Secrets Untold

The Last Horcrux
Chapter One

"Marie!Marie!"A deep voice was rising from the stairs, getting louder by the minute.

A woman stirred upstairs as she recognized the voice. She stood up almost immediately and rushed to the door.

"François? Is that you?"

The man named François came to a halt in front of her, panting and trying hard to catch his breath. He looked as if he'd seen death. His face was marred by a fresh scar that ran from his forehead to the right ear. It was dripping with blood, which had soaked most of his cloak.

"Are you okay? François! What happened?" the woman asked in panic.

He looked faint, but managed to gasp out, "The locket. Marie...The locket..."

Marie looked about in confusion. What locket? What was he talking about? But before she could ask him, he collapsed to the floor.

"François!"

She kneeled down beside him, taking his head in her arms. He was whispering deliriously now.

"Cursed...open...maze...curse..." With a last urgent look at Marie, he tried to convey what he wanted to say. And then, his body went limp and his eyes became stone cold.

Marie wailed in anguish. Her brother, and the last male heir of Ravenclaw was dead.
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"Ms.Lestrange? Ms.Lestrange!"

Kara jerked up as her name was called out. She had been too engrossed in planning how to escape the tower without attracting much attention when she went to meet Draco later. Now, she would have to suffer.

"Yes, Professor?"

Professor Flitwick looked at her with disapproval.

"Can you tell me more about the Bubble-Head Charm? Or perhaps you could give us a short recap of what I said," he asked in a clipped tone. His tone was sharp, but it failed to match the one McGonagall's.

Kara sighed inwardly, and tried to recollect all she knew about the Bubble-Head Charm. What was it again? Bubble-head, something about underwater breathing. She began on the same lines in a hopeful sort of way but soon she trailed off aimlessly.

"Just as I thought!" Professor Flitwick squeaked. Kara braced herself for a detention. Perhaps she would have to clean the dungeons...

But the class had ended! Of course, that didn't make things better. Luckily for her, one of the students managed to tip books of a shelf with a misplaced charm and that made Professor forget all about Kara. Taking advantage of the situation, she quickly picked her bag and headed out of the class.

Kara breathed a sigh of relief as she headed towards the grounds. It was a disaster, how classes went on till so late nowadays. All thanks to Voldemort, of course. After lunch, there was a three hour practice, which supposedly helped them all fight the forces of evil. Kara often scoffed at that. She doubted the Death Eaters were going to wait around when the training was put to action.

It would be different then. Like her summer this year.

Kara breathed in slowly, as she tried to block that thought from her mind. But she couldn't.

Images of Julian screaming at her to go away struck her painfully. The screams, the begging, the high pitched, terrorized wails. Kara shuddered. It was just so much to think about.

Then stop thinking about it! You are alive. And this is no time to think about this!

Yes, she was alive. And she would make full use of it. She would take revenge on Voldemort for what he did to her family, and her brother. Resolutely, Kara opened her eyes and made her way to the castle doors. Then taking a look around, she wrapped an Invisibility Cloak around her, a gift from her mother.

She remembered with a pang, her mother. The lady she idolized with her heart and soul. Who was now lying in a cemetery, with only a headstone as a reminder of her life. Shaking her head, Kara headed towards the edge of the lake. She knew where Draco would be standing, right behind the huge beech tree. The place where he would be in the open, yet hidden.

My discovery, thought Kara smugly and increased her pace.
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As usual, Draco was the first one to reach the spot. He shook his head in disapproval. If there was one thing he hated, it was being late ... and people who were late. But yet, Kara was never on time.

He felt happy as he thought about her.

In a span of just a few months, Kara Lestrange had come to mean the world to him. She was not only beautiful outside, but inside as well...and equally determined. She could be sensitive or blatantly outspoken, caring or dismissive, eager or bored and so many things. He could never get tired of knowing her. But even then, Draco knew one thing...Kara trusted him.

It was the most wonderful thing he'd experienced in years. No one else had trusted him before like she did. Even his mother believed that Draco was not trustworthy. Yet Kara blindly put her faith in him. And he was sure not to let her down. He would prove her trust right. He would find the Horcrux and redeem himself in front of the Order members.

And he knew, she'd be there to help him.

As if on cue, a figure began to materialize out of nowhere in front of him. A silvery cloak slowly slipped down and the figure was now clearly visible. It bent down to retrieve the cloak, and shrunk it with magic, pocketing it.

Kara finally looked up and greeted Draco with a quick hug.

"You're late," Draco remarked and Kara knew what was expected next. An explanation from her.

"As usual," she tried with a smirk, but Draco raised his eyebrow. She sighed. "Okay, I missed a near detention, and I had to get out my cloak. That's why I'm late."

But he didn't buy it. Kara sighed.

Sometimes, Kara felt he knew Legilimency. How else would he know what was going in her mind? Or when she was lying?

"Fine!" she admitted in defeat," I was thinking about him."

Draco fixed his gaze on her. His silver eyes made her feel at home usually. But today, there was something in them that made her feel uneasy. Something she had never ever seen before.

"You know he's gone," he spoke in a flat tone. But she knew it cost him every ounce of strength to say so. Draco blamed himself for Julian's death, and the subject was seldom brought up. Except on days like today.

She nodded imperceptibly and they stayed in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Draco gazed ahead of her, focusing on the ripples the giant squid made on the lake's surface. Kara felt a jolt of uneasiness and helplessness rush through her. Draco looked just like the first time when she saw him, vulnerable and hollow, and she suddenly wanted to comfort him. Kara moved towards him, her hands rising on their own accord to meet his face. Her mouth opening to tell him it wasn't his fault-

Splash!

The sound of water from the lake made her jerk back. She put her hand to her side, unsure of what had just happened seconds before. Was she actually going to comfort Draco? That was not what Kara Lestrange did. Comforting people was not her thing. And yet...
Draco looked away from the lake, and back to her. "So, we didn't come here to see the scenery, did we?"

She smiled weakly and shook her head, trying not to mull over the previous thought. "You found something. Didn't you?"

He shrugged.

"I'm not really sure about that, though I think I have...but you never really know. Still, the place looks Ravenclaw enough," he conceded as they began walking towards the Forbidden Forest.

Kara stopped at the edge of the forest, looking curiously at Draco. "You're joking right? You found something inside there? As in, you went into the Forbidden Forest by yourself?"

Draco looked miffed by this statement. "What? Can't I go inside that place?" he paused and then looked insulted. "You mean to say that I'm a coward?"

Kara giggled inwardly, she just loved teasing Draco however she could. But on her face, was a look of thoughtfulness. "Well, judging your past record, I wouldn't exactly call you Gryffindori-"

But before she could complete the sentence, Malfoy chased her into the forest. Laughing, and at the same time, running as if her life depended on it, Kara soon reached a large clearing. She stopped, panting heavily. "Okay... Okay... truce. I'm tired," she panted.

Draco stopped too and looked around, trying to catch his breath. "We're here," he said, forgetting all about the little chase.

Hearing him say that, she finally paid a proper look to the place. It was just a small clearing. A patch of wild grass, encircled with trees and magical toadstools popping up now and then. A few holes in the ground, which Kara suspected was the work of Nifflers -most adept at digging-could be seen at regular intervals.

"Here where?" she asked finally. "Are you trying to pull my leg or something?" Kara added suspiciously. Draco cast a haughty look at her and then bent to one of the furrows. And then, to her disbelief, he began poking his wand inside it.

"What in Circe's name are you doing?" she demanded as she went over to Draco. But Draco did not answer. In fact, he didn't need to. The hole was growing bigger and bigger by the second. And minutes later, it was a tunnel that could easily let in one person at a time.

Speechless for once, Kara continued looking at Draco, as he stood up and tucked his wand into his robe.

"Well?" he demanded finally, "let's go inside."

Kara looked down at the tunnel and then back at Draco, "How did you know about that?"

Draco smirked and sat at the edge of the tunnel, ready to slip in.

"Well, there is this book, in the Restricted Section of the library, dealing with legends as to secrets rooms, passageways and such in Hogwarts. It's been banned because some groups of students were using it earlier to their advantage. It had this tunnel listed in it. Of course, I don't expect anyone's been here. The page was very cleverly hidden. I saw it by fluke myself."

Kara observed him skeptically. Who would write such a thing in a book? She knew it would be futile to ask him that or how he got to know about the book. Or how he got into the Restricted Section. But she still wanted an answer to one question.

"Have you been in here before?"

"Once," he replied and looked down the tunnel. "It's an interesting place. Like I said, very Ravenclaw-ish. That's why I thought you should see it too."

Kara nodded. Then she sat on the edge of the tunnel and looked down. It was pitch black. She looked back at Draco, a bit apprehensive. Kara had never been a really big fan of adventures and unknown places. And this tunnel was on that list.

Draco grinned at her expression. "Ladies first. Or are you feeling scared?"

She frowned at him. It was the old trick of 'are-you-too-afraid' and 'chicken', but nevertheless, she fell for it. Quickly, she lowered her legs into the steep tunnel, and with a quick heave, let herself go. The slide down the tunnel was very, very steep, and Kara found herself screaming at the top of her voice in fear.

She took a quick look to spot Draco behind her. Then, turning forward, she closed her eyes, and prayed for a safe landing.
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A couple of minutes later, when she finally landed on the horribly cold floor beneath, Kara didn't know whether to laugh with relief, or wince with the pain her in her back. Dazed by the journey, she got up gingerly to her feet. Kara turned around, waiting for Draco. It was seconds later that she realized she was standing in the wrong place, directly at the tunnel's opening. If Draco came hurtling down...

And in a flash, she was down again, Draco on top of her.

She felt the air being punched out of her, and her body protested at the sudden weight. She choked out, "Draco, get off! You're crushing me!"

Draco apparently, was rather dazed too, and took his time to answer. "Will you wait! I'm trying to get up!" he spoke rapidly, and supporting his body on his hands, tried to get up. Unfortunately, the floor was muddy and rather slippery, and he promptly slipped back to his original position, cursing loudly.

Kara groaned in frustration.

So, she was stuck in a muddy slippery patch, being positively crushed by Draco, who was pressing on top of her. On top of her... Suddenly, the situation became awkward, as she realized what close proximity she was in with Draco. She could see his face so clearly. And his eyes...silver. No, silvery, with hints of pale blue, and oddly enough, pale green in them. A lock of hair was dangling down into his eye, and his chiseled features were lit by the light of her wand lying beside her.

The light made that piece of platinum hair shine. It looked so...so luminescent, and so captivating. Still, it marred his face. She raised up her hand, to flick it back, her eyes never leaving his face.

"This place wasn't so-" Draco stopped mid-sentence as she gently removed the violating hair from his face, and carefully pushed it back. Her hand came to rest in his hair, and she felt him shudder slightly at her touch. Kara began to pull her hand back at this, but he drew nearer, looking oddly at her.

Kara could see his pale eyes darkening to mercuric colours, as she trailed her hand down to his cheek. Draco inched forward, and she could feel his breath on her face.

So near. So...scandalously near. Oh Merlin!

Kara jerked to reality at the thought, quickly removing her hand from his face. She could hear her heart thudding, and cursed herself silently.
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What wrong with me! This is Draco. I was just about to kiss Draco?!

A voice in her head asked her what was wrong with this, but she knew. It was just too...too inviting and right to be correct.

"Sorry," she blurted out, her face flushing, as Draco moved back, "that hair looked out of place."

What am I saying?! Draco was watching her quietly, clearly not able to accept her statement as a fact. But he nodded, and finally, deciding on a new technique, rolled off her. It worked, and they were both up on their feet moments later.

Kara glanced at Draco, who was cleaning his robes with his wand. The lock of hair was back in place.

"This place wasn't so muddy last time," he finally said, obviously ignoring the events that had followed when he tried to say the same thing earlier.

Kara nodded and glanced around for the first time since they came down the tunnel. Draco had been right. The place could never be mistaken as something other than a Ravenclaw dwelling.

The place was lit with blue flames, casting an eerie glow that made the room very uninviting. The walls were covered with blue frescoes of ravens with silver beaks and sharp eyes. At regular intervals were silver-crafted, raven-shaped flame-holders, with sapphire eyes that were gleaming in the blue fire. The room was rather longitudinal, and at the far end of it was the most beautiful piece of crafting that Kara had ever seen.

It was a huge, life size statue of a raven, made entirely in the colors blue, black and silver. From the work, Kara guessed it was nothing less than expensive Goblin wrought silver, embedded with black metal and pieces of sapphire and lapis lazuli for the finishing effects.

The bird on a whole had a haughty and majestic look about it. Its piercing blue eyes stared directly at Kara, making her feel rather uncomfortable. But try as hard as Kara might, she just couldn't look away from the image.

The raven's eyes bored into Kara with a look of silent knowledge and she felt a sense of déjà vu suddenly. Kara had seen this raven before. Not only seen it...she knew it.

Out of nowhere, memories that she never knew she had began to surface. Kara took a step towards the statue.

She was five, with her mother, who was pointing at the raven. Its large wings shone so brightly in the lantern light that Kara had to shield her eyes...

A step more.

Six, this time. Her father brought her close to the bird, his hand held a small, half-broken locket. He turned to Kara with a small smile.

In the distance, she barely heard Draco call out her name unsurely. She took a few more steps.

Memories were racing now. She was a baby, in a room with her mother and a strange man. Eight, playing in the library when she heard her mother scream her uncle's name. She raced up the stairs to find Uncle François dead.

Draco followed Kara uncertainly. She looked like she was in a trance, following the path to the end of the small room. He wanted to wake her up...pull her back. But something in him told him not to.

He watched as Kara took her final step.

Kara could see one last memory clearly now.

A young woman stood in front of the statue. She waved her wand and muttered a few words. Words she had carefully mulled over and chosen for this place. The sapphire eye of the raven glowed mesmerizingly for a second, and then everything was still. The woman smiled. The task was done, now she had to test it.

Slowly, she raised her hand to meet the beak of the bird.

As if on cue, Kara raised her hand, and did the same.

Her hand met the bird, and she pressed it onto it.

Kara felt a huge surge of heat shoot through her palm into the whole of her body. It was painful. All of a sudden, the memory was gone, and she stood facing a glowing raven. As the sharp pain flooded through her body, numbing her senses, Kara tried to pull her hand back. But it would not budge.

A weariness began ensnaring her senses, and she felt blackness close in around her. She could hear a panicked voice shouting from behind her... but the thought of looking back itself was unfathomable. The heat had increased by ten fold now, and Kara felt something liquidy materializing on her palm.

I'm melting. I'm dying.

The liquid began to harden in her hand. Kara felt someone pulling her away from the statue. Her eyes came into contact with the blazing ones of the raven, and a small voice spoke in her head.

You came.

Then, the world went black.

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