All The Wrong Pages | Harry Potter

Prologue

It wasn't meant to be a secret.

She'd planned for it to be a grand reveal, to help the entire wizarding world. It was supposed to counteract maladies, to help people, to be amazing, but it didn't. What had gone wrong? She didn't know, but she knew it had to be hidden. No one could know of the existence of this magical abomination, the failed project. It could be abused in so many ways. She didn't understand what had gone wrong, but no one could know.

Because what she created was a monstrosity.

***

She was almost there, she could feel it, all she had to do was find the last location, and then everything would be hers.

The door to the cellar creaked open as she pushed it, and already she could feel the magic pulsing through the room. The book was here somewhere, right? Searching the cabinetry, the shelves, and even tried the Accio spell to find it, still, she found nothing.

The light tapping of shoes sounded behind her, but she played it off. It was just her imagination; no one could possibly come in here anyway. She moved towards the left of the room; was that it?

False alarm, she thought to herself as she spotted what it actually was. Just a stupid, disappointing corner of some kind of random book peeking out. How much clutter was in this place? She knew some kind of mark would be left here somewhere if the item wasn't there, as it was that powerful. Changing tactics, she searched the shelves again for any sign of discoloration or oddity. None at all.

It must be here, what was the point of everything she's gone through if the one thing that she did this for was not here? Yes, it has to be here, she could almost feel it.

Just then, something caught the corner of her eye, something glinted in the far corner of the room, was that it? She raced across the room towards it. It is surely different than all the other books here, but she still wasn't sure if it's the one.

She came close to it, reaching out her hand to grab the shining object, nothing could stop her now, nothing, as long as-

"Done yet?" a voice suddenly asked behind her, she knew that voice. She froze.

No.

And the last thing she saw was the book there, right in front of her, as her vision faded to darkness.