Chapter Text
Prologue - A Murder
It was nearly after hours. Cedric Diggory, a handsome young lad for his age, left swiftly from the library, book in hand, to return to the Hufflepuff common room. He had practically poreless, alabaster skin, with lightly air brushed, rosy cheeks. His thick eyebrows matched his well groomed hair. A slender figure and elegant height gave him the advantage for a quick yet smooth pace down the dark corridor. The last thing he wanted was to be caught returning late.
He had been studying for one of his electives, Ancient Runes, and a particular set of symbols from an ancient culture so old it was practically myth, kept him intrigued. A single secret letter, written or said, could be used for casting spells, enhancing items, protecting domiciles, or creating something new, good or bad, entirely. The book described the past race of people depicted as nearly immortal beings with magical artifacts and technology of their own. Whatever happened to them piqued his curiosity.
As he rounded a candle lit, stone walled corner, something caught his eye, something he did not expect. A flash of platinum blonde in black, billowing school robes disappeared behind an unfamiliar door. He could recognize the slicked back hair of that Slytherin anywhere, but he could have sworn he had seen him leave for his own common room not too long ago. Perhaps his mind played tricks on him as he spent too much time in the library.
The door remained an enigma, almost beckoning him to come forward. Cedric surveyed his surroundings to make sure he was alone, only the moving portraits, snoring on the walls kept him company. The handsome Hufflepuff carefully pursued, curiosity wrapping its coils around his will once more. Cedric slowly opened the door to find a very large, yet very cluttered room filled with odds and ends that appeared to have been dumped there. Cedric encroached further into the strange environment, mesmerized by the collection of items. He saw no trace of Malfoy, only dusty old furniture, mirrors, chandeliers, books, candles, glass, cauldrons, tapestries, pictures, jewelry, anything an old magical home or edifice might have forgotten clumped on top of each other, forming large piles of junk everywhere nearly touching the ceiling.
Spaces on the dark floor without any items allowed for thin paths to wind around the mounds. Cedric felt uneasy as the room stood deathly quiet and still, only dust particles floated in the light. The young wizard was about to call out for someone when he heard the door to a cabinet creak, and an even stranger sound followed. A sound just as weird as the mysterious door and the mysterious room. A sound he had never heard before, a mechanic, angry noise, then a person in distress. Cedric fiercely pulled out his wand, while grasping his book in his free hand, and went to investigate.
“Who’s there?” he demanded.
Walking around one of the larger piles, Cedric came across a person he did not know. Their back faced him as they tucked something away in their billowing clothes. They turned around, cloaked in a hood of green, black and gold, drawing a very sharp, very long dagger. Hiding in one of the old cabinets, the blonde haired Slytherin peaked through the crack in the cabinet door. Fearful, Malfoy believed himself caught by a dark wizard, and clutched the trinket he had stolen around his neck. His breath labored in the dark while the cracked door shined a harsh, bright light, severing half his face. Cedric furrowed his thick browns, his wand at the ready.
“Who are you? What do you want?” he demanded. The figure's face remained unseen. They refused to answer and instead side-stepped towards the open door, but Cedric matched their movements, preventing their escape. The Hufflepuff narrowed his eyes, honing in on something surprisingly familiar. Symbols on the hilt of the dagger resembled those in his Ancient Runes book.
“Where’s Malfoy? What have you done with him?” Cedric ordered, backing towards the door with his wand pointed at the hostile. Malfoy remained as still and quiet as he could be. Without uttering a word, the figure pulled out a rectangular device with their free hand from their robes, and with a gloved thumb, pushed a button. An error noise rejected their request. The figure for all their mystery looked just as befuddled as Cedric, so he stole the opportunity to cast a spell.
“Expelliamus!” he yelled with a swift flick of his wand. A light shot out from his wand. The figure put up their dagger in defense. The spell hit the blade. The runes glowed, and the spell rebounded, hitting Cedric square in the chest. It launched him backwards and he hit a pile of junk, dropping his book and falling to the ground. He grunted in pain.
The figure recalibrated their rectangular device and repressed the button, resulting in yet another strange, mechanical noise. Cedric popped his head up in the direction of the sound, distracted. A ghostly, orange rectangle large enough for a person to pass through, formed just outside the door.
Malfoy leaned slightly forward from his place of hiding, peering more into the crack just as confused as Cedric. Suddenly, the blonde haired Slytherin saw the figure advance behind his Hufflepuff counterpart. He wanted to scream, say something, do something, but fear had him frozen in place.
“Aaah huh!” Cedric gasped in pain and disbelief. The figure forcefully shoved the dagger into his back. Malfoy inhaled sharply in shock as if he too had been stabbed, and slapped a quick hand over his mouth to prevent any further sound from escaping. He leaned away from the bright crack of the cabinet door further into the comfort of its darkness. The hooded figure slipped the sharp dagger out from the warm home, spilling fresh blood on the floor. Cedric laid injured on the ground gasping for air. Malfoy scrunched up his face in a grimace. The masked figure walked over him towards the orange light. With what strength he had left, Cedric pushed himself on his side, held on to his wand and flicked it upward.
“Ex … pelliamus,” he managed to say with great difficulty. This time, the spell hit his assailant, forcing the cloaked figure away from the door. They crashed into one of the piles of rubbish, causing the junk to collapse in upon themself. The obscure contraption flew from their cloak and the orange portal flickered. Cedric winced painfully as he attempted to move but the pain was too great. The pink color in his cheeks faded from his face to match the rest of his alabaster skin. As a last ditch effort before the attacker could collect themselves, he cast another spell at the door from whence he entered.
“Bom … barda … maxima,” Cedric gritted through the pain. A strong orb shot out from the end of his wand through the doorway and exploded upon the opposite wall. It had no effect on the translucent orange rectangle. Malfoy clapped both of his hands over his ears from the noise. Cedric took in a raspy breath as the figure emerged from the rubble with the bloody dagger. Cedric painfully pushed himself up from the ground, propping his torso against a pile of forgotten objects. He prayed someone had heard the noise and pointed his wand at his attacker once more. The cloaked figure launched the blade in his direction.
“Ahhhh!” someone screamed.
A boy with a lightning bolt scar, woke violently from the dream. He gasped for air in a cold sweat, lying helplessly in his bed as if he was the wounded one. He gripped at his chest, searching for where the imaginary blade might have landed. A soft snoring from his red headed friend brought him back to his reality. The boy reached for a pair of circular glasses and placed them on his face to ensure he really was in the Gryffindor boys’ dormitory. He hoped that the vivid dream, was nothing more than that … a dream.