Elementals of Magic: Prophecy of Lies

Chapter 14

Ravenclaw's Hunt

Sunday rolled around faster than one can say the word "Quidditch." Excitement crackled in the air as Hogwarts sat down for breakfast. Many students already had their bags packed, as they were leaving the next day. Even Blaise was leaving; Draco was sure that the Zabini family could find some Dark spell to restore the Slytherin.

Detention had not been fun. Kyon had had Draco doing servant work, like disemboweling horned toads, extracting slug blood, etc. The xanthochroid was sure that if Potter had been the one to receive detention instead, Kyon would have let the Gryffindor do homework and help him with it.

This was perhaps the easiest contest yet. All they had to do was find a painting and talk to it; the painting would no doubt tell them what to do. If the other three hadn't figured out the riddle, then they were complete and total idiots.

Pansy had almost started spoon feeding him, as she wanted him to conserve his energy. However, she realized that that might not be a bright idea when he glared at her, and she contented herself with hanging onto him during the whole meal, shooting everyone and anyone that even dared to go near them with death glares.

Draco was as calm as calm can be. The enchanted ceiling showed a clear though gray sky. Light snow was falling outside, as usual. However, the temperature did not seem to be freezing, merely a bit chilly. A light gust of wind blew now and then, reminding everyone that bad weather might show up at any moment. All in all, it was a good day to have a contest.

As breakfast drew to an end, Dumbledore stood up.

"Will everyone head outside to the front lawn?"

Pupils started rising from their seats, leaving in clumps and groups from the Great Hall. Many of them paid their respective champions good luck. Pansy glared at each group as they came up to Draco while Draco mentally rolled his eyes.

As the Great Hall slowly emptied, with a few last stragglers walking out the doors, Draco left in a huff, walking away from Pansy as fast as he could. She had the nerve to offer to carry him! He was not fine china in her kitchen cabinet, and he'd rather be damned to hell than be treated like that. The nerve of her!

The blonde was not in a good mood when he arrived outside. He spotted the champions a little ways off from the main group, waiting with Professor Sinistra. Draco promptly walked over to the group, not wishing to give Pansy a chance to apologize to him. The apology would have fallen on deaf ears anyway.

Two of the champions glared at him as he walked up, not glad about him showing up so unbelievably late.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, you're here. I shall now explain what is expected of the four of you. You are to do what your riddles tell you to do. There is the time limit of an hour. Anyone who returns after that will receive no points. The person who returns first will be awarded full points. Now, prepare yourselves in front of the steps to the castle. Ravenclaw's Hunt is about to start."

Draco, Harry, Susan, and Terry obliged. The Ravenclaw boy had been chosen as Head Boy, and he was carrying himself as if he was superior to the other three. Susan, meanwhile, had a determined look on her face. Harry acted his everyday normal self. Draco walked nonchalantly up to the steps.

Dumbledore walked down the steps and towards the table set beside the stone steps, where the four Heads of Houses were seated, waiting for Ravenclaw's Hunt to begin. To the crowd, an hour seemed to have passed before the Headmaster reached his place at the table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to the second contest of the Founders' Pride, Ravenclaw's Hunt! As each of you know, our champions each received a piece of parchment, which contained a different riddle for them to decipher. This test will prove the intelligence of our champions! Now, champions, are you ready?"

A loud boom resounded through the air. Draco instantly ran up the steps, taking them two at a time, reaching the doors first. He wrenched one open and ran inside, hearing the loud footsteps and the noisy panting of the other three as they, too, entered.

Draco had prepared very well. In Second Year, he had found a hidden passage in the Charms corridor that led straight to the Eighth Floor. The Eighth Floor was well hidden, as students had no need to access them. There was, of course, a staircase that led up there, though it was hidden in a part of the castle that hardly anyone ever went to.

Draco had known where to find the portraits because they were mentioned in the book Hogwarts: A History, which the Slytherin had read cover to cover, like Granger, though for different purposes. While Granger wanted to learn, Draco read it for any information that would be useful should he be in a tight spot. The previous night, the blonde had taken his Merging Cloak and gone up to the Eighth Floor, pinpointing the exact location of Victoria's portrait. He had found the painting empty, though a plaque beneath the portrait told him that he was at the right place.

Quickly, Draco ran up the staircase. A few moments later, the other three ran past the Slytherin, no doubt trying to reach the staircase that led up to the Eighth Floor. The pudgy Hufflepuff was falling behind while the Head Boy was gaining the lead, as he was the tallest of the three.

Draco, not wasting any time, used a spell that would make him run faster and zoomed to the Charms corridor. The Slytherin stopped in front of a wall behind a statue of Merlin, barely fitting into the space.

The blonde leaned against the wall. The gray stones spun silently, and Draco soon found himself in the secret passage. The Slytherin ran the length of the passage speedily; after several twists and turns and quite a few pretty steep climbs, the other side of the passage appeared.

Draco halted to a stop in front of the dead end and again leaned against it. Gray stones slid from the wall silently, forming an opening for the blonde to walk through. As soon as he did so, they slid shut. The blonde was now in the South Wing. Pictures of 14th Century young adults stared at him, tutting at the casual dress and the loose manners.

Draco ignored them all and jogged down the hallway as centuries passed him by. As he reached the 20th Century, the xanthochroid slowed down. The Slytherin had long passed Albus Dumbledore's portrait, along with Albert DeVrai, aka Grindelwald. Soon, he reached the painting of Victoria York.

The Witch was wearing silver dress robes made of silk, which enhanced her Malfoy Grey eyes. Her black hair fell like a waterfall around her, and her face was smooth, not yet disfigured by the scar Narcissa had told him about. Her eyes fell quickly onto Draco.

"A Malfoy? Now, what would you be doing here?" For a Chinese person, she spoke English well, without a single trace of an accent.

"I'm Draco Malfoy, son of Narcissa Moore. I..."

"Ah, yes, you are the son of my two cousins, are you not? Well then, come in, and take what you need, though do be quick about it, as I'm sure the other three will be arriving soon."

The portrait swung forward, and Draco stepped inside. The room was bare except for a brown coffee table in the middle, which held four small figurines. The blonde quickly ran over and scanned them.

A griffin. A badger. An eagle. A dragon.

It was obvious which one he should take. The dragon was made of crystal. The wings were spread, and its arms were held in front of it, the way it would look if the creature was holding something. Draco put an Unbreakable Charm on the crystal figurine and put it in his robe pocket, jogging out of the room.

"Thank you," he said as he turned back to the portrait.

"You're welcome," she replied as the portrait swung back.

As the Slytherin ran back down the hall, she looked at him sadly.

"It seems that what Albus told me is true. Your life will not be an easy one, Dragon," the former Head Girl whispered to the blonde's retreating back.

***

Victoria looked at her portrait, shaking her head.

If only you knew the truth of it. But you don't, and the truth is way more complicated than what anyone had ever thought.

***

Harry soon took the lead as he sped up, determined to reach the Eighth Floor before the other two. No doubt Malfoy was already running up the stairs, as the three had seen neither hide nor hair of him.

The staircase came into view. Harry ran straight for it, seeing that it was so narrow that one person could barely fit on it, let alone two or three. He ended up being the first one up, beating Terry by mere miliseconds.

The Gryffindor scrambled to put more distance between himself and the other two. Who knew what portraits the other two had? What if they had ones of 16th Century Head Boys and Head Girls?

After a long and exhausting climb, in which the three had slowed from running to climbing a step every ten seconds with their leaden legs, the top appeared, appealing to the three the same way food appeals to a man who hadn't eaten for a week.

New determination came to Harry. He sprinted the last few flights up and ran down the central hallway. Whispers floated to his ears as he passed, though he couldn't make out the exact words. Soon, the raven-haired boy had been lost to the sight of the other two champions, who were staggering off the stairs.

After running for what seemed like ages and kilometers, Harry stopped in front of the portrait of Tom Riddle. The boy stooped over for a moment, catching his breath. He soon turned his head to look at the life-size painting.

Tom Riddle was dressed in jade green robes that brought out his eyes. He was smiling, though the smile looked a little evil to Harry. The Gryffindor again realized how the two uncannily resembled each other.

The former Slytherin looked down at Harry with a scrutinizing gaze. Harry felt more and more uncomfortable with each passing second.

"I...That is...I mean...well...Victoria sent me."

"Really? And why would the precious dear not find me herself?"

Harry stood dumbfounded. A girl suddenly entered the portrait, dragging a chair behind her.

"I finally managed to wrestle this chair away from Peony Patil, Tom."

The girl glanced out of the portrait and into Harry's eyes. A grey the exact shade and value as Malfoy's met his emerald orbs.

"Now, Vicky, this boy says that you sent him."

So that was Victoria? He could understand why Tom had once maybe loved her, as she was undeniably beautiful. Black, lustrous hair flowed down her back in ripples. Her skin was a bit tanned, and she had a nice figure, though not the hourglass shape many men desire.

Tom was now seated on the chair, with Victoria sitting in his lap. Harry did not want to witness this.

"Er..could you maybe consider what I said?"

Tom looked at him irritatingly. Victoria, though, gave him a piercing gaze before turning back to the former Head Boy.

"Let him in, Tom. Do this as a favor for me?"

Victoria lowered her lips to his earlobe and started nibbling it in an affectionate way, earning a moan from the former Slytherin. Harry felt like he was going to be sick. Just then, the painting swung open.

Harry quickly entered, not wanting to stay any longer. He found himself in a room devoid of any adornments except for a plain brown coffee table in the middle. Three miniature statues stood in the center. There was only one explaination. Malfoy had been here already, as he was sure Terry and Susan hadn't caught up yet.

His suspicions were confirmed as Harry stepped up to the table. A badger, an eagle, and a griffin remained on the table.

The griffin was made of crystal, carved articulately. The wings were spread, each feather standing out. Its claws were curved inward, as though it was holding something. Harry carefully deposited the figurine into a pocket.

The Gryffindor ran out of the room. Once he was back in the hallway, he could hear muffled moaning coming from behind him, not just deep ones this time. Harry ran back down the hallway, not daring to look back at the portrait of Tom Riddle, which had swung closed.

Harry jogged down the stairs at a steady pace, not wanting to waste his energy too fast. The trip downstairs seemed shorter than the trip upstairs, and soon, the Gryffindor found himself back in the Great Hall.

The raven-haired boy ran full speed out of the castle to be greeted with a cheering crowd. He could see Malfoy standing apart from the crowd, with Pansy Parkinson draped all over him. Not again.

***

As soon as Draco ran down the steps, he was accosted by Pansy, who threw her arms around his neck and refused to be separated from the one love of her life.

"Draco, you won!" squealed the excited brunette into his ear, which caused the blonde to wince.

The Slytherin had already forgiven her for the previous events in the morning, which Pansy seemed to have realized. But then, they had known each other since they were what? Four? They could almost read each other's minds.

Pansy snuggled into Draco; the blonde wrapped his arms around her. Might as well give everyone the full act. He then noticed the four screens hovering in front of the castle doors. One was currently blank, though he could see Potter, Boot, and Bones on the other three. So, again, his actions had been broadcasted to the student and teacher population at Hogwarts. At least nothing truly humiliating happened this time.

***

Ten minutes after Potter emerged, so did Bones and Boot, Bones running out of the doors a fraction of a second before Boot. Cheering accompanied their return as Dumbledore stood up.

The crowd instantly quieted down. The Headmaster roamed his eyes over Draco, who was still holding Pansy, Harry, who was standing by Hermione and Ron, and Susan and Terry, both breathless with flushed faces, standing apart from the main crowd.

"Ravenclaw's Hunt has concluded. Mr. Malfoy receives fifty points, for completing his task in ten minutes. Fourty points to Mr. Potter, who returned in twenty minutes. Miss Bones has earned thirty points, and twenty-nine points goes to Mr. Boot. The next contest will be Saturday, March 28."

Boot raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Boot?"

"Headmaster, sir, what will we need to do for the third contest?"

"You should already know that," Dumbledore replied, blue eyes twinkling.

When he sat back down, the enormous mass of students slowly trickled into the castle. Potter was surrounded by Gryffindors, who all congratulated him. Draco and Pansy were the last to leave, the two matching each other stride for stride, pace for pace. Almost as if they were twins.