The Shadow of Slytherin

Dipped into the cold

Dragging your feet, you stand at the boat house next to Ominis, Libby close to him, shivering as the icy wind tears through her jumper. At the flick of your finger a heating spell gives her some warmth, Ominis as well as he rubs his arms to keep from shivering.

"All right, time to dive in. Who wants to go first?"

"I am certain the teachers did not intend for us to swim in dark waters, in the night at this freezing temperature," Ominis, standing close to you, blocks your way when you approach the edge of the footpath. "And I thought I made myself clear when I asked you not to put yourself in danger."

With a chuckle, Atticus pats Ominis on the shoulder and winks at you. "Not to worry Gaunt, I'll bring your beloved Summersun back."

Glances exchanged, you laugh, then watch Alex lift the hand holding his Ravenclaw. "Doubt it is a good idea to swim like this. Gaunt is right, right?" He eyes the others who step back as well, staring at the small ripples on the dark lake surface.

With a sigh, you gesture for Poppy to let go, then release her from your grasp. "I am willing to risk it."

"So am I," Atticus states as he grabs Ominis's hand and gives him Garreth. "Hold this for me, will ya, Gaunt?" With those words, he takes off his jumper and shirt, then shoes, standing in his trousers alone. "Wish me luck."

Cheering, Poppy grips the gemstone tight. "Do you truly believe, I would run away? I am too excited to see what you will find," she assures as you take off your jumper and shoes as well and hand them to her.

Following Atticus's example, you dive into the cold lake, searching for whatever the wolf might have indicated. Freezing water bashes against your skin, slithering through your hair as you dive deeper but run out of air as the cold clenches your chest. Risen to the surface, you exchange glances with Atticus in the dark, the voices of Poppy and Libby at the boathouse, the wands pointed at the dark waters.

"Do you hear that?"

"Your girlfriend or the bats?"

Splashing Atticus with water, you swim to him, then gesture into the dark. "That, the whirlpool over there. I have never noticed it before."

"Maybe you weren't looking close enough," Atticus blows some air through his closed lips as he swims towards the whirlpool, waits for you to arrive, then dives down, alongside you, into a tall cavern under water.

The body shaking from the cold, Atticus wrings out his hair, then pats himself down. "My wand, it must have fallen out in the lake."

Shaking your head, you motion a flame in the air and push it towards Atticus. The heating spell takes immediate effect and Atticus stops shivering, the teeth no longer clacking as he walks alongside you towards a tall wall blocking your way.

With a scoff, he watches you draw the heating spell on your same then pair it with a drying spell. "Must be nice to be able to do that. Is that the ancient magic?"

"No, Black forbade me to use it, put up a shield around Hogwarts. So, it's just me, I guess," you answer, occupied with studying the many runes on the wall before you.

The stone wall portrays some events from a long time ago, the erection of Hogwarts, Salazar as he speaks to his co-founders and they reject him, the chambers he builds into the castle. At last, you both stare at a giant depiction of a snake that slithers along the wall and around a darker stone that forms an almost circular indent in the wall.

Strange whispers linger in your ear as you step closer and reach out your hand to touch the stone, but Atticus jumps forward, gripping your hand as he turns to have a look around. "Something is not right."