The Four Shadows

Chapter 12

   "So Salazars running about the castle and hiding while Rowena is still-?"
  "Sulking in her chambers"
Helga and James were prepping for the ball early in the morning. Crystals were being hung, while the ceiling was enchanted to look like a vibrant sunrise with different colors. Helga was pointing her wand at lamps and lights, floating them across the Great Hall and pointing her wand at flowers, pinning them across the the wall of the Great Hall.
  "Hey James can you put those crystals... right..... there....." Helga trailed off. Her attention was turned to the door where Salazar Slytherin had casually strolled in.
  James hopped down from the chair he was standing on and held his wand rather hard.
"Looking lovely" Salazar said without an ounce of sarcasm or hate. Helga inhaled and didn't move.
"Nice to see you here." She said stiffly. Salazar walked around the Great Hall, admiring the decorations. He picked a flower that was mindlessly hovering in place by the Great Hall window.
"Don't touch those!" Helga snapped. Salazar turned around, stared at her, and dropped the flower on the ground. He flashed a cocky smile and stepped on the flower, crushing its delicate petals.
"I came to tie loose ends. Apparently I'm not welcome here." Salazar said bitterly. He turned on his heels and marched out of the Great Hall.
"You stay away from our students!" Helga yelled after him. Salazar stopped in his tracks but didn't turn to face Helga. Her lips were closed tight and her nostrils flared.
"Do not harm anymore of our students for yourself. And stay away from Mr. Malfoy." She called out to him. Salazar only scoffed. Avoiding her comments, he spoke slowly.
"Apologizes..." Salazar said. "If you hear things in the walls at night. She needs to move around a bit." He finally said before strolling out of the Great Hall, onto wherever he was going.
Helga wanted to scream in anger and throw things at Salazar. She could have done it in a heartbeat but something stopped her.
"She? So now the Basilisk is sliding throughout the castle-" James asked rather infuriated. Helga cut him off to defend Salazar.
"Just give him some time-"
"Time?!" James yelled. "I've had enough time! Ever since you and Rowena came knocking on my door I knew I shouldn't have joined this. You Four lived in peace for a year but when Rowena died it's been nothing but hate, anger and fighting! Salazar is isolating himself and he needs someone. Did you not just notice how he was probably going to make things right just then? But of course, you had to scold him to get your ways. My God, you're so naïve!" James yelled. He walked out of the Great Hall rather harshly, waving his wand and slamming the doors with force after him.

Monolithos Malfoy tried to concentrated in Care of Magical creatures. Mr. Kedt's lesson was rather boring today. Lithos didn't want to learn how to hold a baby Jobbernoll but he was scribbling down notes and drawing diagrams in his books. Once Mr. Kedt dismissed the class, he scooped up his bag and books absentmindedly and headed for the door. Algar chased after him, dropping paper and quills on the ground.
"Wait up!" He called after Lithos. Once everything was sloppily stuffed into his bag, he walked beside his friend, who was on his way to Charms.
"You alright? I guess since the accident you shouldn't be but cheer up lad!" Algar said.
"I'm going to get to the bottom of this" Lithos said in a droning tone. Algar laughed.
"Going? Mate, you've been saying that for weeks! Why don't you go and do somethin 'bout it!" Algar said, punching Lithos' shoulder. "Anyways..." Algar side-eyed his friend. "Did you hear about Abigail?". Lithos looked at his friend.
"I know" Lithos sighed. "I was there.". Algar stopped and almost fell in his tracks. Slamming an arm against his friends chest, he stared at him, wide eyed.
"What really happened?!" Algar pleaded. Lithos laughed and pulled his friends arm off of him, continuing to walk. "She wasn't 'spooked' like the other professors said, she was cursed. By professor S too." Lithos said as if it was nothing. Algar shook his head in denial.
"What?!" He yelled. Some students turned their heads. As the two climbed a stair case, Lithos continued.
"I'll explain it" He said. "But let's get done with Charms. Meet me in the common room, 12." Lithos directed, leaving Algar in complete shock.
  That night, Algar tapped his fingers anxiously on an old table. His heart rate had climbed as he watched a cracked clock on the wall tick. Lithos emerged from the dormitories and made his way down to the table. Algar noticed a thin stack of papers in Lithos' arms.
Lithos slid in at the table across from Algar, the deep shade of green from the lake shining lowly on his face.
"Read these first." Lithos said, sliding a news clipping across the table. Algar held the paper up and read it out loud.
"Pure blood family the Slytherin accused of murdering muggles in neighboring village. Ruby and Francis Slytherin who have been affiliated with the so called 'Ministry of Magic' claimed they were under orders. Locals believe the Slytherin were under the Imperius charm..." Algar trailed off, reading the article to himself. When he was done he slapped the paper with his hand. "You can't trust these people! The Daily Prophet? They're just wanna be famous and money mooching wizards!" Algar said rather loudly. Lithos leaned in and shushed him.
"It doesn't matter. But his parents are mental! This gives me a head start. It's passed down! It fits together. His parents were probably spiteful towards the muggle-borns and even half bloods, leaving him to do the family business. Professor S was sent by his family to destroy all these mudbloods at Hogwarts!" Lithos said. Algar didn't buy it.
"That's a whole lot your assumin' Lithos" Algar said. "You don't know that. And didn't an organization try to take Hogwarts down last year because they thought nobody was worthy of magic or something?" Algar rose an eyebrow. Lithos sighed and pulled another clipping out, this time it was writing by a local and trustworthy wizarding newspaper.
Algar took it and read the headliner:
CRYSTAL PROPHECY BALL STOLEN FROM LOCAL SEER.
Keeping his eyebrows raised, Algar put the paper down.
"What's this about?" He asked. Lithos snatched the paper away from Algar.
"To sum it up, a crystal ball was stolen by an unnamed thief. This crystal ball was worth a lot and powerful. You know what I found down there in the Quidditch broom closet? Broken glass. When I was pulled down there, I over heard them talking about 'the crystal ball'. So this means Professor S was using it after it was stolen. This links to him in general because he's been using it for his own personal use which means he probably knows the entire future of this school." Lithos said, sliding over another clipping.
"Basilisk egg missing?" Algar read from the page. As if a lightbulb went up, his eyebrows shot up and slammed his hands on the table.
"You said something about a Chamber right?" Algar asked. Lithos nodded. "Only Parseltounges can control those things. Did you over hear anything else in the basements?"
"Something about a tunnel being punctured through the walls" Lithos recalled.
"It's obvious!" Algar said. Lithos wasn't following. "Professor S has a damn Basilisk in that chamber! That's why he's been gone. He's been trying to tame it, or prepare it for something! The egg, the chamber, the tunnel, the absence. Everything fits! But we're missing more. We need more information on the rest of the professors." Algar said. Lithos' face lit up. They had finally cracked the code; or at least they thought they did.
"We need more help." Lithos pointed out. He put his finger to his lips. "But we need to find out about that cursed book".

The same night Algar and Lithos were swapping news clippings in their Common Room, the four professors gathered in the hospital wing.
"What I don't understand is why we didn't go into a fit like that when we touched it" Rowena asked, hesitant to be around her friends.
  "He could have been restricting students from touching it" James proposed as he was near the  sleeping student. He looked down with sadness in his eyes at the Ravenclaw girl.
"Or..." Godric said, sitting on a wobbly chair backwards  at the foot of the bed, resting his arms on the back,  "He wanted us to read it".
  "No." Helga said, crossing her arms.
"Oh quit trying to believe he's a good man, Helga" Rowena said with a bitter scowl. Godric looked down and began to fill with annoyance.
"It's cliché," Helga snapped back, "that the Slytherin is the villain".
  "Ladies" James warned.
"Rowena is right" Godric breathed, rubbing the side of his face. "He held a student hostage and basically cursed another one. He needs to be stopped." Godric said sternly. Helga scoffed and looked upwards before putting a hand across her face too.
  "What he needs to be is moral. And he can't do that without knowing his friends are there for him! We need to show him kindness-" Helga started, but James laughed.
"You're one to talk about kindness after that stunt you pulled!" James snapped. Rowena and Godric both looked to Helga.
"What stunt?" Rowena asked. Helga looked between Godric and Rowena, intimidated.
"Salazar came in the Great Hall, looking for forgiveness we assume" James told them. Godrics eyes widened and Rowena looked rather impressed.
"What'd he say?" Rowena asked. James looked to Helga who was now staring at her shoes.
"He said he came there to tie loose ends" She said, looking Godric dead in the eye.
"And what was your stunt?" Rowena asked. James  laughed and easily answered for Helga.
"She snapped at him! Basically told him to piss off!" James said, looking at Helga. Helga gave James a deadly glare.
"That was your chance!" Godric yelled. "You could have been kind to him and finally save our bond but no-"
"Oh really?" Helga asked sarcastically. "Says the one who had freaked out on students and almost wanted to kill them because they went into your broom closet." Helga said with a snark. Godric huffed.
  "I apologize for that. I didn't realize the Slytherins weren't learning how to fly. See?" Godric put his hands up. Rowena pressed her fingers on the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
  "Both of you are so stupid" she muttered. As she said that, offended looks were plastered on everyone's face.
"Hm let's keep track of how many times the smart House leader calls people stupid" Godric flared up at Rowena.
  "I'm going to bed. I thought this meeting was going to solve everything but apparently not," Rowena breathed, "oh and Godric I noticed your angry. Let me lock the Quidditch room door for you or are you going to go after me like I'm an inferior?" Rowena said mockingly before stomping out of the Hospital wing. Shortly, Helga followed, leaving Godric and James alone.
  "We're going to find Salazar even if it takes centuries" Godric said, staring straight ahead at the sleeping student. He looked up to James. "You're still going through with your plan right?" He asked. James nodded. Godric got up and left and James stayed beside the student. Godric stopped at the door and turned around, looking at the Ravenclaw girl, whom he hoped heard nothing.
This wasn't how they wanted Hogwarts to go down. Godric had thought it would go down in a blaze of glory, while Rowena and Helga thought it would just become outdated and nobody would come, but none of them had though Hogwarts short-lived life would end by a feud.