The Black Queen | F. Weasley

40. McGonagall's announcement

The wind howled ominously and every once in a while the hoot of an owl filled the air. A large manor which could once upon a time be considered fine-looking, was now a gaunt contrast of its former prime. Tiles were missing from its roof, some windows were boarded or broken and ivy was spreading over its face like wildfire.

A girl with curly, raven-black hair was looking up at the Riddle House unsurely. Her grey eyes wandered over the decaying mansion and halted at the sight of a dim glow appearing through one of the windows to the far right.

The girl had absolutely no idea where she currently was, but her gut feeling was telling her that it wasn't a place where she should be in that moment. A cloud moved away from before the moon, casting the house in the pale moonlight. An eery feeling settled in the air which made the hairs on the back of the girl's neck raise.

She wanted to run. To get away as fast as possible.

But it was as if her feet didn't agree with what her mind and gut feeling were telling her. Instead they carried her further up the lawn and up to the landing by the enormous oaken-wooden doors. With a lot of groaning and creaking they opened on themselves.

Shivers ran up her spine as she continued walking, into the foyer. Her breath got caught in her throat as her ears picked up voices conversing with one another softly. Grey eyes swiveled in the direction of the grand staircase and the girl swallowed thickly.

One foot in front of the other, she neared the steps. Dust lay thickly on them, muffling the girl's footsteps and leaving her undetected from the current inhabitants of the house. Unknowingly she followed in the exact footsteps of a man called Frank Bryce as she went up the stairs.

"I got word from my loyal follower, everything is going according to plan. It won't be long before I regain my power again, Wormtail." A voice as deadly as the night whispered. A flash of blood-red eyes shot through the girl's mind, recognizing whom it belonged to. Her heart dropped and she bit back down a whimper.

She didn't want to be here, she did not want to be here.

"That's wonderful, my lord." A second voice said and the girl recognised its owner as well. It didn't put her worries at ease in the slightest.

"I'm expecting a guest tonight, Wormtail. I would like for you to welcome her, if my calculations are right she'll be somewhere inside already."

Purple. Blue. White.

All kinds of colours kept on flashing through her mind. She had tried so hard to forget about the horrible memory that past year and all her hard work was flushed down the drain as that voice reached her ears.

It was as if her feet finally had realised the grave danger they had gotten themselves into, for they started retreating as quickly and quietly as they could. But it was all in vain, because a door slammed open in a corridor to her far left and revealed an extremely small man with grubby skin, a pointed nose and small watery eyes. The light which emitted from the room behind him bounced off the large bald patch on top of his head. His eyes came to rest upon her form immediately and slowly a smile started spreading on his face.

"She has arrived already, my Lord."

He stepped aside and revealed an old armchair. Her grey eyes snapped to the being which was wrapped in cloths and lay peacefully on the chair. To anyone else it might've looked like a baby.