Agena

JErosion

Chapter 14 – The things you already know and the things you don't – Year 1

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"Alright. Lets make this quick. Show me what you got."

Agena took a deep breath, her feet were at a shoulder's width apart. Her thumb absentmindedly rolled over the fine carvings of her wand. She had to beg him for this opportunity and she was determine not to disappoint. She took aim and released. She could feel her magic flow. It wasn't perfect, but it was more than enough to prove that with a little more time and effort, mastery was inevitable.

She could hear Hollis swear behind her as the room was illuminated by a sudden and intense burst of yellow and orange. A wave of heat touched her face and the scent of sulfur filled her nostrils. A twirling stream of flame spilled forth from the tip of her wand. But it wasn't like a regular flame. She could see that quite clearly as it stuck the makeshift dummy that sat about three yards away from her.

The flames clawed, sparked and hissed as it engulfed the carefully stacked stools. And for all the excitement she felt in seeing the spell work, she also felt a measure of fight witnessing the nature of the fire. Thus she relented and pulled back. The spell stopped at once and the flames vanished immediately. Once her eyes had adjusted to the sudden change in light, Agena saw a long smear of soot that stretched from her to the center of the room. As for the dummy, it was completely charred and it stood for only a moment before it collapsed upon itself.

Hollis rushed passed her after that. He made a few quick swishes of his wand and then a small geyser of water erupted from it's tip. At first the water flashed into steam. That surprised Agena enough that she sort of looked down at her wand in wonder. She knew this sort of magic could be destructive but...

Part of her mind reasoned that a first year shouldn't be able to pull off something like this. If this spell could already do this much damage now... What would it be like once she got older? What would it be like once she had perfected the feel of the magic as it flowed? Would the flames be able to stretch across the entire length of the room? She slowly walked forward until she came up to the side of Hollis. Her eyes became fixed on the crumbled chair and stool, as well as a silvery-gray mass that was slathered all over the stone floor.

"That's the cauldron, isn't it?"

"Whats left of it."

She melted the cauldron. It was just a standard pewter cauldron, just like the one she used in class. Albeit it was an old one. And if she recalled correctly lead didn't have all that high of a melting point compared with some other metals. But then again cauldrons they used for class had enchantments on them to keep them from melting from just a standard flame. And the spell she use... well there was nothing standard about it.

"Can you do me a favor?" Hollis asked her without taking his eyes off of the destroyed target.

"um... What?"

"Don't use that magic on a human being... Not unless you absolutely no choice in the matter. "

"Ah... right." she agreed nervously.

After that Hollis raised his knobby wand and made a few swishes over the debris. The charred mess evaporated before her eyes. But she really wasn't thinking about how he vanished the rubble or how he did so without saying an incantation. Her thoughts was on the favor that he had just asked her and the fact that she had already used it on human being. Not that she could tell what it was at the time.

When she had used that magic in the forest, the creature, had been just at the edge of the flame. Had it been any closer, she might have killed it. Or she might have killed him. She wasn't entirely certain what the connection was between her former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and that thing in the forest. But the notion that they had been one in the same had been partially confirmed by Professor Snape when he briefly mumbled that the Quirrell had burns on his arms.

There were several stories being trading throughout the school right now. All of them concerned the recent disappearance of Quirinus Quirrell. All of his remaining exams had been canceled. No one was quiet sure what had happen, but most of the rumors had stated that their strangely timid and highly nervous Defense teacher had tried to steal something that the Headmaster had been safeguarding. Again rumors varied on what exactly Quirrell had tried to steal. Speculations ranged to everything from some powerful weapon to an invaluable artifact left behind by one of the school's founders. There was also another speculative rumor that Quirrell had tried to steal an entire room full of gold... That was a rather silly idea in Agena's opinion.

Agena now knew, largely through her friendship with Hermione Granger, that the object that their former Defense teacher tried to make off with was the Philosopher's Stone. And consider how powerful the stone was said to be, it wasn't a great mystery as to why someone would want to steal it.

And as the current rumors went, Quirrell came very close in to succeeding in his goal. The only thing stopping him was none other than Harry Potter. There was little mention of Hermione's or that Weasley boy's role in thwarting the theft. Agena knew that both had been with him that night. Madame Pomfey was mending her broken toes when the head of her house brought the two Gryffindors into the Hospital Wing.

Hermione, aside from a few scrapes and being a little panic stricken, was perfectly fine. The red-head however was unconscious. According to Hermione beyond that forbidden door on the third floor, was a series of traps designed to keep people out. The giant three-headed dog that was chained just on the other side of that door was just the first safeguard. The Weasley boy had gotten knocked out, as they had play their way across a giant chess board. Hermione didn't make it all the way to the end either. Both her and Harry Potter had enter a room that became impassable unless you were to drink the right potion amongst the many that were in the room. The only way they were able to figure out which one to drink was because of a logic riddle that came with the potions. Hermione's muggle intellect came through and she figured the whole thing out. Hermione didn't know exactly what had happened after that. Harry Potter had drunk a potion that allowed him to move forward towards the next trial, she drank a potion that allowed return back the way they came. By the time she had worked her way back to were Weasley had fallen, Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore had arrived.

As part of the rumors, it was believed that Harry Potter fought against Quirrell, however to what extent was another mystery. The only thing that was certain was that Harry Potter was still in the Hospital Wing. As for their former teacher, most seemed to agree that he was no longer amongst the living. Many of the early risers the following morning witnessed several people from the Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement removing what looked to be a body from the castle.

"Well come on." Hollis said, breaking her from her thoughts. He was making his way towards the doorway.

Agena followed not really saying anything. When they reached the entry way to their dorms, Hollis uttered out the password. As the wall opened a flood of noise and light poured into the hallway. The party was just starting up. Hollis stepped inside, but Agena hesitated. Her eyes drifted a bit upwards, towards a point that lay a few floors above her.

A curious feeling swelled inside her. She wanted to know. She wanted to know what had happened that night. If her late night epiphany, surrounding the bandages she saw on Quirrell's arms had made a difference. If she hadn't gone to Professor Snape when she did, would Quirrell have succeeded?

"Hey. You coming?" Hollis called out to her, breaking her from her thoughts once more.

"Not yet." she said with a shake of her head. "I have something I need to do before it gets too late."

Hollis frowned, but then nodded to her.

"Alright, but don't be out there too long. I think they are going to do the Run tonight."

"uh, Ok." She said with a nod. She didn't know what this Run thing was, but right now she didn't feel up to asking him about it. Also the prospect of having to speak above the noise that was spilling out of the Slytherin Common Room wasn't something she was very keen to have to do.

It was a party after all. And they did have reason to celebrate. They won it. The House Cup was Slytherins' for the seventh year in a row. Even with Ravenclaw winning the Quidditch cup, as well as the twenty-five points that came along with it, there was no way they could overcome Slytherin's lead in the total number of house points.

Agena quickly made her way to the food stairwell and from there she made her slow ascent up to the main floor of the school. Honestly, she didn't know why she was even going. But there was a good chance that she would see Hermione there. Both her and that red-headed boy had been making regular trips to visit their friend. And with the defeat of Gryffindor in the last match, chances were that they might being paying him a visit. Which would be better than hanging around a common room full of disappointed and gloomy house mates. At least that's what she reasoned.

Of course she would also have to put up with that Weasley boy accusing her of stopping by just to gloat. Not that she cared at all for what he thought. Of course there would also be the issue of what she would say to Hermione. Because after you get past the basic pleasantries of 'Hello' and 'How are you,' she didn't have all that much to say.

It was information that she was after. She needed to know the truth and because of that she needed to be here. Her pacing slowed down as she approached the open double doors of the Hospital Wing. She could hear soft voices coming from deep inside the room. She eased up carefully towards the doorway, an ear turned towards it so she could better hear.

"...the first thing you asked is one I cannot tell you... ...today. Not now. You will know, one day... put it from your mind for now... ...older... ...when you are ready, you will know."

She could only hear bits and pieces of what was being said. But she recognized the voice of an old man that she was quiet familiar with, Professor Dumbledore. How could she not, considering how often he visited her Aunt's house during the summer.

"...why couldn't Quirrell..."

Came a much softer voice. A boy. Harry Potter, she thought after a moment. But what was it that he asked about Quirrell? She stepped a fraction closer to the edge of the door.

"...mother died to save you... one thing Voldemort could not understand..."

Her breath caught as she hear the name spoken. It was strange, but for the first time she could ever recall... she shuttered at that name. It was strange especially for her... unlike do many others... She had never possessed and fear of the name... she never picked up that habit from the adults around her... so why now? Why so suddenly?

But after just a moment of thought she knew the answer... It was because of the Headmaster... It was because of what he was saying to Harry Potter. And it was because the Potter boy had mentioned Quirrell's name just moments before. The boy had asked the Professor a question that involved Quirrell and the answer involved Voldemort.

And what of her suspicious? What of the questions in her head. That nagging question that surrounded the identity of her father. Suddenly the images from the Mirror of Erised resurfaced in her head. That image of a frantic and paranoid Quirrell waving his wand around in a deserted hallway. That was ridiculous. That thing in the woods... It had to have been Quirrell... It couldn't have been him. Her father was...

She shook her head. Voldemort was gone. It was just Quirrell in the woods... It had to be. He was gone, everybody knew that. All that was left was nothing more than a shadow. A shadow made up of his former agents that were still loyal to his cause and to his words. Death Eaters, just the ones that had escaped prison and those that had slipped back into wizarding society. That must have been it, she reasoned. Quirrell must have been a Death Eater... One of the ones that had escaped.

She knew it was a bad hypotheses. There was so many wholes it it she almost felt ashamed for even thinking it. Quirrell was too young to have been a Death Eater. Not to mention that she had heard that he had been the Muggle Studies teacher prior to taking up the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. But a bad theory looked good compared to...

The alternative was a frightening idea. He couldn't still be alive. Could he? Such a possibility had never really occurred to her. And why would it have? One of the darkest wizards of all time was dead and gone. That's what she had heard her whole life, why should she think any different? But then no one had ever survived the killing curse before either.

Who is to say what really had happened that night? And even with the looming suspension of who her father may have been. It wasn't something that she was a hundred percent on. No body seemed to be willing to tell her about it. The times she had asked her Aunt, often resulted in the her evading the answer. Her Aunt Andromeda would just reply that she wasn't sure. That Professor Dumbledore would be able to tell her one day. But when ever the opportunity presented itself, that would allow her to speak with the Wizard. The question would often be the furthest thing from her mind or embarrassment would hold her tongue. And now she was worried about what would happen if it was true. She had already come to terms with her mother's absence in her life. She had done terrible things to good and respected people. But her father... for him to be one of the biggest mass murders...

No. She didn't want to think about that. No. It was Quirrell and only Quirrell who had sought the Philosopher's stone that was hidden deep inside the castle. That was the only acceptable explanation in her mind... at least it was the only one that was willing to accept at the moment. And while she was able to place that it was Quirrell in the forest that night... she had trouble explaining the monster's snake like moments or the words it spoke in what she was sure was parselmouth.

The more she dwelt on the details of what she already knew, the more uncertain she felt. And without really thinking about it she stepped forward, moving out from the protection the door frame provided. A few beds in, along the far side of the chamber was the Hospital Wing's sole patient, Harry Potter. And sitting on the corner of the boy's bed was the headmaster. She stepped forward quietly, only once she had made As she stepped the conversation between the two stopped immediately.

"Ah," The Professor exclaimed in a soft voice. "It seems you have a visitor, although I must confess I would not have expected a representative from Slytherin."

"Oh, ah..." Agena stammer slightly. She felt a heat rise in her cheeks. But despite her embarrassment she slowly approached the two.

"um,... I was hoping that I might find... Hermione here." It was a lie. Honestly she came hoping to find some filament of the truth of what had happened. But now... She wasn't so sure if she wanted to hear what that truth might have been. But as her gaze drifted over the green eyed boy, she felt compelled so say something.

"Well, um... Its good to see that you are awake now." she said awkwardly.

"Indeed it is." Professor Dumbledore agreed, he then turned to the boy and said."You may not know this Harry but on the night that you and your friends acted so valiantly to prevent the stone's theft. It was Agena who had actually pieced together that it was it was Querrill that who had attacked the two of you in the forest.

"But Professor? You..."

"You see," The Headmaster interrupted. "The spell that she had used to drive your would-be assailant back had left burns on his arms. And on the day you had finished your end of term exams, she saw your former professor watching that door on the third floor. She also noticed that his arms had been bandaged up. It was a little while before she had put the two together but fortunately she was able to notify her Head of House and then he in turn, was able to send a message to me. Had she had not, I may have genuinely been too late to intervene."

"Uh, t-Thanks... I guess." Harry said after a long pause.

"Um, No problem... He... that is Quirrell sort of gave me a creeps anyway." she returned as she shuffled from foot to foot. Her eyes drifted over the visible mark on his forehead. He was the one that had defeated him. Wishing to find something that would distract her from her uncertain thoughts she then turned to the table that was near the bed. It was stacked high with a number of multicolored boxes of candies and other various confections. In a rather blunt manner she suddenly felt the urge to comment about it. "um, Somebody appears to be popular."

"uh eah, I've been told I have admirers."

"I'd imagine so." Agena nodded. "Not only did you save the Philosopher's stone, but it seems that you also saved next year's students from a dreadfully dull class."

She watched the boy look away from her as a small smile turned up the corners of his mouth. But he seemed to quickly regain his composer and the expression faded with a small shake of his head. Agena turned to where the Headmaster silently sat. He was watching the two them a smile that had a certain bewildering quality to it. And that twinkle in his eye had a mischievous hint to it.

"Hmm, Well judging from the rather stern glare that Madame Pomfrey is sending in our direction, it seems that our presence may no longer be tolerated." The Professor said nodding towards the entryway of the Hospital Wing.

Agena turn to find that the Headmaster was very correct in his assessment. Madame Pomfrey was standing in the doorway of her office, which wasn't far from where Agena had made her entrance. The Healer's arms were crossed and the expression on her face was one of high annoyance. However Agena felt as though her glare was directed more on her rather than the Professor.

In fact Agena was given the distinct impression that Madame Pomfrey must have been distracted when she had walked in, otherwise she would not have allowed her to even set foot in the Hospital. The woman was nice enough, but took her job very seriously. And when visiting hours were over that meant they were over. Which was probably one of the perks of being the headmaster, you got to go where you want, whenever you wanted.

"Well Harry, I do recommend that you start to make some headway into that impressive stack of gifts. After all you may find it a little troublesome to have to pack all of it for the return home." Professor Dumbledore said while standing up. He then turned to her with a small smile on his face and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Now, come along Agena I believe that we also have a few things to discuss as well."

A queasy feeling erupted in Agena's stomach, accompanied by a sudden sense of dread. Speaking with Professor Dumbledore was something that she had been wanting to do, but... But right now... The curiosity that had initially brought her up here, had faded the moment she had heard Voldemort's name. The truth of what had happened that night... Agena tried to step away and place some distance between herself and the headmaster.

But her feet seemed reluctant to obey her mental commands. She was kind of stuck where she stood. At least until she felt the old man's hand gently directed her towards the hospital exit. Before long she found herself out in the hallway and moving in the direction of the stairwell that she had taken when she arrived. And while the first few steps had been in silence it wasn't much longer before the old man spoke to her.

"I do believe I own you my thanks."

"Professor?"

"Had you not notified Professor Snape when you did, it would be quiet possible that Harry would have died. Likewise you also stayed to defend him in the woods the night of your detention."

"y-You don't have to thank me Professor," he said, her face glowing red under the praise. "I mean... I sure he would have done the same as well."

"Yes, yes." The Professor nodded. "He most likely would have."

"um, Professor... What happened to him? That night in the forest... he kind of fell over clutching his head, like he was in pain or something."

"That is an interesting question, but it is not one I can readily discuss the answer to. But since you are asking I guess that means that you didn't hear my explanation to Harry when you were eavesdropping by the doorway." Professor Dumbledore said in a matter of fact tone that caused Agena to look up at him in shock. He wore a polite smile that gave no indication that he was angry with her. At first she thought of asking how he knew. But she already knew the answer to that. Dumbledore had both the benefit of wisdom and power. So it would probably be more of a surprise if he hadn't noticed that she was standing there.

"um, I'm Sorry Professor." she apologized, it seemed like a smarter thing to do rather than deny that she had. "I didn't mean to... I just heard your voice as I was walking up."

"Ah, You do have some remarkable ears. I doubt many of your classmates would have been able to hear us from that distance." the Headmaster said, and after a brief pause he added. "Most likely that is a happy consequence of that wonderful linguistic talent of yours."

Agena squirmed slightly at the subtle reference to her being a parselmouth. But it was true. Snakes didn't speak in the same manner that humans. So it was only natural for those that had the ability to talk to serpents would also have that ability to hear what they were saying as well.

But that lead her to another issue. She couldn't run from it.

"um, Sir... I couldn't really hear what the two of you were saying... but I did heard you mention... um... Voldemort."

The Professor paused in his steps and he turned to her. The cheery and carefree expression on his face seemed to melt away into something that was cautious. His stare was such that it made her wish she had held it back.

"um, I- I'm just asking cause... I... I heard the two of you talking about Quirrell and then I heard you mention... Voldemort," she said quickly, feeling the need to clarify her first inquiry. For all of the good that would do.

"I seems that you heard quite a bit after all."

"um, sorry Professor."

"No, no. You don't have to be." The old Wizard said with a shake of the head, as his features softened. "Curiosity is not sin, however as I explained to the young Mister Potter, the truth can be both a wonderful and terrible thing. Even if you are ready to hear it. But that is the very nature of the truth. You must except it all, not just the portions that you wish to hear. Do you understand?"

Agena pursed her lips as her gaze drifted away from the man before she nodded in agreement.

"And do you know what the truth is Agena?" he asked, only continuing once she nodded again. "Of all the questions that are troubling you right now, there are few that you don't already have the answers to. You have good instincts Agena, you shouldn't discount them because your afraid of where they might lead you.

"Your impressions of your former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher were correct. When most saw an inept educator, you saw that something wasn't quite right. And it was true, he had spent his tenure at this school hiding his true intentions behind a cleaver deception. Querrill wasn't the nervous man he presented himself as, rather he was an intelligent and very dangerous man. In addition to his attempt at stealing the stone here at the school, I also believe that he was the one involved in the break-in that had occurred at Gringotts near the beginning of the school year."

"Gringotts?" Agena asked, with a frown. She could vaguely remember reading something about an attempted robbery, but they didn't take anything because the vault that broken into was empty or something like that.

"Yes, before the stone was brought to Hogwarts, it was placed in in the care of Gringotts. However out of fear for it's safety I had it moved to the school so I could keep a better eye on it.

"However I must say that despite how capable he truly was, he did not have all of the skills necessary to make it through the defenses that lay beneath the castle, let alone escape from capture from Gringotts. Not alone at least."

"He had help?" she asked softly. A cold sort of feeling filled her stomach. She stared straight into the man's blue eyes. They didn't have that twinkle they normally did. No his eye held a certain sadness. As he said, she already had the answers she needed. "Professor?... t-That thing in the woods... was it... Is... Is Voldemort... still alive?"

The headmaster stared at her for a long time, before he answered her.

"That is a difficult question, and as you know difficult questions can have difficult answers. Ten years ago, Voldemort attacked the Potter family while they were in hiding. And after using the killing curse to murder Harry's parents, he then turned his wand on an infant with the same intent. But instead of killing the crying infant that lay in it's crib, the spell rebounded with tremendous force. So much force, that everything in it's path was destroyed."

"So... he is gone." she said in a whisper.

"Being dead and being gone, can be two very different things." The Professor responded.

"What do you mean?"

"You first asked me if he was still alive. And to that I would have to say no. At least not in the same way that both you and I are alive. Now as for the next question, is Voldemort gone for good? I'm afraid not. I saw him with my own eyes Agena. He remains a part of this world, although I wouldn't say that his existence is one of any substantial form. In truth the only thing that could describe what I saw, was a vaporous shadow.

"But... how is that even possible?" Agena asked him, confusion evident in her voice. Her knees wobbled from the weight that seemed to be bearing down in her stomach.

"Well a bit more explanation would be needed, so you'd have to bear with me for a moment. Few would know this, but a long time ago Voldemort had applied to teach at this school. In fact he applied twice, both times it was to fill an opening in the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. The first time was right after he had graduated. However the Headmaster at the time, ArmandoDippet, felt that he lacked the experience necessary to be a teacher. Dippet encouraged him to go out and see the world for a few years before he came back and applied.

"And he did just that. I was then the Headmaster of Hogwarts. I turned him down, not because he wasn't qualified for the task. He even challenged me to find another that had gone as far as he had gone, and had seen what he had seen. And indeed he had gone far. He had taken to experimenting on himself, using magic and various arcane potions to change his body and to enhance his powers to his suiting. He even had gone as far as to tamper with the very boundaries of his soul. I can only conclude that his means of preserving himself, was an accidental byproduct of one of his experiments."

"He... he's just a vapor..." she repeated. He voice was soft. And as once she felt slight dizzy. "If he had no substance like you said... What about that thing in the woods? It was solid! But it moved... It moved like a serpent and it spoke. It spoke to me... in Parselmouth."

"At his height, Voldemort had powers that few would dare to dream of. And with what was perhaps on of his most potent weapons was his ability to completely dominate the minds and bodies of his victims. It was something darker than just the Imperius Curse. He had the power to possess people. It was more than just being able to control someone like a puppet. No this ability allowed him to actually enter another person in the same manner you might slip on a pair of robes. And I do believe that even in his diminished state Voldemort still retained that ability. With it he was able to travel with Quirrell during the break in at Gringotts, just as he was with him when they tired to steal the stone three days ago.

"Then Quirrell was possessed all year..."

"Not entirely. Voldemort may have been with him, but he did not have the strength to completely take full control of Quirrell. This may explain the need for the they had to slay the unicorns. Their blood helped to rebuild Voldemort's power, at least until he could get a hold of the stone. If they had succeed it would have been only a matter of time before Voldemort would have been able to restore his body completely."

Agena was no longer listening to him, as suddenly her memory was thrown back to that last day before Christmas break. Those last images... Her desire to see her parents as they currently were... The matted lump of hair and dirty gray robes that was her mother and then the other image... a paranoid looking Quirrell brandishing his wand in a quick sweep behind him. It made sense now... he was with him. Her legs slowly folded beneath her. She used her hand to brush at her eyes, and to swipe away the tears that were threatening to crawl down her cheeks.

"How long have you known?" The Professor asked her quietly. It was the question that had been handing over the conversation.

"Since Christmas... After what you told me... and with what the Hat told me..."

"The Sorting Hat?" he asked with a touch of surprise. A small smile formed on his lips, like he had just been let in on good joke. "Ah, yes. I suppose it would. All heirs must return to their house?"

She nodded.

"I knew that it couldn't have been my mother... not all of the Blacks have been in Slytherin... Also she... I know she was a high ranking Death Eater... and Voldemort... his symbol was a snake and a skull... they said that he was a parselmouth as well... so it just made sense, I guess."

"As I have said before Agena, you have good instincts. And you are far more preceptive than I would expect for someone your age. But that comes as no real surprise considering you parents. And I do believe that I owe you an apology. I should have told you sooner. But I have been hesitant to reveal too much to you. I've felt it was something that should wait until you were a bit older. That the full truth would have been too great of a weight for one as young as yourself. But as their child you had every right to know. You should not have had to discover it on your own. And for that, I am truly sorry."

"But... what now... w-what does it mean for me?" Agena asked.

The professor placed his hand on her shoulder and knelt down. Bring the two of them eye to eye he drew her close and said.

"It means you live your own life, you make your own decisions and make your own friends. You don't have to do anything because of your parents. You don't have to be anything other than the person you already are."

Slowly Agena nodded as she moved to wipe away her tears once more. Professor Dumbledore smiled at her, a glint of pride shown in his blue eyes. He slow drew himself backup, making a pained grunt as his knee came off of the floor.

"One day I will tell you more about both of your parents, but not today. A deserted hallway on the night before the end of term feast is hardly the place for such a discussion, nor is this the time. Now if I recall correctly I do believe your house is engaging in a tradition of sorts. I don't believe it is something a first year girl should miss."

Agena nodded once more, before she turned to make her first hesitant steps down the nearby stair well. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. It was confirmed now. But in a way... she always knew that it was. From the moment the notion had entered her head, part of her knew with no uncertainty that it was true. And that wasn't because of how much sense it made, it was because that somewhere in her heart she knew it was true.

Professor Dumbledore didn't have to tell her to keep this quiet. If anyone else knew... How many would seek revenge for their loses? How many would see themselves justified for ending the life of the child of two murders. Or worse... how many would try to use her as a rallying flag for their ideals.

She stopped and turned to look back up the steps to where Dumbledore had stood. He was already gone. And where did that leave her? She wasn't about to become a victim of someone's wrath, nor was she willing to be used by the overly ambitious. That meant that she had to get stronger. She had to know more than others. But it wasn't just of the sake of self preservation. Since her father was in a questionable state of being... She was the last living scion of Salazar Slytherin. She had no right to allow someone else to end her life for petty reasons.

As she continued her way back to her to the Slytherin Common Room. When she came to a junction where several hallways came together, she was met with a rather curious sight. It was Terrence Higgs, the Seeker from the Slytherin Quidditch team. He had his broom hanging off of one shoulder and he was soaking wet. And this was not the good kind of soaking wet. This was more like, he had just been dropped into a pit of foul brackish muck sort of wet.

He briefly regarded her with a look of that was somewhere between disgust and embarrassment. He quickly turned away and started in the direction of the Slytherin dorms. She watched him for a moment, before turning to look down the hall from the direction he had come. There was a trail of water and wet footsteps leading down one of the lesser used hallways. And now that she thought about ti the only thing that was down that way was... the stairway that lead to the lower level. That was odd...

She had been that way once by accident. She had a large hallway and a few archways that lead off into the darkness. She might have been willing to explore the area. But that hallway was half flooded with a murky water that smelt very similar to sewage.

She had asked Annette about it once and she told her that it had always been that way. It was one of those curiosities of the school that no one really knew the answers to. One legend claimed that it was a potions of the school that was built by Salazar Slytherin when he had his disagreement with Godric Gryffindor. None of the other founders bothered to finished the the lower dungeon and over time water from the lake began to seep inside the walls and then subsequent builders of the school eventually integrated the lower level into the school's sewer system. There were other legends that said that the flooded dungeon stretched on for miles beneath the castle and that were even another level below that was completely flooded.

Not that any such legends mattered all that much. None of that answered why the Slytherin Seeker just took a dip in the sewer. Well whatever the reason it had to be good. And Agena was eager for distractions at the moment. So she quickly followed after Higgs and managed to slip into the Common room before the wall could close up him.

There was a chorus of applause and laughter as the seventh year student walked into the common room. Higgs walked out into the middle of the common room, through a furrow that was created by their cheering house mates. Agena noticed that his feet seemed to be tracing over an already wet and muddy line that crossed the chamber's floor. Higgs raise his arms in a gesture of victory or what might have been mock victory. But soon he was laughing with the rest of the crowd.

Agena slipped through the line of her house mates and made her way along the back of the crowd. She went in search of a familiar face to explain the chaos that gripped the Slytherin common. What was it that Dumbledore had said... a tradition of sorts. Hollis had mentioned something about a Run, but she had no idea what that might have been referring to.

It took her a moment to spot someone she knew... Or a least someone that she knew well enough that she would be willing to talk with and would be willing to talk back. She pushed her way in between some the older students, so she could reach the tall blond girl that she shared an antagonistic friendship with.

"Hey, Annette." Agena called out, as she gave a handful of the girl's robes a tug.

"Wha- oh, Agena... Please tell me you didn't break something again." The prefect looked at her with a frown.

"No! I just want to know whats going on around here." Agena answered with her frown.

"What do you mean you want to know whats going on? Where have you been for the last twenty minutes?"

"I was outside talking to... one of the professors." Agena replied quickly.

"Oh, Well... It's a contest we hold every year... were... well come up here...," Annette then took her by the arm and brought to a near by chair, and with a little grunt the Prefect hoisted her up onto the chair's armrests. From the height Agena had a much better view of the room, and she noticed that most of Slytherin's girls stood on one side of the room, while most of the boys were station at the other.

"It works like this... " Annette continued. "Any boy from fifth year and up can participate. They only get one shot at it but all they got to do is make it up those few steps and get across that hallway and into the girl's dormitories."

"What kind of completion is that!?"

"The trick is they actually have to make it across the hall and to the far wall. You seen none of the founders held much faith in their male students, so they put traps in place to keep the males under a certain age from walking into the girl's dorms. So I guess you can say that the boys they aren't really competing against each other, they are competing against a security system that was set up by Salazar Slytherin himself."

"What exactly happens when one of them tries to cross over?"

"Just wait and see." Annette smiled gleefully. She gestured out to a clearing in the middle of common room, where the next contender stood as he prepared himself. It was Marcus Flint, he was holding his broom out in front of him with one hand and with the other he he was pointing his wand at the brooms tail end. Suddenly that end of his broom started to spark and billow with a thick stream of red smoke.

"Aww, That ain't gonna a work!" A boy shouted from the other side of the room. The statement seem to generate a bit of laughter from that side of the room.

"It's better that trying to run across like you did!" Marcus shot back, causing more laughter to rise up from a cluster of some of the older boys, all of which had that same drenched looked that Higgs had.

"Yeah, And if ya don't get a move on, yer gonna burn out yer broom. Then ya'll be walkin too!" the dissenter shouted back, generating another bout of chuckles from his contemporaries.

"Bah!" Flint cried back and with a sweep of his leg, he mounted his broom. He kicked off the ground and blasted forward.

It all happened very fast after that. The bristles of Flint's broom burst with a stream of sparks and smoke that rocketed the Quidditch player forward. He was moving fast. Faster than what she was sure a broom of that model could manage from a dead start. But even through the line of heavy red smoke that trailed after him she could see it happen. The titled floor of the hall vanished and then the globular lanterns that hung on the ceiling suddenly brightened with a flash of an intense white light light and there was also the loud wail of a siren. Flint's trajectory suddenly took a violent curve downwards. Agena saw him as he tried to pull up but then it was already too late. A second later there was the loud echo of a splash and lights in the hall way dimmed back to their normal levels. By the time the siren faded off the tiled floor had rematerialized. The girl's side of the common room burst into a cheers, while the boy's side rose with the sounds of groans and laughter.

"Does anyone ever get across?" Agena asked the blond prefect.

"Some have," Annette called back to her. "But nobody has made it since I've been here."

"But if one can get across, why don't they all?"

"What would be the fun of that? The ones who make it all the way across not only get bragging rights, but they get to put their name up on the wall just inside our dormitory." Annette explained, she pointed towards the far end of the hall. "Haven't you ever noticed the names etched into the stone there?"

"Not really." Agena answered honesty. She may have seen them, but she never really bothered to pay attention to it.

"Beside if anyone could do it, then it wouldn't be all that great of a contest."

It was about another five minutes before Flint had trudged himself back into the common room, cover in the same muck that she had seen Higgs covered in. He still had his broom but Agena was pretty sure that it would never fly again, as is was now just a stick with a burnt end. But he received his cheers and then stepped aside to allow the next contender to give his try.

This was the cycle for much of the evening. A few other more boys tired their luck with brooms, hoping speed would overcome the reaction of the security system. But time after time each of those contenders,despite their best efforts, were sent careening into the drink.

Others tried far different method, there was a sixth year that did some sort of spell that actually allowed him to crawl on the walls like a spider would. Although the magic was impressive, it didn't get him any further. Just like it had when Flint had tried to cross the floor vanished, and the lights that ran along the halls ceiling flashed, and hit him with a downward force that pried him off of the wall.

Later another sixth year named Heckler, actually pulled out his wand and began to fired off a series of stunning spells at globular lanterns that hung from the ceiling of the hall. With each successive strike the watery lights within the glass spheres flickered out one by one. The boy then stepped cautiously into the hall and much to the surprise of those gathered in the common room, the floor did not disappear.

The boy then turned backed towards the gathered crowd and raised his victory. A volley of cheers and clapping began on the male side of the room as, made a brisk jog towards the end of the hall and what was certainly success. But right as he made it half-way across, the sirens blared and the overhead lights came back alive. Heckler tripped and landed right on his face, as the downward force from the lights effectively slammed him to the ground. But oddly the floor didn't disappear from under him.

From her vantage point Agena watched as the boy began to stir again, and try to pick himself up. But before he could get very far the lights above him flared again, knocking him back to the floor forcing him to release a loud groan. And then as if to add addition insult or... perhaps punishment, the lights flashed overhead several more times in quick succession and then the floor vanished.

It was almost fifteen minutes later before Heckler made it back the common room and even then it was only with the help of a couple of his friends. But no soon had he made his appearance he was heading back out for the hospital wing to take care of what appeared to be both a broken nose and split lip, as well as any other bruising that may have occurred.

And with the hallway proving that it would enact a more severe punishment on anyone who would try to tamper with it's mechanisms, several of other boys who were planning to give the Run a go, decided to backed off. In fact the only one left that still looked willing to try was Hollis.

"Oi, What you gonna do, try some of those backwater tricks of yours?" a boy shouted as Hollis positioned himself in front of that Hall.

"Hey don' discount me yet, us country bumpkins know ar' share of magic." the Prefect shot back defensively. And then he raised his wand out in front of him and began to utter the words of a spell. A faint white light began to trickle out of his wand. Agena had never seen a spell like that before, and although it had a familiar ring to it she couldn't readily place what language it was.

"What kind of spell is that?" Agena audibly asked, trying to understand what Hollis was doing, as he began to take these very slow steps into the hallway.

"Well it's just like Montague over there said, backwater tricks." Annette answered. But seeing a slightly confused look appear on Agena face she went to elaborate a little further. "You see Hollis comes from a wizard clan thats lives up in this ass-backwards part of the Cairngorms, where everyone talks like their rolling a lump of peat in their mouths."

"The Cairngorms? You serious?" Agena asked in disbelief. She read an article about some of the magical wildlife that existed in that region of the Eastern Highlands. It had been during a brief stay in the waiting room at St. Mungo's. Nymphadora had outdone her usual clumsiness, by tripping into a cabinet that was full of potions her Aunt had brewed. It took the healers the better part of the afternoon to reverse the damage that all of those potions had done to her. As a result she had more than enough time to go though all of the magazines that had. "That whole area is suppose to be infested with Wyverns."

The Cairngorms were home to the Black Wyvern, which was just one of the many creatures out there that could be described as a Pseudo-dragon. As a true dragon had four legs along with a pair of separate wings, as well as some sort fire-breathing capabilities. The wings of the Wyvern were integrated into it's forelimbs. And they had no fire-breathing abilities, however they did have poisonous stinger at the end of their tails. Another important distinction was that they were more like amphibians rather than reptiles. They laid their eggs in the stagnant peat bogs of the mountain valleys. Their young feed off of unfertilized eggs, each other or on whatever unfortunate animal that might happen to become trapped in the same pool as them, at least until they have grown enough to leave and fly on their own.

"Yeah, he's talked about them before. He claims that his family has been watching over the flocks since the time of the Romans. I don't know how true that is, but he does know some magic that I've never seen before. Not to mention, you've seen how his wand looks, that thing has to be homemade. I doubt that Ollivanders' would ever sell one like it."

"It does look like he snapped it off of some random tree." Agena agree with a nod.

"And you've heard the way he talks sometimes. He has gotten a lot better since his first year, but back then none could understand a damn thing he said. He used to get made fun a lot because of it too. When he talks to Professor McGonagall he still calls her mum, instead of ma'am, but I think he does that just to irritate her."

"Annette look." Agena whispered pointing a finger at the young man, who had become the center of their conversation.

He still had his wand out in front of him, and he was still muttering the same incantation that had prompted her and Annette's dialog. But his slow foot steps had finally taken him into that hallway. The overhead lamps had brighten only briefly before they returned to it's normal level of illumination. There was no alarm, nor was he knocked to the ground like the others had been. There was a slight shimmer in the floor, but otherwise it stayed right where it was. That spell he was using, whatever it was, seemed to be masking his presence. However the spell itself must have also been taking a good deal of his concentration as he was only moving down the hall with tiny half steps.

A sort of murmur rose in the gathered crowd. Even though he was moving slowly, he was still getting across.

"Looks like that boyfriend of yours is going to make it." a girl next to Annette sneered. Agena looked to see that the statement had come from a brown haired girl that was standing next to the Prefect.

"Tania, I know that you like to keep repeating yourself but he is not my boyfriend." Annette claimed in a tired tone. "He just happens to want what he can not have."

Agena raised an eyebrow, while the other girl, Tania Ballow, scoffed at Anette's claim. If anything Tania was to Annette what Pansy Parkinson was to her. An acquaintance you keep solely for the purpose being able to compete with and annoy, whenever possible.

"Yeah I'm sure its just him that wants something." Tania said with a teasing grin, but the smile faded when Annette didn't take the bate. "Anyway, it looks like your not-boyfriend is going to get across."

"Not if I have any say in the matter." Annette said, as she brought a hand up to her chin. Her eyes narrowed as a rather calculating look crossed her features.

"You know the rules, we are not allowed to interfere with the contenders."

"No. Girls are not allowed to use magic against the contenders." Annette clarified. "And with the spell he was using, the only thing we would have to do is distract him enough to break his concentration."

"What like get all the girls to start yelling at him?"

"No that wouldn't work, it would have to be something more... " Annette's voiced faded off. The corners of her mouth crept upwards and a faint blush crossed her cheeks. "... something he wants but can not have."

Agena raised an eyebrow, as Annette let out a giggle that was somewhere between girlish and devious. And she watched with both a growing curiosity and a growing confusion as her hands disappeared into her robes. Her hips wiggled from side to side, she then hunched over slightly, and then crouched a little.

"What are you doing?" Tania asked her while backing away from the blond.

"Yeah, just what are you doing?" Agena parroted, even with her robes on she could make that her arms were moving along her body in such a way that it looked like Annette was... "Oh! Please tell me your not doing what I think your doing.

"Your probably a little too young to fully appreciate this, but there are few things that a guy will find more distracting, than a pretty girl." Annette told her as she raised up one of her leg and after she set it back down she did the same with the other. Agena's suspicions were confirmed when she saw the pink piece of cloth she was holding as her hand as it reemerged form her robes.

"And just what do you think your going to do with that!" Tania gaped in hushed voice.

"Well I intent to send this flying right over his shoulder, and if it get the magic just right it will fall on the and unfold right in front of him." Annette explained, but seeing the disbelieving look on her friend's face she added. "It's to distract him."

"Distract!?... With your underwear?" The brunette hissed.

"Although I'm sure it would have the same effect, I'm certainly not going to show them to him while I'm wearing them." Annette said like it was something that was perfectly natural for her to say.

"Are you mad!? Your parents will kill you when they find out. Hell, You parents would probably kill you if they knew you wore knickers like that!"

Agena adverted her eyes. Tania did have a point, although it was nothing she hadn't already seen in Nymphadora's underwear draw. Sure some of them were cute, but she didn't see the point of walking around with a thin strip of cloth riding up the crack of your ass. Nymphadora explain to her that she would understand the need and desire to once she got older. But Agena had her doubts.

"Well Yes. My father would be furious, but then again this sort of thing as makes him a bit uncomfortable. My mother on the other hand would probably give me a lecture that someone of my status shouldn't be wasting their time with cotton, when silk is so much better."

Agena coughed. She had no idea how Annette could say something like that with such a straight face. The other girl's face was a deep red, but Agena was pretty sure that was from anger rather than embarrassment.

"And what would they say about you throwing your underwear at a boy?" Tania asked her between gritted teeth.

"Granted it is rather extreme, but it is a sacrifice that I'm willing to pay to insure that our that a boy doesn't sully our dormitory with his presence. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something undignified to do." Annette explained with a smile as she hooked her underwear on the tip of her wand. She then tuned to Agena and said. "And Agena, you should pay attention. This is were Arithmancy comes in handy."

Agena watched as Annette worked her way to the front of the crowd and then step up in front of the dorm entrance. And before any of the other boys could stop her or protest, Annette took aim with her wand. She seemed to a moment to gage the height and the distance. Hollis had inched his way pasted the halfway-mark. Meaning that he had already made it farther than anyone else including Flint and his rocket broom.

"Hey Hollis! Look alive!" Annette shouted and then with a small zip of light Annette sent the little pink garment shot through the air. It few right over Hollis's shoulder and is if on queue it slowed down and tumbled to the floor right in front of the boy. And then... and in a rather comical fashion... Hollis swayed slightly in mid step and then promptly fell as the floor vanished beneath him. The sounds of the slash was drowned out by the siren of the flashing hallway lights and by the cheer that rose from the girls that were gathered in the common room.

-

Author's Note: Did I just end a chapter there? Yes. Yes, I did. Why you ask, because If I didn't This chapter would have kept going. I was already up to ten thousand words. So it would be a pretty good idea to cut things off there and work the remaining bits into the next chapter. And there is just one chapter left of Year one.

Also I apologize for the delay in this chapter but I had a computer die on me and that left be unable to write for a while. Please send in those Reviews.