The Other Castellan

Horcrux

Chapter 27: Horcrux

Lucas ended up spending hours carrying two or three books to his dormitory each trip. It took a while, but it was only four trips, as Lucas didn't want to lug all those books to the dormitory and then back when he was done with them. Those books were heavy. And there were stairs. Stairs. It was extremely tiring to sneak through the hallways carrying those books.

And so, Lucas ended up reading the books in his spare time with his friends (at least, those in Slytherin).

"Dumbledore's been sacked," Pansy informed them on their first day reading through the books. "Yesterday evening."

Well. Pansy was always good at gossip. It might not always be reliable, but they always managed to get the gist of it.

"Don't they need an Order of Suspension?" Lucas asked, frowning. "It has to be signed by all twelve of the governors, right?"

"What, do you think that it's that hard?" Pansy snarked. "A bit of manipulation and cajoling, and they'll all give in."

"But it's..." Lucas waved his arms around, nearly flipping the book that was balanced precariously balanced on his seat's armrest. "... it's stupid!" he exclaimed. "I mean, isn't Dumbledore supposed to be the only person Voldermort... no, wait, You-Know-Who feared?"

"Well, yes," Pansy said slowly. "But who knows what goes on in their mind? But they have to do something. I think they believe that there might be something that Dumbledore's successor will be able to do."

"They're idiots," Lucas decided. "Dumbledore may not have done anything last year, but he's still a very powerful wizard."

"Um... Draco," Theo said. "You do realize that by insulting the governors, you're also insulting your father?"

"So?" he asked. "Just because he's family doesn't mean I can't insult him." Well, he wasn't actually his father, but they didn't need to know that.

"Alright, that's enough," Daphne cut in. "This is why we need to find out what that diary is and how to destroy it. If we're lucky, no one will have died by then."

"If," Lucas muttered. "If." He paged through the book, finding a section on Black Quills. It was interesting and a bit horrifying but was more grey than Dark. It definitely wasn't what they were looking for.

But Daphne was right. They did need to destroy the diary as fast as possible. With the possibility of another attack at any moment, the atmosphere of the school was incredibly tense. The safety measures probably didn't help to ease it. Yes, it was for their safety, but it served to make them more anxious.

They weren't allowed to wander off on their own anymore. Instead, they were herded together from class to class with other Slytherins. Most people seemed to be pleased that they were being herded from class to class, but Lucas found it very useless and tiring. It wasn't as if a teacher was going to be able to protect them from Lyra. She was the embodiment of the saying, "If looks could kill, I'd be dead by now."

One student who seemed to be enjoying it was Zabini. He acted like he owned the school and would loudly voice his opinions. Like now.

"How do you feel about your father getting rid of Dumbledore, Malfoy?" Zabini taunted. "'Course, if you were a true Slytherin, then you'd be happy." He turned to Crabbe and Goyle. "My bet's on that you're upset, like those Mudbloods and Blood-Traitors." Half the Slytherins in the room roared with laughter and jeers. "He was always the worst Headmaster the school has ever seen. Maybe we'll get a decent Headmaster now. One who won't want the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in, after all."