Slytherin Tales: The Divine Seven

Chapter 18: The Truth Behind the Mystery Girl

Word Count: 2,195

Chapter 18: The Truth Behind the Mystery Girl

I rushed out of Professor Willoughby's office and down the staircase back to the Great Hall. I managed to catch my friends just as they were leaving. I grabbed the hands of Elliot and Sable and told them all to follow. I ignored their protests and questions as I led them all to a secluded spot in the library in a far off corner. From there I explained everything that had just happened.

"So the rumors we've heard are right then, and the staff is missing," I finished.

"I guess some rumors have some merit behind them," Sable muttered, astounded.

"That must've been terrifying! Having them all there staring at you, accusing you," Rubina said, shuddering at the thought.

"Did you do it?" Val asked, though I think he was only half serious.

"Of course not! I didn't even think they were real until ten minutes ago!"

"How did the ring get into your robe pocket?" Elliot asked.

"I have no clue. It had to have been sometime before I served detention, the last time I wore it was that night I dueled Leon at the top of the Astronomy Tower," I reasoned.

"Well, we've got only a few days to figure this out, so let's get started!" Sable said.

"Where do we even start?" asked Val, his eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"I think it would be best to start by learning more about these objects. There's gotta be something here in the library that can help us," I answered. We spread out and began scouting the shelves for books that might have answers. Finally, Rubina stumbled across what we were looking for.

"Here it is!" she exclaimed. 'This book has an entire section on the Divine Seven. It has most of the information Professor Spinster explained in class, and then some. Which objects did you say were stolen again?"

"The ring, which was in my robe, and the staff, which is still missing."

"Staff...ring...staff... Here we are! The Staff of Suppression. Believed to be the most powerful magic channeling objects in existence currently, it's said that it has the power to produce the most extraordinary of spells and has the ability to destroy any existing enchantments, no matter the skill level of the caster," she read aloud to us, her voice hushed so as not to attract attention while still loud enough for all of us to hear. We listened carefully as she continued onto the next page. "The Ring of Arrangement. It's a ring with the power to transform the wearer into anything they can imagine. It has shapeshifting powers beyond compare to any transforming creatures or spells."

"Whoever took the staff must have wanted that power, obviously, and it's not hard to see why. Any power hungry fool would have taken it, but the real question is why did they also take the ring? They needed that one for a reason," mused Val. Suddenly, an idea flickered in my head.

"I got it! Maybe they didn't need the ring at all!"

"What're you talking about," Sable sounded skeptical.

"The ring is a red herring. It doesn't make sense that they wanted all of the objects since they gave one of them up. This means that they weren't after the ring specifically at all, they needed it as a false lead. The ring was to make me their scapegoat. Without that ring, I probably wouldn't have been hard accused as much as I was. The ring threw the faculty off the real culprit's trail, making them think I was at fault. So, logically speaking, they only wanted the staff," I concluded.