The Four Shadows

Chapter 20

  The day of the Ball had come upon the school fast, giving everyone high energy. Girls were picking out color schemes and choosing which jewels went best with their dress. Boys were fancying up themselves and looking their best for their date. James and Godric still forced their lesson through the day, but Helga and Rowena had let the students chat and play with easy charms. A student in Potions was so excited, the bottom of their cauldron had melted off because they put the wrong ingredient in.
  It was an hour before the Ball and only a few students lingered in front of the closed Great Hall doors, but there was two ladies floors above, having a panic attack.
"Helga calm down!" Rowena said. Helga was pacing back and forth in dressing garments, her deep red ball gown laying sadly across a chair. Helga heaved in and out but Rowena sat in a chair across the room in a black silk robe, crossing her arms.
"Your Professors chambers is a mess" Rowena muttered. Helga stopped pacing and breathed in and out.
"The Ball is ruined" she said oddly calmly. Rowena raised an annoyed eyebrow.
"How may I ask?" Rowena said. Helga shot her a revolting look.
"Salazar is gone, and his students are going to be reckless and destroy our decorations! The instruments-"
"Helga. It's fine" Rowena breathed. She stood up and walked over to Helgas ball gown and picked it up, holding it out in front of her. "Get dressed" she said with a smile. Helga tilted her head and her shoulders sagged with the relief of a best friend helping her.
Rowena helped Helga into her big, deep red ball gown. It was off the shoulder, with a delicate lace trim at the bottom of the dress. She stood in front of a tall mirror with Rowena behind her, smoothing and fluffing out her dress. In seconds later, she was doing her friends makeup, enjoying the moment like they were kids again, but running an entire school too. Rowena rolled her robe sleeves up and laughed about being a muggle before she pulled Helgas unruly and curly hair into a very pretty braided bun. Rowena picked her wand up and tapped Helgas bun, causing a golden Badger clip to appear in her hair.
  "You look stunning. Now I need to get ready. We have half an hour and I can guarantee you the students will be complaining soon." Rowena laughed.  She picked up a flattering olive green dress and squinted at it.
"You okay?" Helga asked, sliding rather small heels on.
  "Girls with my skin color can't pull this color off" Rowena said. Helga snorted.
"Black girls can pull anything off. I bet you look like a queen or ruler of some country when you put that on!" Helga said, focusing on her shoes.
  Rowena got into a dress not as big as Helgas, but simpler.  It was fitting strapless dress, and it flowered out at the bottom with many layers.
"You want to match with me?" Helga asked. Rowena raised an eyebrow and turned around and Helga was holding many boxes of pearls. Rowena smiled but shook her head. She pulled a box out from the chair she was sitting on and it revealed a maroon jeweled necklace.
"My mother gave it to me before she passed" Rowena said, staring at the never ending gleam of the jewels.
"Well I think they are beautiful. And they go with something else beautiful" Helga smiled. She pulled the necklace off of the box and walked behind Rowena, clipping it on. Helga did her best friends makeup too, taking only minutes to do it, hence learning from her little sister. Rowena slid on her flats and they both Apparated down to the Great Hall, keen on not showing themselves in front of the hoard of students that were waiting outside the doors.
Helga and Rowena landed abruptly in the Great Hall and started making finishing touches, but James and Godric were another story.
        
                 THREE HOURS EARLIER

"I know it's Parseltounge" Godric said to James as they were swiftly moving through the halls and corridors.
"It's dead. It's been dead" James sighed as they turned a corner. James was convinced Godric was walking so fast, the wind began to blow his hair backwards.
"Have you checked recently? It's still alive, but mostly Purebloods can speak it. Even descendants of Salazar himself in the future. To put it simple, someone's relative could be a Slytherin, but their relative could get unlucky and inherit that" Godric said. Turning a corner and reaching stairs, he walked fairly fast down them.
"So do you mind telling me why we are down here?" James asked, following Godric.
"There's two things. One, I know for a fact a gang of Slytherin kids are involved with this. And two, I know exactly where Salazar is" Godric said with an outburst of hate.
"You assume a lot of things" James mumbled. Godric didn't listen, but as he was rushing down the batsment halls of Hogwarts, he pulled out a small dagger from the inside of his shirt.
"What in the...." James didn't try to ask what he was doing.
Godric approached his Quidditch room door and unlocked it, entering the high ceilinged room. Looking as if he was frantic, he swiveled right to the wall. He stuck his knife into the wall and began to cut in a small hole. He jabbed at it until it sounded like he hit something.
"Gotcha" Godric said quietly. He pulled his wand out and stood back, pointing it at the wall. "Aberto!" He said.
The wall began to crumble and fall apart, leaving dust to rise in their faces. Once the concrete was peeled away, a wooden door sat in front of them.
"Holy hell" James muttered. "How did you-?"
"No time" Godric said, reaching the door. He jiggled the door handle and his shoulders sagged abruptly.
"Alohamora" he said with his wand pointed. The door clicked and Godric swung the door open.
It was a medium sized office, but rather empty. A small make shift bed was placed in the corner of the room, while an L shapes desk sat directly in front of Godric. A board pinned with papers and pictures and news clippings littered the board, and even the desk. Journals were scattered everywhere, stolen and Salazars personal ones. James stepped in past Godric and turned around to face the wall behind Godric.
  "Oh good Heavens" James said. Godric turned left and looked at the wall. One word was painted across it.
   P e T r I Fy
"He's mad! Why has it has to be him!?" Godric yelled. He spun on his heels and filled with rage. He clawed at Salazars board, tearing every inch of research down. "I never wanted this for him!" Godric barked, his hair sticking out as he threw Salazars journals on the floor.
"Calm down!" James yelled back. It was a wake up call for Godric because James rarely yelled. "We have a ball to go to. Let's get ready and help the ladies" James said. Godric would have agreed but something caught his eye. He walked over and picked up a notebook that had something long hanging out of it.
"Bloody Hell" Godric laughed. He had found Salazars locket and admired it menacingly before pocketing it. Another item flimsily fell out of the notebook and fluttered to the ground. Godric furrowed his brow and put the notebook on the desk, reaching down to get the paper. He read it aloud.
"Meet Marian in the narrow alley off of the Main Street. She has words for you" Godric finished. He looked at the signature, but it was a rather delicately written Z.
"What the hell does Z mean?" Godric asked. He threw the paper on the ground and left abruptly and James rolled his eyes, following him. He closed the door before setting a restoring spell on the wall, covering it back up. Quickly following Godric back up to the main floors of Hogwarts, he questioned him.
"How did you know that was there?" James asked.
"I've been tracking him. A gang of Slytherin kids have been following this debacle too and I'm determined to Oblivate them and get them the hell out of this mess" Godric huffed. "Now, I have dress wear to put on".
                       PRESENT TIME

"Alright time to go" James said. "The ladies are ready to open the doors. The sun set." He said, fixing his shirt. Godric and James settled for black and white dress robes. James Apparated down to the Great Hall, but Godric hesitated. He slipped Salazars locket into his suit pocket and left with a loud crack.
The boys startled Helga and Rowena. They turned around and saw their friends admiring the decorations.
"You ladies look wonderful!" Godric complimented. "Good choice of color Helga" he said.
"As do you boys" she smiled. "I think we're ready to let the students in!" She squealed. Godric held a hand up.
"Before we do, I would like to thank you, Helga. For one, being outrageously creative, no offense Rowena, to put this together. And you are right. It's a time to relax and get back into the upbeat mood" Godric said. James laughed and gave a hearty laugh and clapped sarcastically.
"Okay, but one more thing" Rowena said. She pulled her wand out and waved it, as the Great Hall table vanished and was replaced with a pale purple dance floor. She waved her wand again, pushing all the smaller round tables and chairs backwards, making room for the students.
"James?" Helga turned and asked.
"Yes love?"
"Do you mind doing the honors and opening the doors?" She asked.
"It would certainly be my honor" he said, waving his wand as the Great Hall doors opened. Every student at Hogwarts dressed in every color and style cheered and entered the Great Hall. James waved his wand again and the instruments began playing themselves, playing a rather upbeat melody.

  It was more than an hour into the Ball and every person in the Great Hall had been radiating with happiness. The teachers talked to students and danced, laughing, drinking and eating. There was still a few more hours left of energy in everyone.
Helga and her friends all hopped back onto their teachers platform, getting more of an adult drink for themselves. Pouring wine, they sighed and smiled, chatting, although in a split second they all noticed something.
"Oh Lord did it just get colder in here?" Helga asked, passing a cup full of wine to James. Godric looked about and noticed the students took an interest in the temperature drop, but kept having fun.
It began to get colder and colder, the students chatter lowering as they started to look around, seeing that everyone could see each other's breath. Frost began crackling and crawling on the Great Hall windows. Godric looked down at his wine and saw it froze over, becoming solid.
"Oh no" James whispered. The Four standing in front the Great Hall had known what was happening.
"Dementor" Rowena breathed.