Dark Wizard Collector: A Hogwarts Fanfiction

Chapter 12

Reaching the Restricted Section, I finally read the title of the book, Mistress Melony's Magical Maps; I laughed. Merlin's beard! What in the world is this? With a flick of dust, the thick book's glided pages told me all there was to know about creating one's own map. Incantations to veil the ink of treasure maps and passwords to keep others from reading documents burned themselves into my memory. Now isn't this the most useful thing I've ever seen? I mused as I finished reading the book. Best to keep that safe, I chuckled to myself before repairing the bookshelf chain to the iron clasp. Tugging the book's chain, I grinned knowing the rare book was back where it belonged. I let go of the hard purple cover of the book and watched it float back to the top of the shelf, its chain dangling against the massive wooden home of books.

"BOO!" Screamed a chillingly high pitched voice.

"PEEVES!" I yelled back to the poltergeist floating around me in the dark library.

"Never thought I would be seeing you here again." His round mischievous face laughed, "How did you get back?"

"I'm not an idiot, Peeves." Replying was probably the worst thing I could have done.

"So it is you! I knew Maven Riddle was back! No one believed me, but I could sense the biggest trickster a mile away." The stout ghost did a jig in the air proud that he remembered his favorite Hogwarts student.

"WHAT?! Others know I'm here?" aghast I shot a look at the wispy figure and clenched my fists; with a guffaw Peeves pulled the ends of my hair.

"You fell for it! Ah ha! I got you!" His reply told me that I had just been pranked.

"Good one Peeves, but Myrtle knew me."

"Aye, she would be the only one, and the Bloody Baron, but you knew that."

"Did I?" I muttered trying to remember which ghosts I interacted with when I attended Hogwarts. "I say Peeves, I really need your help. Who else knew about me when I was a student?"

Seconds flew by before the poltergeist answered. "In all honesty, no one." A sneaky smile crossed the transparent face. "Besides the professors."

"BARON!" I called out, wary that my prankster in crime was taking the piss. Another ghost appeared, covered in blood and wearing a long ominous face.

"Maven, it's so good to see you again. How's the little brother?"

"I haven't talked to him in years," I admitted and proceeded to seek the truth about rumors about me in the castle.

"Peeves is correct; no ghost remembers you. Myrtle did, but Peeves told me you fixed that. When you were here, you kept your head stuffed so far into a book no one ever bothered with you. Why are you back?" The Bloody Baron took a seat on one of the chandeliers in the hall of bookshelves.

The Bloody Baron and Peeves were my best friends, and I knew they would never betray me. "I missed you both." I smiled.

Peeves hovered beside. "It's good to have you back, Mave."

The ominous spirit nodded and I felt happy again.

"Truth is, I wasted the best part of my life caring for Gellert after Dumbledore betrayed him. However, after everything I did for Gellert, he never loved or even appreciated me. So, I left him and found a job at the Ministry of Magic for a decade before returning here. I'm just trying to have a life again." I never thought that I would be admitting to the waste of my precious young life over unrequited love.

"You've always been a ghost to us." Peeves smiled.

It was a rotten shame that I was such a bookworm when I should have been making real friends and learning about people, rather than learning about the world around me. Although I loved absorbing new facts and secrets, I never actually advanced myself in what really matters in the world, people. The relationships I could have had with my classmates would have satisfied me more than a dusty old book or hundreds of spells to help make my life easier. Out of habit, my hand played with the obsidian stone around my silver necklace while I thought of all the things I should have done. In reality, I knew I returned so I could make those friendships and try again at life. I was not born with incredible powers for nothing. The magic and transfiguring abilities I possessed had been for a profound reason. Otherwise, I would not have been a successful witch. A second chance does not just present itself to everyone; I am among the fortunate few. I am blessed.

"How old are you?" queried Peeves with a crinkle of his stubby nose.

"Forty-seven," my voice was small as I felt judged by the two ghosts I had befriended halfway through my attendance of the wizarding academy.

"What fascinating creatures you metamorphmagus's are." The Baron awed at me.

"Well, I just wanted to say thank you to you both."

The two ghosts looked at one another, but they were too slow to escape the white light that ensnared them. I don't need anyone remembering me.