Only The Beginning

Halloween and Firewhisky

The portrait of Charles Rookwood stared at her questioningly "Is it true? You've completed the first trial?" his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes Professor, I have though not without some difficulty." Olive glanced at the rips on her clothing.

"Good, the trials are designed to ensure our ability is not within the wrong hands. I am Professor Charles Rookwood; I am one of the four keepers you will encounter on this journey." Olive wondered if he had any relation to Victor Rookwood.

"I remember you; I saw you in the memory I found in Gringotts, and then again in the restricted section. We were able to decipher the map from the locket we found floating above the pensive in Gringotts, but I found something floating above the last pensive that I can't figure out what it is." She pulled the swirling piece out of her bag and produced it to the portrait.

"You will find a similar artifact with each memory you view as you proceed through the trials. Be sure to keep them safe, it is the only way to move toward the end of the trial, it will become clear once you have them all in hand. That is all I can say for now."

"Are we able to speak of the next trials? I would like to know more of what lies ahead." Olive questioned, not liking to be kept in the dark.

"Before we move onto the next trial, I must speak to Charles of our goblin situation." Professor Rackham spoke up.

"Goblins?" Charles looked at the portrait beside him.

"Olive and Professor Fig have seen goblinkind utilizing a powerful dark magic that I have an unfortunate bad feeling about. They've encountered goblins at the tower and were ambushed by a powerful goblin at my vault in Gringotts. We will need to pause the rest of the trials, until we know more."

"Of course, we understand completely." Professor Fig said politely, but his face held tension.

The pair left the Map Chamber, climbing the stairs into the dungeons of Hogwarts. "I think we could both use a cup of tea, don't you?" Professor Fig questioned after a long silence, he held his arm out to her and with a resounding crack, they apparated to his office.

Olive sighed as she sunk into the couch in front of the fireplace, the crackling calming her mind. Her body was dense, the trial used muscles she didn't even know she had. She began to doze off until the smell of earl grey tea came from right under her nose, she opened her eyes to see Fig holding out the cup to her with a smile on his face. She grasped the warm cup taking the chill off her fingers, and sipped the tea lightly, trying not to burn her mouth.

Fig sat in the chair beside her, "What did you see in this memory?"

She sat up straighter in her seat "It was Isadora before she became a Hogwarts professor. She was training with Professor Rackham, and she was growing frustrated with him, questioning what good she could do with her gift, asking if it could take away pain, specifically for her father, It didn't appear they left on good terms."

"Hmm, human emotions are a delicate thing," He rubbed his forehead "I suppose we won't know more until we see the next memory. Now it's up to us to figure out what Ranrok is up to, I'm embarrassed to say that for once I don't know where to begin."

"For once I'm excited to say I might know where we can start." Olive chuckled "When Sebastian and I were attacked by that troll and we took cover from Rookwood in the Three Broomsticks, I saw Sirona talking with a goblin who was on his way out. They appeared to be friends, he may be an ally to us and can help figure out Ranroks motives."

"Brillant, see what you can learn." Fig poured himself another cup of tea, "Speaking of learning, I hope you are staying caught up in your studies."

"I am sir, the field guide Professor Weasley gave me has been a huge help in keeping me organized."