Eliza had packed the most valuable in a suitcase as I had walked around the livingroom trying to get my head focused. What could I do? Hogwarts would get a new headmaster next term and if I went back Voldemort would probably hurt most of my friends to try and find me. I had to find a way to stop him if possible. There must be a way to prevent a war or at least make the damages scarse. I looked out through the windows each 5 seconds to make sure a war had not already broken out. Eliza came in and walked up to the desk next to the window. "I've sent an owl to the ministry to inform them and I will send one to Hogwarts aswell to inform them about your absence." She said as she hurried to scribble some words on a parchment before sealing it and handing it to Pepper.
"Now." She said taking a deep breath and looking at me. "Are you sure you want to do this? Hogwarts can probably keep you safe for another year." She looked at me conserned.
"I am sure. Dumbledore was the one to keep Voldemort from entering the castle. If he would find out that I am still hiding there it could mean danger to all my friends. I can't risk that. The time has come for me to fullfill my destiny. I need to make my parents proud. And to do so I have to find a way to stop him without putting the people around me at risk." I said confident and calmed down.
"Alright then. We better start in Norway then. If he didn't find you there before he might not now." Eliza said and grabbed her suitcase and we walked together towards the door. She took out her wand and looked at me. I grabbed her arm and made myself ready for the second apparation of the day.
We landed somewhere in the forest. Sun was shining through the thick branches and the sound of a creek filled my ears.
"Just a short walk from here." Eliza said and brushed her cloak before we began to walk. We were on a high mountain and I could see a cottage about a mile away from where we walked.
"This was where you were first sent when you came to Norway. Then the muggles found you and brought you to fostercare." She said and nodded in the direction of the cottage.
We walked carefully downhill and Ribbon did the best to keep up with us. The cottage was located beside a small creek and a crescent picturing a dragon and a lion on each side of a olivebranch hanged over the door.
"What does that mean?" I said nodding at the crescent. Eliza looked.
"I don't know actually. It has always been here. Your parents said something about an old prophecy about peace between differences." She smiled and then walked up to the door. I stoped to look at it for a while. Dragon and a lion. What had Magorian told me? The girl with the mind of a dragon but heart of a lion.
"Alohomora!" Eliza opened the door and stepped inside.
It was much larger inside than it looked on the outside.
"Put your things in order and I will secure this place." Eliza said and pointed at an open door leading to a bedroom.
I looked around. This Place almost looked familiar. The dark wooden walls and the curved branches in the cealing. I walked into the bedroom and put down my suitcase on top of the bed. Ribbon jumped up beside it and I brushed his head.
"I hope we are safe her now. Just wish my friends were alright." I said and started opening the suitcase to bring out my stuff. I put the letters from my parents in the shelf next to the bed and hanged my cloak on a chair. I brushed the silk broderie. I will make you proud mum. I thought and took a deep breath before walking out to Eliza in the hallway.
"It should work if any intruders come searching." She said and put away her wand. "Why don't we make some tea and talk about what we should do?" She said and looked at me with her friendly eyes.
"I hope so. Thank you." I said sitting down on the wooden chair by the table in the kitchen. I rested my head in my hands while closing my eyes.
"We will get through this Adeline. I will be with you." Eliza said and poured me a cup while she waved her wand to bring some biscutes.
"I just wish this was all a dream. That I will soon wake up and know that everything that's happened the last year is all just a strange dream." I said and grabbed the cup in my hands looking at Eliza's friendly smile. She sat down opposite me and grabbed my arm.
"I know, darling. I wish so too." She smiled before looking out the window. The light was sparkling in the damp grass.
"How about we have our own memorial tonight? I know how special Albus was to you. He sent me letters telling me about your meetings." I dipped my biscute and nodded.
"I'd like that." I said. Later I spent the day in bed staring out the window. Eliza had found an old radio in one of the cupboards. It told the magical news. They were telling us about the death of Dumbledore and how the ministry was searching for the guilty ones. It also told us about missing people. Since a year back, when Voldemort had first been seen at the ministry, people had started to dissapear.
When the dawn came we grabbed some candles and walked out of the cabin towards a small hill facing the Norwegian fjords. Mountains and woods framed the dark water ahead of us.
We put down the candles and lighted them. Eliza grabbed my hand and closed her eyes.
"In memory of Albus Dumbledore, a great headmaster, mentor and friend. May your death not have been in vain. Let your wisdom and cunning live on among those who came to know you. Let your light shine and show us that there is still hope. Because these are the darkest nights ahead of us and we need the beacon guiding us ashore."
I grabbed Eliza's hand hard and felt the wind in my face as I held my eyes closed.
"I will do what you told me. I will make you proud. All of you." I whispered to myself before opening my eyes. The sun was setting slowly into the sealine and a cold wind was blowing forcing the candles to blow out.
"I think we need to get back." Eliza said quietly and started collecting the candles.
◇◇◇
We spent the first days in the cabin just talking and sleeping. Even though I knew there were lots of things to take care of I needed the rest. Eliza had told me of books and parchments with stories of my family that my father had hidden before Voldemort had found them.
By the breakfast Eliza put one of the books next to me on the table.
"Here it is." She said holding a hand on the cover.
"Whatever you are looking for I hope you find it in here. But I wish you wouldn't." She said and left me alone in the kitchen.
I put my cup aside and slid the book towards me. It was dusty and the cover was almost falling off. It must have been hidden somewhere where it was exposed to the weather through the years. I brushed away the worst of the dust to try and read the front.
Slytherin - Riddle
The words were surrounded by two snakes intertwined. I touched the leather cover, following the letters one by one. I slowly opened the book.
The inside of the book was handwritten. The introduction read:
To whomever finds this book and atempts to find out about the dark arts behind the greatest wizards in this family. Be aware, the truth may be more complex and darker than expected. I now leave this for you to continue my studies.
Greatest wishes Caroline Riddle
I felt a chill in my body as I read the Words. This was my mum's. She had been studying the family history. I knew that from the meetings with Dumbledore.
I turned to the first chapter and skimmed through the book to see what it was about. Some pages contained pictures of objects and creatures. One of them was a snake, a basilisk told to kill whoever looked into it's eyes.
On another page was a picture of a dark haired man. I recognised him from the memories me and Dumbledore visited in his office but this time much older. It was Tom. Or as he now was known, Voldemort. What I had heard he no longer had the precense of a human but had returned as a tall and pale creature with eyes as red as blood and a nose like a snake. The man in the book was more like me. The dark hair and almond shaped eyes. I could see parts of myself in him. I continued to look through the book. Next chapter was about something called Horocrux. It could make the wizard or witch split his or her sole in half making a part of ones soul live on if the body died. This was something that took up quiet few chapters and it looked as if my mother had been writing this in a haste. There were bad Spellings and blots of ink instead of letters in some parts.
I skimmed through the pages in the back. There were atleast 20 empty pages. I tried to find the last chapter. It was a sort of diary note dated April 1981. I was just born.
If what I suspect is true, the war will not end without this knowledge. Knowing the secrets of my family makes it even harder for me to accept it. Tom has taken it upon his mission to split his soul into horocruxes. He will not end untill he has enough to return after his defeat. I hope to find as many of them and destroy them before it is too late. I have so far only figured out a few. But I have my guesses. My father has Always been a man of Power and greatness. To pursue his Dream of ruling the World he will not stop for anything. Not even his own family. I have remained hidden for so long that I now hope he won't come after me, or my Child. He has a great respect for heritage and I therefor suspect he has tried to find the ancestors of all the greatest wizarding families in England. My suspicions are that his horcruxes are connected to them. I have been informing Albus Dumbledore of my findings and will now go to Inverness to search for signs of my suspicions. My thoughts are that he has hidden them where part of his own history takes Place. If I don't succeed my mission I hope my work will be passed on to someone willing to fight for the greater good.
I turned pages to try and find more. But that was the last. Inverness? What was she looking for there and did she find it? I read through the chapter about horocruxes again. If this was what Voldemort was doing he would be much harder to stop. I took a break and closed the book. Ribbon came sneaking into the kitchen where I was sitting.
"What do you Think my friend?" I said, leaning down to pet her. "Should I try and continue her search?" Ribbon only purred and stroke her body against my leg. The quiet answer didn't matter to me, I knew I had to take up where she left. And to do so I had to know what she was looking for in Inverness.