Winter 1992

Ronald Weasley

"It's simple," Tracey said, her lips morphing into a wicked grin as she stood around one of the small tables in the corner of the Slytherin common room.

Ron looked up at her, frowned, and then looked back down at the large piece of parchment. Tracey had hastily drawn a rough map of the school starting from the Slytherin common room and ending at the library. It seemed like a long distance.

"And the locks?" Ron asked.

Tracey picked up her wand and twirled it between her fingers. "Alohomora," the tip of her wand glowed for just a second before fizzling out again. "Theo used it to get into the potions cabinet, it should work on any locks that they put on the library as well. I mean, I doubt they're using anything dangerous to keep us out."

Run traced the winding path with his finger trying to estimate the time it would take. It seemed straightforward enough on the parchment but he couldn't help but think about the number of stairs and corridors that actually existed inside the castle. It would be too easy for them to accidentally take the wrong turn and end up somewhere completely different, somewhere where they were likely to get caught. Ron hadn't gotten lost since his first week, but he also had not roamed the castle in the middle of the night.

"What about Filch," he asked, leaning back in his chair.

Tracey rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Filch is a squib, Ron. What's he going to do? Chase us with a mop?"

"Well, yes," Ron said. "He's caught Fred and George several times."

"Well, frankly, I'm not Fred or George," Tracey said, tilting her chin high. "And isn't that where you come in? Granger's Knight and Astoria's hero?" She teased. "Seems like the perfect time for you to be a martyr and throw yourself on your sword."

Ron stared at her blankly.

"Oh, I'm just kidding. Besides, look at this plan, it really can't go wrong. It's totally James Bond."

Huh?"Who?"

Tracey rolled her eyes once again and huffed. "Honestly, can one of you read a muggle book for once? You know, James Bond? He's a spy for the muggle government." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, what I mean is our plan is good. Honestly, Ron, we're just stealing from the restricted section. I'm sure we're not the first students to do so and we will probably not be last. I mean, think about how many nerds there are in Ravenclaw. I bet there's a group of Ravenclaws right now in Ravenclaw tower standing around their own even worse map than mine and trying to figure out how to get in there."

Ron stared down at the map again, frowning as Tracy tapped her wand idly against the table. He wished he shared her confidence, but his mind was drawn to everything that could possibly go wrong. It wasn't that he was afraid of detention, he was probably going to serve a hundred of those before he was done with school, but it was something else. There was someone lurking in the school, maybe Snape but probably not, who had no trouble trying to kill Hermione. It seemed just the kind of person who might roam the corridors at …

"What about the ghosts?" he asked, almost reluctantly. "They don't sleep."

Tracy tilted her head at him once again, "Ghosts? Really? You're worried about those miserable sods?"

Ron shrugged his ears, turning slightly pink. "There's the bloody Baron and Peeves. I mean, Peeves isn't a ghost but he's as bad as Filch sometimes."

At the mention of the Baron, Tracy flinched slightly and tried to hide it with a shrug. Still, Ron noticed and he was hardly surprised. The Bloody Baron was a topic most Slytherins avoided simply because nobody really liked him. He was the most terrifying ghost in the school, even Peeves seemed to be afraid of him.

"The Baron doesn't care about us," Tracey said, her voice holding a new edge. "He's not going to haunt the library. And Peeve's will be busy doing something else to keep Filch busy."

Ron chewed the inside of his cheek, his stomach twisting slightly. Maybe Tracey was right, maybe nothing would go wrong. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to come crashing down around him. He nodded at her slowly. He didn't really have a choice, not if he wanted to do what Salazar asked.

- SS -

They waited until nearly midnight before sneaking out of the common room. It was as if the castle had become a different world entirely, with deep shadows stretching across the halls and making it hard to see beyond the faint glow of torchlight. Ron pulled his cloak tight around his shoulders, the chill in the air making the skin on his arms prickle.

They walked in silence for sometime, Tracey leading with the map she made while Ron followed. Ron couldn't help but envy the way in which Tracey carried herself. She wasn't nearly as afraid as he was, her wand held only loosely in her hand, and her face lit with a smirk every time they turned a corner.

Ron swallowed, Tracey probably didn't think the way he did. She trusted him to have her back, that's why she gave him the wand holster, but he could tell she didn't think much of any real threats. Ron tasted iron in his mouth as he continued to chew on his cheek, all too aware of the subtle whine of wind and crackle of torches. He almost expected one of the masked men from his vision to step out of the night and cast them both down.

"Don't you think this is a bit… creepy?" Ron whispered, he kept his voice as low as he could.

Tracey turned to him and smiled. "Creepy? No, I think this is totally brilliant. Sneaking around, dodging Filch, breaking into the restricted section… Like I said before, it's something out of a spy book. I'm glad you wanted to do this."

Ron didn't answer immediately, his eyes scanning the shadows and searching for any signs of masked wizards or even just Filch. He could feel his heartbeat in every step.

"I don't know how you're enjoying this," Ron muttered. His voice sounded a little too loud in the empty hall and he winced.

"Because it's fun," Tracey replied. "Where's the Gryffindor bravery you're supposed to have?" she teased.

They continued down the hall and made their way up yet another set of staircases.

"I left my bravery in the common room," Ron said dryly. He reached out and brushed his hand against the wall.

Tracey snorted. "I think you're braver than you give yourself credit for. I wouldn't have faced down a troll, and I didn't ask you to break into the restricted section. You asked me."

Ron nodded, but he wasn't really sure if he was brave or just stupid. After all, he didn't really feel like he had a choice in any of what was going on. He had to get into the restricted section because Salazar needed him to. He had only asked Tracy to help him because he wasn't really sure who else to ask. In a perfect world, he might have been close enough with his brothers to ask for their advice. But it wasn't the perfect world, and Tracy was the best option he had. Blaise was too sensible, he wouldn't like the idea, and Daphne would have asked him why and then interrogated him about why he needed those specific books.

Just as they reached the end of a corridor, Ron froze.

"Wait!" he hissed, and grabbed hold of Tracy's arm dragging her to a stop.

She nearly stumbled over before she turned to stare at him. "What now?" She asked.

Ron raised one finger to his mouth to shush her before tilting his head and listening into the silence of the night. For a moment there was nothing, just the crackle of fire and the moan of the wind. Then, just faintly, he can make out the sound of footsteps.

"There," he whispered and pointed towards the way they had come from.

Tracey frowned and leaned closer to him, "You're imagining things…"

"I'm not," Ron defended. He could hear them more clearly now—two people walking at a slow speed—slow enough that Ron doubted they knew he was there. It probably wasn't the masked wizard he was waiting for; he imagined it was probably a group of prefects, maybe even Percy.

Tracy seemed to hear it now too, her grip on her wand tightening. She looked down the hall and then back at Ron. "This could be bad…"

"They don't know we're here," Ron said. They aren't looking for us." He reached out and grabbed Tracy's hand, pulling her behind one of the statues that lined the corridor. It was a tight squeeze, but they both managed to stay hidden only while staying face to face. Ron raised his finger to his lips again, urging her not to speak. Tracey nodded.

The footsteps grew louder, barely audible over Ron's heart pounding in his ears. He could feel Tracey's breath grow heavy as they approached. Then, from the darkness, he heard the low murmur of voices.

"Careless," one voice said to the other. It was a silken voice that almost seemed to drip with disdain. Ron recognized it almost immediately as belonging to Professor Snape. His heart skipped a beat.I really hope Harry is wrong.

"It's under control," said a softer, higher-pitched voice that Ron knew belonged to Professor Quirrell.

Tracey looked up at Ron and gave him a questioning look. He just shook his head silently.

"It's hardly under control," Snape drawled, his voice growing louder as the pair came closer. "You are careless to leave the door open like that, if that were to be discovered…there would be significant consequences."

"It won't be discovered," Quirrell cut in. "You've seen that Beast haven't you? No one in this Castle could get past it except for that half-giant." Quirrell seemed to catch himself and let out a small nervous laugh. "I- I assure you Severus that no one knows anything."

Ron could feel Tracy's shallow breath against his collarbone as she shifted slightly trying to peer around the corner of the statue. He started her with wide eyes trying to silently urge her to stop looking.

The two men stopped nearby in the corridor. Snape's voice filled the silence. "Did you just hear something?"

Ron stiffened as ice rushed through his veins. He reached out and grabbed Tracey's arm again, pulling her closer to him and silently pleading with her to be as quiet as possible.

Quirrell's laugh came again, nervous and high-pitched. "Hear something? Oh dear, no no. Just the wind perhaps? These halls are awfully drafty."Thank you…

Snape said nothing, and Ron couldn't help but imagine the professor's cold eyes scanning the darkness and looking for anything out of place. Tracey frowned and tensed, doing her best to stand as still as possible.

Finally, Snape's voice broke the silence. "Yes… perhaps the wind. But you must be more careful. If it goes missing, I will know who to blame. And I can assure you, Quirrell, I am not an enemy worth making."

Quirrell muttered something too quietly for Ron to make out. With that, the footsteps resumed, fading into the distance until they disappeared entirely.

Ron took a deep breath, his hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline. He let go of Tracey's arm and used both his hands to smooth back his damp hair. For a moment, he thought his great aunt might be right; perhaps he did need a haircut.

Tracy looked up at him again, eyes wide but glittering with exhilaration.

"See?" She whispered. "It's exciting."

Ron stared at her with a dumb look. "Exciting? I thought we were both going to get a year's worth of detention. Snape finding us would be way worse than Filch."

Tracey grinned again, faintly. "Well, then we don't have to worry so much about Filch, do we?"

Ron didn't reply, instead, he was trying to decipher whatever the conversation was that Snape and Quirrell were having. A sick sort of feeling rose in his stomach as the only thing he could really think about was the object of importance that the school was keeping. Snape was trying to protect it, he swallowed, which meant almost certainly that Harry was wrong.

"Are you alright?" Tracey asked him. She had taken a few steps back, so they were further apart.

Ron nodded. "Just worried."

She reached forward and grabbed his sleeve. "Come on," she said, tugging him forward. "Before they come back."

Ron nodded and followed her down the corridor, mulling over the conversation in his head as he went.

They managed to reach the library without any further interruptions, the castle staying still and quiet in an eerie sort of way that did little to calm Ron's mind. Surprisingly, the door to the library itself was left unlocked, Tracy pulled it open ushering him inside and then closed it behind them. The tall shelves of books seemed more foreboding in the darkness, the room almost pitch-black except for the streams of moonlight that spilt through the tall windows. The torches on the walls did not burn, and the room was colder than it usually was.

"Now this," Tracey finally admitted, "is a little creepy."

Ron nodded and followed her through the rows of tables and chairs to the back corner of the library where an iron fence and gate separated the normal books from the restricted section. Beyond the bars the restricted section seemed to almost glow faintly in the darkness as if some of the books were luminescent.

Tracy smirked and stashed her map away in her robe pockets. "And here we are," she said, "the place they don't want us to be."

"If we get caught," Ron mumbled, "I'm blaming you."

"Deal," Tracey said, smiling up at him. She pointed her wand at the gate and muttered the incantation she had shown off earlier. Just as she promised the gate clicked open.

"See? Easy?" Tracey said.

"Right," Ron muttered, following her into the restricted section.

The shelves seem to tower above them, stuffed full with books and scrolls. Some of the spines did glow as Ron imagined, titles etched with silver and gold in languages that Ron didn't understand. Some of the books looked absolutely ancient, so old that Ron was afraid to touch them. He worried that if he dared they would simply turn to dust and cease to exist. On the other hand, some of the books looked new as if they had come straight from Diagon Alley. Those too made Ron feel nervous, there was something dark in the air.

Tracey whispered, "What are we looking for?"

Ron looked at her and then back to the shelves. "Dueling," he said simply. "I need spells that aren't exhausting to cast."

Tracy raised an eyebrow but didn't press about why he was looking for those books. Instead, she offered him another small smile before disappearing into one of the other rows.

Ron's eyes skimmed over the titles of books;Harnessing The Moon, Pyromancers, Defying Others, and Elemental stopped and turned his attention to the last one, deciding to pull it from the shelf. The book had a simple worn leather cover and it looked like it was at least a few decades old. For an odd reason, it seemed to have no recorded author. Ron thumbed through a few pages, his eyes catching on a diagram of a wizard breathing this will help?He took the book in his arms and kept looking.

At the end of the row, another book caught his attention, a plain black spine with no title. He ran his fingers over the spine and nearly yelped. The book was cool to the touch, almost freezing, as if it had the exact opposite effect of his wand. He touched his arm and touched it again, testing the way the cool feeling clashed with the warmth of his wand. He pulled it from the shelf and was surprised at how light it felt despite its thickness. The cover bore an embroidered skull with crosses for eyes. Beneath the image was a swirling title in neat cursive:Forbidden, A Necromancer's Grimoire.

Ron bit the inside of his cheek as he considered the book in his hands. It was dark, probably the darkest piece of magic he had ever held, and yet he didn't want to put it back. He looked around him, half-expecting Tracey to be peering over his shoulder. He was alone; Alone with the book. Carefully, he flipped open the first page and read the name of the author:Erebus book seemed to grow cooler in Ron's hands. He thought for a moment and then shut the cover again. However, he didn't stick it back on the shelf, instead, he took it into his arms next to the other book.I'll show it to Salazar, maybe there will be something worth learning.

Nearby, Tracy let out a quiet exclamation. "Got one!" She appeared around the corner holding up a book with a green cover. "Rapid Dueling for Warfare! Perfect right?"

Ron nodded at her and shared a nervous smile. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous about the book he held in his hands as if it was something he should hide. Thankfully Tracey didn't ask.

They slipped back out through the library in just the way that they had come, the creaking of the floorboards sending shivers down Ron's back as he imagined meeting Snape again. As they left, he clutched the two books he found close to his chest, half afraid that they would start screaming when they were removed from the library. Thankfully, the castle remained as quiet as it had been all night.

By the time they got back to the common room, Ron felt exhausted. He had not been sleeping well on the best of nights spending so much time running around the castle didn't do him any favours. Tracy collapsed into one of the chairs near the fire and handed Ron the book she stole for him with a small content sigh.

"I think we did a good job," she said brightly. "We'd make a good team—as thick as thieves."

Ron nodded and thanked her again for her help. Tracey just laughed at him and said she probably would have done it even if he hadn't asked, after all, Tracey seemed to enjoy everything that happened. On the other hand, Ron felt as if he might be sick. His exhaustion crept up on him as well as many thoughts about the book, Snape, and the object being hidden at Hogwarts.

He said goodnight to Tracey and left her in the common room to retire to his dorm. Already Theo and Blaise were fast asleep. Ron stuck the books he stole under his mattress and climbed into bed trying his best to ease his mind.