Slytherin Forever! Book One: Blood Ties

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Chapter Nine: Lockhart's Morale-Booster.

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30 minutes, a blink of an eye

30 minutes to alter our lives

30 minutes to make up my mind

30 minutes to finally decide

- 30 Minutes, t.A.T.u.

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Durmstrang School For Magic, somewhere in Bulgaria.

"She survived?"

Shanna looked at Natasha with her mouth hanging open ever so slightly and Natasha could not help but grin broadly. A smile tugged at the corners of Shanna's mouth, a smile that made her look like the woman Sirius Black had fallen in love with, so that Natasha realized that she had never even seen a hint of a smile on Shanna's face before.

"That's wonderful, isn't it?" Natasha asked the younger woman as she seated herself. "Catherine and Gudrun were with her when she woke up and they both say that Mel cannot wait to get out of the hospital."

"Mel never liked hospitals," Shanna said with a grin. "She always hated needles; it must be torture for her to stay in that bed with those things put in her arm. But how did she survive?"

"Like last time: nobody knows," Natasha sighed. "She just woke up after the full moon."

"What did she say about her visions?" Shanna asked quietly. "Were they important?"

"Our friends don't write much about the visions," was the answer. "I think they are afraid that somebody else will read the letters. There is one important part in them, however, about the second Heir to Slytherin."

"Who is it?"

"We don't know exactly," Natasha sighed. "You-Know-Who does not have any children so he is supposed to be the last one of the Slytherin bloodline. And yet... the second Heir exists."

Shanna's mind was racing after Natasha had finished the last sentence. She had read about the Slytherin bloodline ages ago and there was a part in it about a supposed child of Voldemort...

***

Hogwarts.

"But you said that you were getting a medicine for your stomach!"

It was the end of January, the twenty-seventh to be precise, and the Slytherins were having breakfast. Dev was seated somewhere in the middle of the table and was asking Crabbe and Goyle about that evening in the common room when they had acted so strangely. The other first-years were seated near them, together with Draco and Zeynep, and were paying close attention to the answers that both Crabbe and Goyle gave.

"I never said anything like that!" Crabbe said indignantly. "I told you that I cannot remember what I did that evening!"

"Same thing here," Goyle grunted. "Are you sure that you saw us?"

As Dev started to nod fervently the first-years frowned and looked at each other in confusion. Zeynep shared a look with Natalya before he said:

"Maybe we did not see you after all. There are certain spells and potions to make you look like somebody else; so perhaps somebody used those to find something out."

"What could be so important that people would want to break a million school rules for it?" Alisha asked in surprise. "Not to mention get into danger with using those spells and potions..."

"We talked about the Heir of Slytherin!" Ginny hissed excitedly. "I want to bet that it were two members of another House, willing for us to say something that would prove our guilt!"

"But who would do such a thing?" Draco asked with a frown. "Who would be stupid enough?"

Ginny looked over to the Gryffindor table and saw her brother Ron chat with Harry and Hermione. Natalya, who had followed Ginny's look, sighed and said:

"Potter and his friends would do it. Remember that Granger girl getting into the Hospital Wing with Christmas? What if her spell or potion went wrong? Potter and Weasley have been face to face with Crabbe and Goyle a million times before thanks to Draco, they would know how to act like them!"

"We will have to find out then," Zeynep said. "Draco, have you still got that permission slip for the Restricted Section?"

"Yes," was the reply. "I carry it around in my pocket."

"Good, good," Zeynep said with a grin. "We might need it..."

A week as Ginny went down to have breakfast on February fourteenth she stopped at the entrance to the Great Hall and stared at its contents. Verice had warned her about Valentine's Day, but she had not expected it to be this bad...

The walls were covered with large pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti was coming down from the ceiling. Lockhart himself was wearing robes to match the decorations but Ginny noticed that none of the other teachers were looking as enthusiastic as their colleague.

"What is going on?" Ginny asked her friends as she seated herself next to a very happy Marita. "Why is everything so... pink?"

"Lockhart," Zeynep said as if that name explained it all. "Valentine's Day."

"Can I have your attention for a moment?" Lockhart called out in the Great Hall. "Happy Valentine's Day! I'd like to thank the forty-six people who have send me cards, and I have another surprise for you right now..."

A dozen dwarfs entered the Great Hall at that point, complete with golden wings and harps. Zeynep groaned, put his head down on the table, and started to mutter swear words under his breath whereas Dev seemed to be overcome with giggles.

"I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion too," Lockhart continued. "Why don't you ask Professor Snape to show you how to make a love potion? Or go to Professor Flitwick, who can show you all about Entrancing Enchantments!"

"I have got a brilliant idea," Ginny whispered suddenly. "How about sending Harry a valentine in front of everyone else?"

"To embarrass him?" Dev asked softly, before laughing out loud: "It could work..."

"His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad," Alisha started. "That's the first sentence."

"His hair is as dark as a blackboard," Verice continued in the same fashion. "I think that Harry will hate this, people!"

"I wish he was mine," Ginny said, "He's really divine."

"The hero who conquered the Dark Lord," Zeynep finished before anyone else could say something. "It really suits Perfect Potter, doesn't it?"

"Oh yes," Draco said as he hiccupped with laughter. "Especially when you imagine Potter's reaction..."

Everyone thought about it for a moment as Draco began to laugh uncontrollably, earning strange looks from the other students seated around them. Suddenly, about five minutes later, Natalya began to laugh as well which earned even more strange looks from the others.

As they left for their first lesson that day Ginny noticed that quite a lot of people did bother with Valentine's Day. All day long the dwarves kept barging into everyone's classes, delivering valentines to various people, to great annoyance of both the teachers and the Slytherins who had decided that this day was an absolute waste of time.

Ginny had just met up with all of her friends when she spotted a particularly grim-looking dwarf who had nothing to do. She whispered the valentine in his ear, told him where he could find Harry, and hurried upstairs towards Transfiguration. It was pure dumb luck for them that Harry had Charms on the same floor and that he was making his way to the class right now, because now they could embarrass in front of everyone else.

"What's going on here?"

Draco drawled as Harry started to put his belongings in his ripped bag. Over the heads of all the students Verice noticed that the dwarf had now seated himself on Harry's ankles and delivered the Valentine as a song.

Some of the students cried with mirth, including Natalya and Zeynep, whereas others started to giggle. All of a sudden Ginny made her way to the front of the crowd because she had spotted a very familiar black book in Draco's hands... She was too late, however, as the diary found its way back to Harry and Ron with a Disarming Spell. Dev tugged at Ginny's clothes for a moment and, sighing loudly, Ginny gave in and made her way to class.

"I don't think that Potter liked your valentine much!" Draco yelled after her. "You should try something else next time!"

As he finished speaking Ginny turned around, smiled broadly, and yelled back:

"Maybe you should give me one, Draco, so that I don't have to resort to a lethal way of drawing attention anymore!"

"I'll be sure to remember it!" Draco shouted at the top of his lungs as Ginny entered the classroom. "One problem: I can't rhyme!"

"Doesn't matter!" Ginny heard Zeynep shout a minute later. "She can't rhyme either so you'd suit each other well!"

In the common room that night Ginny found a card addressed to her. She opened it curiously and laughed as she read it.

Dear Red,

I sincerely apologize to you for the incident this afternoon. Truth be told: I had wanted you to enjoy a poem, a song, or anything else today that could express how I feel about you. However, I could not find the right words so you will have to do with this little card instead.

You can always come to me when you are in trouble, or if you want to talk. Remember this card in your bad days so that you know then that somebody cares about you and always will.

Love always,

The Dragon.

Everybody's mood was beginning to improve as the Heir of Slytherin kept quiet and there had not been another attack. Ginny's mood brightened considerably during the day but at night she felt lonely and empty, as if she wasn't entirely complete. She knew what the cause was and the only way that she would get rid of that horrible feeling was if she stole the diary back...

"Where are the other common rooms?" Ginny asked Zeynep. "They can't all be in the dungeons, can they?"

"Certainly not," Zeynep chuckled. "I only know of the Gryffindor common room, however, which is hidden behind a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. It can hardly be missed."

After receiving this very important piece of information Ginny searched all over the castle for the portrait and finally found it in an empty corridor. The password was easily found (Neville Longbottom was overheard talking to Percy about it) but now to find the right time to sneak into the common room and steal the diary...

In the Easter holidays the second years were given lists of subjects for their upcoming school year; mainly subjects that could affect the job choice and their future career. Everyone took this task very seriously so that the common room was filled with discussions about the new subjects.

"Even auntie Shanna sent me a letter," Draco said at breakfast one morning. "She says that Arithmancy and Ancient Runes will come in handy, but that Care Of Magical Creatures is a real load of fun."

"Who is auntie Shanna?" Pansy Parkinson asked him with her pug-like face expressing confusion. "I don't think that I have heard about her before..."

"Shanna is my father's younger sister," Draco replied. "She works at Durmstrang nowadays even though she has been trained as an Auror."

"An Auror?" Ginny asked with interest. "I want to be an Auror too someday. I'd like to meet your aunt then, maybe she can tell me something about it."

"And now, back to subjects," Blaise Zabini sighed. "I'll take Divination, Ancient Runes, and Care Of Magical Creatures."

"I don't have Care Of Magical Creatures," her brother Zeynep said. "I took Arithmancy instead, because I was never much of an outdoor type."

"Did you hear it yet?" Verice asked suddenly. "The Gryffindors are going to practice Quidditch every day after dinner so we are forced to change our schedules."

"Really?" Ginny said, thinking that this might be the chance she had been waiting for. "That sucks!"

That night, after dinner, Ginny cast a simple spell on herself to become invisible for a short period of time and set out for the Gryffindor common room. She hurried upstairs to Harry's dorm (nearly bumping into Seamus Finnigan on the way) and locked the door behind her.

"Now, Tom, where are you?" she murmured under her breath. "Where would Harry hide you?"

She opened his trunk and began to toss the contents of it over her shoulder. She ripped his cloak accidentally as she searched the pockets but didn't care as she tore the bedclothes off the mattress. She did not find a thing. Just as she was getting desperate she opened the drawer and threw the contents onto the bed in a hurry, and finally found the diary in one of the robes.

"Well done, Harry," Ginny whispered. "You have not been careful enough..."

The next day was a good day for everyone, as Gryffindor was playing Hufflepuff with Quidditch. Ginny opened her diary just before eleven o'clock and began to write in it once more.

Hello Tom.

Ginny? I though that you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore!

I still don't want it, but I missed you so much that I wanted to talk to you.

Touching. You do realize that you will have to be punished for that, don't you?

What do you mean?

This.

There was a flash of bright light and Ginny got up. Horrified, she watched as her body walked to the door and opened it. What was happening? She tried to stand still but her legs kept moving and took her out of the dungeons and up the stairs. She wanted to scream 'what is going on?' at the top of her lungs, but found that her voice would not respond. Then she began to speak, but it was not her voice...

"Come to me, my servant. Kill this time..."

She ran along the corridors calling for the thing, and finally stopped as she heard two voices talk. Ginny realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that one of those voices belonged to Harry's friend Hermione.

"Kill this time..." she suddenly heard. "Let me rip... tear..."

She moved out of the way for as fast as her legs could possibly carry her, made her way down to the common room and collapsed into a chair. Taking long and deep breaths she tried her voice again and found that everything was back to normal.

"What was that?" she asked out loud. "Who took control?"

Deep inside she knew the answer but it scared her all the same. If only she had been stronger, if only she could have resisted the temptation of stealing Tom back...

As her friends came back they found Ginny in the same chair with her eyes closed. She opened them as the common room filled itself with noises and said before anyone else could do so:

"Another attack has taken place."

***

Vuori School For Witchcraft, Savonlinna, Finland.

"What is going on, Professor? Why do you look so sad?"

Gudrun looked at the blond boy standing in front of her and smiled ever so slightly. She put a hand onto his shoulder and said:

"If you move my blue trunk into my office I will tell you everything."

The boy sighed and slumped into a wooden chair in front of Gudrun's desk as he put the trunk down. Gudrun checked if there were no stray girls walking around at this time of the day and closed the door of her office softly behind her. She seated herself in the chair behind her desk and leaned forward as she began:

"A couple of months ago I received notes from friends, telling me that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened once more at Hogwarts. One of those friends, Melanie Smith, was hospitalized later on because of premonitions that predicted the rise of the one we all fear: Lord Voldemort.

As the months progressed Melanie's condition became worse before it finally took a really wrong turn a couple of weeks before Christmas. She did not respond to anything and would be dead by the next full moon. I went to London then, to the hospital, not only to see Mel but also to offer support to my friend Catherine Fisher who had been staying with Mel for a very long time already.

Mel woke up as the full moon went away. Nobody knows why she survived, or how she did so. She told us some very important things and I want you to listen carefully.

The second Heir to Slytherin is at Hogwarts. She was born out of a loving relationship between two Slytherins who went to Hogwarts about fifty years ago. Her mother died and, supposedly, the Heiress died as well within her mother's womb. But a spell had been performed by the Heiress' father, locking the lifeforce of his daughter into a necklace until the time was right to give it to a redheaded woman who would give it to a friend of hers.

So it was done and the Heiress grew up in a family of rivals to Slytherin. Now that she is at Hogwarts she has unleashed the creature Slytherin locked into the Chamber. This was done under force by the one we now know as the one who would start the Era of Darkness: Voldemort."

"How do you know that the Heiress was forced to do it?" the boy asked Gudrun as she finished. "She could be as evil as Voldemort, for all we know."

"Because the Heiress is the only one who can start the Era of Light," Gudrun replied. "She is the last one of her line and she will lead us to the road of redemption."

"I am scared," the boy admitted. "What if she fails?"

"You don't have to be afraid, Rakkaus," Gudrun sighed. "She won't fail because her House won't fall. We won't bow to the one who calls himself a Lord anymore."

"Does my mother know all of this?"

"Yes," was the answer. "Deep inside Shanna knows."

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