It was deep into the night the following Friday. Both of us sneaked out of our Common Room, heading straight toward the hidden entrance to the Scriptorium. My guess was correct, as speaking directly to the 'wall' in parseltongue made it react and ripple, letting us step through it. Walking through the corridor, we faced the labyrinth, but as if it remembered us, the walls quickly rearranged themselves, revealing the straight road forward. That is when we came face to face with the biggest hurdle. The door that refused to budge or open, no matter what we did.
"Told you… the only way in is using the spell."
"Conrad… I won't!"
"You will have to."
"I won't!"
"Come on, Quincy! It isn't a big deal! I am asking you to do it! I can handle it!"
"Me too! You use it on me!"
"I won't hurt you; I love you!"
"And I don't love you?" She retorted so loudly it echoed painfully between the walls.
"You do…" I smiled, holding her hand and looking into her eyes, "I am… more resistant than you… I have a basilisk's blood in me! Please… don't argue with me about this! We could already be in! Just… do it, please!"
In the end, with great hesitation, she wicked out her wand, pointing at me and uttering the curse… when it hit me, I simply fell to my butt, but it didn't really hurt.
"You need to mean it!"
"I just… can't!" She sniffed, and I knew this would probably be the same for me. This was… a pickle.
"Well… you know what this means?" I laughed, standing up, dusting my butt and hugging her.
"We can't get in…" She buried her face in my chest, but I just playfully pinched her bottom, making her yell out and look at me with shock and embarrassment.
"Silly! Come! We are going around again!"
Around an hour later, we were inside the Scriptorium, not really browsing, just stuffing the holding bag full of all the interesting books. Or at least those with an exciting title.
"I totally forgot about it…" She murmured, ashamed of her initial panic.
"Don't be so down! It just took a longer turn to get in! I was afraid it might be monitored or sealed up or something… but oh well! We are all good! It is too bad the tournament came 300 years after Slytherin's time… he could have great tips for it!"
"Well, we can do nothing about that, but we can peruse his vast knowledge! But… he probably would say just blast your opponents with the Avada Kedavra or something…"
"I don't think so," I answered after thinking about it, flipping through his notebook. "He was best friends with Gryffindor. Do you think they would have become one if he was simply evil? All the historians say Gryffindor was heroic and brave. This also means he was brash and strong-headed—someone who charges in and thinks about the consequences later. Slytherin, on the other hand, was someone who planned things out. He was thoroughly calculative—someone who didn't act without knowing the outcome first. Yet these two individuals became friends. Best friends."
"Polar opposites." She murmured, sitting down on Salazar Slytherin's old chair before his desk, looking at me while I continued.
"Yes, and they complemented each other perfectly. In here, too!" I showed her the notebook I was reading, "He is recalling one of their adventures and reminiscing how they explored an ancient ruin under Constantinople and how he misses those days."
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the papers, finding reading the Old English handwriting exceptionally hard.
"Um. At least, from what I gather, it needs a correct translation first. But I feel he thought it was a mistake establishing the school. Or at least, he regretted it… because it broke apart their friendship in an irreparable way."
"Were they even friends then? I mean, that type of good friend? That none of them relented? None tried to understand the other; none tried to move closer to a middle point where they could agree? Both were so strong-headed that they let their friendship crumble… If you ask me, they were obstinate old men! Both of them!"
"Hah!" I laughed loudly after hearing her, closing the book and sinking it into my pouch, "I agree! Slytherin even left in such a bad mood he built the Chamber of Secrets and left behind a basilisk to cause trouble when they are no longer here!"
"Mhm. See? None of them was a good guy; I don't believe that for a moment!"
"Not that it matters! It was a thousand years ago; it is irrelevant now! Plus, right now, the two fighting sides… what do you think, Quincy?" I asked, getting curious, remembering what my Father told me about choices and about deciding what is good for me… for us. I felt he was trying to tell me something, but I just couldn't really put a finger on what.
"Well, hopefully, here we can be completely honest without the fear of being listened to!" She shrugged, half-smiling, looking around, "I think the current system is horrible. The leaders are horrible. The laws are horrible. Everything is just… horrible! Why?"
"Just asking. I don't have any opinion… at all. I dislike HIM, but I also… fear him. For real…" I answered, looking down when talking about it, not noticing I grabbed my own hand. I heard her quickly stand up and come up to me, hugging me close. "Hehe… thanks. I also don't know about the rest… I never really thought about it, unlike you."
"I only did because Grandmother was shopping me around… Hah…”
"Well… I like Neville. I hope he is all right. I don't have a problem with muggle-born wizards and witches! I just don't see why shouldn't we allow them in and accept them!"
"I agree! I totally agree!" She nodded rapidly, "Nobody can do anything about their origin! Their parents! What they can do about it is what they are going to do with their life! Who says muggle-born people can't be great wizards?"
"Yeah, totally! That is why I have also no real opinion about the Order. I never really knew any of them, nor did I see any of the 'great destruction' they lay upon our world! You… Do you…?"
"I know nothing!" She shrugged, opening her arms. "I never met my parents. And I don't care about my biological father, not even a bit! He can rot wherever he is! If he failed to bring me away, then that just shows how much I meant to him!"
"I understand… and I would thank him for not… Because then I wouldn't have met you!"
"Ehehe… True!" She giggled happily, tiptoeing and kissing my lips, which I passionately returned before separating. "Thinking about it," She continued with a cute, pinkish hue still lingering on her face, "Was that Grindelwald's speeches made much more sense!
"Grindelwald?" I asked, furrowing my brows and then remembering. I read about him back home. "Wasn't he some kind of… revolutionist or something?"
"I see you also know not about him, huh?" She smiled weirdly, "His name has been suppressed by HIM; at least, that is what my grandmother told me. He was a Dark Wizard, on par with HIM, you see."
"Really? Is he suppressing his name and achievements because of jealousy?"
"I think not." After a brief silence, she answered, "I think he does it not to give Dumbledore more of a presence within the wizarding community! You see, I read a thick codex about it, written by Bathilda Bagshot, one of the greatest historians of our time… who was killed by HIM."
"Err… well… then she really was the best historian, huh?"
"Sadly, yes." She nodded with a wry smile, "And also the aunt of Gellert Grindelwald. What I am saying, Conrad, is that Dumbledore knew Grindelwald. They were friends!"
"Godrick and Salazar, all over again." I hummed, making Quincy chuckle and nod in agreement. "The thing is, Dumbledore stopped Grindelwald and defeated him. He stopped one of the greatest Dark Wizards of all time, someone who managed to bring forth the Global Wizarding War! He was someone who got really, really close to ruling the world! Not Britain, not Europe… the world! And someone like him was defeated by Dumbledore. Do you see it?"
"Heh, I do! No wonder he doesn't want others to learn about him! It would not just make HIS accomplishments smaller but also give Dumbledore a boost! He once saved the Wizarding World; who says he can't do it again?"
"Yep! Now that you say it that way… That Grindelwald guy does sound more menacing!"
"I don't know…" She shrugged, looking at me with a sad smile, "I read his speeches. They were recorded in Bagshot's retellings. He wasn't like HIM. He was… convincing. Spoke about things I could agree with. He didn't fill me with fear nor make me abhor others! He wasn't doing things for himself; he wanted to protect us from the muggles!"
"From the muggles?" I asked, finding it hilarious as we were taught, and I heard it multiple times at home, too, that they were not a threat, not at all.
"He spoke about a weapon that could level a city like no magic can do!"
"Yeah… okay." I rolled my eyes.
"It is true." Quincy said, looking directly at me, "We are forbidden to learn about muggles. Their world is like being behind a fog for us… What do you know about muggles?"
"Not much… you?"
"Same. But I did try to learn about them. I once thought about running away and living amongst them. So, I looked things up. That weapon Grindelwald warned the magic community about 50 years ago? Became a reality only a few months after his fall! His speech was about protecting us from them. He didn't want to turn away wizards or witches from muggle heritage because they could be a bridge for us to understand their world. He wanted to rule over them because their weapons could destroy us both…"
"Fascinating…" I whispered, totally mesmerized by the history that we were not taught.
"He thought he was doing the right thing for us… he said it was for the 'Greater Good,' you see. Now… About HIS regime? I never heard anything that compelling! I only heard about bloodlines; magic is power, power is might, might is right! About me being a tainted one, about having to breed so the family name comes back to life, blah, blah, blah! Only things that made my stomach turn!"
"It's okay…" I hugged her quickly, rubbing her head and letting her calm down.
"Sorry…"
"It's okay… You are cute when you get worked up!"
"Silly…" She chuckled but buried her head in my chest. "What I mean is that I don't care about either side now. My dad rushed off to the Order but never tried to bring me along or tried to come back for me. HIS side never even looked at me like something proper. So why should I care about any of them? None made anything close to as compelling! I trust them not! I only trust you…"
"Hehehe~ You are making me blush! But… thank you… and I also only trust you! And my Father. And Squeaky."
"Silly…" She whispered, letting me go, "So? Are we ready?"
"Yep! Let's get back, and tomorrow… you could tell me more about this period! Now I am truly interested!"
"Hah! I don't know everything, but… sure! I read that book many times, so… why not?"
Corty Probably, there won't be a third chapter this week. Something came up, and I couldn't get it ready in time. Sorry.
It was deep into the night the following Friday. Both of us sneaked out of our Common Room, heading straight toward the hidden entrance to the Scriptorium. My guess was correct, as speaking directly to the 'wall' in parseltongue made it react and ripple, letting us step through it. Walking through the corridor, we faced the labyrinth, but as if it remembered us, the walls quickly rearranged themselves, revealing the straight road forward. That is when we came face to face with the biggest hurdle. The door that refused to budge or open, no matter what we did.
"Told you… the only way in is using the spell."
"Conrad… I won't!"
"You will have to."
"I won't!"
"Come on, Quincy! It isn't a big deal! I am asking you to do it! I can handle it!"
"Me too! You use it on me!"
"I won't hurt you; I love you!"
"And I don't love you?" She retorted so loudly it echoed painfully between the walls.
"You do…" I smiled, holding her hand and looking into her eyes, "I am… more resistant than you… I have a basilisk's blood in me! Please… don't argue with me about this! We could already be in! Just… do it, please!"
In the end, with great hesitation, she wicked out her wand, pointing at me and uttering the curse… when it hit me, I simply fell to my butt, but it didn't really hurt.
"You need to mean it!"
"I just… can't!" She sniffed, and I knew this would probably be the same for me. This was… a pickle.
"Well… you know what this means?" I laughed, standing up, dusting my butt and hugging her.
"We can't get in…" She buried her face in my chest, but I just playfully pinched her bottom, making her yell out and look at me with shock and embarrassment.
"Silly! Come! We are going around again!"
Around an hour later, we were inside the Scriptorium, not really browsing, just stuffing the holding bag full of all the interesting books. Or at least those with an exciting title.
"I totally forgot about it…" She murmured, ashamed of her initial panic.
"Don't be so down! It just took a longer turn to get in! I was afraid it might be monitored or sealed up or something… but oh well! We are all good! It is too bad the tournament came 300 years after Slytherin's time… he could have great tips for it!"
"Well, we can do nothing about that, but we can peruse his vast knowledge! But… he probably would say just blast your opponents with the Avada Kedavra or something…"
"I don't think so," I answered after thinking about it, flipping through his notebook. "He was best friends with Gryffindor. Do you think they would have become one if he was simply evil? All the historians say Gryffindor was heroic and brave. This also means he was brash and strong-headed—someone who charges in and thinks about the consequences later. Slytherin, on the other hand, was someone who planned things out. He was thoroughly calculative—someone who didn't act without knowing the outcome first. Yet these two individuals became friends. Best friends."
"Polar opposites." She murmured, sitting down on Salazar Slytherin's old chair before his desk, looking at me while I continued.
"Yes, and they complemented each other perfectly. In here, too!" I showed her the notebook I was reading, "He is recalling one of their adventures and reminiscing how they explored an ancient ruin under Constantinople and how he misses those days."
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the papers, finding reading the Old English handwriting exceptionally hard.
"Um. At least, from what I gather, it needs a correct translation first. But I feel he thought it was a mistake establishing the school. Or at least, he regretted it… because it broke apart their friendship in an irreparable way."
"Were they even friends then? I mean, that type of good friend? That none of them relented? None tried to understand the other; none tried to move closer to a middle point where they could agree? Both were so strong-headed that they let their friendship crumble… If you ask me, they were obstinate old men! Both of them!"
"Hah!" I laughed loudly after hearing her, closing the book and sinking it into my pouch, "I agree! Slytherin even left in such a bad mood he built the Chamber of Secrets and left behind a basilisk to cause trouble when they are no longer here!"
"Mhm. See? None of them was a good guy; I don't believe that for a moment!"
"Not that it matters! It was a thousand years ago; it is irrelevant now! Plus, right now, the two fighting sides… what do you think, Quincy?" I asked, getting curious, remembering what my Father told me about choices and about deciding what is good for me… for us. I felt he was trying to tell me something, but I just couldn't really put a finger on what.
"Well, hopefully, here we can be completely honest without the fear of being listened to!" She shrugged, half-smiling, looking around, "I think the current system is horrible. The leaders are horrible. The laws are horrible. Everything is just… horrible! Why?"
"Just asking. I don't have any opinion… at all. I dislike HIM, but I also… fear him. For real…" I answered, looking down when talking about it, not noticing I grabbed my own hand. I heard her quickly stand up and come up to me, hugging me close. "Hehe… thanks. I also don't know about the rest… I never really thought about it, unlike you."
"I only did because Grandmother was shopping me around… Hah…”
"Well… I like Neville. I hope he is all right. I don't have a problem with muggle-born wizards and witches! I just don't see why shouldn't we allow them in and accept them!"
"I agree! I totally agree!" She nodded rapidly, "Nobody can do anything about their origin! Their parents! What they can do about it is what they are going to do with their life! Who says muggle-born people can't be great wizards?"
"Yeah, totally! That is why I have also no real opinion about the Order. I never really knew any of them, nor did I see any of the 'great destruction' they lay upon our world! You… Do you…?"
"I know nothing!" She shrugged, opening her arms. "I never met my parents. And I don't care about my biological father, not even a bit! He can rot wherever he is! If he failed to bring me away, then that just shows how much I meant to him!"
"I understand… and I would thank him for not… Because then I wouldn't have met you!"
"Ehehe… True!" She giggled happily, tiptoeing and kissing my lips, which I passionately returned before separating. "Thinking about it," She continued with a cute, pinkish hue still lingering on her face, "Was that Grindelwald's speeches made much more sense!
"Grindelwald?" I asked, furrowing my brows and then remembering. I read about him back home. "Wasn't he some kind of… revolutionist or something?"
"I see you also know not about him, huh?" She smiled weirdly, "His name has been suppressed by HIM; at least, that is what my grandmother told me. He was a Dark Wizard, on par with HIM, you see."
"Really? Is he suppressing his name and achievements because of jealousy?"
"I think not." After a brief silence, she answered, "I think he does it not to give Dumbledore more of a presence within the wizarding community! You see, I read a thick codex about it, written by Bathilda Bagshot, one of the greatest historians of our time… who was killed by HIM."
"Err… well… then she really was the best historian, huh?"
"Sadly, yes." She nodded with a wry smile, "And also the aunt of Gellert Grindelwald. What I am saying, Conrad, is that Dumbledore knew Grindelwald. They were friends!"
"Godrick and Salazar, all over again." I hummed, making Quincy chuckle and nod in agreement. "The thing is, Dumbledore stopped Grindelwald and defeated him. He stopped one of the greatest Dark Wizards of all time, someone who managed to bring forth the Global Wizarding War! He was someone who got really, really close to ruling the world! Not Britain, not Europe… the world! And someone like him was defeated by Dumbledore. Do you see it?"
"Heh, I do! No wonder he doesn't want others to learn about him! It would not just make HIS accomplishments smaller but also give Dumbledore a boost! He once saved the Wizarding World; who says he can't do it again?"
"Yep! Now that you say it that way… That Grindelwald guy does sound more menacing!"
"I don't know…" She shrugged, looking at me with a sad smile, "I read his speeches. They were recorded in Bagshot's retellings. He wasn't like HIM. He was… convincing. Spoke about things I could agree with. He didn't fill me with fear nor make me abhor others! He wasn't doing things for himself; he wanted to protect us from the muggles!"
"From the muggles?" I asked, finding it hilarious as we were taught, and I heard it multiple times at home, too, that they were not a threat, not at all.
"He spoke about a weapon that could level a city like no magic can do!"
"Yeah… okay." I rolled my eyes.
"It is true." Quincy said, looking directly at me, "We are forbidden to learn about muggles. Their world is like being behind a fog for us… What do you know about muggles?"
"Not much… you?"
"Same. But I did try to learn about them. I once thought about running away and living amongst them. So, I looked things up. That weapon Grindelwald warned the magic community about 50 years ago? Became a reality only a few months after his fall! His speech was about protecting us from them. He didn't want to turn away wizards or witches from muggle heritage because they could be a bridge for us to understand their world. He wanted to rule over them because their weapons could destroy us both…"
"Fascinating…" I whispered, totally mesmerized by the history that we were not taught.
"He thought he was doing the right thing for us… he said it was for the 'Greater Good,' you see. Now… About HIS regime? I never heard anything that compelling! I only heard about bloodlines; magic is power, power is might, might is right! About me being a tainted one, about having to breed so the family name comes back to life, blah, blah, blah! Only things that made my stomach turn!"
"It's okay…" I hugged her quickly, rubbing her head and letting her calm down.
"Sorry…"
"It's okay… You are cute when you get worked up!"
"Silly…" She chuckled but buried her head in my chest. "What I mean is that I don't care about either side now. My dad rushed off to the Order but never tried to bring me along or tried to come back for me. HIS side never even looked at me like something proper. So why should I care about any of them? None made anything close to as compelling! I trust them not! I only trust you…"
"Hehehe~ You are making me blush! But… thank you… and I also only trust you! And my Father. And Squeaky."
"Silly…" She whispered, letting me go, "So? Are we ready?"
"Yep! Let's get back, and tomorrow… you could tell me more about this period! Now I am truly interested!"
"Hah! I don't know everything, but… sure! I read that book many times, so… why not?"
Corty Probably, there won't be a third chapter this week. Something came up, and I couldn't get it ready in time. Sorry.
