you here?" She asked as she sat on the couch directly across from Severus. "I came to tell you that I talked to Mr. Longbottom." The potion master said. "Oh? How did that go?" Diana asked, leaning back in her seat as her mind raced through multiple possibilities. Severus sighed softly. "As usual, he didn't believe me when I first told him. I decided to give him some of my memories and left him with them. I haven't heard back from him yet." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
Diana raised an eyebrow at this and didn't have a look of worry on her face. "We still have time, Severus. Longbottom will come to us eventually." She said. She got out of the chair and walked back to her bedroom. "Come, let's play a game of Quidditch. I'll tell you what Severus and I discussed while we play."
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Neville stared out of the window, watching the snow fall from the sky, joining the other snowflakes on the white ground. Severus' words replayed over and over in his mind, seemingly driving in the anger in his body each time. Death eater...what a load of rubbish! He huffed to himself, folding his arms across his chest. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the light sound of knuckles rapping against the door. "Why the frowns, Neville?" A voice called out to him and he looked over his shoulder to see his grandmother standing there, her bony hands clasped in front of her with a kind long on her lined-ridden face.
Neville huffed as he turned back to looking back out of the window. "Professor Snape said that Mum and Dad were spies for Voldemort. Can you believe that? Auror Frank and Alice Longbottom, spies for the dark?" He said, laughing coldly at how unbelievable that sounded. Neville heard his grandmother sigh as she moved to sit across from her grandson. "Neville, I've known that man since he was a student at Hogwarts. There's no way he would lie about this." She said in a soft voice. Neville diverted his eyes from the window to his grandmother, a look of utter dismay and anger filled his face. "You actually believe this, Gran? You actually believe that your own son and daughter-in-law are spies for the dark?"
"I do." Madame Longbottom said, a mixture of sadness and anger on her face as she glanced down at her wrinkly hands. "Your parents saw what Dumbledore truly was weeks before that incident. They wouldn't tell me, saying that they were under strict rules not to say anything. That week, everything was so normal. They had even made plans to have you stay over the weekend so they could have a well-earned vacation in Spain." Madame Longbottom let out a heavy sigh. Neville tsked loudly as his hands balled up into fists, his well-trimmed nails scratching lightly against the wooden table between them. "What about Bellatrix, Gran? She made them the way are they are now! If they were spies for the Dark Lord, why the hell would she torture them to the point of insanity?!" Neville's voice kept getting louder with each word.
His grandmother gave him a side look. "Neville, that woman is deranged along with her husband. No one knows what goes on in a crazy person's mind." She did have a point there. Neville grunts instead, feeling the anger slowly leave his body. "What do you think I should do, Gran?" He then asked, suddenly feeling drained from the amount of information given to him earlier. "Go send an owl to Severus."
January, Monday
"I can't believe we have to go back already." Pansy groaned as she propped her feet in between Blaise and Theodore. The gang had once again occupied a compartment towards the back of the Hogwarts Express, the boys on one side while the girls on the other as the train chugged down the tracks towards the direction of Hogwarts. "I know. I don't want to have to deal with the Gryffindors already." Blaise said, covering his mouth as he yawned and leaned back against the booth and folding his arms across his chest, planning on falling asleep for the train ride.
A sharp rap against the compartment sliding door broke the atmosphere. Diana silent made eye contact with Blaise and the Italian gave a short nod. He silently stood up and walked over to the compartment door. He slides the door open, his body covering the view of the others in the compartment as they heard him talk to someone. "Diana, Londubat veut te parler." (F) (Diana, Longbottom wants to talk to you.) Blaise finally said after a bit, looking at her over his shoulder. Diana looked at Blaise and silently motioned for him to let him in.
"Voulez-vous que nous partions?" (F) (Do you want us to leave?) Draco asked as Neville stepped into the compartment, looking out of place in the compartment filled with Slytherins. Diana was silent for a minute and shook her head. "Come sit, Longbottom." She said as some of the boys stood up, amused as Neville shuffled over to sit as he tried to pass by the boys who were making it very clear they weren't going to move from that spot. "Blaise tells me you want to talk to me. What about?" Diana asked as Neville finally settled in the booth across from her.
His eyes kept on scanning back and forth nervously between her and the boys."I know what you are." He said, his voice surprisingly strong. Diana raised an eyebrow as the others in the compartment tensed up. "Oh? And what is it that you know?" She asked. "I know that you're the daughter of the Dark Lord and that there is a bigger reason for you to come to Hogwarts then education." He said, feeling his Gryffindor courage quickly leave him.
Draco's eyes narrowed and made a menacing step towards Longbottom, who instantly shrank in his seat. "And your point is?" He said, his eyes showing annoyance but to the others who knew him longer, knew that he was giving the Gryffindor a hard time. "Facile, Draco." (F) (Easy, Draco.) Diana said, highly amused with everything though she didn't show it on her face. "So Longbottom, what are you planning to do with that information now that you know our plans?" Neville shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing." Everyone stared at him like he was about to sprout two heads. "Nothing?" Draco asked, raising another eyebrow, sounding like a broken record, which Malfoys would never do.
"Are you sure you want to do that? Aren't you Gryffindors disgustingly loyal to Dumbledore?" Neville snorts and shook his head. "Now I'm not. Not after what that old bastard did to my parents all those years ago." The Slytherins looked at the Gryffindor in a whole different light. "However, I do have a reason for coming here," Longbottom stated, looking more confident now that he managed to capture their attention. "Oh?" Diana asked, already having an idea of what he was going to say.
"Bellatrix is one of your followers..." For some reason, he trailed off, like he couldn't believe that he was going to what was on his mind. "And you want to seek revenge for your parents, correct?" Diana stated and Neville silently nodded. She stared intently at Neville for a minute before smirking a little. "Looks like you and I have something in common. Both of our families have been affected by Dumbledore in some way. However, Longbottom, I hope you realize that Bellatrix isn't correlated with Dumbledore. She wouldn't dream of working side by side with the old coot." Neville took a moment before nodding, a fire burning in the back of his eyes.
A silent understanding occurred between them and Diana nodded in acknowledgment. "Fine. But let me ask you this, Longbottom. Are you prepared to see what kind of person you are on the inside? You may not like it." She asked, realizing that this kid was going to have a major hurdle sooner or later. "I'm ready. I've been ready for years to confront that crazy bitch."
January, Wednesday
The potions classroom was silent as the first year students took the quiz. Weasley sat towards the back, mumbling incoherent words over the sound of quills scratching against the parchment paper. ".- ... .- - ... / - ... . / .- -. ... .-. .-. / - - / -. ..- - -... . .-. / ...- ..-.." (Whats the answer to number 3?) The sound of soft tapping against the wooden desk was barely noticeable over the scratching. To those who did hear it, they thought it was a leaking pipe within the walls or perhaps its the famed story of the girl ghost in the bathroom that was coming to haunt them.
".. / -.. .. -.. / -. - - / - . .- -.-. ... / -.- - ..- / - ... . / -.-. - -.. . / .- ..- ... - / ... - / -.- - ..- / -.-. .- -. / ..- ... . / .. - / - - / -.-. ... . .- - / - -. / - ... . / - . ... -" (I did not teach you the code just so you can cheat on the test!) Even though Hermione was sitting in front of the room, they could still feel the glares just as clearly as if she was looking directly at you. The others snickered silently as they kept their eyes on their own paper. Diana placed her test face down and silently waited for the rest of the class to finish. Severus started strolling in between the rows of desks, making sure anyone wasn't cheating. As he walked passed Diana's a familiar note appeared in the palm of her hand.
Dumbledore will be gone for a board meeting with the Board of Governors a month from now. Bring everyone with you to my office tonight. I have information that you will need.
Diana immediately crumpled the paper in her hand and began lightly tapping her finger on the table. "... . ...- . .-. ..- ... / .- .- -. - ... / ..- ... / - - / - . . - / ... .. - / .-.. .- - . .-. / - - -. .. -. ... - .-.-.- / ... . / ... .- ... / .. -. ..-. - .-. - .- - .. - -. / - ... .- - / .- . / -. . . -.. .-.-.-" (Severus wants us to meet him later tonight. He has information that we need.) She saw in the corner of her eye the rest of the gang nodding their head.
"Professor, I think you have a leaking faucet." One of the Patil twins said in an annoying voice as she raised her hand.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"That idiot actually name that Cerberus Fluffy?" Blaise said, his mouth slightly gaping. The gang was in Severus' room like he said and they were sitting in front of the roaring fire. "That is beside the point," Severus said as he sat down in his chair, holding a thick book in his hand. "I call you all here tonight is to share the pieces of information I have gathered." He said as he flipped open the book to a specific page as the others leaned forward to see. "I was able to find out what that flute was and my speculations were correct. Play it and the Cerberus won't stand a chance." He said.
Diana, Draco, and Hermione nodded. "I assume there will be more obstacles like the Cerberus, so I suggest you three tread lightly. As for the rest of you," Severus said towards the rest of the gang. "While those three are gone, act normally. Even though they will be gone at night, try not to bring other's attention to the fact three of you are gone. I have no doubt Dumbledore has wards around the stone and when you take it, he'll know. There is a possibility that he might call you to his office if he suspects Diana, Draco or Hermione."
The others nodded. No way was the headmaster going to get any information from them. "What will you be doing with the Philosopher's stone?" Diana asked realizing that none of those in the inner circle was telling her anything in that regard. Severus smirked. "Its a surprise. You'll have to wait until the summer to find out." Diana scowled at this. She didn't like to wait so long to find out. So much like Lily or so she had been told.
"It better be worth something for making me wait that long." The others snickered as Severus chuckled softly, a rare sight to see. "Don't worry. It will definitely be worth the wait."
February, Wednesday
"Oi Longbottom! That's the wrong ingredient, you idiot!" The rather peaceful Potions lab that had no incidents so far, was broken by the rather annoying voice while Severus was out of the classroom briefly. The class looked over to see what had happened since there was no exploding cauldron. Instead of seeing shards of a cauldron, they saw thick puke yellow colored foam flowing over the edge of Longbottom's and Weasley's. The usually stuttering and the deer-in-the-headlights Neville was glaring at the redhead, which caught everyone in Gryffindor off guard, especially Weasley. Longbottom was usually so sweet.
"That was your fault, you idiot!" Neville yelled out. "You're supposed to put in obsidian powder, not moon-calf blood!" Weasley's face turned red as he immediately stood up, didn't like being told by someone who clearly doesn't know what he is doing half of the time, and trying to look menacing but was failing miserably. "What are you going to do about it, Longbottom?." He sneered. Neville was about to respond when the door to the classroom opened and Severus came strolling in, immediately catching on to the situation. "Whats this? Causing trouble in my classroom already, Weasley?" He said, looking down at the redhead with a sneer.
Weasley immediately pointed a finger at Longbottom. "It was him, sir." Neville's eyes widened in disbelief and almost wanted to smack that offending finger away from him. "It's not true, sir. He did it." Severus figured that he wasn't getting anywhere and turned to look at the Slytherins. "Qui était celui qui l'a fait?" (F) (Who was the one who did it?) Diana raised an eyebrow. "Qui d'autre? Weasley." (F) (Who else? Weasley.)
Severus silently turned his attention back to Weasley. "So you thought you can get out of blowing up a cauldron in my classroom, Mr. Weasley?" He said silkily. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for using your peers as your scapegoat. Detention at my office tonight." Weasley looked outraged at this and pointed another finger at the Slytherin side of the classroom. "Why the hell are you trusting them for? They're a bunch of lying-"
"Merlin, I can practically feel my brain cells dying." "We're not the ones who use their housemate as a shield," Blaise said coldly. "Professor Snape is our Head of House, you moron. Of course, he would side with us, you moron." Diana groaned in a dramatic way, pinching the bridge of her nose. Severus' lip twitched at Diana's comment but kept his composure. "Nicely said, both of you. Now get back to work, or else I'll start taking off more points."
March, Thursday
A soft crack appeared into the night, causing the neighborhood dogs to bark until their owners yelled at them from the window to shut up as an elderly man walked towards the front doors of 4 Privet Drive. Dumbledore scowled at the perfect picket white fence outlining the perfect green lawn. It had taken awhile to come visit these muggles due to Ministry hounding on him as usual. He wanted answers. Answers to how the Riddle brat managed to die in their care. He thought he had left specific instructions in the letter that he had tucked in the blanket wrapped around the baby.
He stopped in front of the door, rang the doorbell and composed his facial features into a kind grandfatherly smile as he heard heavy footsteps coming towards the door from the other side. "Yes?" A large man with a bushy mustache said gruffly once the door was opened. "Ah, you must be Mr. Dursley." He said with a smile. "What do you want? If you are here to sell something, we aren't interested." He said in a snappy tone as he made a move to close the eyes on Dumbledore when the old man reached out to stop the door. "Not yet, Mr. Dursley. I want to talk to you about Diana Potter."
Mr. Dursley grew pale, looking like he had frozen on the spot as Dumbledore heard some more footsteps walking towards them from inside the house. "Vernon, who is it?" A female voice calls out to him as a thin woman with a horse-like face appeared next to the large man and she placed a bony hand on his meaty shoulder. "Petunia, this man is here to talk about Diana." The man named Vernon said over to his wife. Petunia also turned pale before her expression turned to sadness. "Diana...I haven't heard that name in a while..." She said softly. "Oh, where are my manners. Please, come in." She said with a soft smile as she opened the door wider to let Dumbledore in.
Petunia leads the wizard into their living room and Vernon followed close behind. "Could you tell me what happened?" Dumbledore asked as he settled into the floral print couch while Vernon and Petunia sat across from him. "Well, Diana had a fever perhaps a few days since she appeared on our doorstep. Vernon and I took her to hospital. They gave her medicine but it didn't seem to be working..." She said as she briefly looked over at Vernon, who had a beefy hand around her shoulder in a comforting way. "She died in her sleep a few days later." She said as she turned her attention back to the wizard.
Dumbledore frowned internally. This was unexpected. Lily had told countless people that her sister was against anything remotely normal according to Muggle standards. "You work for that school, don't you? The one that Lily attended when we were kids?" The old man snapped back to the current situation when he heard Petunia say that. "Yes, I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts. If Diana was alive, I would have had the pleasure of teaching her." He said smoothly. Petunia nodded slowly. "I know Lily has told things about me, all of them true. But i"ve change. I loved Lily and I loved that little girl too. Both of us did." She said, referring to Vernon. "Even though we had Dudders, we both were happy to take Diana in."
Dumbledore left the little house, not liking what he heard but he couldn't do anything about it. The Riddle brat was out of the equation which meant he still had a clear shot at killing Tom when the time comes. Less work he had to do later. He had a little spring in his steps as he apparated from the Muggle street, not realizing that it was the Ivanov's doing. Many miles away, Stepan felt the wards that he put around the Dursley's house 10 years ago, break the moment Dumbledore walked into the perimeter.
March, Friday
Diana sat curled up in the armchair, reading a chapter in her textbook when she heard a light tapping on the glass window. She looked up to see a familiar large owl perched outside on the window ledge. She got up to as she pulled her thick cashmere cardigan that was over her pajamas, closer to her body as she walked over to the window to let the owl in. "Hello, Cyprus." She greeted as the creature flew in and gracefully landed on her shoulder. The owl cooed softly and gave her cheek an affectionate nip, something she considered as a kiss from the animal, before sticking out a leg so she could untie the letter.
"Got something for me, handsome?" She asked as she untied the rolled up parchment. Rather than to ask for a snack, the owl flew back out of the open window. From Severus. She thought as she broke the wax seal and read the short note using the roaring fireplace as a source of light. "Perfect..." She whispered. She crumpled the note and tossed it into the glowing embers, watching it burn into nothing before stepping out of the common room. She walked up the stone steps towards some doors. "Hey you guys, wake up!" Diana shouted the moment she walked into one of the rooms.
Draco jolted up from his bed, his blonde hair sticking up in all directions. "What the hell, Diana..." He croaked from sleep as the other boys he was sharing the dorm room with, let out groans as they also go up. None of them seemed surprised that Diana was there in the boy's dorm anymore since she was known to do that ever since they knew her.
"Severus just owled me. We're going to move tonight. Meet us in the common room. We're going to have a meeting before we proceed." Diana left the room as she heard the boys groans as they forced themselves out of their heated bed. Diana went back to the girl's dorm and did the same thing, having to dodge pillows being thrown at her. "What did Severus said?" Draco asked when everyone arrived in the common room. "He said we need to move tonight. We have about an hour before that old coot comes back. Diana stated. "Remember, the rest of you, stay here. If the three of us don't come back within the hour, notify Severus."
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Three cloaked hooded figures ran down the dark corridor, their footsteps muffled by the dark-colored runner lining the stone floor. The three came to a stop in front of a familiar door and each silently filed into the room, each one making sure the coast was clear before disappearing out of sight. A low rumble filled the air as the three took off their hoods. "Merlin, it stinks," Hermione said, covering her nose with her hand to block the smell. "Let's hurry up," Diana scowled at the smell as well. "I don't want to be here any longer then we have to." Their voice was nearly nonexistent to the rumbling sounds of beastial snoring from the Cerberus, who was once again lying close to the trap door again, the necessary flute right under his curved nails.
Diana silently motioned for Draco to go ahead. The blonde male made a sour face but silently did as he was told. He slowly made his way over to the sleeping beast, his breath seemingly caught in his throat as he ever so slowly pulled the flute from under the enormous paw. The other two could barely breathe as if their breathing would wake up the Cerberus from its slumber while they watched their blonde companion make the best move. Sweat seemed to form on Draco's brow as he moved the flute towards him inch by inch, his cobalt eyes flicking side to side from the Cerberus to the flute before he was finally clear. The two girls gave out a sigh of relief.
Being that Hermione was only one who knew how to play the flute, she was the one who played a tune out of the wooden instrument. The brunette only played a couple of notes and it sounded so eerie in the room, the notes echoing off the stone walls while Draco used his wand to slowly lift the giant paw off the trap door. Diana kept a close eye on everything and silently motioned for Hermione to stop playing the flute. The Cerberus remained asleep, its upper lip trembling as it blew out air. Draco leaned down and grabbed a hold of the metal ring attached to the trap door and remained in that position as he looked over at Diana.
"Open it." She silently mouthed and the blonde did as he was told, lifting the wooden trapdoor upward. As if the timing couldn't be worse, the trapdoor made a low groan, seemingly vibrating through the air. All three held their breath, standing absolutely still as they watched the still-sleeping Cerberus. Draco gave out a sigh of relief before motioning the two to come with his arm. They needed to get a move on. The two girls moved over to stand with Draco at the edge of the opening, unable to see through the bottomless pit of blackness below, taking their eyes off of the sleeping beast.
"Merlin, I hope it's not too far of a drop," Hermione said nervously. "Diana, did Severus mention anything else beyond this trapdoor?" Draco asked none of them noticed a large shadow moving behind them. "No. The only thing he mentioned was the Cerberus. We'll have to go through the rest blind." Diana said. Draco was about to say something when Hermione cut him off, her eyes looking over at where the Cerberus was last seen. "Guys, where did the Cerberus go?" She asked with a small voice, her eyes wide with unsaid fear.
"What the-" Draco was cut off when a loud growl could be heard from above them. The three froze on the spot, their hearts thumping loudly in their chest as they ever so slowly looked up towards the ceiling. The Cerberus was flashing its glistening teeth at them, a deep growl coming from deep within its chest before suddenly lunging down at them, snapping its jaws as it barked. The three barely had time to scream as they dodging the dangerous set of teeth and slobber before finding themselves dropping through the trap door, their screams trailing behind them as they plummeted through the darkness.
They grunted as they landed on something slightly squishy and slimy feeling. "Ugh, what the bloody hell did we drop into?" Diana scowled slightly as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, seeing her two companions a couple inches away from her. "Are you guys ok?" She called out "Yeah, we're fine." She heard Hermione say. She was about to stand up to make her way over to her companions when she felt the slimy thing under them start to move around like a snake. "Um...guys, did you feel that?" She said, her body immediately froze in space despite how calm her voice was. To their horror, thick tentacles start wrapping around them, gradually getting tighter.
"it's Devil's Snare." Hermione managed to gasp as the plant tightened around her chest. Their minds raced back to the time Professor Sprout lectured to the class about the murderous plant. "Can anyone reach their wands?" Draco asked after a little bit. They need to get moving from this predicament, or else they won't be out of here in an hour. "I...think...so..." Diana and Draco heard Hermione's voice straining as she tried to reach her wand that was in her robe pocket.
"I got it! Lumos solem!" A large beam of light emitted from her direction and shot down to the Devil's Snare below. A high pitch scream filled the air as the tentacles shifted around them, seemingly writhing in pain as the large-sized hole where the beam of light hit started burning through the flesh. Rather quickly, the tentacles wrapped around them gradually loosened enough to wiggle away. They quickly regrouped, their heart racing slightly as they started at the tentacles. "That was a nuisance," Diana said with a huff. "Let's go." She said as they nodded. One by one dropping down the hole to the unknown. "Let's keep moving," Diana said when they all landed on solid ground.
"Lumos." The three of them muttered, their way illuminated with bright lights. They then started walking down the hallway, each one carefully scanning the area to make sure nothing would come out at them. They soon came up to another door. I wonder what the old coot has in store for us next. Diana thought as she grabbed a hold of the rusty door handle and slowly turned it. The sounds of tiny wings flapping greeted them and the three stared up at sight.
"You have got to be kidding me." Diana groaned softly. "This is too easy." She grumbled when she noticed all of the keys were brand new looking and was moving around uniformly, all except for a rusty looking key that was meekly flapping around with messed up wings. "That one." She said lazily, pointing it out to her pointer finger. "Catch that one." Draco frowned slightly at this. "There's no broomstick-" Before he could even finish speaking, Hermione stepped from out of the shadows with a broomstick in hand.
The blonde's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the old broom, cobwebs still hanging on it. "I'm not sitting on that disgusting thing. Merlin only knows where that broom has been." Diana rolled her eyes, much to Hermione's amusement. "Good lord, Draco. Just sit on it. The dust is not going to harm you, you wuss." Draco glared daggers at her as he yanked the broomstick out of Hermione's hand, his eyes promising for pay back later. That didn't worry her. She would just tell Narcissa and Draco would really get it.
Draco zoomed through the air on the meager broomstick and successfully grabbed the rusty key. He landed back on the ground and haphazardly tossed the rusty key to Diana. "Here's your blasted key." He grumbled and Diana flashed him a dazzling smile. "Thank you. Draco." She didn't notice his pale cheeks turned slightly pink as she started walking away with Hermione.
The trio left the room to a large room with what looked like a giant chess board that almost covered the entire floor with the chess pieces lining both sides. "Now this is interesting," Draco muttered, his silvery eyes scanning the giant chess pieces as he slowly walked on the chess board. Suddenly, the chess pieces moved to defensive mode. Draco smirked at this. "Looks like we have to play so we can pass."
Diana and Hermione didn't object as they let the blonde solve the next part of their mission by himself since both of them weren't as good at chess as he was. Within minutes, Draco beat the game without a single scratch and they all proceeded to the next mission. They stepped into another chamber to see that there was nothing in there except for standing mirror in the middle of the room. Diana noticed words scrawled across the frame of the mirror."Je ne montre pas ton visage mais le désir de ton coeur." (F)
Diana silently scoffed. Very appropriate. She thought. "What does that say?" Hermione asked. She is currently learning French with the help of her fellow Slytherins so she only knew bits and pieces of what that sentence was saying. "It means 'I show not your face but your heart's desire.'" Draco chimed in. The brunette raised an eyebrow, still not quite understanding the meaning of this. "This is the Mirror of Erised. This mirror is supposed to show you what you desire most." Diana said once she noticed Hermione wouldn't know of this since there is only one of its kind and any information about its past is lost.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Yes, yes Albus, we understand that." Cornelius Fudge said crisply, glaring daggers at Dumbledore who was sitting a little ways from him at the large oval table. "But what Madame Bones is trying to say is that with your current job as headmaster for Hogwarts, the job would be too hard for you juggle with." Those at the table nodded in agreement, softly mumbling to each other. Every year, they heard the same request from the elderly headmaster and the Minister's response was always the same. Just give it a rest already, Dumbledore.
Dumbledore was about to respond when he suddenly froze, his eyes widened slightly behind his half-rimmed glasses as his face turned a shade paler. He had just felt the barrier that he placed around the stone get broken. Fudge leaned forward in his seat, thinking that his demises was going to die on the spot, but made sure to put on his 'concerned' face to hide his glee. "Is everything alright, Albus? You're looking a little pale." Dumbledore cleared his voice and placed a quick smile on his face.
"I'm alright, Cornelius, however, I will be leaving your presence earlier then I would like. There is an incident at Hogwarts that I must attend to immediately." The attending wizards and witches looked at each other with curiosity. What could possibly happen at the school and how in the world did he know that? They would have noticed if an owl flew in with a message or one of the people who had come with the old man had come in to relay a message but none of that had happened. "I'm sorry to hear that, Albus but we all understand. We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting." Cornelius said with mocking concern as Dumbledore left the chambers.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Stepan gracefully walked through the dark chamber, his path only guided by the light coming from the flickering flames in the fireplace as he gripped the package in his hand tightly. He stepped up to a wing-backed chair who was facing the fireplace with a shivering figure standing hunched next to the armrest, the back of the chair facing him, and he got down on one knee. "Moy lord, tvoya doch' i yeye druz'ya nashli eto. Ona tol'ko chto otpravila yego sovoy." (R) (My lord, your daughter, and her friends have found it. She had just sent it by owl.) A raspy voice seemed to be coming from the chair like there was someone in there. "Khorosho. Moi plany vernut'sya letom budut prodolzhat'sya v obyazatel'nom poryadke. I dostatochno s etim «lordom», Stepan." (R) (Good. My plans to come back in the summer will proceed without fail. And enough with that 'lord' stuff, Stepan.)