Chapter 221 - 220. The Castle’s Core

Chapter 220. The Castle’s Core

Tucking the ink back into his pouch, Severus studied the magic circle drawn across the whole stone wall: its edges dense with runes, a spiral symbol about the size of a football at its very center.

"Anoígei," he whispered, pressing his open palm flat against the stone. In the same instant the circle ignited, and the symbol at its center began to spin slowly, pulling all the empty space inside itself inward. A few seconds later, the wall shuddered and started to part.

"Meow!" Just as the passage into the dark chamber opened fully, Severus caught a cheerful meow. He looked down to find Lucky fastidiously licking his right paw.

"Finished with your business in the forest?" He scooped up the kitten as it leaped into his arms and gave it a scratch on the head.

"Purr." Lucky nodded, perfectly content.

"Good. Let’s go together, then. I hope it won’t be dull, at least. I’d rather my time wasn’t wasted."

The moment he stepped through the entrance, the scene around him shifted entirely. He found himself in a small, dark hall lit by four candelabras, with no windows and no doors. Against the wall opposite the entrance stood a bookcase; to the left of it, a writing desk with a dried inkwell, a quill, and stacks of papers, a wastebasket beside it. And what seized his attention at once: a red magical orb hovering above a marble pedestal, and the orb looked to be made of the same stone.

He didn’t understand what the object was, not until he drew close enough for his eyes to flare with light and he saw the runes in the form of lines. Hundreds of lines running in every direction: some burning bright, others dim, and several fully extinguished.

"Clever, the red-haired one. Very clever." He couldn’t hold back the grin that spread across his face as understanding came to him.

"What do you mean?" Nagini looked at him, puzzled, stroking the kitten’s head with her tail. Lucky was very plainly melting under the dual assault on his crown and back.

"I mean Gryffindor. Hiding the castle’s core right under Salazar’s nose." He reached out and pressed his open palm to the marble surface, sending a small pulse of magic into it. But—

"You do not have authorisation to use the castle’s core." A calm male voice issued from the artifact. A current struck his hand; he yanked it back to keep Lucky and Nagini clear, and the break in contact cut off the artifact’s attempt to read his body and mind.

"Hm. What about this?" A pocket watch appeared in his hand. He set Lucky, who gave an indignant little huff, on his shoulder, then pressed his palm to the orb once more.

A thin red beam shot from the artifact, striking the House insignia on the watch, and the same voice spoke again.

"You have been granted third-level access."

"And what does that include?" He dropped the watch back into his pouch with mild curiosity.

"You are permitted to use the map function and to move through the castle."

"A modest set of privileges. I could do both of those without you." Severus let out a slightly disappointed breath, tapping his finger against the orb. "And what would I need to do to obtain second-level access?"

"Become an official member of staff, pass a test, and allow me to read your memories."

Severus gave a low whistle at those terms.

"And what would that level allow me to do?"

"Access to intermediate defensive and offensive charms, my support during student instruction, and use of a more advanced map."

"Interesting. And first-level access?" He had already decided, after those conditions, to decline that particular privilege. But he was still curious what the creator of the artifact would demand.

"Lead one of the Houses, pass a test, and allow me to read your memories." A few moments passed, and the artifact added, apparently anticipating the next question, "Access to the castle’s full defensive and offensive power, my subordination, and the complete map."

"Shouldn’t the requirement be to become Headmaster? Is that position lower than a simple Head of House?"

"When I was created, the position of Headmaster did not exist. Each House was led by one of the Founders."

"Can’t he change that rule himself?" Nagini asked with genuine puzzlement. "It’s rather impractical."

"I do not have the authority to make changes. Modifications may only be made by wizards with first-level access."

At that answer, Nagini stared at the artifact with unconcealed surprise.

"Gryffindor created it. Most likely with the backing of the other Founders." Severus explained it to her, his expression unchanged. The reason it had been hidden right under Slytherin’s nose was obvious enough.

"That is correct. This knowledge was conveyed to me by the Founder of your House, Salazar Slytherin."

"Understood. Show me the map."

"As you wish."

A transparent projection of the entire castle and its surrounding grounds materialised before his eyes, extending all the way to Hogsmeade.

"Not bad." He reached out and turned it slowly. Beyond Hogwarts itself, every witch and wizard on the grounds was marked, but there was no sign of the Room of Requirement, the chamber with the Basilisk, Salazar’s study, the Hufflepuff kitchens, or the room with Ravenclaw’s portrait. "I take it you’ll only show me those rooms after I’ve upgraded my access level?" He lowered his gaze to the orb.

"Yes."

"A pity. The last one I’ll simply have to find on my own." Severus pressed his palm to the desk and sat on its edge with a quiet exhale of disappointment, turning toward the orb. "I have no wish to expose my memories. Not even to you. It’s too dangerous." He began sorting through the papers on the desk, speaking calmly. Hm. They were mostly student records kept by each of the Founders, along with the names of older wizards under consideration for Ravenclaw’s vacant post. But what caught his attention was an unfinished letter:

"Alannón, I do not know when you will receive this letter, but I am asking for your help. A terrible shadow has fallen over Hogwarts. Penelope, Salazar, Rowena: all of them have been killed, and I will follow them soon. I ask you to fulfil my last request: you are the only one I can trust with this. Take the lead of Hogwarts, protect the students. Only then will they not dare come here again.

Using every connection available to me, I was still unable to learn much: only that they were not from here, most likely from another continent, judging by the spells I had never seen before and the accent in their speech. I am certain this was somehow connected to the two women Rowena brought with her, and to the runes they were translating. Perhaps the organization behind them did not wish to be known to others, and so began all of this. Alannón, I..."

The letter broke off there. But even that much was enough to draw a conclusion and understand what had ultimately become of Godric—and to confirm that Severus had been right: the wizards responsible for the Founders’ deaths had come from another continent, and runes from his own world had been the root cause of it all.

"But who is this Alannón?"

"The mentor and close friend of the creator," the artifact answered, evidently concluding the question had been addressed to it.

"I take it he did eventually come here?" Severus set the letter aside and leaned back, looking toward the orb.

"Yes. He led Hogwarts for the following fifty years, taking on the appearance of the creator after his disappearance. But before his arrival, unknown wizards broke in and searched nearly every inch of the castle. I concealed all the secret rooms and prevented them from learning anything. They took several books. Thirteen students were also harmed in the process. Only after that was I able to intervene and drive them out. The following day, Master Alannón arrived, and those people never appeared on the castle grounds again."

"Hm. Did this Alannón ever return to this place? And is he even alive?" Severus’s curiosity about the unknown wizard had sharpened. The mere fact of his presence had been enough to deter an organisation capable of killing all four Founders, even if one by one.

"No, he did not return. Whether he is living or dead is not known to me."

"A shame. Well then. How long do you have left?" He examined the orb and marble pedestal through eyes that now glowed, noting the many damaged runic weaves and the extinguished lines.

"Three years, two months, six days, five hours, thirty-two minutes, forty-two seconds."

"I take it you won’t allow me to repair you?"

"Correct."

"Understood." Severus rose from the desk and crossed to the bookshelf. "Not bad at all. Nothing but books on Artificing, Runes, even Arithmancy." His Grimoire appeared in his hand. He opened it, took the books down one by one, and began transferring their contents into its pages. "Then I’ll wait until you shut down, and after that I’ll come back and change a few of the rules." He said it calmly, with no apparent concern about a response from the semi-sentient artifact. He had already understood: so long as he took no action against it, the castle’s core would not act against him either.

"Meow." Lucky let out a rather forlorn little sound, watching what Severus was doing with visible boredom.

"I’ll be here for a while yet. If you’d like, I can take you back to the room."

"I’m staying with you," Nagini said firmly, without a moment’s hesitation, keeping a watchful eye on the floating artifact.

"Purrr." Lucky began rubbing his cheek against Severus’s, making no move whatsoever to climb down from his shoulder.

Their reactions drew a warmer smile to his face than he’d worn in some time.

"Thank you. I appreciate that very much." He stroked both of them on the head, holding the Grimoire in place with wandless telekinesis. A few seconds later, something seemed to occur to him, and he looked back at the orb. "Incidentally, I’ve been meaning to ask. Are you aware of who Myrtle Warren is?"

"Yes."

"As the castle’s core, your function is to protect the castle and its students. Based on what you’ve said, you should have protected her from the Basilisk. But." His smile sharpened, his eyes narrowing. "Is it possible that one of the damaged sections happened to affect the portion responsible for managing the castle’s defensive and offensive charms?"

Silence. The artifact said nothing, and in that silence the answer was plain enough.

"That would explain why you didn’t respond when Lucky dealt with those idiots." He turned back to the books and carried on copying them into the Grimoire without concern. "I won’t tamper with you for now, in any case. One more question. When you shut down, will the castle’s defences, the moving staircases, all the other magical systems, go offline as well?"

"No. When I cease to function, the castle will continue operating without me, as it does now. Control of all charms will transfer to the Headmaster and the Heads of House."

"Thank you for answering."

He could, of course, try to rework the artifact right now. But whatever defences Gryffindor had placed on his creation were unknown, and that man had certainly been no fool. For that reason, Severus had decided simply to wait. He was in no particular hurry on this matter, and beyond that, he was glad to have a reason to set aside the question of recovering the Founders’ legacies for the time being and turn his attention to other things.

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