Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

"Now what…?" I asked myself as I stood in front of two gargoyles guarding the staircase that led to the Headmaster's office. They ignored me no matter what I tried, and the door refused to open. I was making a fool of myself before them for half an hour before giving up trying to get in and went to find our Head of House, Professor Slughorn.

I found him in the potions classroom and calmly tried to explain that I wanted to see the Headmaster about a particular spell I came up with. Of course, he looked at me with a weird gaze, thinking I was way over my head, which could be true… not that I really worried about that aspect.

"Professor, I thought a Slytherin should be ambitious," I said after he tried to tell me nobody should disturb the Headmaster with nonsensical and amateurish spells.

"Yes, but arrogance is looked down upon! Give the spell to me, Mr. Anguine, and I will look it over for you."

"Professor, are you familiar with magic concerning one's bloodline?"

"Is your spell have to do something with blood magic?" He asked, frowning, looking at me more concernedly than before. He shouldn't be so surprised about my question. To my knowledge, no type of magic has been banned since HIM came to power. Everything was permitted to give a mage power, and all taboos were lifted. "No..." After a brief pause, he answered, "I am not very well versed in magic concerning blood."

"Then-"

"Still, I have more experience than many of the teachers here, so let me see it first!" He remarked, and I was sure he sounded a bit colder and more impatient than before.

"Sure…" I said, thinking this was the second best option for me, so I fished out the finished version I compiled the day before, giving it to him. I only had to wait a few minutes before he looked up at me, and I could swear his eyes were gazing at me with a horrified light in them. Yet it was gone in the next moment… maybe it wasn't even there as his voice was calm when he spoke.

"Did you make this?"

"Not entirely," I explained honestly, trying to watch his face and see if I was right or not. "I modified an ancient spell I came across. It is… made out of numerous others, fused into one."

"The capabilities of-" He started to explain, sounding condescending, slapping my parchment with one hand, and I knew he was about to tell me off and say I was way over my head. I won't lie; it started to grade against my nerves to be told that... Every... Time.

"They should be fully compatible as all of those spells had the referenced Herpo the Foul and were derived from his works. There should-" But I didn't finish. Couldn't. I was shocked to see Professor Slughorn turn deathly white, his hands trembling, making my parchment rattle like a dried-up leaf.

"What did you say?"

"I made them from the same type of spells…. Having the same origin, the exact same nucleus..." I mumbled, looking at him puzzled.

"The name! Who did you say it is based on?!" He leaned forward, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

"Harpo-" I exclaimed, now a bit scared, and my right hand was grabbing my wand inside my sleeve, ready to cast all the spells I had learned so far.

"Sssh! Don't mention that name! Where did you learn about it?! Was it Angus?!"

"Father?" I asked, bewildered, "No… From old codexes… I translated the text, and some of them had it mentioned. Although I did not find anybody with that name… he may not have left behind any works because he is from very ancient times."

"He did, but… no matter! You…”

"What?" I asked after he fell silent, letting me go, watching me without blinking his eyes.

"Come… I'll take you to the Headmaster!"

"But… what… huh?"

I was utterly lost. I had no time to ask anything else as he just grabbed my hand, dragging me along the many stairs, and before long, we were standing in front of the gargoyles.

"Asphodel." He said, and they stepped to the side, revealing the door and letting us in.

It had a moving spiral staircase inside, and stepping on it, we were slowly transported upwards. I wanted to say something, but, in the end, I gulped back all my thoughts and just looked at the firm grip of his hand, strangling my wrist, not wanting to let go. Was… Was I in trouble? Well… I am afraid... I will know soon enough...

The Headmaster's office was filled with portraits, and when we entered, I felt dozens of eyeballs fall on me, watching curiously. Severus Snape, the current Headmaster, was sitting behind his desk, seemingly writing about something as he looked up at us with a cold gaze shining behind his greasy, black hair.

"What is it, Professor Slughorn?" He asked, only glancing at me once before wholly ignoring my presence.

"Young Anguine here…." He pushed me forward forcefully, and I had no time to look at the different shelves, the many knick-knacks, and possible magical items placed on them. I only recognized some equipment for potion making, the Sorting Hat, and some dark, black-bound books before I was standing in front of the Headmaster's wide and heavy desk. I felt minuscule before it, like an ant looking up at a giant.

"I don't have time to deal with children's mischiefs, Professor." He said, looking back onto his parchment, trying to cut it short. "I let Dolores deal with them."

"It is not about that…." Professor Slughorn said, his voice surprisingly dry. I had the weird feeling again that he was scared. I did not know of what, but I was sure of it. Especially when I saw the Headmaster look up at him, questions in his eyes, finding the Professor's tone surprising. Or at least… amusing.

"I have little time to spare." He said slowly, but he did put down his quill, watching Professor Slughorn, and continued ignoring me.

"Here… read this." He gave my parchment to the Headmaster, and I saw him also scan it through without blinking his eyes. I tried to read his expression, but it never changed, not even once.

"I see." He nodded, waving at Professor Slughorn. "I'll deal with it; you can go."

I felt the Professor's hand tremble, still holding onto me, before slowly letting go and walking away. He turned back from the stairs, thinking of saying something, but the Headmaster only looked at him as if telling him something through a gaze… then he was gone, and I was left alone with him. I won't lie; I was afraid. I was nervously gripping my wand, hidden inside my sleeve, not that I expected to be able to even raise it. But… I won't go down without an attempt at fighting back.

"Where did you learn the name, Anguine?" He asked coldly, watching me from behind thick strands of his greasy, black hair.

"The name…?" I asked, but I knew what he was referencing.

"Don't play around, Anguine! We all know whose spell you 'modified' here!"

"From the books! In the library, Sir!" I answered honestly, flinching multiple times. His voice was a mix of surprise and… anger? Or fear? It was hard to tell.

"From the books… in the library?" He asked while I explained everything to him, the same as I did with Professor Slughorn. Damn it, Quincy… If I die here, I will return as a ghost and haunt you for all eternity!

"I see…" He enunciated it slowly after listening to me without interruption. He gradually leaned back in his chair, tapping my parchment with his crooked index finger, possibly thinking of punishments. Then... he spoke. "This spell of yours is full of amateurish mistakes."

"..." Well… that was a start. It seems I won't be killed. At least not now. But I didn't know how to respond to that.

Seeing my thinking face, he knew I was trying to come up with words that wouldn't let me stand at the other end of the killing curse. He raised his wand, and before I could react, he swished it once, and a black book landed on the table from one of the crammed shelves. It had no cover but only a magical lock that clicked open after another wave of his wand.

"Sit." He ordered me plainly. "Read it once."

I didn't know what was happening and wasn't about to ask. Sometimes it is best to remain silent and just do as you are told. Not that long later, I was completely lost in the book, which was about a blood ritual, explaining how one could trace one's blood back through time and many, many different lineages. It was clearly used to identify pure mages, half-bloods, and mud-bloods. The practicality was evident in the way it was written and described in detail.

"Finished?" He asked, and the moment I looked up, just beginning to nod, he closed the book and made it return to its place. "Modify it." He threw the parchment back to me. "Visit me when you are done."

"Y-yes… Sir." I answered, realizing my voice was hoarse and my throat was parched.

"And Anguine…" He called after me, just when I stumbled forward, reaching his office door, "Don't speak about it to anyone. Not even to the other Professors and not even Slughorn. He won't remember it anyway..."

"Yes… Sir." I repeated, feeling puzzled, then scared again, and left in a hurry. I wasn't waiting for the stairs to bring me down and took them in strides, bolting past the gargoyles, only stopping when I was back at the North Tower, in our hidden classroom.

"What happened?" Quincy asked; she was there, relaxing on the cushions, reading a book, looking at me, surprised and then scared, as she watched my pale face, drenched in sweat.

"I thought I was going to die!" I moaned, wiping my forehead, scampering forward as I looked for a fresh parchment and quill and started scribbling down my thought swiftly before I forgot all I had just read in that black book.

"Conrad, what is going on?" She asked, concerned.

"I'll tell you in a moment! I just need to write this down! Before it completely goes away!" I said, frantically penning down everything before taking a deep breath, looking it over, and collapsing, letting the exhaustion of my mind catch up with me. "I may be in some trouble… are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yeah!" She nodded, observing me seriously. "Count me in; it was I who suggested you to go to a teacher!"

"Yeah… yeah, you were," I answered, twitching my mouth, and then, after a very deep breath, I told her everything that happened.