Chapter 49: Second Riddle, Fan Club Talks, and Lockhart (1/2)
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The link is also in the synopsis..
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The highest tower at Hogwarts was the Astronomy Tower. You could look down on the entirety of Hogwarts from the Astronomy, and while the sun was up, you could clearly see Hogsmeade at a distance. At night, while stars glimmered in the sky, you could come up there and get the best view of the celestial bodies.
Friar, the Hufflepuff ghost, floated at the highest point of Hogwarts, admiring the view of the stars, looking at their bright shine, making their position known to everyone who could see. In the centuries he had been here, Friar had made visiting the Astronomy Tower to look at the stars a habit.
Tonight was one of those nights when he came here to be at peace, away from the hustle-bustle of the students and the loneliness of the castle when those same students rested in their common rooms and dorms.
”Friar.”
The ghost, who was once a clergy of the mendicant religious order, turned around his spectral body to see a student standing there in casual clothing. Friar recognized the child immediately.
”Quinn West,” greeted Friar, floating closer to the young Ravenclaw who had dared to explore the mystery of the cursed vaults and had, against all odds, achieved the accomplishment of being the first one to survive the first vault and successfully opening it. He found the secrets that the cursed vault hid behind the millennia-old gates.
”It is nice to see you again, Friar. You look as jolly as ever,” greeted Quinn. He gazed at the sky and remarked, ”Looking at the stars, eh?”
Friar studied the child in front of him before speaking, ”A hobby of mine. Looking at stars calms me down.” Friar looked above at the clear sky.
A quiet fell between the ghost and the living person, as both relished the sight of the vast universe that was visible to the naked eye.
Friar was the first one to break the silence as he asked, ”I presume that you have come to me for the clue for the next vault.”
”Aye, I had enough time to rest. The next adventure awaits for me,” replied Quinn, still looking at the night sky above.
A cool breeze blew on the tower, not so chilly and just the right amount of cool that it felt comfortable as it brushed against the skin.
”Do you remember how I told you that no one went past the first vault?” asked Friar. Memories of the numerous people who attempted to challenge the vault passed through his mind; ones who failed, died, lived but gave up, and many others.
”Yes, I remember that,” spoke Quinn. ”I am the first one to open the first vault or, as I like to call it, the Icy vault.”
The defense mechanism to prevent people from accessing Absolute Zero had kept people at bay, instilling fear into their hearts and chill into their bodies.
”Yes, you are the first one. So, you will be the first one to explore the second vault.” He glanced at Quinn, his ghostly eyes peering at Quinn, ”The second vault is a mystery, even to me. I don't know much about it.”
Quinn pulled his gaze away from the sky and trained them on Friar, who showed a worried expression on his translucent face.
”You look worried.”
Friar clenched his hands, gathering his monk robes as he balled his fist.
”The second vault is very dangerous. At least it is dangerous, possibly fatal to use ghosts.”
Quinn furrowed his brows as his lines appeared between them, ”Why do you say that?”
Friar nervously floated as he revealed, ”Whenever we ghosts go near the second vault, we felt a danger to our being. It is like if we go near it, we will experience something that we may not like. It instills something deeply unsettling inside our very being.” He paused for a moment, contemplating how to form his following words, ”All ghosts know better than to go there. Even Peeves won't take the risk when it comes to the second vault.”
Quinn took the information, paying attention to Friar's every word. Anything that would give him an edge against the vault, he wanted to hear about it.
'... Something that ghosts dread?'
He thought about it, but nothing came to mind. He had little expertise with ghosts.
'Need to read up on ghosts. I wonder if there is something in Room of Requirements about ghosts,' thought Quinn, as he made a mental note on ghost research.
”Has any of the Hogwarts ghosts ever entered the second vault?” asked Quinn. If there was a precedent, then it would be an excellent point to start.
Friar showed a pained expression. It was not a story he wanted to remember,
”There was a ghost in Hogwarts around five centuries ago. He was a curious one, that fellow. Didn't listen to the warnings of us old ghosts, scoffed about what do we oldies know... a month later, there was a screech that filled the castle... and we never saw him again.”
”And, did anyone saw this ghost before he disappeared?” asked Quinn.
”No, we only heard a miserable screech and never saw him after that day,” Friar sighed in answer. ”Before his death, he had started to roam the castle alone, asked us to leave him alone. We barely saw him in the fortnight before his death.”
Friar floated to face Quinn and glided towards him. ”Enough of this. Receive the riddle to the second one, find it, and maybe you will be able to find the truth behind the ghost's death and bring light to the secret of the vault.”
Quinn stood a little straighter, ready to listen to the riddle. The second vault was waiting for him, and this was going to be the start.
Friar watched the eyes buzzing with excitement, and the expression brightened with anticipation.
*
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The ensuing vault cursed like the first one,
One that... terrifies the dead ones.
It dwells on the stage of completeness,
Sheltered by the oil of green revenge.
If you want to taste the reward,
accolades you need to appreciate.
But are you ready? It will be anything but easy.
The roads we walk have demons beneath,
Are you ready to face what lies underneath?
]
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Quinn felt goosebumps on his skins. Not because he felt scared, but because of the way Friar delivered the riddle. The last time he sang the puzzle for Quinn, Friar had built it from what he had seen throughout the year, but this time... this time, it was different.
This riddle came from Friar's heart, his personal experience, thought Quinn. Something that Friar had felt and not seen others doing.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Quinn scribbled down the riddle on paper for future reference.
Looking at the written riddle, Quinn frowned slightly, ”This one seems harder, I mean, more abstruse than the last one.” He scratched his head in slight disappointment that he would need to think more about the riddle before he could actually get to the vault.
”I will pray that you will be successful in your search. From what I saw last year, I have great hopes of you,” said Friar, smiling as he gazed at Quinn. Last year had been monumental in the ghost's life.
Every few decades, all four house ghosts would take turns to appoint a person each to go after the vaults, and Friar's stock had gone up because Quinn was able to survive the first vault, the first one to do so.
Friar had gained bragging rights among his ghost friends.
He watched as Quinn walked away with a hand scratching his head and looking down at the paper in his other hand.
He had high hopes that Quinn would solve this one as well, and he would be able to stand high amongst his ghostly friends.
”This year's Deathday part would be quite fun,” smiled Friar, humming a tune as he went back to look at the stars, a jolly expression gracing his face.
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- (Scene Break) -
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”Can you repeat that again, please? I am not sure if I heard you correctly,” said Quinn, sitting behind his office desk.
”We want you to start a Hogwarts fan club for Professor Lockhart,” said one of the Hufflepuff girls sitting in the client chairs of the A.I.D office. Three Hufflepuff girls had come into the A.I.D office and requested something that stunned Quinn.
While Quinn understood Gilderoy Lockhart's popularity among the general populace but knowing the truth about the phony professor and spending a few classes suffering for hours under his ridiculous brags.
So, when Quinn looked at the three older Hufflepuff girls, he could only see a trio of idiots looking at him with dumb gazes.
Quinn shook his head off the derisive thoughts about the older girls and said, ”Alright, I can do that for you guys.”
He took out a sheet of paper from his drawer and wrote stuff on it.
”First, we need to identify the club's objectives: Think about what kind of club you want to start and what you hope to achieve... In your case, you want to meet other people with similar interests.”
One girl perked up and chimed in, ”We want to discuss Professor Lockhart and share it with other people. We want more people to about the professor's greatness.”
”He is so charming, so handsome, and not to mention so brave,” dreamily sighed another girl. It bought dreamy expressions to the other girls' faces.
Quinn held back a gag and spoke, ”Alright, the best way to spread Professor Lockhart's good deeds,” he emphasized on 'good.' ”is to make sure that everybody has access to his work, so it would be best if you girls could donate some of his works to the club.”
”We can do that! I have all the professor's books with me,” exclaimed one girl. Quinn nodded, not mirroring her excitement.