The Four Shadows

Chapter 8

Lithos Malfoy and Algar Hangington walked briskly through the corridors and courtyards of Hogwarts. They were on their way to Potions with the Hufflepuffs, and Professor Hufflepuff herself.
"Mr. Gryffindor didn't even show us the movement for Wingardium Leviosa! That charm is dull, I'll tell ya" Algar said, flipping through a very small book of charms. "I heard Defense Against the Dark Arts today is exciting. Miss Hufflepuff apparently shows you a skull of a real werewolf...."
Algars blabbering was drowned out by Lithos. Lithos didn't feel right and had felt as if he was expecting something. They entered the Potions classroom gladly with the Hufflepuffs that day. The classroom was beaming with excitement and sunlight because Helga hadn't dared to teach something out of her comfort zone.
A few minutes after everyone settled down, Helga got to work as everyone stared stirring up their own Draught of Peace.
One Hufflepuff student had the bottom of their cauldron seared off, leaking the potion on the table. A few students had the potion explode in their face from adding the wrong ingredient.
Helga had caught a students hand just in time before they dropped something in the cauldron they shouldn't.
"No worries! We add powdered unicorn horn instead of powdered bear claw. No worries no worries! We learn from our mistakes! Now- yes correct! Wonderful!" Helga comforted the upset Slytherin who felt as if she messed up. Helga walked around, guiding the students gently and making sure all of them were safe and happy. Students erupted with cheers when they completed the potion, happy with their end result. Helga checked and was determined none of the students had felt dull-witted, and she taught them by their mistakes.
By the class was nearing the end, Helga helped them bottle their Potions in small viles.
"Use them well!" She informed the students. As she was going to wrap her lesson up, Rowena had slammed open the classroom door in exasperation. She feebly smiled and attempted to act natural. "May I have Miss Hufflepuff and Mr. Malfoy at this moment?" Rowena asked calmly. Helga stopped what she was doing because she didn't like the worried expression plastered across her friends face.
"Students... bottle up your Draught of Living Peace and use it well. Please remain here until the end of the class. Mr. Malfoy, if you will?" Helga gestured to the door. Nervously, Lithos got up, pocketed his potion in his robes and went to the professor. Helga scurried out of the room, leaving the students to chat amongst themselves.
Once the door was closed, Rowena broke out in a hysterical frenzy of rapid speaking, but Helga calmed her down.
"So what's the issue?" She asked. Rowena took a minute to breathe.
"Salazar saw that his book was gone" Rowena said. Helga sharply inhaled. "We must go. Now." She directed.
"But what does Mr. Malfoy have to do with anything?" Helga asked. Lithos looked between the two professors.
"Godric requested him. Now we must hurry!" Rowena sternly said.
Without haste, they took off, following Rowena. Lithos was confused and scared. What could the three main professors want with him? Everything ruinous he did began to file in his mind. Surely he didn't do anything that could get him expelled. As they were quickly walking through the twist and turns of Hogwarts, Lithos found their destination to be familiar to him.
"Why are we in the basements?" Lithos asked. The professors ignored him.
As the three approached the Quidditch storage room, Godric burst through the door. His black hair was sticking out everywhere, sweat beads pouring on his face.
"In. Now" he panted. Helga ran inside but Rowena turned to Lithos, grabbing his shoulders.
"Stay here. No shenanigans" she said. Rowena hurried inside but Lithos stood back, dumbfounded.
Inside, Godric and the two professors stood in the broom closet, which was no longer a broom closet.
The wall in front of them, was completely gone. Instead of cement and stone, a long and wide tunnel that had a straight shot of the Basilisks chamber replaced it.
Helga leaned sideways to look at the massive tunnel that broke through the closet. "You could fit two people in there" she said, leaning back up. "How'd this happen?" She asked.
Godric stepped a foot in the long hole. "Came down to do a broom check and this was here. I needed Lithos to confirm he found glass down here, but then I realized I didn't need him because..." he trailed off as he pointed to the far corner of the closet. In the corner was a small pile of glass.
  "It can't be...." Rowena quietly said. She walked over, bent down and examined a piece of the glass. It had a foggy and glossy tint to it that seemed oddly familiar to her. "Oh good Lord" she whispered.
  "You alright Rowena?" Godric asked, hopping down from the tunnel.
  "It's that crystal ball from Eldon" She spoke sharply, getting up and facing her friends. Helga laughed.
  "Absolutely not." She forced a laugh. "I was told it was destroyed after that Order of Herriot mess!" Helga said, growing more anxious.
  "Apparently not" Rowena said. Godric crossed his arms. "How are you so sure it's the crystal ball glass?" He asked.
"I just know" she said. But Godric wasn't buying it. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the pile of glass.
"Reparo!" He bellowed. Like invisible hands were gluing it together, the crystal ball restored itself piece by piece like a puzzle. In no time, the same crystal ball that tore the Four apart was sitting in front of them.
  In a fit of panic and anger, Helga quickly pulled her own wand out and yelled, "REDUCTO!", releasing a blast of blue from her wand. It hit the ball, turning it into specks of dust.
  "What the hell is wrong with you!" Godric yelled at her, furious. Helga angrily looked at Godric.
  "Thank me! I just saved your life!" She yelled at him. She then turned to Rowena. "And I saved your life again!" Helga still had her wand in her hand, pointing it. Staying calm, Rowena breathed.
  "Helga. Put the wand away." She said, out stretching a hand. Helga reluctantly put the wand in her dress pocket, while Godric was still furious.
  "We know Salazar had this the entire time and now we also know that he knows more than us. It's time to find and confront him" Rowena said sternly. "In the mean time, close this damn tunnel. I don't want that thing murdering us in our sleep" She finished. Godric sighed and waved his wand, as the tunnel closed itself, sealing the entry ways between beast and human.
  The three left the broom closet, locked the door and left the Quidditch room, but once they stepped a foot out of the door, they saw a sight they never wanted to see.
  Salazar had Lithos as a hostage, with his wand pointed low at his torso.
"Let's talk then" Salazar said.