Chapter Forty

The Misplaced Door

Ella Hauk slid a few books off of the upper shelves and took them to a table as discretely as she could. Jay stood by the bookshelf, reading nonchalantly with his hand under the book's spine while occasionally glancing into cases that mostly housed some of Slytherin house's private collection, which also contained memorabilia donated by notable Slytherin alumni who had become famous after the fact. There was nothing belong to Slytherin in any of the cases, and Janus Craw's journals were his grandparents' property. But Jay had every intention of doing his part, so as Ella began looking through the oldest books in case one of Bedivere's had gotten into the mix, Janus began scanning a book on medieval magic items in case the Silver Box was mentioned.

It was as Moira was returning a reference book that she noticed what book Jay was holding and sighed critically at him.

"Are you really that far behind? It isn't in there," Moira informed him, then glanced over at Ella. "And he certainly wouldn't have kept any of Bedivere's books in Slytherin."

"A thousand years have past since he died, Moira. At any time, someone might have easily gotten one of his old instruction books and put it away in here. It had to be checked, no matter how slim of a chance," Jay said.

"Slim? None, rather, but it's your time to waste. He was the son of a witch and a Muggle nobleman and was disgraced from birth. No matter how much time has past, he's still a half-blood," Moira said.

"As am I," Jay replied coldly. "And I have noted several items in the display case of honored alumni who were also half-blooded, even if they were too ashamed to advertise it. But I am not ashamed. My father was more noble than any nobleman and died protecting my mother. And if you are wise, you won't criticize being a half-blood in my presence again."

"I wasn't attempting to be critical of your position. I was simply stating the facts," Moira pointed out. "Such a work would never have been tolerated in these rooms whether they have been allowed in recent years or not. But go ahead and waste your time with it, since that does nothing but give us even more of an advantage." With that she slipped the book into place and lifted her head indignantly before walking back the B Room.

"It is important to eliminate all possibilities," Ella reminded Jay calmly, flipping through the books.

"So it is," came the voice of Janus Craw, and Jay turned to seem him materialize behind them. "Of course, one should eliminate the likely before the unlikely when searching for a missing object."

"We're just doing our part, since no one else in the order could have done it but us," Ella explained.

"Fair enough," Janus replied.

"Thank you for coming," Jay said.

"I have been here for some time. I was simply waiting for the last of them to leave the room," Janus grunted. "I received your note in my duties box, but my time is rather limited right now with Professor Craw so often out of the castle. I assume you simply want to know what I can tell you about the Silver Box, since it would seem that Quintin and Jeremy have decided to abandon their research in favor of it."

"They have not abandoned it. I have simply advised them on approaching their research in a different way, which will become clear when their article is revealed," Jay replied calmly.

"Yes, well. As I'm sure you probably already know, I had left to find the Cauldron long before Caprica and Bedivere were settled in their roles as Headmaster and Chancellor... that's what the Deputy Headmaster used to be called," Janus added.

"Yes, we remember," Jay said. "Considering the title, I suppose that instead of what we think of a Deputy Headmaster today, their job was simply to advise and to be there to take over if the Headmaster died."

"That was how it was understood, but he also did the bulk of the paperwork just as it's done now. In fact, I blame Bedivere for Professor Weasley's workload in a way. He did the paperwork because he was a scribe and was already good at that sort of thing, where Caprica was not. They were simply splitting the duties according to who was best for the job at the time, having no idea of the long-lasting affect on its job description," Janus said. "Even so, it must have come as an unexpected honor to Beddie, as humble as he was and as controversial as his background. Knowing Rowena, the entire reason that she gave him such finery when he became Chancellor was to elevate him to his position. He only took that job because he wanted to help his friend, not to ascend above his station, that wouldn't have been like him in the slightest. Rowena certainly knew that such a gift would have been uncomfortable for Bedivere to take, and she was just as certain that he would not dishonor her by refusing it. It was a way for him to accept that he was going to have to hold himself to a higher standard," he explained with an intense expression, which suddenly gentled. "Your grandparents went through the same thing when their positions changed at this school. Dumbledore gifted your father expensive robes well above what he thought was appropriate for his station at that point. Your grandmother was gifted robes as well when she took over the big chair for the first time... with exquisite embroidery and yet very much in line with a station she wasn't used to. It forced her to take a deeper look at herself and change her entire mindset about what she was stepping into."

"So this box became almost a symbol of his position as Chancellor," Ella said.

"No almost about it. It was indeed a symbol of his new position," Janus agreed. "And not only that, it is an important symbol of the very first Chancellor to have been appointed. Is it any wonder that Headmaster Snape wants it found regardless of what's in it?"

"Perhaps it is empty," Ella conjectured, shutting the book she was looking through. "It isn't in this book on the most powerful items of the period."

"I could name other items in this castle that our quite powerful and never made it in that book," Jay pointed out. "Maybe it's because no one knew what was in it, or someone underestimated it. Either way, it really doesn't matter, does it? We're not to open it, only to find it and turn it over regardless."

"No matter how tempted you might be when it's in your hands?" Janus challenged him skeptically.

"On my honor as a Slytherin Prefect," Jay said proudly.

"Say it in your father's name, it'll go farther with me," Janus said evenly.

"Fine. In my father's name," Jay replied firmly. Janus nodded at that.

"Then I wish you luck in finding the Chancellor's Box," Janus told him, fading as he turned away.

Ella turned towards Jay, who stood there thoughtfully a moment.

"Chancellor's Box," Ella commented when he didn't respond right away. "I've never heard it called that before. It's almost like it had a proper name."

"It may have been out of respect for his friend, or it also might have been a clue. Start looking for it under that name," Jay suggested, and Ella nodded in agreement, going through the books again.

Stephen combed through the old inventory books to find his place and pulled a couple out, heaving the enormous tomes into his arms. As he did so, he heard a book hit the floor and he peered down, realizing he must have dislodged a much thinner tome that was next to the one he had pulled out. Picking it up, he piled it on top. Just why was this one different than the other books, he wondered, and why hadn't he noticed it before? Probably because it was small enough to easily get lost in the tightly packed section. It must have been a supplemental of some sort, he mused, his curiosity piqued as he brought it over to the table.

He noticed one significance of the book almost immediately; it was in typeset instead of handwritten, and bound in a very similar way to other printed schoolbooks of the fifteen hundreds. They had held out a century after that technology arrived; but in the end, practicality won out. Stephen began to flip through it and immediately realized its significance; it was a list of items moved out of the Monk's Quarters during the Reformation. So this was the time when it was renamed to the Scribe's Quarter, Stephen thought with interest, sliding his finger down the list. Everything from paintings to statues to religious relics seemed to have been moved; often with a note next to it which stated either "returned" or "donated." It was a very long list that went several pages, but finally he came to a section of leather, stencils, binding, and other book and scroll-making supplies. These were all on a list that read, "Retained for Instruction." So even if they had begun making their books in print, they had taught how to inscribe them for a while... more than likely, there were both handwritten and printed books produced in that era, Stephen concluded, flipping through that section. The next part pertained to beds and other furniture in the Monk's quarter, which was simply "moved to storage for student use." More than likely, they were far from the most comfortable beds, and Stephen could imagine the older students hording the better ones and making first and second years sleeping on the simple cots until they finally wore out. Was there nothing else, he wondered, realizing that the furniture took up several pages and he was near the end of the supplemental volume. But at the very end, he found a note that made him blink in stunned silence, which read, "All affects concerning ministration and title within the Chancellor's Study have been moved into its new location."

Was this the clue he was looking for, Stephen thought excitedly, going to the next volume and scanning it to look for it in the inventory's list under Chancellor's Room. Rather disappointed, he found "Charmed Silver Box attributed to Bedivere O'Lauren" a third way down. So that move hadn't been when it was lost, he brooded. He as so sure that was when it was lost. Of course, that made him wonder... just where was the Chancellor's Room?

Quintin and Hermione were combing over the Augury book in her office Friday evening when Olivia Potter rapped loudly on Hermione's open door.

"I officially give up!" Olivia declared.

"Give up? That's not like you," Hermione said, tsking at her.

"So you found nothing at all in Gryffindor that belong to Bedivere?" Quintin asked.

"Actually, we found a lot, but it was all related to his younger days as a squire," Olivia complained.

"You might as well come in," Hermione said, and Olivia came out of the doorway.

"There was simple pack and several hunting tools... and the pack contained nothing more than polishing tools for swords and armor... and no, we didn't break into the case, before you ask. Andrew opened the case," Olivia added.

"As long as you were supervised," Hermione said. "But it's not all that surprising that only things from his squirehood was in there. Gryffindor wasn't even around for Bedivere's true glory days at this school."

"Well, Garnet and Elmira didn't find anything either, and Elmira knows her items. Maybe he took it with him," Olivia said.

"That would be out of character. It wouldn't be like him to take something valuable out of the castle. It's much more likely he passed it down," Quintin said.

"True, but that means you may be wasting your time looking at these old books for clues on where it is," Hermione pointed out, turning the page. "After all, most of the book he illuminated himself were from before he took over as second in charge of Hogwarts. There is no way he could have possibly had the time to work on these after that point. They require way too much time," Hermione pointed out. Quintin groaned.

"You're completely right. Why didn't I think of that before?" Quintin said. "We need to think of where they'd put items donated by a school's chancellor."

"Well, we know they're not in the Headmaster's Study, so where else could they be?" Olivia asked.

"Here, of course."

They all looked up in surprise to see Jay and Ella standing in the doorway.

"Does this sort of thing always happen when you leave the door open?" Quintin complained.

"Sorry, it gets stuffy in here otherwise," Hermione explained to him, then turned to the two prefects in the doorway. "What makes you think it's in here?"

"Because it isn't an artifact of the Headmaster's office, but of the Headmaster's second, whether you call it Chancellor or Deputy Headmaster doesn't change that fact. It is an important symbol of this office and I believe it would only be logical for it to have been donated to the office itself," Jay said.

"Well, it isn't here. It's already been checked," Hermione informed him.

"Maybe it's disguised as something else?" Jay suggested. "Because it must be here."

"He's right," said someone behind them, and Jay and Ella stepped out of way to let Stephen in.

"Just how many students are going to interrupt my conference, anyway?" Quintin asked with exasperation.

"I found inventory records that said the Silver Box was put in the Chancellor's Room when it was moved out of the Scribes Quarter. It was even recorded after the Cromwell Era when the name changed to the Deputy Headmaster," Stephen said.

"And did they call it the Silver Box at that point or the Chancellor's Box?" Jay inquired.

"Chancellor's Box after the title changed. But how did you know?" Stephen asked.

"What matters isn't how I know, but that we have vastly different researching techniques but we're reaching the exact same conclusion. That box should be in here."

"Should be isn't the same as is," Hermione informed them firmly, looking between them. "Tell me, did any of your research ever give you any specifics on the precise room it's located in other than simply being in the Chancellor's Room?"

"Well, no. Not since it was moved from the Scribe's Quarter," Stephen replied, while Jay simply shook his head.

"Then it may interest you to know that this particular room hasn't been the Deputy Headmaster's Room for as long as you think. It was assigned the Deputy Headmaster's Room because it's next door to the room that Transfiguration classes were held in when I was a student. Since it was also next to the Charms room on the opposite side, I saw no reason to move it when Professor McGonagall retired, but I believe she used the original Transfiguration office for all of her duties because it was convenient," Hermione said. "It is the Deputy Headmaster's office simply because it's practical."

"So this isn't the real Chancellor's Room? I mean... the one they set up after it was moved out of the Scribe's Quarters?" Stephen said.

"No, it is not. And before you ask, if we knew where the Chancellor's Room was, we'd have already checked it by now," she said.

"So you're saying there's not only a missing item but a missing room?" Quintin asked. "Surely the ghosts would know where it is, right?"

"Or perhaps one of the paintings," Jay mused.

"Either way, it isn't here! And since I need to meet the Headmaster for dinner to turn in the last of the reviews and test schedules before the holidays, would you all kindly leave my office? Quintin, be sure to take this Augury back straight back to Professor Boulderdash so that he doesn't have reason to fret over it!" Hermione said, then began shoeing them out like Pesky Pixies. "I really need to finish this last report so that I'm not late."

Stuffy or not, the door shut with the students all on the outside of it, staring at it. Then Jay tugged on Quintin's sleeve.

"This way," he said.

Olivia and Ella followed close behind, while Stephen stayed where he was, watching them go with a frown.

"We need to let everyone else know we're looking for a missing room," Jay said, lowering his voice. "The current Deputy Headmasters may have decided to change what room they used for the convenience of being close to their classroom, but they only would have moved things they needed to do the job like records and the School Registry. They would have left any precious artifacts in the original study."

"I'll get with Jeremy and start scouring maps," Quintin said.

"Just remember how often that map changes. You may be better off counting doors and finding ones that don't match up, to any on the most recent map," Jay said.

"Clever," Ella decided.

"The best map is the one in Dad's office, but considering he's still mad at me for taking something out of his desk, I doubt he'd lend it to me," Quintin admitted, but Olivia snapped her fingers.

"I know! The Hogwarts model in Professor Andrew's office! He's always bragging about it being more accurate than the Headmaster's map," she offered.

"You two look into that. I'll go upstairs long enough to let Pete and Sissy know about the missing room, and then we'll start talking to the ghosts and the Trade Elves to see if they recall any abandoned offices that no one has frequented in a few centuries," Jay said.

Olivia and Quintin turned down the corridor while Ella and Jay waited for the staircases.

"Aren't you a bit worried? I mean about the fact that Stephen came in and heard all of that too," Olivia asked Quintin quietly as they made their way down the stairs.

"It isn't all that surprising, really. They've always kept up with us... although sometimes they were ahead and sometimes we were. It's always been neck and neck," Quintin replied.

"Do you think we have a chance to find it before curfew? Because I was thinking... if you were them, would you be willing to wait until morning?" Olivia asked.

"Would you?" Quintin inquired.

"Of course! Especially on a Friday night, that way we can get all of our detentions done in one go on the weekend," Olivia reasoned.

Quintin let out a short laugh.

"Aren't you in the least bit worried about the fact that we're going on holiday in two weeks?" he asked.

"Not at all! My parents will be too busy to scold me, and my grandfathers will simply blame each other for my poor behavior. They always do," Olivia said unconcernedly. "So let's try Jay's plan and see if we can find a door that doesn't belong."

"Right," Quintin agreed, then turned into the Transfiguration classroom only to find the office door closed. After checking his private rooms and the daycare, they were finally directed by his wife to check the kitchen. Soon the four of them were walking back into the Transfiguration Room: Quintin, Olivia, Andrew, and his before dinner sandwich.

"It's an appetizer sandwich," Andrew informed Olivia when she commented on the timing. "And apparently it's a very good thing I decided to grab one today considering you have me traipsing right back up to my office again. This won't take long, will it?"

"How would we know?" Olivia asked as Andrew unlocked his office and let them in. He waved his hand to bring up the lights and carefully removed the dust cover from the model. Olivia, who had barely ever seen it out of its dustcover, immediately became entranced with its detail... especially Gryffindor Tower, complete with its newest renovation.

"I don't have all the other houses fully completed yet," Andrew said when he noticed her fixed expression. "Between work and family, I get very few hours to myself to really work on it, which is why there are empty rooms next to Hufflepuff and Slytherin but no extensions."

"It must be really tricky working on a model when rooms are always getting moved about to make space," Olivia said, impressed.

"Yes, to the point where I've had to study magic engineering just so I understood what was happening," Andrew admitted with a chuckle. "I've even made small modular rooms that I can slide out and put in another place. I use them for spare classrooms and storage rooms, because they tend to be the first to get moved with the Headmaster needs another room for something."

"How many of those old rooms used to be Professor offices? Are there any with old desks and cabinets and things that nobody ever touches?" Quintin asked.

"Not a many as there used to be," Andrew said. "After all, Hogwarts staff has nearly doubled in recent years, especially if you count both full time and part time teachers. Not that all of them have their own office, of course, but a great many of them have... so any abandoned offices that were furnished and easy to move have already been taken over. And before you ask, I'm sure they were all thoroughly gone through to bring their security up to date and furnishings replaced when needed."

"But there are rooms that aren't so easy to move," Quintin said.

"Plenty of them," Andrew agreed. "I'm not about to go into magical engineering right now, and it'd probably be a bit over your heads. But everything from physical load-bearing to security to charms can be tied to a room that makes it completely immovable. For example, we can't move a room directly adjacent to the Main Staircase, because it's an integral part of the system. Bathrooms can't be moved for mundane reasons, and I won't even get into how impossible it'd be to move the Great Hall or the Headmaster's Study. Even so, this is a very big castle with a lot of spare rooms because in earlier years, it took a great many more people to run it than it does now. The Headmaster has a lot of extra space if he needs it."

"Has he changed anything since the Dusthorn renovations?" Olivia asked curiously.

"No, but they're knocking down walls in the Scribe's Quarters like crazy. Those old monk bedrooms were much too small for any practical space these days. I'll wait until they're done renovating it before I update that area," Andrew said. "If you were hoping that box was in the old office there, it's been thoroughly gone through now."

"We already knew it wasn't there. Someone found proof that everything having to do with the Chancellor position was moved to another office," Olivia said.

"Well, it must be here somewhere, because other than renovations, this model is complete," Quintin said.

"No it isn't," Andrew said. The two students turned and stared at him. "Well, it isn't. It only boasts to be more accurate than the Marauder's Map, but it's by no means complete... especially when it comes to the lower levels. I only put in the areas currently being used like the Potion Lab and the lower bits of Hufflepuff and Slytherin. I didn't put in the Memoriatorium, Cistern, the Lower Tunnel where Bethia was found, or the Chamber of Secrets for that matter. None of the secret passages leading out of the castle are included except for sculptures that represent the doors. Even discounting all of that, every single time I'm convinced that I've finally gotten the interiors complete, some random student will get nosy about a crack in the wall or trip over hidden lever while fighting in the corridor and uncover some unknown room and I have to go back over it and figure out how I missed it in the first place. I don't think this thing will ever be done," he confessed.

"So there is a chance that the Chancellor's Room is still here somewhere and intact?" Quintin asked seriously.

"Well, let's see... have the lower sections been checked?" Andrew asked.

"Joey, Jack, and their grandfather took care of that," Olivia confirmed.

"Ghosts consulted?"

"Yes, of course," Quintin said.

"Paintings?"

"Yes by Sissy, Pete, and the Pyther's," he replied

"Trade Elves?"

"Jay's been keeping them apprised," Quintin explained.

"My father's been looking for it since Summer and alerted the staff to keep an eye out for it as well, and we have not one but two different student groups looking for the thing," Andrew ticked off.

"Three altogether... the Owls are helping but they're separate from my research team and they don't all overlap," Quintin said.

"That is an awful lot of people looking for that box, and I doubt it's anywhere in plain sight like that Distaff was," Andrew said. "That being the case, this castle's getting combed over really well. And if all of the known areas of the castle have been gone over, that leaves only two possibilities: either someone found it and simply isn't telling anyone, or there's a hidden room somewhere nobody has found yet. I'd say your chances of a hidden room are pretty high at this point," he concluded.

"If the Maxens found that thing before we did, they'd have opened it and we'd have heard something by now," Quintin said, then began studying the model. "Let's see if we can narrow down what areas of the castle it might be hidden at."

"Hang on a moment... what is wrong with the thirteenth floor?" Olivia asked suddenly. "Why is this particular floor completely empty?"

"That's the floor belonging to the vertical secret passage," Andrew explained. "And it's left blank because it's quite impossible to duplicate in a three dimensional space because it's charmed to jump floors... it's more like a series of lift shafts and corridors that are connected to each other, you see. And while I know that the passage itself is in the thirteenth floor, there is no way for me to correctly link the doors it connects to because there's no way to align them properly without breaking the rest of the model. I've thought about constructing a separate model of it by itself using an old map to try and sort it out... but then I had kids and it got put in the closet with all of my other permanently unfinished projects."

"So you have a map of sorts?" Olivia asked.

"Just a drawn one from when I was a kid, yeah. I haven't made one since, and my father's made a lot of changes since then," Andrew replied.

"Can we have a copy of it anyway?" Olivia asked.

"Sure," Andrew said.

"Do you think it'll help?" Quintin asked.

"Well, the door wouldn't have moved since then if it was already lost," Olivia reasoned. "Besides, I was thinking of another possibility. What if the Chancellor's Office was lost on purpose for some reason?" Olivia said.

"Lost on purpose?" Quintin repeated.

"This passage must have been charmed from the start to work like this, and since we know that the Main Staircase itself was designed by Rowena Ravenclaw, this secret passage probably was too," Olivia said.

"Okay. So?" Quintin asked.

"Well, she probably knew that corridor couldn't be tracked easily by anyone even if they tried like Professor Andrew did. So what if she decided to attach another secret passage to this one? Nobody would know it was there because it wouldn't show up on any model!" Olivia concluded brightly.

"We should go check," Quintin agreed. "Can we have a copy of that map?"

Without a word, Andrew went to his desk and began thumbing through a file, finally pulling it out and making a quick copy to hand her.

"There you are. Are you sure you don't need anything else? Escort? Emergency teleport device?" Andrew asked with a stoic expression.

"We're just going to prove my theory, we won't do anything rash," Olivia told him with the same stoic expression.

"Good luck. Don't be out after curfew," Andrew replied. "Considering my brother is with you, losing track of time won't be a legitimate excuse."

"No problem! We'll be careful," Olivia promised. "Thanks for the map!"

"Sure," Andrew said, watching them go. He listened for them to get off the steps and out into the corridor before he finally began scanning the paintings. He was completely unsurprised with the Rogue Painting stepped out on the deck of his fishing boat painting. "I assume you heard all of that?" he asked, and the Rogue quickly indicated that he did. "Then you better go warn Dad. Tell him that Olivia suddenly remembered she was a Potter." Nodding in agreement, the Rogue rolled his eyes in exasperation and stepped out of the frame.