Ch. 8

(Samuel Lestrange Pov)

…

Samuel quickly stepped inside the restricted section. He knew what he needed: books on the blackest of magics.

I've only got a bit of time left; I'll just chuck the key somewhere on my way out. Can't get caught anywhere near that.

Samuel moved quickly Down the staircase behind the dark metal gate that led to a floor under the library. When he got down there, he realized it was not cared for nearly as much as the upper floor. It was around the same size as the first floor of the large sprawling library. It was very dark and dingy down there.

Likely not the best of conditions to keep books in, but hey magic am I right?

The boy franticly flitted through the various shelves, looking for anything on hexes or curses. He frantically read the spines of tons of books, trying to find anything that could help him.

He quickly made his way to the very back of the library. Slowly stepping down the row of books, he ran his hand along the spines.

I cannot leave here empty-handed, pure blood was spilt today.

Samuel closed his eyes briefly to steady his breathing, he was feeling anxious. He inhaled deeply through his nose, taking in the smell of old parchment, and exhaled. His eyes snapped open, and he saw a book.

"Darkest Curses of the 14th century." The book read, Samuel quickly grabbed it, and shoved it up under his arm.

Looks like we are in the right place.

He kept looking, "143 Dark Spells for an even Darker Wizard."

Why the hell is this book back here it's not even that bad.

"40 ways to Magically Torture your Enemies."

Sam shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the book.

"A Magic Most Evile." Samuel quickly grabbed that book too.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

"Animagus Transformations in the 16th century."

I mean I guess, maybe I'll take this one too I suppose

Sam quickly grabbed that book too, and kept looking. Inane book after inane book passed before his face. Some of them honestly didn't even involve black magic. Though the one thing they all had in common, all were dangerous, and all were well beyond anything a first year could do.

He was beginning to feel like he risked everything for nothing.

Why the fuck did I think this was a good idea anyways, I could have just asked lucius to send me some good books. Oh well, it's too late to regret now, we have to press forward.

"The Death of An Immortal," Sam quickly grabbed that book too. By now he had a sizeable stack of books in his hands, but as he turned to leave a seemingly innocuous book stood out to him. Something he hadn't noticed before.

"What is this?" he wondered

Samuel set the books he was carrying on the ground next to him, and he reached out to grab the innocuous black book. There was no name on the spine, Samuel pulled it out and noticed how filthy it was.

He blew on it, and dust flew out into the air, creating a cloud of tiny brown particles. Sam coughed lightly after breathing a bit of it in.

Just how long has this book been here undisturbed?

Sam looked down at the cover, " A Beginners Guide to Dark Icelandic Rituals."

Sam frowned, Rituals huh, when was it written.

Sam opened the seemingly ancient tome, and saw it was written in the 10th century.

This book has been around since the founding of Hogwarts! Just how long has this book sat in here?

Samuel flipped through the pages and dust once again flew up from inside the book, this time he didn't cough . He noticed there were scribblings on the inside of the book, on every page written in old English.

Someone very ancient was interested in this.

Samuel's interest was piqued, suddenly, he felt something hard under the pages as he got closer to the back of the book. Samuel flipped to the page with the strange foreign object within it. It was a small silver necklace with what looked to be a hard silver spike that hung loosely on the bottom of a chain. The spike was around the length of his finger and covered in strange markings he had never seen before. He wrapped his hand around it and felt it, it was cold, very cold. Samuel had never seen anything like it, so he quickly picked it up and stuffed it into the pocket of his robes.

He noticed some scribbling on the margin of the book with a drawing of what looked to be a large door.

"In order to walk the path of Power, you must travel to the room of hidden things. If you have found this book, you possess the Potential for True Power. Find the Room with only the thoughts of true power on your mind. Clear your mind of all else, wear the necklace, and become my successor. Once you reach the room with the necklace fastened around your neck speak the phrase, "My heart is black, my soul impure, my mind unfathomable, and my will unstoppable. I walk the path to power, now take me to where I might find it." Speak it seven times. Be prepared, the path is perilous, and once you start, it will be hard to stop. Tread Carefully." The book said

"What the fuck." Sam whispered, and quickly shut the book putting it in the stack with the others. Chills ran down his spine, and he felt a bit of fear in his heart. He didn't know what exactly what the book meant by that, but he felt like the message was etched into his heart. He couldn't shake it no matter what he did.

I think that's enough for now.

Sam quickly put the stack of books under his arm under the cloak.

He quickly exited the way he came; he didn't know how long he spent down there, but he was positive the librarian would be back. Sam put on the most innocuous expression he could, trying to calm the waves in his heart.

"Act Natural." he thought to himself.

He palmed the key in his right hand, the books he had just stolen under his arm in his left. He quickly ascended the stairs and made his way back up to the library. He quickly passed the threshold to the restricted section and locked the large black gate behind him. He walked calmly and simply dropped the key in a potted plant by one of the bookcases. Sam quickly walked out into the open and saw the Librarian calmly looking over something on her desk. He looked over and saw Hermione was still reading. She watched him suspiciously from under her book. Samuel simply nodded in her direction and exited the library as fast as he could. Once he made it out, he exhaled loudly in relief. He placed his hand over his heart, which was beating terribly fast. He took a deep breath and calmed down. For the first time since coming to this school, he felt excited for the future.

What Gryffindor! I think I might have come across something big!

Samuel quietly palmed the small silver spike in his pocket, stood up a bit straighter, and made his way up to the Gryffindor Common Room to stash his books within the secret compartment of his trunk. He had only spent a single night in the Common Room, he hoped he wouldn't be attacked anytime soon.

Sam briskly walked his shoes making clicking noises on the cold stone floor, one thought on his mind.

I need to find the Room of Hidden Things.