Like Father, Like Son

Sixth Chapter

*

Secrets of Ravenclaw

*

"Student-Eating Horrid Monster of the Ravenclaw Tower?" echoed Remy as they walked towards the aforementioned Tower. "Now, that's something I haven't heard before."

"Not many have," said Samantha. "It's a tale they always tell to first-year Ravenclaws. I'd suppose that the teachers know about it, too."

"Well, we are on our first year in Ravenclaw," Hermione pointed out with a slight smile. "So, please, enlighten us about this tale."

"Okay!" Drawing a deep breath, the tiny girl launched into a story. "Deep under the Ravenclaw Tower, there are the Ravenclaw Dungeons. They used to be a place for peaceful studying, secret meetings, and lonely sulking. Every Ravenclaw had some reason to visit the dungeons regularly. Nobody outside out House knows about them, except for the teachers - and nobody else ever will.

One day, about twenty years ago, however, there was nobody in the dungeons. Or, if there was someone, at least they haven't come up to tell what happened. Anyway, a boy named Matthew Skinner went down there to fetch his broom - by that time, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team kept their brooms in the dungeons safe from sabotage, and he was the Keeper of the team."

Samantha made a dramatic pause, glancing around to see her companions' expressions. As she saw that Hermione was eagerly listening and even Remy looked vaguely interested - the greatest reaction she'd ever get from any Snape - she went on. "Matthew never came back... he just disappeared. There was blood on the floor on the bottom of the stairway leading to the dungeons. The teachers used all possible charms and spells to scan the area, but not a sign of the Keeper was to be seen. Instead, the scans showed something else in the dungeons - something that shouldn't have been there, something that wasn't a human. To ensure that no more damage could be done, the Headmaster decided to seal the corridor leading to the dungeons. Not even ghosts can go down there. Nobody knows what exactly is in the dungeons, so we just call it the Student-Eating Horrid Monster of the Ravenclaw Tower."

For a moment, they walked forward in a comfortable silence, each pondering the story in their minds. Suddenly, the silence was broken by an unannounced intruder.

"You're not serious," said a tall, blond boy who'd appeared to their side from seemingly nowhere. "I mean, yeah, you're almost as weird as Lovegood, but really, Green, have you lost even the little of your senses you had left? They're fifth-years, not some ickle first-years. Why do you tell them some stupid fairy tales?"

"In fact," said Hermione calmly, "I wouldn't be so sure that it's just a fairy tale. Or an urban legend, if you prefer that term."

The blond boy gave her a disbelieving gaze. "Seemingly the stories about your intelligence were just as much fairy tales," he spat.

"I in fact agree with her." Now, the blond's attention was drawn to Remy, who was the one who'd spoken, his tone level and self-confident. "This story lacks the usual telltale signs of an urban legend."

"Those usually happen to an unidentifiable person, in an unidentifiable place, and at an unidentified time. The events cannot be proven true or false, and there is no way to search for extra knowledge," Hermione explained.

"This happened on a more or less specific time and in an exact place. Not even a long time ago, so about anybody can easily reach people who can tell them the truth. The person in the story has a name, and not only that - he was also a Keeper, so many people are bound to have known him. Also, a student disappearing is surely something that would have been recorded in newspapers, too."

"Are you telling me that you actually believe her?" the strange boy asked. Obviously he didn't think that wise.

"I'm merely giving her the benefit of doubt," the darkhaired boy said coolly. "After I've spoken with my parents about their possible memories of the events, I'll decide whether I actually believe the story. Now, please remove yourself from our way before I'm forced to help you in the task."

The blond boy opened his mouth to say something. However, as had been proved before, just like Severus could scare any student and most of the teachers with a single glance, his son's glare had just the same effect. Therefore, the intruder of their peace was left to stare after them as they continued their walk.

"Were you really serious?" asked Samantha as soon as they were out of the earshot. "I mean, do you actually believe that it might be true? I do, but most just say that it's a test, and anyone who believes it should really be in Hufflepuff."

"Of course I was serious," replied the boy smoothly. "I don't believe in lies, not even white ones."

"So if somebody asks for your opinion about, say, their cooking, and it was awful, you'd say that right away?" Hermione questioned with a slight smile.

"That's what you call diplomacy," Remy said without batting an eyelid. "I wouldn't lie. I would just be diplomatic and say that it was good."

"And what's the difference between diplomacy and white lies?" Samantha inquired with a slight smile.

"The name, Samantha, it's the name," Hermione informed the younger witch. I'd figure that he's got that desire to play with the meanings of words from his Slytherin father."

"Most probably," Remy said with a shrug and a slight smirk. "At least my Gryffindor father only tends to play with the appearances of words, I've come to notice." Then he locked his brilliant sapphire eyes on Samantha. "Who was that bloke, anyway?" he asked.

"Jimmy Crow," the girl replied. "A sixth-year idiot. Nobody with sense in their head likes him, but he's rather skilled in licking up to those who are important - or, at least, those he thinks are important. Maybe he thinks you are, maybe not, I don't know. Anyway, I know for certain that he doesn't think I am important."

"Then we should change that fact, shouldn't we?" Remy suggested casually.

"What do you mean?" Samantha shot her eyes right up to his face, which was well above her own head.

"I mean that Quidditch stars are usually considered popular, are they not?" the boy explained. "As it is so, we have to train you into one."

"You cannot just decide to be a Quidditch star, no matter how much you like it," said Samantha, frowning slightly. "If you don't have talents, it's impossible to get to the top."

"But I do suspect that you have talents," Remy said, obviously trusting her skills. Then, he asked, "Is it still a long way to our Tower?"

"What?" asked Samantha, seemingly startled. "Oh, no. It's just around the corner."

And truly, right around the corner there was a statue of a witch sitting with a book in her lap. As they approached her, she asked, "Password?"

"Knowledge is power," replied Samantha, and the witch instantly moved aside, revealing an archway. As the three stepped through the archway, they soon found themselves in Ravenclaw Common Room.

It was quite different from the Gryffindor Common Room. Instead of red and gold, everything was blue and copper, with the slight touch of black, white, and silver here and there. The ceiling was charmed in a way similar to that of the Great Hall, although it was showing just twinkling stars and a crescent moon, even though it wasn't that late yet. The curtains on the sides of the high, narrow windows were deep blue velvet with tiny, twinkling starlike objects attached to them. The furniture seemed light, and it was made of deep brown oak and dark blue silk. There was a thick rug on the floor, similar twinkling objects hidden in the weave. Elegant silvery candles were casting an eerie light to the room, as opposed to the warm lightness of the Gryffindor Common Room and the wavering torch lights of the Slytherin one.

"Most Ravenclaws like stars," explained Samantha with a slight grin as she saw the expressions on their faces. "We are even excused from the usual Astronomy lessons, because we can study most of it here, in our Common Room. Professor Sinistra was a Ravenclaw, too. The ceiling is charmed to show everything on the sky, except the sun - that's why it's always like night here."

"It's beautiful," Hermione said truthfully, glancing up to the ceiling. "I think I will greatly enjoy my time here in Ravenclaw," she then continued.

"Oh, I believe you will." Glancing at them, Samantha then asked, "Where are you planning to sleep, anyway? I don't know if there's a spare bed in Benjamin's dormitory -" this to Remy, "but there's at least one in my dormitory." The last statement was directed at Hermione.

"Aren't you in the dormitories by your year?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Oh, no," the youngest of them said with a little laugh. "That's ridiculous by my mind - I simply can't understand how the students in the other Houses submit to that kind of sorting. No, we simply pick a comfortable dormitory in the beginning of the year, and the sleeping arrangements can be changed even during the year, although that rarely happens. That way, friends or siblings can sleep in the same dormitory, even if they aren't on the same year." Just then, she saw an approaching figure in one of the doorways of the Common Room. "Oi, Benjamin! Where do you think Remy could sleep?" She was seemingly no more as shy as she'd originally been, although Remy was certain he could still scare her out of her skin with a single glare and an eyebrow raised in the right way.

"In my dormitory, seemingly," the older Green replied, "as it's the only one with a spare bed, and a trunk with the initials 'RAMS' has appeared to the end of it. Be careful, though," he then said in mock seriousness, turning towards the other young wizard. "There are people in our dormitory who will kick you out even in the middle of the night, Snape's son or not, if you start explaining your theories. I know there's some logic behind them, but I'd rather not get a headache trying to figure out what it is."

"I'll keep that in mind," replied Remy just as seriously, but allowing the corners of his lips curl slightly as a sign of amusement. "Very well, then. Could I bother you to show me to our dormitory, or will I have to figure that out myself as a way to prove my intelligence?"

"I think I can show you there just fine," chuckled Benjamin. "And you're taking care of our newest lady friend, right, little sister?" he asked then.

"So I'd figure," replied Samantha. "Come on, Hermione. I'll show you to our dormitory."

So, they parted to separated stairways. As the two girls climbed up the stairs, Samantha spoke. "I take it you're familiar with the basic way these stairways work, right? We can go to the boys' dormitories, but they can't come to ours?" As Hermione nodded, she continued, "Well, we girls in Ravenclaw have made some adjustments. A boy can indeed climb up these stairs without being harmed - if they come between two and seven pm. And have chocolate and/or flowers with them. If they've insulted a girl, they have to walk the stairs backwards, chanting 'I'm sorry for every mistake I've ever made.' Oh, and on any holidays, including St. Valentine's day, they either have to also have a little gift with them or wear a bunny suit. If they stay after seven pm, they are flung rather forcefully out of both the dormitory and the stairway. As you can imagine, if the boy bothers visiting you, he's quite obviously serious with it," she added with a slight smirk.

"Interesting," said Hermione, a slight smile adorning her lips also. "Interesting, indeed, and quite impressive. That would require adjusting all wards on the stairways!"

"That's why it's so funny - it's so challenging," said Samantha, still smirking. After they'd walked past a couple of floors, she stopped on one doorway to yet another floor. "Here's my dorm - and now yours," the tiny girl said, opening the first door to left.

As soon as Hermione stepped inside, she found herself at a loss of words. "Wow," was all she could say. She'd always thought that the Gryffindor dormitories were rather comfortable, but this was something wholly else. The windows didn't have a sight of the school grounds from high above, as those in her former dormitory. Instead, they showed her the Hogwarts lake - underneath the surface. Little fishes swam past the glass, sometimes touching it slightly, and a dim light through the water mixed with the candle light familiar from the Common Room and the stairway. The beds weren't like those four-poster ones she'd got used to - these didn't have posts at all, or even headboards. The beds were just simple planes floating in the air, with just as magically attached velvet curtains in the air around them. There were no canopies in the beds, allowing a clear view of the starry sky that was the ceiling.

The most impressive detail, however, was the broad waterfall in the other end of the room. It fell from the joint of the charmed ceiling and the deep blue walls, falling to the floor, where there was a large pool. A girl was just swimming in the pool, glancing up at them as they stepped inside.

"The walls of the pool are also charmed to show the lake," explained Samantha, seemingly pleased at her amazement about the room. "You cannot drown there - if you're too long under the surface, the security spells will immediately lift you from the water."

"Unbelievable," said Hermione quietly. "This is unbelievable, and more than a bit unfair."

"Oh, no," said a girl sitting on a nearby bed. She grinned slightly at Hermione. "A long time ago, these used to be just the same way as the dormitories of the other Houses. Our Common Room was much more similar to those, too. However, the ancient Ravenclaws started researching spells that would make our surroundings more comfortable. All this is students' work, not teachers' or even the founders'. If the other Houses don't have the same luxury, well, it's their problem. It's we who renew all the spells every year, the older students sharing their knowledge with the younger ones." Getting up from her bed, she walked to Hermione. "It's truly pleasant to meet you," she said, smiling a bit. "My name is Mallory Grate. I hope you will enjoy yourself in Ravenclaw."

"I have a feeling," started Hermione, glancing around her new dormitory, "I have a feeling I will." With that glance, she spotted one seemingly untouched bed. "HJG," read the initials on the trunk at the nearest end of the bed. A further glance showed her again the waterfall, the charming underwater world seemingly behind the windows, and the lovely, starry night that twinkled down at her from the ceiling. And before she even noticed, she was already pondering whether there was a way to make the waterfall cast some more light to the dim dormitory.

Suddenly, she felt like she'd done just the right decision. 'Fuck Ron,' she thought, resorting to cursing against all her usual manners. 'This is exactly where I belong.'