Hogwarts: Sunset's Legacy

by witegrlninja

In Which a Scavenger Hunt Leads to More Questions

The second week of school began uneventfully. Finally, the professors began assigning homework after class, but it was hardly anything I needed to worry about. I could write several pages of parchment about the theories behind why Imps loved their slapstick humor so dearly, let alone two inches. Honestly, I found the creatures rather amusing as described, and wondered if it'd be possible to keep one as a pet. In Charms we went over the Color-Changing and Growth Charms, and in History of Magic... well, who really cared what Binns had to say. I'd already finished his assigned reading for the next few days by the time he'd even suggested it.

Tuesday morning, however, an owl dropped a letter into my lap during breakfast. Opening it revealed a thickly-scrawled message of a nature I found... unsettling.

Greetings, young Sunset,
Scrope knows about the old book you found for Professor Fig.
Scrope can help you, and you can help Scrope.
Get to the courtyard past the pendulum. If you don't know it, you'll see it easy enough.
And don't tell anyone what you're up to! Especially Professor Black.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. How the hell did anyone find out about this book? Would Fig have dared tell them? And what kind of stupid name was Scrope? The message chewed at me throughout my classes today, and as soon as Divination let out I raced to the Clock Tower Courtyard. Thankfully it was mostly empty when I arrived, the few students present loitering about on the other side of the courtyard from where a less-than-inconspicuous note had been crammed into one of the statue's mouths that decorated the center.

Scrope knows about that book you found. Is it missing something?
Scrope does not believe it is safe to speak out in the open.
Scrope has left another note across the bridge, among the circle of rocks.
Take care. Tell no one about this.

I frowned. Whoever this was, they knew the book had been missing pages. Was this perhaps the culprit? And why the juvenile scavenger hunt for notes? In any case, the wooden bridge at the end of the courtyard led to a circular pattern of tall stones. Walking across it made me feel uneasy, each and every single wooden plank creaking and groaning under my weight. The whole bridge itself looked like it was being held together with superglue and a birthday wish.

Once I'd reached the other side I looked around. Sure enough, there was another note balanced carefully in a crack in one of the tallest rocks. I brought it down with an Accio and opened it up.

Almost there!
Head for the pumpkins, just down from the stone circle. Look inside one of them!
You may be able to help poor, brokenhearted Scrope.

"Broken-hearted?" I muttered to myself. Not only was this Scrope being suspicious, he was also terrible at making a challenging scavenger hunt. A short walk down the worn path led me to the caretaker's hut, where Mr. Moon kept his tools for groundskeeping. An animated scarecrow stood guard over a pumpkin patch, flapping its arms angrily at me as I cast a couple spells to determine which pumpkin had something unnatural inside, then burst it open. I picked up one of the shards of pumpkin and chewed on it as I read the final, sticky, seed-covered note.

The young Slytherin must be exceptionally curious by now!
Meet Scrope at the water's edge, by the broken docks.

"Well, you dare show yourself to me, huh?" I snorted. There was a path that snaked around the caretaker's hut that led directly to the old docks in question. At first I was deeply annoyed when I saw that no one was around, but within seconds a haggard, exhausted-looking house elf Apparated on top of a nearby barrel. He wore a dirty old burlap sack with a piece of rope for a belt, and bandages wrapped around his scraggly, white-haired head drew attention to the fact he was missing his right ear. "So... I take it you're Scrope."

"Thank you for coming all this way," he spoke with an unusually deep voice for a house elf. He hopped off of the barrel and came closer. "Scrope serves the Headmaster, been in the Black family for years. Apologies for the abundance of notes... Scrope wanted to be sure you weren't followed."

"Right... now tell me why you know so much about this book I got for Fig," I glared.

"Scrope can tell you more in exchange for your help, but no one, especially the Headmaster, can know."

"Well..." I grumbled, thinking to myself. The Headmaster's personal house elf suddenly disappearing and never being seen nor heard from again would probably be a little too gratuitous. "...Fine. What do you want?"

"Scrope's late mistress Apollonia Black - may she rest in peace - was a student at Hogwarts over fifty years ago. Before she died she spoke with passion of pages ripped from a book. Scrope suspects she took them to her private grotto. Oh, she was delirious at the end, poor thing... mistook belladonna for elderberries. Scrope tried to warn her," the house elf shook his head sadly.

"I see," I hummed. "So the missing pages might be there. But why does this help you, exactly?"

"Scrope believes that a treasured Black family ring is also in the grotto. Scrope wishes to give it to the Headmaster."

"And... why can't you do this yourself?"

"Apollonia forbade Scrope from entering the grotto long ago... Scrope continues to honor her wishes."

I blinked. These house elf things are more subservient than a pony-raised dragon.

"Scrope would not dare ask a student for help, but when Scrope learned you were looking for those pages, Scrope thought you might also find the ring."

"How did you even find out about this book?" I narrowed my eyes at the house elf. "Only Fig and I know about it."

"Scrope and the other house elves are good at staying out of sight," he replied slowly and shiftily. "Scrope hears and sees many things inside the castle... Scrope knows how to keep secrets."

"Oh, now I see where this is going," I grumbled, snorting. "Alright, I'll look for your ring."

"Take this toast to the grotto just down the coast. Place it in the pedestal there," he said as he handed me an ordinary piece of toast. "Good luck!"

"Wait, are you serious-" I started to yell, but the house elf Disapparated away. For a moment I stared in disbelief at the toast in my hand, reconsidering whether Headmaster Black really would notice if his house elf disappeared suddenly or not.

Well... at least I know where the pages are now.

I pulled my broomstick out of my pocket dimension and mounted it, hovering a few feet above the water's surface as I followed the coastline. A cave soon appeared, hidden by the surrounding cliffs. I flew inside it and landed, finding a large mosaic of the giant squid that lived in the Black Lake, as well as the pedestal surrounded by sharp stalagmites. Now I understood why I needed the toast... I'd read in one of my textbooks that it was the giant squid's favorite treat.

I placed the toast on the pedestal and waited. The toast levitated itself towards the mosaic and became a part of it, and the image of the giant squid wrapped it in its arms and brought it to its mouth. After consuming it, the squid swirled around in the mosaic until it was upright, its arms forming a ring, and the tiles and stone behind them vanished to reveal another room inside the grotto. I walked through the ring and into a comfortably-furnished room filled with dusty, webbed books and chests. After Scourgify-ing most of the filth away I began to poke around, becoming more and more irritated with the distinct lack of torn pages or rings I was coming across. It wasn't until I picked up what appeared to be a long-forgotten diary that anything happened.

"Hello? Do I have a visitor?" a male voice suddenly said. The air grew cold and dry, and turning in surprise I gasped as I saw a ghostly head phase through the grotto walls, being held up by it's own arm. The rest of the ghost's body soon floated into view, giving me a horrifically-detailed view of a cross section of his own neck before setting his head back where it belonged. Then the ghost bowed to me in greeting, his head falling right back off. He chuckled as he readjusted it.

"Who are you?" I groused, reeling my own head back.

"The name's Richard Jackdaw," the ghost replied. "I was a student just like you about a century ago. How in the world did you find this place?"

"A house elf named Scrope. He wants a ring that used to belong to the Black family and said it was here."

"Ah... sorry to say, but I sold the ring a long time ago," Richard glanced away guiltily. "Poor Scrope... still holds a candle for Apollonia, I reckon. Can't say I blame him... I stole all these treasures just to impress her. Alas, 'twas to no avail."

Great. Now I have a house elf and a ghost to make disappear.

"I thought a secret map I pilfered from Peeves would pique her interest, but she simply rolled her eyes. 'What would I want with yellowed old pages from a book?!' ...Not my finest moment."

"Pages from a book?" I stiffened. "How the... so Peeves ruined the book, then you stole the pages from him? Did you pawn those off, too?"

"Oh, no, I thought that if Apollonia wasn't interested in the map on the pages, perhaps it would lead to something that would intrigue her. So I followed the map to what I can only describe as an enchanted cave of some kind, and... well, you see what happened next," he sighed as he pointed to his neck.

"How foolish," I muttered. Richard gasped suddenly with a strange sense of glee.

"Here's an idea... why don't you meet me at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and I'll show you where to find the pages?"

"At least you have that much sense," I sighed, blowing a strand of hair upwards and out of my face. "Very well... I hope you remember where exactly it was that you died."

"I'm sure the pages are still tucked in my waistcoat," he nodded. "If you don't mind the sight of a... well, my decapitated skeleton, they're yours for the taking." Richard then turned himself in the direction of the Forbidden Forest and floated through the grotto's wall. Now that I was alone, I let out a deep sigh and slapped my palm over my face.

I hated being sent on wild goose chases... and now I had to go wandering into some cave filled with Celestia-knows-what and hope nothing had eaten those missing pages, or his nasty, decaying body hadn't oozed onto them and made them untouchable, let alone unreadable.

Also... no ring for Scrope. I mounted my broomstick and flew out of the grotto, back to where I'd seen him last. After a few moments Scrope reappeared, kicking his foot through the muddy sand.

"Hey, so... there's no ring in there," I shook my head. "Some ghost named Richard Jackdaw said he sold it off ages ago." Scrope scoffed.

"That boy was never good enough for Apollonia... now Scrope will have to think of another way to impress the Headmaster," he sighed. I shrugged in reply as the house elf Disapparated again, and after I put my broom away I cast Disillusionment on myself before teleporting to the Forbidden Forest. I glanced around as I reappeared, moving quietly behind a tree before removing the charm.

~

Sadly, it would seem ghosts don't know how to teleport. I leaned against that tree for what felt like hours, staying hidden from view, before I finally felt a cold presence.

"Here I am, as good as my word," Richard spoke, his body peering out from a tree in the shade. "Now, follow me! I shall lead you as far as I can, but I fear I may remain a tad reluctant to revisit the scene of my demise."

I watched the ghost like a hawk as he floated deeper into the forest, ensuring that he never left my sight. We traveled for a good twenty minutes, my head on a swivel as I heard all manner of animal noises all around me. I had my wand drawn, but the noises, the scents I could pick up... there were some incredibly dangerous things living here, watching me.

"Surprising how much of this is... rather unfortunately coming back to me," Richard whimpered as we reached a fork in the road, the path to the left leading to a spider lair full of webs. "The closer I get, the more I'm remembering... Probably best to leave you to it. Uh... keep your eyes open for a birdbath... when you find it, say 'intra muros'. I think it's Latin... or Greek-"

"Oh, no, you're coming with me," I growled, casting a spell of my own at the ghost. Richard yelled in protest as he found himself no longer able to float around on his own accord, but now bound to my side a few feet away. "After all the annoyances I've had to deal with today, it's the least you could do."

"P-Please... I don't want to..."

"Now... where are we going?" I glared, speaking slowly. The ghost began to shiver as I forced him down the path, forced him to continue. After five minutes we walked across a stone bridge, and after another five minutes we passed a waterfall. Yet another five minutes later we stood in a clearing just before a placid lake, its surface mirror-smooth and dark from the canopy that concealed it from the sky. Off to the side, a moss-covered birdbath sat in front of a large hill, a swirl of stone bricks in its side appearing out of place.

"Well, h-here we are! N-Now, if you could please l-let me go-"

"Intra muros," I recited to the birdbath. The stone bricks sank and rose, rippling like water before sliding into the earth like snakes, revealing a hidden cave.

Finally... those pages better be in there. I began to walk towards the cave when I suddenly heard the whoosh of Apparating behind me. Turning around I was surprised to see a small group of goblins had appeared, wearing bits of red-glowing armor.

Ranrok's Loyalists. How had they found me all the way out here?!

"Aren't you far from home?" one of the goblins sneered.

"Ranrok knew you'd eventually lead us to whatever it is you're hiding!" another one grinned. "Attack!"

"I'll give you credit for being sneaky," I grumbled as I swung my wand, gripping all five of them in my magic and clunking them together. While they writhed in a futile attempt to get free, I conjured a long metal chain that wrapped around their bodies until they were hopelessly locked and tangled together, then flung them with a Depulso into the lake. Their screams quickly turned to gurgles, then to bubbles popping and water rippling... then nothing.

I think I've figured out that red-glowing armor's weakness... can't attack them directly. Gotta get... creative.

"My word...!" Richard breathed in horror. "Y-You just... you just k-killed...!"

"Yea. That's what happens when I get annoyed," I glared viciously at the ghost, who wilted under my gaze. "Now... where exactly did you die in there?"

~

The cave was strangely warm. Dying sunlight streamed in through cracks above, shining down on the vines and weeds that made their home here. Richard began to tremble profusely, his ghost teeth chattering as I followed the path down, finding a massive cavern at the end of it. An underground river roiled through the center, the other side of which glowed with a familiar light.

Hmm... so this is what he meant by "enchanted cave".

The path to the river was long and winding. Gates of spiraling metal and runic symbols were the only proof that someone had been here long, long ago. I found that striking the runes with my raw magic was enough to force the gates open, and with each opened gate I could feel a pulse of warmth and energy emanating from the other side of the river. Roots and stones rose from the water and twined into place, while chunks of carved stone floated in midair to form a broken bridge, further restored by every gate. Every so often a giant spider would crawl out from an unseen crack and pounce, forcing me to dispatch it... the horrid things were the size of a pony themselves.

Though I kept a sharp eye out, I had yet to find a headless skeleton. I tried to ask Richard how he had managed to get this far into the cavern, past the gates and spiders... he wouldn't answer. His eyes were fixated on the other side of the river, his trembling growing stronger, whines and whimpers and "please no"s leaking from his mouth in ever-increasing volumes.

I reached the floor of the cavern, where the mostly-formed bridge awaited me. It happened to be the nest of the spiders that lived here, and I spent a good ten minutes exterminating them all. At one point the matriarch reared her ugly head - she was the size of Celestia herself! I bristled and shivered at the sight of her, an unconscious whinny escaping my lips, but I quickly brushed it off as I found that she, like her brood, was just as susceptible to fire.

Finally, with the spiders dead, I struck the final set of runes and opened the last gate. The stones that had appeared over the river rearranged themselves and fused together, metal oozing out from the cracks and wrapping around the bridge in delicate threads. Across the distance, a trio of doors swung open. Richard began to cry and scream as I crossed the bridge... I was getting close.

And indeed - just through the doors, I saw the remains of a body on the floor, its head a few feet away to the left.

The bridge, the ground, the walls and ceiling... all of it was crafted from polished stone and marble in blue, gold and white. Warmth pulsed and echoed from the distance, calling me... beckoning me. Whatever was here, ancient magic was here, too. I skidded to a stop as I approached Richard Jackdaw's remains, a pair of ancient swords sticking out from the bones, and found nothing but dark stains and tattered cloth... and torn pieces of parchment.

"Lucky for you... the pages are still here," I mused as I bent down and collected them. I didn't recognize much of what I saw on the pages, but they were still very much readable. I spirited them away to my pocket dimension with haste.

"P-Please... I-I c-cant..." Richard begged. "B-Breeze... beware a r-r-refreshing b-breeze..." Past the bones was a large chamber, similar to those I'd come to expect when dealing with ancient magic - the polished stone, the twining, brassy metal, massive pillars... and a trio of knight statues thirty feet tall, now rising from their resting places to greet me. I stared them down, undeterred while the ghost continued to cry.

It was starting to get on my nerves.

"Skurge," I muttered, swishing my wand. Richard screamed in either pain or terror as I broke my hold over him, and he fled back the way we'd came, bits of his ethereal body peeling off and disintegrating as he went. The knight statues raised their swords and charged, with a multitude of smaller ones dashing in from the sides.

A surge of power flooded my body, further spurred by the ebb and flow of the ancient magic I could sense just ahead. I could feel it pulsing in my veins in time with my heartbeat, feel it warming my very bones from the inside out, smell the enchanting scent of summer air and hot metal... I could taste it on my tongue. I roared as I cast my spells, tearing and shattering the knights to pieces, ripping the weapons from their hands and bringing them down into their heads, flinging their flailing bodies into the air and into the ground. The larger knights took a little more time, but as I hurled chunks of their fallen comrades at them the magic within their armor flickered. They fell all the same.

There had been a massive spire in the back of the room. Once the dust settled it melted into a puddle and reformed itself into an arch. Sparks from my footsteps led me to a swirling font of ancient magic on the ground, and as I allowed it to dance along my nerves I flicked my wand, turning the arch into a portal. I entered it and found myself in a narrow hallway with a door at the end, stone railings keeping me from the abyss below. But I scarcely had the time to wonder where I was, as he hallway began to quickly fill with water.

I held up my wand and cast a simple spell, an air bubble forming around me as the waters rose. Soon it had filled the entire hallway, leaving me underwater but safe. Warm wisps of white encircled the bubble, as if further reinforcing it. I waded through to the door which opened on its own, the water refusing to pour out from it. It was like I was being held back by elastic cords, instantly cutting themselves away the second I broke through the threshold. The door closed, and I found myself at the bottom of a staircase, the end in sight.

"Now where am I?" I wondered to myself as I reached the top. I was in the center of a truly palatial chamber. Everything seemed to have been hewn from blue-grey stone and white marble streaked with grey, a few openings in the walls leading to a void barricaded by looping, swirling fencing. Sparsely-placed sconces illuminated the chamber with blue-white light, but their warmth and heat was a bare flicker of the true ancient magic I'd experienced. A circle of black marble a hundred feet wide sat below my feet, and before me were four large, pointed metal arches of gold with immaculately-detailed filigree work that held a solid stone wall behind them. Then, before my eyes, the spaces within the arches glowed with a purple light, and colors began to bleed into them, revealing four portraits of various rooms or landscapes.

And in the third portrait from the left, a familiar old man walked into view from the side. He gasped lightly as he saw me.

"Can it be?" Percival Rackham breathed. "Has someone finally found our Map Chamber?"

"Whoa... you!" I pointed in awe. "From the Pensieves... you're Professor Rackham!"

"I am indeed," he confirmed. "I must confess that I am surprised to see someone so young standing before me!"

"My name is Sunset Shimmer. I... don't know if it means anything to you, but I'm the same age you and Isidora were when you began school at Hogwarts."

"You've paid attention! And, might I presume, you share our... ability?"

"To see and or use ancient magic? Why yes, I do," I preened.

"As you have likely realized by now, our ability gives us a unique relationship with all forms of magic," said Rackham. "We can access expressions of magic that few others can. Opportunities will arise that allow you to sharpen this rare talent... do not squander them."

"Absolutely not," I shook my head with a grin.

"We have much to discuss! But first... a map found in a certain book led you here. Place the book on the pedestal," Rackham instructed, gesturing to a pedestal that sat atop a semicircle of stairs at the other end of the black circle, directly above the staircase I had entered from, with another staircase leading upwards from there. The smile on my face quickly fell as I realized what he meant.

"Oh... that book. Um... I don't have it with me at the moment."

"Hmm... that is unfortunate. I'm afraid we must pause our conversation until you return with the book."

"Is it really that important?" I shrugged. "I mean, you said this place was a Map Chamber, so... isn't there a map in here somewhere?"

"I assure you that all will be clear once the book has been placed on the pedestal."

"Alright..." I guess the book is part of the Map Chamber, then. "...Well, I can't get the book until, uh... geez, the week after next at the earliest. That okay?"

"That will do. We shall speak again once the book is in place," nodded Rackham. And before I could open my mouth to ask him anything else, he waltzed right back over to the side and left my view. I stood there for a few moments, going over everything I had seen in the past few hours.

Not one for conversation, is he? My lips thinned. Whatever this place was, it housed at least one, if not all four of the portraits of those ancient magic users. And if this was a Map Chamber... then perhaps this was a place I could learn to seek out ancient magic and receive tutelage in its use?

Yes... that had to be it! I could barely contain my excitement as I hunched over and clenched my fists in celebration. All I had to do was wait until Fig came back from the Ministry and I could start learning how to control ancient magic!

...All I had to do...

...was wait...

...

...

...

...Damn. Two weeks suddenly felt like an eternity. But I already felt just that little bit more powerful.

But until then, there was nothing for me here. I climbed up the staircase past the pedestal and upwards, finding a door emblazoned with the wisps of ancient magic. I pushed my way through it, and found myself in what appeared to be a castle of some sort. Cracked stone blocks made up the floor, walls and ceiling, the metal filigree taking the place of nonexistent window panes. A couple of stagnant puddles had gathered on the floor, and moss stretched down from above in some places. The hallway I had entered led me towards a spiral staircase that seemed to never end, but when it did, it led me into another large chamber, half castle and half subterranean. Another single hallway led me to another spiral staircase, which finally led me to a portcullis...

...blocking off a storage area located in the dungeons of Hogwarts. I blinked repeatedly in confusion.

"The Map Chamber's beneath Hogwarts?" I mouthed before rolling my shoulders. "Well. At least I don't have to go back through the forest and cave again." I pushed open the portcullis and wandered through the storage room, eventually finding my way back to the Slytherin common room. Upon entering, a nearby clock informed me that it was almost 9pm.

Alright... all I have to do is wait...

I gathered my things to take a shower, ate some of the snacks left around in the common room, and spent an hour reading through one of my stolen Restricted Section books before falling asleep.

Comments

[Moonlight Tome]

So! That's Jackdaw's quest done, and rather sadistically I would say! And Sunset is learning Dark Magic too! Has she picked up 'Magick Moste Eville' yet?

[Booster Spice]

Sunset nearly took those Goblins out as quickly as a cheezed off electric rat.

[Shadic Midnight Blitzer]

Sunset owned those goblins so hard. XD