Chapter 25 – Peace before the Storm
Seeing Teddy with a younger version of his father was wonderful, but a little bit wistful for both Hadriana and Sirius. They were happy for their adopted son, in the way that they loved him and wanted him to get to know his father, but at the same time it felt weird to them because it wasn't the same man, he was going he became a father.
With their adopted son sitting with his father, they began the next part of their past.
The next couple of days, the trio could be seen in McGonagall's classroom, with the Professor at her desk.
"Could I have your attention, please? Now, today we will be transforming animals into water goblets, like so. One, two, three, Vera Verto." Professor McGonagall demonstrated the spell for her class, to their amazement.
"Aww, I remember this! How time flies!" Remus sighed, with a small smile to Teddy who was sitting beside him, and with a smile at the professor.
James looked at the past with fondness, he loved that class.
"Now, it's your turn. Who would like to go first? Ah. Mr Weasley. One two three. Vera Verto."
Ron nodded nervously, and with a shaky hand he raised his wand at the goblet and said, "Vera Verto." As he said it, his pet rat, Scabbers, turned into a hairy goblet, with a wiggling tail.
The class broke out in laughter, and Ron looked at the goblet in disgust.
"That wand needs replacing Mr Weasley," McGonagall told him and changed the goblet back again while Ron nodded.
"Why didn't you owl us for a new wand?" Mr Weasley asked.
Ron looked towards his father shocked that he even asked, "Did you not hear the Howler?" he asked.
Arthur and Molly, turned slightly pink at the reminder, "Oh right," he said, "but you could have." That was all that he said.
"Besides, I'd say it's a rather good thing that I didn't get a new wand, that year," Ron told everyone who was curious about why he didn't.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the chamber of secrets?" asked Hermione.
Everyone in class suddenly looked very interested in what was going to be said.
At this time too, those that didn't know made themselves ready to hear what was going to be told.
Hadriana snuggled into Sirius's lap, wondering what more they all were going to say or do when everything that year was watched.
"Very well. Well, you all know, of course, Hogwarts was founded over 1000 years ago, by our four great witches and wizards of their age. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. It's said that they coexisted quite harmoniously in the beginning." McGonagall began to explain to her students, before starting up again. "Then one day an argument broke out between one of their own. Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted into Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all magical families. In other words, Purebloods. Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school."
Hadriana heard the explanation again with new ears and a new understanding of how life was and could understand why Salazar wanted to keep it within certain families. *I kinda understand where Salazar comes from, he lived when there were witch burnings and where muggles hunted them down. People are afraid of what they don't know, you know. Before they came along and built a school, a sanctuary for people like them. * She sighed.
*They were taking their children, and their parents didn't know what was happening to their children as they watched them do something. Salazar could see the riot if they kept taking children from their parents…*
Sirius listened to what his wife was saying, and kind of agreed. Salazar was a man of his time. *I see where you want with it. The legend and the argument have been dragged out to epic proportions. After all, there isn't anything written about what the argument was about. * And went back to the screen, knowing that in the future his lovely wife was writing a book about the past, and other niceties about the war.
*Also, think about these days – many of these people don't know how far muggles have gotten in the way of technology because of how sheltered they are. They still think about them as if they don't know how to clean up after themselves when it's so far away from the truth. There should be an updated Muggle course, and even a wizarding culture and etiquette in Hogwarts." Hadriana told him sadly.
*It's why you are the best at what you do, I've heard what you've wanted to do. * Sirius told her proudly and hugged her.
Professor McGonagall continued with her triad, without noticing that Hermione and Draco were glaring at one another.
"Now, according to legend: Slytherin had built a chamber within the castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Well shortly before departing, he sealed it off. Until his own true heir would return to school. The heir alone would be able to open the chamber and unleash the horror within, and by doing so, purge the school of all those who in Slytherins view were unworthy to study magic."
*It can also be that Serena was placed there to help the school if it was under attack from muggles, after all, that time was fraught with war. * Hadriana couldn't help but say.
As she said this the others around the room, were talking by themselves. Those that were afraid leaned on their upperclassmen, to support them.
"Muggle-borns!" One of the Slytherin students sneered.
"Well naturally, the school has searched for it many times, but no one has ever found it."
Hadriana held in a snort because she had a feeling that somebody had found it before, and it was being censored to keep everyone calm.
"Professor. What exactly does the legend tell us lies within the chamber?" Hermione asked.
"The chamber is said to home something that one the heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home of a monster."
Everyone gave one another looks that said everything.
Hadriana also looked at the professor like she couldn't believe no one knew, it just had to be a snake after all that is what the Slytherin line is known for. Parceltoung. 'Damn, it's good that no one knows that I'm actually the heiress to the Slytherin line.'
"You really had to jinx yourself…" Groaned Ron, while Hermione nodded with laughter shining in her eyes.
"I just had to say something…" Hadriana laughed.
Frank looked back and forth between them all, and asked "You really haven't had a normal year?"
"I have a mastery in Defence, and a mastery in charms without having finished Hogwarts," Hadriana smirked. "I also would have chosen to get one in potions, but…" she shrugged.
"I went right into the Auror core, after the war. So, I've never really finished." Ron said.
"I did." Said Hermione, Neville, Draco, and Luna at the same time.
Many of those that were present looked at them like they couldn't believe what they were hearing, both Molly and Lily looked angry.
However, many others knew what they had done and could understand the reason why they hadn't finished their education. Who would, if they had been to war and for the most part everything had been happening here at Hogwarts?
The conversations Hadriana had with her friends after the class, weren't really that interesting or believable but she had to go with their thoughts of it. The thing was that she knew that Draco wasn't at all involved in something like that. Draco wasn't at all smart enough to do something like this, someone else had to be a part of this plot.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione asked Hadriana their friend.
Hadriana just looked at her like she couldn't believe that it had been even asked, they should know by knowing that they wouldn't have believed her, maybe even taken her for the one that would do something like it. "Do you really have to ask?" she questioned, though, she was trying to hide how hurt she was by it.
Ron just nudged Hermione to stop it. Hermione just shrugged it off and nodded.
Hadriana just closed her eyes, feeling that they had grown apart as friends because it seemed like Hermione has forgotten how they had been when they were younger. It wasn't at all the meaning to let anyone know her deepest thoughts when we were making this, but it was fine. "You guys weren't very open to things outside of your own comfort zone." was all that she told them, as she snuggled into Sirius.
Being with him had always been where she felt the safest because even with everything she had done, he had supported her without the need for explanations. All he was happy for was that she had survived and that she had made her way back to him in the end.
How could Hermione convince them to go through with making the potion, and do something that would make them into someone else? How could she convince them that it was smart to do it? That is what Hadriana was thinking to herself, as she spent the last calm autumn days outside by the lake before it was too cold to do it.
She had finally gotten away from the planning and allowed them to do it by themselves as they didn't need her.
"Hi, Hadriana." Oliver Wood greeted her with a shy smile, he had seen her sitting there by herself for some time.
Hadriana gave him a smile, "Oliver! What are you doing here, I thought you were already planning revenge on the Slytherins?" she smirked.
"I've already found a way to get back at them!" Oliver eagerly said, "but what are you reading?"
"Nothing really, but I've tried to find anything about the chamber of secrets, but this book is about potions!" Hadriana told him like it was a secret.
"I don't know what to think about it, but it's probably just Peeves. Wouldn't put it past him." He told her.
Hadriana nodded, not at all agreeing with him. "If you can avoid everything, he throws at you, he will almost do anything to help you!" Hadriana smirked.
"Ehee?" James and young Sirius yelled out in shock.
"Let me guess, you two have never been able to dodge anything the ghost has gotten up to?" Hadriana laughed, as she could picture it happening clearly as a day.
"No, we haven't!" Young Sirius told her, remembering everything that ghosts had done to them throughout the years.
"Whatever, I hate that bloody ghost! Honestly, he's worse than the Bloody Baron." Barty muttered.
"That's why peeves love the twins." Oliver groaned, but back to why he was there. "I wrote to you over the summer… Did I do something?" he asked.
Hadriana looked at him confused, but quickly told him "No!" "You won't believe me if I tell you, why…" she sighed.
"Try me!" he smirked and listened to what she would tell him.
"I found out that there was a house elf that had been stealing my mail, you see. I still haven't gotten one of those letters people have written to me over the summer." Hadriana told him as an afterthought.
"You are right, it doesn't sound believable, but I believe you." Oliver kindly smiled at her.
"Damn, I can understand why you had a crush on him," Marlene said, and find herself.
"Was it one from here?" Oliver asked.
"Here?" Hadriana asked confused.
"Yeah. You know one of the house elves from Hogwarts?"
"Don't think so." She said, and though she wasn't sure.
"Really?" Lily asked as many other students were shocked that Hogwarts has house elves.
"You've gone to this school for seven years, and no one has told you where, why and how your food is made? Or how everything is clean every morning?" Hadriana questioned shocked.
"Nope!" Lily nodded.
The teachers looked at one another shocked, why had none of them told the students how they get everything to work, though, they thought that the students didn't need to know how things are being done.
"How do you think our food is made?" he asked fondly.
"I don't know! How come I've never seen one?" she inquired, "though, I think many forget that I grew up in the muggle world and don't know everything."
At that, he looked at her, "that explains a lot." He hummed. "Well, they usually stay in the kitchens." He said excitedly, "the twins showed me where it was."
"The kitchens? What did you bribe them with, that made them show you?" she asked Oliver sceptically.
"I caught them sneaking out one day, so I made them tell me!" he smirked. "Have you been to the kitchen?"
"Never!" she said excited over maybe seeing it, and at least then she would be able to go somewhere to get some food if she was hungry or don't want to go to the great hall to eat.
"Would you like to?"
"I'd love to!"
"Great, let's go tonight. I know that you have a way of sneaking out without anyone seeing you." Oliver told her.
Hadriana just shrugged, after all, it was the truth.
"You snuck out with a boy?" James asked, just to have something to say and because it needed to be said.
"It's not the worst I've done," Hadriana said with a smirk.
"James, we both know that if you hadn't been so hung up on Lily, you would have done the same," Sirius revealed, where young Sirius just nodded along with what his older self was saying because it was the truth.
"I would not!" James huffed pouting at them in good fun.
"You would have," Remus smirked.
"Not you too…"
Time passed quickly and before she knew it things had slowed down, and she was meeting Oliver, with her invisibility cloak.
"You have an invisibility cloak?" Oliver said, not really surprised.
With that Oliver lead her to the kitchen, they soon reached a large spiral staircase and walked down it. They were met with a lit-up corridor and food paintings on both sides of the wall.
"Come on!" he said and grabbed her hand before they stopped at one of the paintings that had a fruit bowl in it. He reached up and began tickling the pear before it let out a small giggle.
"Did the pear just giggle?" Hadriana asked him with a laugh.
"Yep!" Oliver laughed.
Suddenly a large green door handle appeared on the spot where the pear once was.
"So… That's how you get into the kitchen," Lily said.
Many smirked at finding out where the kitchen could be found, and many for sure planned to get there on their own when things finished.
Hadriana couldn't believe her eyes, hundreds of house elves stopped what they were doing to stare at the two students. They were waving at them with smiles. "Hello, Wood. You've brought a friend." One of the oldest house elves said, coming up to the pair of them.
Oliver smiled kindly at the elderly house elf.
"Minky already has your cookies. Chocolate like you like them!" she said.
It made Oliver turn slightly pink, at the elf for saying so.
Hadriana smiled at him because he remembered that she loved all things chocolate. After all, chocolate is from the gods.
"Hello, I am Minky."
"I'm Hadriana Potter." She greeted the house elf.
Minky's eyes widened at hearing the girl's name. "Potter, oh dear. Minky knew your father. Minky misses James dearly. He used to visit many times with his three friends." To their shock.
Those in the great hall looked at the marauders not even shocked that they had found the kitchens because they had a way of being whenever and wherever without anyone noticing them.
Professor McGonagall looked at them with a stern glare and knew that she couldn't do anything since this was their last year, so it wasn't useful to refuse their coming and goings.
"My father used to visit you?" she asked with wonder.
"Yes, he visited Minky many times."
"Well then, I suppose I can come and visit you more often then. To keep the tradition going."
"Minky would like that very much, yes," Minky said and reached forward with tears in her beady eyes and hugged her waist before disappearing.
"That's not a bad tradition," Fleamont said, towards his granddaughter and son that was now sitting proudly at his table.
"It's pretty sweet." Andromeda cooed and looked down at her own daughter with a smile of her own.
Minky soon came back with a large plate of chocolate chip cookies. "Come on, eat!" and placed it down at the large table in the room before disappearing again, but returning with two large goblets of pumpkin juice.
Oliver and Hadriana looked at one another before taking a seat opposite of one another, and hummed in delight at the cookies, blushing.
"This is amazing." Hadriana hummed in happiness.
"It's alright," Oliver told her, smiling because it was easy to see that she loves them.
They spent hours just talking and in silence before they went back to the tower.
"That was just so cute!" Alice squealed.
Hadriana sighed, it had been the most uncomplicated meeting between the two of them before everything had been confusing.
"I know darling," Sirius whispered into her ear because he knew how complicated things got with her and Oliver. Sirius knew that if he hadn't been in the picture, and they hadn't gotten together that those two would have gotten closer and maybe been together – something that was weird thinking about.