The Key
Chapter eight
The Key
Sirius and James followed the rest of the Gryffindors up the stone steps. They were led by the Head Boy, a redheaded seventh-year named Arthur, who was showing them to the common room.
“I think I had too much treacle tart,” James groaned. “And cake," he added, leaning over the railing.
Sirius looked over too and the view made his head spin. Straight down, with interlocking rows of weaving staircases. He watched one from a lower floor begin to move. He was not looking forward to trying to find his classes the next day.
The castle was enough of a maze without things constantly moving around. Even the portraits on the walls were unreliable markers as the occupants often moved from frame to frame.
“Password's parsnips,” Arthur called from above.
“Parsnips,” James muttered. “I’m gonna forget that.”
“Come on!” Sirius insisted, dragging his friend up the stairs. They climbed through the portrait hole and then Arthur led them up yet another staircase to the first-year dormitories. Sirius and James both claimed beds by the window.
“Okay, listen up!” Arthur called. “Nobody leaves the common room after ten o’clock. Understand? If you break curfew and you get caught, which you will, you will lose our house points. How many points depends on who catches you. Ten if it’s Slughorn, up to fifty if it’s McGonagall[33] . Not worth the risk!” he said.
Then he turned to a stack of papers on a wooden table. “I have your class schedules here!” he added, lifting the stack and waving it in the air then setting the papers back on the nightstand. “You can come and collect them after I’m finished. Breakfast will be from half past six to eight in the morning, lunch is at noon and dinner’s at eight. You’ll want to plan ahead for getting to your classes as it’s easy to get lost and the staircases are known to change. Any questions?” he asked.
“Where is Dumbledore?” a boy with sandy blonde hair asked.
“I don’t know. Any other questions?”
No one spoke up.
“Okay then,” Arthur said, smiling. “Well, if you think of any, you can ask me or one of the older students. Welcome to Gryffindor; we’re excited to have you.”
Everyone started changing into their nightclothes. James took off his jacket and it hit the wooden floor with a heavy clunk. He picked it up then reached in his pocket and pulled out a letter.
“I forgot about this,” James said, ripping open the letter with his thumb and dumping an old-fashioned key into his hand. Ornate, with a long slender shaft and a series of intricate decorative notches and grooves along its length. It was definitely the prettiest key Sirius had ever seen and somehow he knew it was old. Really old.
“What is that?” he asked.
“Don’t know,” James said casually. “My dad gave it to me. Said it was some kind of old family tradition and to try to find what it unlocks.”
Sirius’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t believe it. His new friend, Muggle-loving James Potter, was the heir to Slytherin. “What!”
“What?” James asked defensively. He had left the key on the ground and was already pulling on his pajamas looking completely unconcerned.
Sirius just gawked at his friend. How could he not realize? He lowered his voice so no one else could hear. “You're Slytherin's heir?” he accused.
James looked confused. “No, I’m not.” Then the understanding seemed to dawn on him and he looked down at the key in shock. He looked back at Sirius, eyes wide with horror.
“I can’t be, right?” he pleaded, searching his friend's face for confirmation.
Sirius wasn’t sure what exactly James saw in his expression but he imagined it was not comforting. The Potters were an old wizarding family. James was as likely to be Slytherin's heir as anyone. “What exactly did your father say?” he asked.
James started panicking. “Um, I don’t know, just that it was a family tradition and to find what it unlocked?”
“Anything else?” Sirius asked.
“… to not let it take priority over my homework?” James said.
Sirius laughed darkly. “Well, that solves one mystery at least.”
“What?” James asked intently.
“Why Slytherin's heir hasn’t come before,” Sirius muttered. “He’s been too busy studying for exams.”
“Wait, there’s a note!” James said, pulling it out of the ripped envelope. James unfolded it and both of them read.
On the stone of the fourth floor you will find an old friend
Who you’ll love and you’ll hate but you’ll have in the end
But this friend can get lost when you think you can hide
So remember his face and let him be your guide
For he’s always watching and knows what you do
Though you may get away he will know what is true.
So remember his face and look into his eyes
And know he can spot the truth from the lies
And when you finish this game and you get to the end
Think back to the stone floor and remember your friend
Please keep him a friend and someone you can trust
In all that you do remain loyal and just
After one final look you can move him aside
And you’ll then find the place that I once used to hide.
Next if you chose you can follow my steps
Into the darkness and down though the depths
When you reach the end you will find my next clue
So please read it well for it says what to do
“Hmm …” Sirius said, looking over the letter. James stared at him, looking anxious as he waited for his assessment. “Yeah, you're fine,” Sirius said dismissively, throwing the paper on James’s pillow but his eyes lingered on the key.
The riddle seemed like it was written for some harmless treasure hunt. Childish and fun, no indication of a Muggle-killing monster, but that key. That key looked old. Ancient and important. “But we should probably check out the fourth floor just in case.”
* * *
They got to the fourth floor at about three in the morning. They had needed to wait until everyone else was asleep before they snuck out the portrait hole. Then they had gotten lost when the sixth-floor staircase had moved, but finally they had made it.
“What exactly are we looking for?” Sirius asked.
James looked back at the note. The handwriting seemed oddly off and it bothered him slightly. It was too loopy, like his father had altered his writing style to try to make it look fancy, but what really nagged at him were the G's that looked like they had been written by James himself, curled exactly the same way. He thought his father might have done it on purpose, like it was some sort of clue, but if it was, James had no idea what it meant.
“I don’t know?” he whispered. At first he had thought the riddle was talking about his granddad. Rufus Bentley had had a knack for always being exactly where he was least expected and least wanted. He'd had a sixth sense for trouble that was so attuned that James still braced himself for the whack of a cane every time he was doing something he knew he shouldn’t. It seemed to fit.
“Old friend, sees all you do.” James knew his granddad had taught at Hogwarts when he was young so it was possible that there was still a picture of him somewhere in the castle, but the line, “Please keep him a friend and someone you can trust; in all that you do remain loyal and just," made James think that the riddle was referring to himself[34] . But he somehow thought it unlikely that he would find a portrait of himself. So … his granddad? Dumbledore maybe? He had heard once that he could see everything.
James jumped and yanked Sirius back as he saw a figure with a light up ahead. The figure retreated as well. It wasn’t a person at all but a reflection, a mirror. “Of course!” James whispered, smiling and walking towards it. He pulled at the frame and sure enough it opened like a door, revealing a stone tunnel. It was the same size as the mirror, large enough that they could both walk through it without even needing to crouch. A slight draft escaped the darkness and gently pushed the strands of hair back from their faces. It was crisp and refreshing with a subtle earthy scent and just a hint of dampness. The stretching tunnel promised adventure and seemed to be beckoning towards them.
“Brilliant,” Sirius breathed. They stepped into the darkness. James clutched his wand tightly in his hand and Sirius closed the mirror behind them. It was kind of freaky, walking through the darkness. The stone gave way to a dirt tunnel and James kept pointing his wand to illuminate the different corners, convinced that something was hiding in the darkness. He kept imagining Slytherin’s monster, waiting to pounce on them, but nothing disrupted their way through the tunnel. Not even a crawling spider or scampering mouse and the lack of any form of life seemed just as ominous.
Finally they reached the end of the tunnels and found a makeshift ladder that had been constructed of straight sticks and tied rope. It led to the top of the tunnel. James looked up and saw a wooden trapdoor embedded in the stone above with a golden latch. He and Sirius looked at each other. They had come this far.
“I’ll go first,” James said. “In case this is the entrance. You should close the latch. We don't want to set the monster loose on the school,” he explained.
Sirius nodded gravely, looking at James like he was already a dead man. Nothing but complete certainty that his father would not put him in serious danger could have made James climb the precarious steps of the wobbly makeshift ladder. He unclasped the latch, pushed the wooden door up with a creak of rusty hinges, and climbed through the square opening.
James smiled as he stepped out into the cool summer night air. The trees stretching above him partly covered the twinkling stars.
James knocked on the trapdoor on the forest floor. “It’s alright!” he called to Sirius and a few moments later the wooden flap opened and Sirius’s head poked out. He climbed up to join James.
“No way!” he exclaimed, grinning and brushing the leaves off his trousers from kneeling on the ground.
Through the trees they saw a glowing town. Not like a Muggle town, with houses all the same. This town was clearly the home of wizards, with pointed roofs, log houses and rows of shops. It was the perfect secret, an escape to a magical village.
Still, something troubled James. “Where’s the clue?” He looked at the note again to see if he could find some hint in the way that it was written but the words had changed. The parchment now read:
Rules can be good but keep this in mind:
When you break a rule there’s a new truth to find
For some rules are meant just to keep you in place
And to hide deep a truth some think too hard to face
Now if you heed my next clue and you tickle the pear
You will meet some new friends, all too eager to share
For this school is a castle and each night a great feast
But a fool is the king who would not know the least,
Who does not spare a thought for the food on his plate
For the cooks are the heart, yes, they make our school great
For they are the magic you thought was just there
And if you're not a fool, then for them you will care
So if you want to move forward then complete this next task
You must find what each wants that these friends dare not ask
They’ll call you their master and wish only to serve
For they fear their worth, what they want and deserve
But just as the work that they do is unique
You must treat them the same, to each one go and seek
Out the thing that each wants that they won’t give themself
For they're taught just to give and to not seek for wealth
Now, the trick in this task won’t be what each requires
But to get them to talk and to share their desires
So don’t you give up and succumb to despair
For trusting take time, they must know that you care
And when you succeed, if you’ve helped each and all
Then my next hidden truth will appear on the wall