Chapter 16
“Alright.” Alyssa clapped their hands as they sat at the end of the desk, placing a binder on the table and flipping it open. “Now, let’s go over everything we know and figure out exactly what we still need to learn. Because I found something kind of, extremely, weird.”
“Open with that and we can work our way to it I guess.” Hermione shrugged, taking out a some parchment, a quill and some ink.
“Quirrel isn’t alone. More he is never alone. I checked again this morning to make sure, and I’ve been checking throughout the day.” Alyssa gave a small nod, placing the map on the table, activating it before locating the professor. “See. Quiniderus Quirrel, Tom Riddle. So close they could be hugging.”
“Okay that is… That’s concerning.” Draco gave a nod.
“Definitely.” Alyssa noted, folding the map, and putting it away after dismissing the magic. “So, let’s start from the beginning. I knew something was up from day one.” Alyssa clapped again. “Because that ominous warning was downright asking for some stupid kid to go digging. Of course, I didn’t know what it could be, I’m not a mind reader. However, the moment I had the first dream I had a lead. I had something, but I still didn’t know what it was. The dream was just a golden mirror in a large dark room. There was a shadowy figure, and I heard hissing before I tripped and woke up. For a while that was all that it was, until I started seeing a glow of red in the Mirror and sensing monsters.”
“I’ve known about the dreams from the beginning, they aren’t happening as often now that were really looking into things.”
“Wait, you’ve been sharing a room?” Harry glanced between the two. “Why?”
“I find it’s currently a bit easier to sleep when I’m not alone.” Alyssa admitted, shaking their head. “That’s not too important. I talked to Flitwick about putting objects into mirrors, and I didn’t really get that much information from him. Just that it could be done. Daphne thought that it could be a gemstone, but that didn’t really lead anywhere. Do we have anything on what is in the Mirror or the Mirror itself?”
“Yes. I found the mirror.” Harry said, handing Hermione the notebook. “I know Erised, but the rest doesn’t make much sense.”
“I show not your face, but your heart’s desire.” She had only glanced at it for a moment before nodding, handing it back to Harry who wrote the translation down. “The Mirror of Erised. That’s the mirror that Alyssa saw, where did you find it?”
“In an abandoned classroom, but I know Albus is going to be moving it to the end of the trap. I saw the glow when I looked into it, but I couldn’t even get an idea on what it could be.” Harry sighed softly. “But at least now we know for certain that it’s not Snape who’s going after it, it’s Quirrel.”
“Who I also suspected from, really early on. Were talking, right after our first class together.”
“Really?” Nevil tilted his head. “Why? I mean now we know something is very wrong with his situation, but why did you suspect him?”
“The dark and the shadowed, things like that. They tend to know me, and I just had that gut feeling that Quirrel was hiding something from me.”
“But the walki talki never went off.”
“I didn’t have it on during class, and it could very well be. Not othering. Not exactly.”
“Hold on. Let me just make sure I’m following. Any form of a radio hisses in the presence of a monster?”
“Yes, I’m happy you were paying attention- That was condescending, I’m sorry.” Alissa nodded, clapping a few times. “But that’s for things with othering. Not with Wonderland energy. That’s, beyond even me. I would have to get word to Ace.”
“You should be careful about what you write.” Draco suggested and Alyssa nodded. “So how are we getting this Ace in?”
“Cant.”
“But you-“
“Theives Cant.” Alyssa amended, pulling out a page from their book, considering the somewhat complicated request. Quickly they jotted a few things down before writing on another page.
Ace,
The reflection within darkening caves and caverns, the heart of ruby glows ever wondering if found what it holds. The manner in which melding Heart, become one around seeing the card fall in the sea from where they rein, neither red nor white. Discovery pertains knowledge of which is neither here nor there, in which dreams may lie awake and ever knowing. Falling light in the void below consumed by following, fighting, at the behest of a being unseen yet by the light of reality. Seek out the question, for knowing an answer may be the start of discovery.
“Yeah, sure. That makes complete sense.” Hermione rolled her eyes as she scanned the page. “So easy to translate.”
“There is something red in a mirror that is glowing. We don’t know what it is but something not unlike the queen of hearts, or at least something with similar ability, with that kind of wonderland magic. We need to talk in Wonderland, can’t talk openly here. They are after the thing in the mirror, but we don’t know what it is. It’s down with a bunch of traps, but we don’t know a lot about them quite yet.” Alyssa gave a small shrug. “Even if it doesn’t translate fully were getting a response from somebody.”
“That’s fair.” Draco nodded as they put the letter in an envelope, adding the address before pocketing it. “Is that the only lead we have?”
“What else do we know. We know about the traps. That the first is Fluffy the Cerberus, and that there should be one for each core class. That the mirror is at the base of that.” Alyssa sighed. “Nevil, what are good trap plants?”
“In a situation like this, Devils Snare makes the most sense. It likes damp and dark places, and it’s afraid of the light. It ensnares it’s victims. It would work to stop a fall and wouldn’t be too hard to get past.”
“Alright, that’s two rooms down at least.”
“And the last room is a potion riddle.” Alyssa nodded. “More the second to last one. But that is all we know on that front.”
“We do know that it has something to do with Nicolas Flamel, but we have no idea who he is.”
“You don’t know who Nicolas Flamel is?” Draco arched and eyebrow. “Really?”
“Three of us haven’t had that much experience in this world.”
“I feel like I’ve read the name somewhere, but I can’t place it.” Hermione admitted. “So, what do you know?”
“Nicholas Flamel is a well-known Alchemist. He made a Philosopher’s Stone.” Draco explained with a small sigh.
“Right! You’re right. I took this out a few days ago for some light reading, and I completely skimmed over the name.” Hermione huffed, pulling out a rather large book.
“Light.” Draco shook his head. “And that’s why you stalled. So what do we have?”
“Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher’s Stone. The Philosopher’s stone is a legendary substance with astonishing powers. It will transform any metal into gold and produces the Elixer of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.”
“Ah. That’s- “ Alyssa quickly tossed the letter into the fire.
“What are you doing?”
Ignoring their friend Alyssa quickly wrote a new letter.
Ace,
We need to talk in person. No time to try and be cryptic. I know it’s safe in wonderland at the moment. Bring Constatine!
Alyssa
Quickly they enveloped the letter before rushing away from the desk, the group quickly following as they headed out of the room.
“Alyssa, what’s going on?”
“You said it yourself. That stone grants immortality, if it’s being kept here in some childish game.” They let out an exasperated sigh. “Ace is the Hatter, they would know so much more about alchemy like this then I could even pretend to.”
“And that type of insight could they give?”
“How to destroy it! In a world like ours it would be foolish to have something like that floating around where anyone could get at it.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t be so loud about this.” Nevil suggested as the group headed through the halls, struggling slightly to keep up a bit. “Where are we going?”
“The Owlery. I need to get this sent immediately. This is important.” Alyssa hissed, putting magic into their step to go even faster, pealing ahead.
“Alyssa!”
As Alyssa hit the wooden bridge they peeled through it, opting to grapple up to the top of the tower. Several of the birds startled but Mimur didn’t react as his owner headed up to him.
“It’s urgent. I need you to get this letter to Ace. I know it’s in America, but like… Magic and shit right?”
Mimur let out a small hoot, and nodded allowing Alyssa to ruffle his feathers a little before accepting the letter and taking off.