The Secret...

Ravenclaw: Year 3 Posts : 447

Adelaine rushed to the Great Hall for lunch, combing through her platinum blonde hair with her fingers. She dusted off her robes, trying to make herself look presentable. She’d spent the night in the Hospital Wing, faking an injury in order to ease the tension between Marigold and Seamus. It had not been fun; after what felt like an hour of that blasted lullaby, Seamus had fallen into another fitful sleep, while Marigold seemed to sleep like a baby.

“Adele, are you sick?” asked a fellow Ravenclaw girl as she sat down. “You look terrible!”

This did not lighten Adelaine’s mood.

“I’m perfectly well, thank you,” she snapped, turning to her plate and effectively ending the conversation.

She had gotten maybe an hour of sleep; the day’s events running through her mind kept her awake. What she wanted to know now was this – what was that siren guarding? Filling her goblet with pumpkin juice, she glanced over to where Headmistress Ellington and Renoir sat at the High Table. They had a secret…but what? Before she could figure more, a familiar voice snapped her back to reality.

Ravenclaw: Year 3 Posts : 472

"Hey Adele."Marigold said to her. She was leaning on her crutch, trying to balance her books in her other hand. She was on a crutch for a week so that the stitches won't pop. She grimaced when she breathed. Her ribs were sore and bruised.

"How'd you sleep?"she said, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She really hadn't slept well. She kept waking up from Siren's dreams. She wondered if Adele had any weird dreams. She took a step and dropped her books. She sighed and went to pick them up, although it was extremely painfully.

Ravenclaw: Year 3 Posts : 447

Adelaine gave a small smile and shrugged when Marigold asked how she was.

“Approach with caution,” she joked halfheartedly. “I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

Marigold dropped her books suddenly, and (in Adelaine’s opinion) painfully reached down to pick them up. Adele jumped up right away and grabbed them for her; she would never heal if she didn’t keep off that leg. She set the books down on the table next to her and sat back down. A moment later, Seamus plopped down beside her, and Gavin and Peyton slid over to the seats in front of her.

"How is everyone today?" Gavin asked, cheerful as always. Seamus just grunted, looking a bit disheveled.

“I apologize in advance if I snap at you,” she muttered, spooning stew onto her plate. “I’ve just been thinking…..what do you suppose the creatures were guarding?”

Ravenclaw: Year 3 Posts : 472

Marigold collected her books and sat between Peyton and Gavin, organizing her notes. Peyton moved her crutch for her and Gavin handed her a cup of pumpkin juice.

"Hm....good point Adele."Peyton commented. The Ravenclaws were thinking. Then, Marigold remembered something.

"There was a big pile of coins in there. And, I did find a tiara."she said, digging in her bag. She accidentally held on to it. She pulled it out and wiped off some of the dust. A silver Celtic symbol was in the middle with tiny little emeralds circling the rest of the tiara. Marigold was tempted to put it on. In fact, she was tempted to keep it.....forever.

"That's true. But, that can't be all. There had to be something big for both a Sphinx and a Siren to be there."Gavin added on. They were thinking out loud now. Asher came over a joined them, keeping his distance from Seamus. But, Marigold didn't notice. The tiara was compelling, almost calling her name. She could almost hear it. [i]"Marigold. Marigold."[/b]it called out.

"Marigold, are you alright?"Peyton asked after she had fallen silent. She was stroking the sides of the tiara, staring at it longingly.

"Bloody hell! Get her away from that! It could have Dark Magic."Asher said, snatching the tiara from her hands. Marigold snapped back to reality and Gavin grabbed the sides of her face, checking her eyes. Asher gave the tiara to Peyton and Peyton put it back into Marigold's bag.

"She seems fine."Gavin said after a minute.

"Marigold, what's that on your arm?"Peyton asked. Marigold looked at her sleeve and gasped. The word "thief" was burned through her dress and onto her arm.

Hufflepuff: Year 2 Posts : 130

Deirdre entered the Great Hall looking worried. She was hoping her friends were doing okay after the cave. She still didn't know what had happened in there, but she didn't know if she should ask.

She arrived just as Asher took the tiara from Marigold. She hadn't thought she had taken a piece of the treasure.

"Is everythin' alrigh'?" She asked. "Ye all look like ye just saw somethin' scary."

Deirdre looked at the word on Marigold's arm when Peyton said something about it. She was a bit confused.

"Is tha' from some kind of spell?" She asked.

Asher nodded. "Yes, it is. And I don't think this is good."

Ravenclaw: Year 3 Posts : 447

Adele looked nervously between Asher and Seamus. She remembered the night before, when they had both let their tempers get the best of them, but hopefully it wouldn’t last. They were best friends, after all.

“I truthfully don’t remember much of the cave,” she admitted, sipping pumpkin juice. “I was entranced by that stupid creature before any of you, I didn’t get a good look around.”

Marigold pulled out the tiara. An old thing, but it would be beautiful if it was just shined up a bit. Adele almost reached out to take it from her, when several things happened at once. Marigold seemed to be enchanted by the crown, and then Gavin was looking into her eyes, and then something to do with the word “thief”…Adelaine could hardly concentrate, she was staring so hard at the little Celtic knot on the tiara.

“Adie?” she heard Seamus say.

“Oh, don’t tell me it’s happenin’ to her too,” Peyton complained anxiously.

Seamus reached over to put a hand on her shoulder, but Adele slid out of her seat and crawled under the table, popping up on Marigold’s side. She opened the bag and peered at the tiara inside, not daring to lay a finger on it.

“There’s something I think I read about in a book once…” she muttered, thinking hard. “Something dark. Oh, hello Deirdre.”

Hufflepuff: Year 2 Posts : 130

Deirdre had taken to staring at the floor when Adele greeted her.

"Hello, Adele. Glad to see you're well." She said.

She peered into the bag over Adele's shoulder. She knew it was a Celtic tiara, but she wasn't sure if she had ever seen this piece before. The knot was more simplistic than some she had seen, with fewer loops and twists.

"Ye think ye recognize this? It seems strangely familiar to me, but I don' know why." she said.

Ravenclaw: Year 3 Posts : 447

Adelaine stared at the tiara a moment longer. It wasn’t the object that she recognized; it was what the object did. She had a hunch, but she didn’t like it. Assuming the plan-forming position, she leaned her head on her hands, elbows on the table, and stared into space. What could they do? Finally, she had it.

“Gavin, you’re charming,” she said matter-of-factly, making Gavin blush and Seamus grimace. “Go up there to Ellington and see if you can get us permission to go back into Hogsmeade.”

Not even questioning her, the lad jumped up and walked briskly to the High Table where the headmistress sat. The others looked at her curiously, but she paid them no mind. She had assumed the position again, and was piecing her thoughts together. I knew that book would come in handy someday, she thought. After a few minutes, Gavin returned with an easy smile and a scroll in his hand.

“I told her we didn’t get the chance to shop due to the incident,” he said, tossing the parchment to Adele and sitting back down. “She said we’re free to go this Saturday. Professor Malkin will accompany us.”

“Malkin’ll head straight for the pub, no doubt about it,” Peyton threw in excitedly.

“Mind tellin’ us wha’ ye’ve got planned?” Seamus asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The seven of us are going back into that cave,” she stated seriously. “I’ve got to go read a book.”

Without another word, Adelaine hopped up and walked out of the Great Hall and back to Ravenclaw Tower.

Ravenclaw: Year 3 Posts : 472

Seamus followed Adele to the common room. Marigold sat and listened to the boys as they talked about their various classes. Care of Magical Creatures was apparently very fun and Herbology was interesting.

Peyton was taking Study of the Ancient Runes and said it was boring. Gavin was taking Divination and he fell asleep everyday. Asher was taking Muggle Studies and said it was interesting. This surprised Marigold. She didn't think Asher would like Muggle Studies. When she asked about it, he laughed and ruffled her hair.

"It's actually quite interesting. Well, not the peasant part. I know what that's like. But, like, a Noblewoman had to be able to take their husbands places at all times. The daily life of noblewoman would change if her husband was absent. She would be expected to look after the finances of the manor or estates including the collection of rents, supervise the farming and settle all disputes. That's a lot for a lady to handle."he said.

"And, why would that be a lot to handle?"Marigold asked, crossing her arms. Asher put a hand over his face and he went to apologize. Marigold held up her finger for him to be quiet and left to go to the nurses office, bidding a farewell to Deirdre, Gavin, and Peyton. Asher followed after her, trying to explain.