The Gathering: The New Order of Merlin Book 1

37. The warnings

       It was past midnight, Jack and Colin were in their beds, still discussing the message on the wall. Merlin wanted them to fall asleep already so he could sneak out and talk to Dumbledore, but the boys were too stimulated about the event to wind down. If the Chamber of Secrets had indeed been opened, the situation was grave. He had no time to waste and had to cheat. He whispered an incantation to put the boys to sleep, and it worked instantly, allowing him to sneak out of the Gryffindor Tower.

He was cautious when he walked the dark corridors and had to duck behind a corner when a couple of professors passed by. It would be difficult to explain what a student like him was doing out of bed at this hour, especially tonight.

"Lemon drop," he said the password to the stone gargoyles, and they revealed the entrance to Dumbledore's office. He listened closely at the door to ensure no one else was there. Since it was quiet inside, he knocked.

"Come in," Dumbledore's tired voice said.

The old wizard sat behind his desk, his glasses thrown aside, both hands supporting his head. He looked understandably troubled.

Merlin sat in front of him and broke the silence. "Did Harry see who did it?"

Albus leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh. "He said he didn't, but I suspect that he's hiding something."

"Why did they kill the cat?"

"She's not dead. Petrified."

Merlin huffed. "It takes a potent Dark Magic to turn a cat into a statue. What type of creature are we dealing with?"

"No one knows."

Albus pinched the bridge of his nose where his spectacles normally sat while a brass clock on the wall ticked away the seconds. The school relied on him to provide answers, to keep the children safe. It had to be tiring to carry a weight like that on his shoulders.

"I want to help," Merlin said, trying to reassure his friend that he wasn't alone in this burden. "Tell me, what do you know?"

Albus sighed. "You're familiar with the Chamber's history?"

"Yes. In the past, I've searched this castle along with many others to find Salazar's secret chamber, but not even I could find it. Apparently, only Salazar's descendants can locate it and release the monster. Some kind of blood magic is hiding its location, that's what I'm guessing."

"And then the legend was proven true fifty years ago," Albus continued. "Many were petrified before the attacks stopped. One student died. I always feared the day when they would resume. Do we have another Slytherin's Heir attending Hogwarts or is this the same person?"

That was a good question. Fifty years was a long time. Why would the Heir return now?

"You've gotten to know some students already," Albus said. "Did you notice anything strange? Anyone acting suspiciously?"

At first, Merlin couldn't think of anyone suspicious among the Hogwarts children. The Malfoy kid was a nuisance, but he fit the type who couldn't back their threats with action. But Jack came to the feast late. How did he know that his sister was in the library? Why did it take him so long to get her to the Great Hall? More likely, Jack had scheduled to meet his sister before the feast so they could do something together.

There were a lot of questions surrounding the boy. Just the other day, Merlin saw him display a very strange type of magic as frost built under his hands with no spell or incantation said. But did he really suspect him? Having strange magic wasn't an offense in itself. He needed more proof before he started pointing fingers at innocent children.