The Years to Come

"Kick some first years around? Jinx a bathroom? Throw rocks at the Whomping Willow?" Jack answered Taralynn nonchalantly. He was bored from his last class, irritated at the ghosts and Mudbloods of the school, and anxious to do what he wanted later on that night. He thought about playing a game of wizard's chess for a moment but then knew that there was probably no quiet place in the school for a good game; even the library would be full of students cramming in for papers and talking with each other about how 'lame' or 'exciting' their classes were today. So he didn't suggest the game.

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Al's eyes met Jay's and at that point it was getting harder to say no to him. Would it really be so bad to kill an hour or two by just goofing off? She couldn't come up with a reason viable enough to deny her friend again. "Okay fine. But can we do this inside? And no blowing up anything, please."

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Don't see a threat? Even if there is no basilisk, whoever opened that Chamber was willing to kill the students at this school who aren't pureblooded wizards or witches. The threat is that person. They must be versed with magic, and from what I know about the last times, the Chamber's gotta be opened with some funky language or secret handshake with a door or something. But who did open it? Narrowing it down to the people at this school who still think pureblooded witches and wizards are 'above' others wouldn't be too hard. The problem is how to go about it. It wouldn't be smart to just go around asking people if they think pureblooded wizards and witches rule and everyone else sucks owl dung. So--Lelouch looked over his shoulder to see who'd interrupted his thoughts and tapped him so gently even though he knew the familiar touch to be one of his sisters. "Hey, Iris," he smiled, sitting up and closing his book. He saw Luke come in to the Great Hall behind their sister and gave him a wave. Luke waved back and joined Iris and Lelouch at the Ravenclaw table. "Now where's Elysia?" He mumbled about their missing sister.

 

Elysia couldn't believe what she had just stumbled on... it was incredible, it was so awesome, it was-
...something she had to tell her siblings about right this very second.

~

She ran as fast as she could, huffing and panting as she dodged students and made her way down the ever changing stair cases.
All afternoon, she had been trying to suppress her usual excitement of the upcoming Quidditch Match. Just as ever. She had also been tempted to schedule a last minute practice, but that all changed the second she made her discovery just now. The earlier excitement was overwhelmed by something even more unbelievable. The Team was in top form anyway. This new discovery right now could change everything!
Where would they be right about now...
She athletically leapt over the head of a first year Ravenclaw who was sat on the bottom step reading a book, not caring if he had just been able to peak up her skirt. Such things didn't bother her that much.
Of course! The Great Hall!
And so she headed there. Once she passed through the great big doors, she instantly spotted her siblings gathered around Lulu at the Ravenclaw table. "Guys!~" she shouted to them, skidding to a halt right next to them, huffing and panting drastically from having run down all seven floors none stop just to get here.
She ignored the fact that a lot of people were looking at her like she was some sort of mad-woman.
"Found... Incredible... Must... show you... come see... now." she muttered between her excited heavy breaths. She looked up at the confused looks of her family; Iris, Lelouch and Luke and gave them a big grin, one that she was famous for.
It was what told them they were about to get into a whole lot of mischief.

 

So and Amus both looked at her, Amus unamused. He turned his head back around and slumped once again, while So was oh so interested in what the panting girl at to say. She made her eyes wonder the room as if she was just looking around when really she was curiously awaiting to hear the girl finish her sentence.

 

Taralynn let out a small chuckle, but she could tell that Jack wasn't that interested in her right now. What if I go try out the spell right now? she thought illogically. I've got to do something; I'm tired of waiting around like all these stupid kids, as if I'm just as normal as them. I'm better... Jack's better. This whole place will be better once it's set the way it should be. But first... everyone that's in our way has to be gotten rid of. But... she stopped herself from thinking any further; Taralynn was desperate for approval, but she was not stupid. I have to wait... till it's dark and everyone's in their dorms.

With everything that was twittering around madly in her head right now, she wanted to write in her diary; her fingers automatically went to her book bag and rested on the spine of the little journal, but now was not the time or place to clear her thoughts. She'd have to wait till later.

"What about we play a game?" Taralynn asked suddenly, getting an idea. "We can find somewhere to sit down and tell each other secrets! To be fair, I'll go first, and then it's your turn. What do you say?" Jack always told her so little about his plans, let alone himself, that she was always curious. Maybe this time he'd play along.

Iris jumped a little when her sister arrived, yet she couldn't help but return Elysia's grin; it was extremely contagious. She wished she could be as energetic as her, but Iris seemed to think completely differently; like right now, her eyes quickly scanned the tables nearest them in the Great Hall, going over the other students that were close by.

If it's family business, something secret that Elysia wants to talk about and show us so desperately, she began in her head, no one else better be paying attention or following us.

"Lower your voice if it's so incredible," Iris whispered, slightly paranoid.

 

Jay threw his long arms around Al and hugged her tight enough to pick her up off the floor. In hindsight, picking someone up on the stairs probably wasn't safe, but as with most things Jay did, no one really got hurt. He grinned at her. "Yeah sure, inside it is. And you know me, Al, I only blow things up on accident. And no one's ever around, really... maybe in the next room..." he trailed off and rubbed the back of his head blushing. Okay, so once or twice he'd blown up something big enough to affect other rooms, and therefore people. But he was more careful now and better at what he did. "Come on, we have hooky to play!" he announced loudly, grabbing Al's hand to pull her faster down the stairs. "I've heard of this 'room of requirement'. Wanna check that out? I think I know where it is and how to get into it, but if it takes too long: never fear! i have many back up plans for getting you to relax." he laughed, practically dragging his head of house down the hall ways, that big goofy grin on his face.

 

Jack thought for a moment about Taralynn's proposal. He ran a hand through his red-brown hair, squinting his grey-green eyes when they passed through a bright pool of sunlight that filtered through one of the many stained-glass windows of the hallway. It wasn't like he had any other reason to say no except to just say no. But it had been a while since he'd seen Taralynn genuinely smile, and he liked her smile. "Fine. Where should we play this game of yours?"

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"Room of Requirement? That's just some legend, Jay," Al shook her head. Logically, the Room shouldn't exist anymore since it was burnt down and destroyed along with most of the rest of Hogwarts all those years ago; but this school was all about magic so logic didn't really apply in this case. "Besides, what kind of room would you ask for?"

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Lelouch tilted his head at his sister's enthusiasm and Luke grinned. His voice calm and low he said, "We've explored most of the school already. Did you go to the third floor and find something?" The third floor seemed to be a traditional place for the school to keep its mysterious things it didn't want the students to get at. The siblings had tried going there before, but Peeves thwarted them every time.
"Don't ask questions! Let's go see it!" Luke tugged his brother to stand up. "Put those books away and get a move-on!"
Lelouch sighed and smiled; he was excited to see whatever it was that had Elysia so worked up. He gathered his things and tossed them in his book bag; standing up from the table and slinging his bag over his shoulder he said, "Tell us what it is while we go there."

 

Jay grinned at Al, still nearly dragging her through the halls. "Ah Al, you have no confidence in me! You know the story: it's not just a legend, it's part of history. And as for what room I'd ask for... why don't you let that be a surprise?" he winked at her, thinking of some muggle things he'd like to show her. "It might not even exist, according to your 'legend', or I might have the wrong place. Either way, I think we'll have ourselves an adventure!" he swung her around a corner and then pulled her to a stop infront of a great wall. The stone was different than some of the other walls near by. There was some black marks, almost tlike char marks. "Before I request a room... is there anything you do want to ask the room to be?" he asked, letting go of her hand to swing his whole arm over her shoulders and looking down at her.

 

Taralynn's heart skipped with excitement; she had not expected Jack to say yes at all, and now she had to quickly think of a place they could go and talk. Would the Slytherin common room be too crowded and loud to talk right now? The Great Hall had a decent amount of people in it as well, but Taralynn didn't think Jack would want to be in such an open place if they were indeed going to share secrets.

"How about the common room?" she asked. "I'm sure we can find somewhere to sit in there."

Iris stood from the table as well and went to stand close to her sister. She was very intrigued as to what Elysia was talking so excitedly about, but didn't necessarily want to show it. She waited for the group to start moving so the discovery could be shared.

 

After catching her breath, Elysia looked at them all again. "Very funny, but remember, they don't hide everything on the third floor." she threw in, going along with the joke. Just because in the past the philosophers stone had been hidden there didn't mean that everything else was...
Once she had lead them out of the great hall and they had started heading up the staircase, she... stopped at the third floor and quietly muttered to them. "However, this time, it really is the case." she grinned, grateful that no students were in their vicinity to stumble upon her new secret.

 

Jack shrugged. "That'll work. If someone's there I'm sure a hex to make them vomit slugs will cause them to leave." He smirked. It was one of his favorite hexes -- disgusting and effective at the same time. Not to mention the taste of slugs was in your mouth for a good week after the hex wore off. By now, the halls were starting to clear as students found their places and settled with friends.

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Al bit her lip in thought. In truth, she wanted it to be a room full of candy; she had a horrible sweet-tooth but never really ate sweets. And after all the recent stress some Droobles gum sounded pretty good. She sighed, "No, not really. Go ahead and do what you wanted." She smiled to show Jay that she was still interested in his idea; and actually did want to see the Room of Requirement in action.

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"You're kidding right?" Lelouch smirked at Elysia, commending her misbehavior. "Did you really go here without us? How did you get past Peeves?"
"Who cares!? Let's see what this is all about!" Luke urged, punching Lelouch's arm.

 

Jay rolled his eyes. "Control, control. Don't you know how to let go?" he asked her, looking almost annoyed as he read her 'smile' and tone. He shook his head, allowing that she was at least relaxing enough to be there even if she wouldn't relax more than that. He thought for a moment, as he didn't actually have a good idea that he knew Al would appricate. But then a sweet smile passed over his face as he snapped his fingers. "Got it!" He began to pace the wall the amount of times he had researched and guessed and heard was correct while thinking "We need a place to relax." The request was simple, but hey! Maybe it would pick up on what Al needed and wasn't telling him.
To his own surprise, a door opened in front of them both on his third trek across the corridor. "Woah! It worked..." he murmered, staring at the door.

 

Elysia smirked back at Lelouch's disbelief. "I am one of the top duelling club members for a reason you know." she winked. "I fixed Peeves with a nice little hex that glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth. That'll keep him occupied for a bit anyway." she beamed as she looked around to make sure they wouldn't be followed before leading them down the corridor. "Now come on! Quick!" she beckoned her siblings.

 

Taralynn led the way back to the Slytherin common room. When she and Jack arrived, she was hoping there was at least one student there that they could scare off; she always loved to see Jack in action.

She practically leaped with joy when they entered the common room and saw that there was a girl and a boy sitting in two chairs by the fireplace, talking to each other alone. Taralynn recognized them immediately but couldn't remember their actual names; the boy was a bigger, not-so-smart kid that no one was fond of. Why on earth he would be talking to one of the prettier, older Slytherin girls, Taralynn couldn't tell.

"Jack," Taralynn whispered when they walked in, adjusting the strap of her book bag excitedly. "Do you see that girl? Word around the castle is her grandmother is a Muggle. And I've heard her talking about you and other Slytherins behind our backs to first years. It's disgusting." She slipped her into the pocket of her robes, touching the handle of her wand.

Iris followed directly behind her sister, her heart racing. It was all she could do to keep her face calm and collected. It was something good this time, she could tell. She wanted to burst out and ask what it was, to yell at Elysia to just spill the beans because she couldn't take the suspense anymore, but she swallowed and clenched her fists. They had to be close to whatever it was.

 

Jack scowled. He recognized the girl. She was in a class of his but he didn't care enough to remember. All he knew was that he hated the way he'd catch her giving him goo-goo eyes. Taralynn was right, she was disgusting. He took his wand out and casually walked across the common room. "Cady--"

The girl looked up at him, thrilled that he was talking to her. Obviously the boy next to her was just for entertainment. "It's pronounced--"

"Don't care. Listen," He smiled and spun his wand. "I hear you're getting friendly with first years. Not every guy in the school wants to get up in your skirt. Especially me. Quit whoring yourself out." Of course, probably none of that was true. The girl mostly likely was just trying to get to Jack by being seen with different boys -- it was a stupid strategy. He wasn't interested in that kind of stuff. She teared up, jumped to her feet, and ran away crying. Jack laughed out loud.

"Hey!" The boy got to his feet and pulled out his wand. "Whut duh hell, man?"

Jack raised an eyebrow at the boy's readied wand. "You want to duel?" The boy began to say a spell and move his wand, but Jack was quicker. With a flash of his own wand, Jack had the boy on his knees clutching his stomach.

"What did you--?" A slimy, dark grey slug spewed out of the terrified boy's mouth.

"It'll stop eventually," Jack shrugged. "Maybe."

"I swear I'll--"

"You have a little sister who goes here, right? A first year Hufflepuff?" Jack stopped the boy's threat, a sneer as cold as metal on his face. "Shame if something were to happen to such a hard-working little... witch."

"Damn you," The boy grumbled and hurried out of the common room, vomiting another, orange slug on his way.

"Idiots," Jack sighed, returning his wand to his pocket. He flopped onto a couch, his usual bored expression back on his face. "So? You wanted to ask something first?"

 

Taralynn swallowed a happy squeal, clasping her hands together in front of her, biting her lower lip. She sat in the chair opposite Jack, unable to fight back the nasty grin that was sitting on her face.

"Right," she began, trying to not be nervous. "Here's a little secret about me that nobody knows..." She leaned forward, lowering her voice slightly despite the fact that they were alone. "... I've never seen a Muggle movie."

 

Jack's expression didn't changed. "I've only seen a few and they weren't very impressive." How was this game supposed to be entertaining again? And what was so interesting about not seeing a Muggle-made movie? At least this was better than sitting around and doing nothing. "And now I'm supposed to say something. Okay. A secret..." His mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown. What was he supposed to say? "Well... I love snakes."

 

Taralynn grinned; this was something she pretty much knew already, but the fact that Jack was actually sharing it with her made her think he'd be honest in their little game.

"Snakes, huh?" she teased a little. "That's a big surprise! Let's see..." Taralynn paused, thinking for a moment. "I'm the youngest of eight kids."

 

Once more, making sure no one was around to see them or hear them... Elysia led them through a door in a remote part of the Third Floor corridor, it was a storage room for portraits. She gestured for them to follow closely as she led them around the huge room, weaving and squeezing between different portraits of many sizes, all who had various moving forms inside them, each going to different pictures in the same room, or going to entirely different pictures in the castle.
At last, she stopped beside a big portrait hanging on the wall. It was picture of a familiar old man with a long white beard and a kind face beaming back at them contently. He looked at Elysia and gave her a small nod to show that he remembered her.
"This is it." she told them. "Trust me, you aren't going to believe this." she grinned, barely containing her excitement, but she wanted to draw the moment out for a little longer.

 

Luke frowned and looked at Elysia, keeping his eyes off of the portrait. "Ellie, I hope you realize that the longer you keep us waiting, the higher the chances of Lulu wetting his robe are," He told her, shortening her name. Though the truth was that the suspense was killing him. Another thing was, Luke couldn't help but feel intimidated at the person in the portrait, but he chalked it off to the suspense he was feeling. "Now, what is surprisingly awesome that you've pulled me away from teaching first-years a lesson in hall etiquette?" He crossed his arms and started to tap his right foot

 

Jack sighed, bored by the game. He didn't give much thought to what he would say next. "I've killed someone." It just sort of came out. Maybe he was too comfortable around Taralynn, maybe he just wasn't thinking -- that didn't matter; he'd said too much. He stood up from his seat on the couch and walked a few steps away, honestly disturbed at what he'd said, and maybe a little ashamed. "Are we finished with this game now?"

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Al's eyes widened. The room was incredible. She smiled, her shoulders sagging as she finally relaxed a bit. Then she spotted the bowl of Drooble's Blowing Gum on a small table. "Heh," she scoffed, "Not bad."

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Lelouch reached into his bag, drew out a book, and smacked his brother with it. Calmly, he placed it back in his bag and adjusted his glasses. "Ahem," He cleared his throat and smiled at Elysia. "So what's this old guy's painting have to do with--" He stopped, taking a better look at the painting. His brain started racing, trying to remember the name that went with that gentle face. "No way. Is that really... Albus Dumbledore?"