Tom had been extremely excited and hopeful when Abraxas had approached him, telling him he had gotten Miss Cassedy to teach him the spell in question. However, upon asking the Malfoy heir to perform it and show it to him, he had felt utterly disappointed. What Cassedy had taught Abraxas was no doubt an advanced shielding spell but clearly not the one she herself had performed during the duel yesterday. The magic she had used had felt completely different. The magic of the spell Abraxas had excitedly shown him felt too tame and far too weak.
He chose not to tell Abraxas, seeing that knowing Cassedy had played him would hurt his pride and motivate him to do something irrational and unnecessary. Tom had thanked his companion for his efforts and had promptly set off to visit the Chamber of Secrets. His mind was swirling with plenty of unanswered questions mostly regarding two specific individuals: Seraya Cassedy and the figure in the Chamber. Why had the Ravenclaw-witch lied to Abraxas about the spell she had used?
Tom sighed as he made his way down the dirty pipes and drains, the foul stench of algae and rotten flesh hanging in the air. The basilisk had become accustomed to his rather frequent visits and claimed that it enjoyed his company after so many years living in solitude. Tom mostly came down to the Chamber to blow off some steam, conjuring up several moving dummies as target practice. The basilisk greeted him as he entered the main chamber and quickly scurried off to go hunt.
Tom soon fell into his routine of completely letting loose of his magic, firing spell after spell, curse after curse at the magically enhanced targets. He worked his way from the lightest to the darkest magical spells curses, and jinxes in his repertoire and was happy to see only shreds left of the dummies once he had finished. He was clearly panting from magical exhaustion; the feeling of endorphins and adrenalin however was far too overwhelming for him to take notice. Working out in this way always helped him clear his mind.
He was certain now more than ever: there was something sincerely wrong with the transfer student. She had lied about her spellwork. It made Tom wonder what else the girl had lied about. A brief memory of her sorting flashed before his eyes. The tiny oddities about the sorting hat he had noticed only moments before her placement in Ravenclaw. Why was she keeping secrets? What were her reasons for her transfer to Hogwarts? Tom was most certain it hadn't just been for the classes that were offered. And most importantly: Who in the name of Merlin was she? Nothing seemed to tie her existence to neither the muggle nor the wizarding world.
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Ever since their duel, Abraxas Malfoy seemed to have accepted her existence albeit still not certain about her bloodstatus. He frequently sat with her in the library and together with Timothy they either learned for their O.W.Ls or talked about the rest of the Hogwarts population. Abraxas had gossip on everyone, even the teachers. It didn't seem that he had realized the shielding spell to have been a complete fluke and Seraya hoped neither had Tom Riddle.
"Did you guys know that Professor Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald used to be lovers?", Abraxas asked casually causing Timothy to gape like a fish. "No way! That's impossible", exclaimed the boy in apparent disbelief. "But it's true", retorted the blond Slytherin, "my grandfather's friend lived in Godric's Hollow only a few streets away from the Dumbledore's home. He told me that he constantly saw Professor Dumbledore in the presence of Grindelwald. He also told me that they seemed a lot closer than just casual friends. Of course that was before Grindelwald became a Dark Lord."
Seraya thought about it for a moment. During her time in the United States she had heard a lot about the coming of Gellert Grindelwald, the most powerful dark wizard of the early twentieth century. He had gained quite the impressive following across several continents. Though he was still at large, many of his followers had been incarcerated or killed by the aurors of the ministries. Seraya didn't really see him being in power for much longer. The empire he had built was slowly crumbling.
She would most definitely refrain from making the same mistakes. First of all, Grindelwald's approach to gaining followers by using manipulation and violence, playing on people's fears, only got him so far. She would start by slowly working herself up into an influential political position before slowly starting to subtly spread her ideology. People tended to trust politically important people more than raging psychopaths.
"That's crazy", said Timothy in a hushed voice, snapping Seraya out of her thoughts. It seemed as though Abraxas' revelation had thoroughly shaken up his world. Knowing that the boy was unable to conceal his thoughts and emotions the thought of him facing Professor Dumbledore in their next Transfiguration lesson brought her great joy, although she would have to wait a couple more days.
"Hey guys", she spoke gathering up her books and notes," I'm going to head back to the common room and take a quick nap. This horrible weather is making me depressed and tired. See you for dinner?" The last sentence was addressed at Timothy who nodded in agreement before she hastily left. Truthfully, she did in no way intend to go to Ravenclaw tower but she hadn't been able to think of yet another good excuse to her constant disappearances. Her black cloak bellowed behind her as she hurried up the seemingly endless flights of stairs that lead up to the seventh floor.
Upon entering the Room of Requirement once again, she gracefully made her way to her little corner. Muttering the password to the trunk, Seraya pulled out an old book titled 'Secrets of the Darkest Arts'. Most of those, who had grown up in the wizarding world had heard of the book. The possession of a copy was highly illegal as the ministries worldwide had deemed it to be the 'root of all evil'. How ironic that not only was there a copy of that book but also the original hidden at Hogwarts, one of the proclaimed lightest schools of witchcraft and wizardry.
Seraya knew that the book required a payment in order for it to open; a blood payment more precisely. Conjuring a silver dagger, she dragged it across the palm of her left hand. She let the droplets of blood hit the book's cover and watched in fascination as it magically swung open and words started appearing on the previously blank pages. Quickly healing her palm, the young Ravenclaw skimmed through the register. 'Ancient magical torturing' and 'Enhancement of the Unforgivable Curses' were tamer examples of the content the book contained.
A rather peculiar headline caught Seraya's attention 'The Means to Immortality: Horcruxes'. She quickly flipped to the designated pages and skimmed over the paragraphs. It was indeed a rather interesting piece of magic. Splitting one's soul and containing it within objects to ensure a return to the mortal world upon death was an ingenious idea, granted, however the side-effects could be rather dire. The mutilation of one's soul was after all a rather dangerous affair.
The process of creating multiple horcruxes in Seraya's opinion could be compared to a Dementor's kiss that worked in slow motion. If the wizard or witch took things too far, they would be rendered completely useless, an empty shell without a soul. Adding to that, she didn't completely agree with the title of the chapter.
Yes, horcruxes would allow the maker to stay bound to the earth for as long as at least one of them remained intact. Nevertheless, horcruxes could be destroyed and not even the strongest magical protections would make objects last forever. Had she written the book she would have named the chapter 'The means of a prolonged life: Horcruxes'. In Seraya's eyes true immortality had no boundaries, no hidden 'but'. If a person was immortal that was it. No secret loopholes, no postponed expiry date.
The girl sighed, putting the book down. From what she knew of Tom Riddle he could be desperate enough to attempt creating a horcrux. Perhaps it would be for the best if she ventured down to Slytherin's study to remove the original 'Secrets of the Darkest Arts'. She didn't want a child with only half a soul wandering aound in the school. Better safe than sorry, she figured and continued reading through a different chapter.
JE LEEST
Madness- T.M.R.
Fanfictie"There is no good and evil, only power and those too weak to seek it." "You're wrong, there is only madness and those too scared to admit it."
