❝ Capisce? Or is that too much for you?❞
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Vienna returned to her bed, mind already exhausted despite being minutes into the new day. She doubted she'd have a good sleep, and she ended up being correct when the first nightmare woke her up three hours later. The second one came an hour before breakfast started. Deciding there was no point in falling back to sleep, she got dressed and ventured down from the dormitories.
As always, only a few people were awake at this hour. Lorelei wasn't included in these people today, and Vienna was slightly thankful, she had a plan set in motion and she didn't want anyone to disrupt her.
She quickly made her way down to the library, happy that she didn't meet or see anyone on the way there. She muttered a quiet greeting to Madame Pince, and hurried over to the section which she didn't get to check out yesterday due to detention.
She pushed the empty bag of her shoulder and placed it onto the table before moving towards the bookshelf. She traced her finger over the book spines, skimming titles, until she found the one she was looking for. She quickly shoved it into her bag and slung it over her shoulder, desperate to move fast. The next thing to check off her checklist was meeting up with a second year Hufflepuff who she had learned used to be Clara Cooper's best friend. Thanks to Allie, who had set up the entire thing, she could finally get some answers from someone who had first hand known someone who had went missing and not from Cardan who was fluent in over dramatic storytelling.
"Hi, Vienna." She heard. A smile flashed over her face as she met Allie's eyes.
"Hey, Allie." She responded before her eyes moved to the second year girl. "You're Vicky Ryde."
Vicky hummed, a slightly annoyed expression on her face. "That's my name. Allie, why did you drag me here, I already told you that I'm not–"
"She doesn't know?" Vienna asked her friend. "Allie, you said that–"
"She has a name." Interrupted Vicky. "If this is about Clara, as it always is when some first year wants to talk to me, make it quick."
Vienna shared a quick look with Allie before turning her full attention to Vicky. "Do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Like Salazar Slytherin Chamber of Secrets?"
"Exactly that." Nodded Vienna. "I was thinking that someone's been kidnapping first years and taking them there."
Vicky raised an eyebrow. "And this concerns me how? They probably kill them for some ritualistic shit and eat them after a week or two."
"Let me finish." Said Vienna with a steely glare. "I was thinking that for first years to keep on being kidnapped, someone obviously has a motive, and with a motive, it wouldn't be too hard to find the person with the motive."
"And how do we find a motive?"
"I have a few loose theories."
Allie frowned, leaning forward. "Like what?"
Vienna shook her head. "Before we solidify them we need to get as much information as we can about the kidnapee's. We need to trace their last steps, what they were doing before going missing, and what they were like in general." She turned to Vicky. "Capisce? Or is that too much for you?"
Vicky shook her head. "No, no. I'll do it. I've got to admit, Vienna, you remind me of Clara in a way. You have the same burning determination she did."
Vienna sent her a sad smile. "If my plan works, we'll find her safe. I know it. We just need to get to the bottom of this?"
"And if someone finds out?" Allie questioned. "I don't want detention or worse, expulsion." She shuddered at the thought.
"Then we keep this quiet. We don't tell anyone else for now. We don't let anyone become too suspicious. We act normal."
"Normal." Repeated Allie, mulling the idea over in her head.
"And if someone does figure us out?"
Vienna clenched her jaw, moving her eyes from Vicky's to Allie's. "Then we hope we're not this years targets."
── •✧• ──
"Homework sucks." Complained Lorelei loudly, earning a few looks from the people in the common room.
Vienna hummed in response, not really listening. She was going over a list which Vicky had made for her, everything she knew about Clara. The two had grew up together, since they were four to be specific, and the night Clara went missing they were having a small argument. She could feel the guilt radiating off Vicky as memories of her best friend got brought back up. Vienna felt awful. She had poured salt into a healing wound, and when she proposed stopping, Vicky told her not to.
"Snape hates me. Actually, he hates everyone. Apart from his own house, I guess. I wish Mcgonnagall gave us such favouritism. Maybe we'd finally have a chance of winning the house cup. But I guess for how ever longer the stupid house rivalry goes on, we'll have no chance. We're literally being bulldozed year after year! Last placed last year! Imagine that– Are you okay, Vienna?"
Vienna was staring wide eyed at the open page of the book she had took out from the library. "Fine." She told Lorelei. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
The dark haired girl look her head, a concerned expression on her face. "It's not important." She leaned forward, quickly skimming her eyes over the page Vienna had been reading. "Woah! Chamber of Secrets? Look at you, little miss academic. What's got you so mortified?"
"Nothing." Responded Vienna, before backtracking. No making people suspicious of her. "Actually.... I just find it awful how the monster from the chamber killed a girl and the heir controlling it wasn't even punished. It's..... awful."
Lorelei nodded. "It absolutely is. Makes you wonder why this is said to be the safest place for wizards and witches. Murderous monsters, kids going missing every year, the list could go on."
Vienna sighed sadly, biting the inside of her cheek. "I'm scared." She admitted. "What if my friends go missing? What if it's Hermione, or Allie, or even Ron or Harry who are strangely growing on me–"
"What if you go missing?" Interrupted Lorelei. "You need to think of yourself for once."
Vienna pulled a face. "Why would I go missing? I'm not special."
"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that, Vienna Bennet. Everyone is special in their own way."
"Right...." Vienna mumbled, sliding down in her seat. Allie couldn't go missing. Without her, Vienna wouldn't manage with figuring the entire mystery out by herself. Sure, Vicky would be there but she had a feeling that the second year Hufflepuff girl didn't like her too much. She was mostly working with Vienna for Clara's sake. If Hermione were to go missing, Vienna's homework sessions and breakfasts would be so boring. Without the curly haired girl spitting random facts at her, she think she'd actually go crazy with nothing to distract her.
Lorelei returned to her potions homework and Vienna took the time to go over the list of everything she had so far. It looked like this:
- chamber of secrets (?)
- monster (?)
- first years
- motive - working on it!!
- why is dumbledore not doing anything about it?
The last point bothered her more than anything else. Oh, how she'd absolutely love to give the old man a piece of her mind. But without raising suspicion, that was impossible. Even an anonymously written letter could be traced back to her and with time ticking down, the last thing she needed was the ministry of magic to wonder why she would be threatening the greatest wizard to exist at this moment of time.
Cardan burst into the common room. He stomped over to Vienna, who had a raised eyebrow.
"Why did mum and dad cut off my allowance?" He seethed.
Vienna laughed, covering it up with a cough when her brothers glare become more heated. "Whoops?" She said, smirking.
Cardan scoffed before stomping off, not noticing who was sat next to his sister in his rage.
Lorelei snorted at his behaviour. "Literal three year old."
"Tell me about it." Mumbled Vienna, turning the page of her book. "Hey, Lorelei."
"Yeah?"
"Isn't one of your friends like an absolute ancient history nerd?"
"Yes, why?"
"I think I'm gonna need to speak to him."
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"Salazar Slytherin wasn't the only one with a built chamber." Said Jake. "All the other founders had their own, but Salazar was the only one who resorted to using his for malevolence."
"And what did you say earlier– something about them being connected to each other?"
Jake nodded rapidly, his afro bopping up and down. When Lorelei 'escorted' her to the ancient history section in the library to meet a nerdy Ravenclaw named Jake, she wasn't expecting to stay in the library for the next four hours listening to the entire history of Hogwarts. "When Slytherin blocked his own chamber off and made it so that only an heir could open it, the other three founders tore down the walls between theirs, creating one massive underground bunker. Legend says that they remained open to eachother."
Vienna nodded slowly, taking all the information in. "Right.... And how would one go about discovering this massive chamber?"
Jake frowned. "That's impossible. Since this is only a rumour."
"A rumour?" Exclaimed Vienna incredulously. "You're telling me that these four hours of ancient Hogwarts history you just told me were all rumours?!"
Jake shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, Bennet. I didn't mean to get your hopes up.... I thought you knew that these were rumours. Anyone who comes to me to know more knows that."
"Jake." She said. "You don't understand. I need to know more about this. This has to be real."
"Sorry. The founders never wrote in silly little diaries for people hundreds of generations later to decode their lives. Tell me, Vienna. If you were histories most powerful witch with three others like you, would you journal? Would you write in a diary? Would you?"
After a moment of thinking, Vienna answered. "No...... I would be watching my back, to make sure the three others wouldn't kill me."
Jake opened his arms, leaning back in his chair. "So there you have it." He grabbed the book he had open and closed it. "Over thousands of years history becomes warped. It changes from person to person. Everyone swears they see and hear something different. People die. Their beliefs die. People live, their beliefs are passed on. That's why I can't say that this is more than rumour passed from generation to generation, warped with every ten years."
Vienna nodded in understanding. "Okay... so the bunker is a rumour. But let's say it wasn't. How would you go about finding it?"
"I wouldn't. Think about all the defences that would be set up."
"Let's say there are no defences." Vienna urged.
Jake paused, thinking. "I would go to a place which would be the least suspicious in keeping a hidden passageway to an underground bunker hidden."
"The ground floor?"
"No. The third floor."
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