Collision Of Worlds: The Crystal Lake

Chapter 20: The Thing

Previously:

Clearly, Tom hadn't washed up at all - there were flour footprints leading up the stairs. Just out of curiosity, Emma followed.

***

The children were hanging about the entrance to the library, bored and waiting for their friend to arrive.
"There you are!" Amy finally spotted Tom, bolting towards them, panting heavily.
"Where'd you go?" Parker asked his friend suspiciously, hours before he left without a word.
"Nowhere, don't worry. Should we get on with it? I can't wait..." He approached the group, being greeted happily.
They made their way in to the restricted section - making sure no one was watching as they dived under the rope. The group went so deep in, it was nearly pitch black and dead silent. Slowly travelling, the shadows followed.Only a singular candle stood on a table nearby. The search began.
"Who last saw the book? It's gone!" Ruby exclaimed after scouring the shelves for a while.
"Anyone remember where we last put it?" Dahlia worriedly checked every hard-backed cover of each book.
"In our little secret corner, right?" Evan made his way back to their previous reading spot. They nodded their heads and began looking in the new area.
"Find it yet?" Terrence called.
"No." All six of them replied. Time was not unlimited - lunch would end soon, and Madam Pince would eventually find them.
"Guys? What if someone took it?" Amy sat down, defeated.
"Impossible. No one's allowed back here." Parker refused to give up.
"Teachers are, though." Tom had seen Professor McGonagall take a book from the restricted section before.
"And older students." Ruby added.
"What would they want with The Successors Of Merlin anyway?" Dahlia inquired.
"Wait... Terrence! Did you write it down? I remember seeing a piece of paper underneath your pillow with the riddle on - do you carry it with you? We could really use it right now..." Evan said to his fellow Ravenclaw.
"Oh yeah, I did. I've actually got it on me..." He pulled out a minuscule, crumpled piece of parchment with neat writing on.
"The one you seek for cannot be found,
Unless you search deep underground,
You shall all go your different ways,
To find the successor through the maze,
Difficult challenges you will face,
More ancient than the wizarding race,
A mirror you will find and holds a key,
And shows you all to your destiny." He read.
"Well, the first line is kind of simple. We can't find the one we're looking for." Tom pulled out a chair and sat down. "It's obviously Ellastria - the successor of Merlin." The chaser put two and two together.
'Isn't she meant to be dead?' The blonde Gryffindor thought.
"Second line - we've got to go deep underground somehow." Terrence furrowed his brow; there was nothing underneath Hogwarts other than rock and dirt.
"There are be loads of passages going in and out of Hogwarts." The Anderson boy explained. "Fred and George told me so."
"And you believe them?"
"Ahem!" The Gryffindor girl coughed.
"Sorry."
"Right. Next line says we've got to spilt up - 'go your different ways' after all." Amy stated.
"To find the successor through the maze - that's why we've got to go our separate ways." Parker analysed the fourth line.
"We're going to face difficult challenges to find her." Evan declared. "What does that mean? Literal obstacles, or mental ones?"
"These challenges - whatever they are - will be older than wizards and magic itself." Ruby re-worded the sixth line of the riddle.
"We will find a mirror holding a key."
"That shows us to our destiny... I wonder what that is." Dahlia finished calmly.
"Wait... who said the seventh line?" Tom turned his head around, looking for the intruder. He immediately stopped in shock.

***

"You need to clean your feet. Filch will punish you if you're caught; there's flour leading towards the library and to here - I just followed after you left me alone in the kitchen. Really, ways of tracking you guys down are so easy! You have absolutely no idea how many times I've been able to find out what you're up to..." Emma stepped out of the shadows. Everyone jumped except the Gryffindor chaser. A few of them drew their wands, ready to fight if the girl caused trouble.
"Woah, woah. Calm down. I don't have anyone with me and I'm not here to start chaos - there's enough of that already. But what happened to 'We are going to be there for each other: we are going to support each other, even if sometimes we fight' and 'Only people in this group understand what the others are thinking and feeling' guys?" She remarked, quoting Parker and Amy from when they were at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. The good days: where no one was getting into fights, no one was melting cauldrons, no one was getting sent to the hospital wing. So much had changed in a matter of months, it was almost unbelievable.
"You were with Tom in the kitchen?! Why?! And that little reference doesn't count when you befriended Jacobs, Malfoy and Parkinson - not to mention break that rule yourself on the first day." Terrence spat, searching his brain carefully for a spell to use on the Slytherin if it had to come to that.
"You all don't understand, do you?! Ever since we were sorted into these stupid houses we've turned against each other. You can't complain about my friends - you were all chummy with Jayden until he laughed at the stupid Ravenclaw getting hurt in your idiotic Quidditch match over a remembrall." The girl spoke the truth, but was still bitter. She was torn between her sour, critical side and her sensitive, understanding side which made her sound like a cliche in a movie.
"Neville's remembrall, that your jolly old friend stole when he got hurt, Em." Amy made fun of her nickname - she was prepared to send her flying if needs be.
"I still don't understand why he took that sudden turn to their side... it was really unusual." Parker said.
"Who cares?! Let's get back to the subject and stop digressing - why are you here?" Evan's face was firm and emotionless.
"You didn't keep your promise, clearly. How can you blame me when you've haven't kept your oath either?!" The brown-haired Slytherin girl exclaimed, pointing out his hypocrisy. The others looked confused; they had no idea what was going on. The boy acted puzzled as well, even though he knew what she was talking about. The promise he made in the hospital wing - to tell the others that she was not awful, she was just stuck in an awful situation full of awful people and that it was tearing her apart. She needed their support and encouragement to free herself - but the Ravenclaw had never told them, meaning she was still associated with the bad Slytherins.
"Why are you acting so weird? One second you're nice, then you're not." Tom was baffled at her ever changing attitude. The boy knew why - he just hadn't realised it.
"What on earth are you going on about?" Ruby asked.
"Why are you talking to them - how are you all so familiar with her and what she does? Why are there 'promises' and people secretly hanging out? What's going on?!" Dahlia faced her friends, wondering why they were associating themselves with Invernias.
"I am - well, was - here to apologise, try help to you understand my situation, to be included and maybe offer a peace treaty if you'd help me... but now I think it's best to-"
Loud footsteps approached the group, fast paced and ominous.
"Hello there, my friends."
"JAYDEN! DO YOU HAVE TO BE HERE?!" Amy shouted, furious.
"Oh god. This makes everything ten times worse." Parker face palmed, then got ready to cast a curse.
"Do not take another step." Terrence towered over him.
"It's best to bring in King Snake? Really, Emma, really?" Evan groaned.
"This wasn't part of my plan, but it could be..." She said, thinking of what to do next. Since they wouldn't cooperate, the boy was her best chance. Cause drama - even if it hurt her - then leave. It would be a win-win situation, but also a lose-lose. The girl hated ruining the remaining bond she had with the seven; but it had to be done.
"Why's there shouting coming from the restricted section?" A familiar voice echoed through the library.
"Oh no! What a way to ruin my grand entrance!" Jayden dashed off immediately, before he had the chance to begin his speech. Within seconds, another blonde Hufflepuff appeared.