Warren and his group were in the dungeons, following up on Fuzz-Head's lead from Nearly-Headless Nick.
"He didn't say where this walled-up storeroom was?" Warren asked, running a hand along the wall as he delved deeper into the dungeons.
"No, he didn't remember," Fuzz-Head said. Warren sighed. This could take forever.
"Give me a moment," Kendra said, pulling a book out of her bag. It was the slim book on the architecture of Hogwarts, and she flipped through it. "The storeroom would have been in the original plans."
"Warren, since we didn't discuss what I would be doing while you were in Divination the other day, I decided to work on your Christmas list some more," Wilbur said. "Were you still wanting to get Augustus Gravelle a gift?"
"Absolutely," Warren said with no hesitation. "In fact, his gift will be the biggest challenge. I need to decide what he would truly value. I want to lure him into a false sense of security before ruining his life altogether."
"You help Warren with his Christmas list?" Fuzz-Head asked.
"Yes, it's quite a project every year, and if I didn't help he would get little else done," Wilbur said. "I go through and make sure all the regular people are on there: all his Professors, all the Ravenclaws in our year and on the Quidditch team, and his parents. Then Warren can go through the list, adding new people to the list, and deciding what he wants to give each and every person on the list. I then add those gifts to the shopping lists I always compile for our trips to Hogsmeade."
"When is our first Hogsmeade visit, Wilbur?" Warren asked, pulling out his wand and running it over the stones of the wall. Warren was very fond of his wand. It was made of ash, 8 1/2 inches, with a core of dragon heartstring. It was quite inflexible.
"They posted it on the notice board this morning. It will be next Saturday, and I have a preliminary list made, including stops at Scrivenshafts, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and Honeydukes," Wilbur said. Warren nodded his approval.
"Perhaps we'll get lucky and Ron Weasley will be in town," Warren said.
"Ok, I think I know where the storeroom is," Kendra said, looking up from the book. "It says here the storeroom was in the original plans, and was located on the east side of the dungeons, at the end of the corridor."
"Where are we now?" Warren asked. Kendra frowned and looked back the way they had come.
"Well, now, let's think about that for a moment," Kendra said. "We started in the Entrance Hall, and the entrance to the dungeons is roughly to the east. So as we were going downstairs we were going east to begin with, and at the foot of the stairs we could either go north or south. We chose south, and have proceed south for some time. I suggest we keep going until we find a passageway where we can take a left and be heading east again. If we don't find one, we'll have to go all the way back and take the north corridor."
They followed Kendra's advice, and headed down the corridor.
"Since we don't go to Hogsmeade until Saturday, I'll have to raid the kitchens for refreshments for our GSA meeting on Thursday," Warren said. "I can do that tonight."
Warren and Madam Yuan had started a regular nightly tea party in her rooms, and he figured after he and Madam Yuan had had their nightly tea, he could stop by the kitchens. He was enjoying his visits with Madam Yuan, as he found her calming and wise.
"Also, don't forget Quidditch tryouts the Monday after," Wilbur said. "You'll be expected to attend. We need a new Beater and a new Chaser. I'll write down a schedule for you. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."
"Thank you, Wilbur," Warren said. "Why don't you two play Quidditch?"
"I'm kind of clumsy on a broom," Fuzz-Head said.
"I've been waiting for a position to open," Kendra said. "I'll be finally attending tryouts this year. One of the Hufflepuff Chasers finished school last year, so I'm hoping I'll get my chance at last. I've been practicing with my sisters at home."
"Oh?" Warren said. "How many siblings do you have?"
"I have five sisters," Kendra said. "The older two are out of school and married, the next one younger than me is in her second year, and she's a Ravenclaw. I'm surprised you didn't know that. The youngest hasn't started yet."
"Ah, yes, you must be Katherine's sister," Warren said. "I just didn't make the connection. She seems like a very bright girl for her age. That's interesting you're not in the same house."
"So far it's been mixed. My older sister was in Hufflepuff, and then the next oldest was in Gryffindor. I'm in Hufflepuff, and Katherine's in Ravenclaw. If Kit ends up in Slytherin I won't be amused," Kendra said, then caught herself. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just don't think that would go along with our family values."
Fuzz-Head winked at her for her quick thinking.
"Ah, look," Kendra said, glad for a reason to change the subject. "A left turn. Just what we needed." It was another T-junction, and they turned left down the eastern corridor.
"How far down do you suppose it is?" Warren asked.
"The book says it was constructed at the end of the corridor. I'm guessing it dead-ends at a caved-in former entrance to the dungeons, based on what Nick told us," Kendra said.
Sure enough, after walking a little further, they saw the end of the corridor, a pile of bricks and huge chunks of rock with boards sticking out.
"Which side of the corridor? Does it say?" Wilbur asked. Kendra stared down at the book, as Warren pulled out his wand again and examined the walls.
"Lumos," he said, and his wand lit up. "Never mind, Kendra, I've found it."
They all turned to look, and saw the wand light illuminating the wall on the left side of the corridor. They could just make out the irregular shape the bricks made, and the contrast between the bricks.
"How do you want to remove the bricks?" Kendra asked, smiling in excitement as she stared up at the wall.
"I'm not sure. Do you think accio would work?"
"I suppose it might, if they're not too stuck in there."
Warren pointed his wand at a brick at the top of the door and said, "Accio!" The brick wiggled and dust trickled down the wall until the brick suddenly popped out of the wall. He pulled a few more bricks from the top with his wand, then they went up to the wall and looked in the gap. It was dark, so there wasn't a door. It must have just had a stone arched doorway. Warren reached up and easily pulled another brick out. Before long, all four of them were pulling bricks out and throwing them over to where the corridor ended. A strange unpleasant musty smell began to seep out of the chamber. It wasn't long before all the bricks were piled at the end of the corridor, and Warren illuminated his wand again so they could look inside.
Of course the first thing they saw was the first thing they were looking for, the remains of Urg the Unclean. Underneath a small pile of Goblin-made armor that had tarnished black over the centuries they could see a small skeleton with long spindly fingers. Next to the skeleton was a small tarnished shield and short sword.
The room itself wasn't very big. Two tall and wide cupboards were on either side, and the back wall was filled with old wooden shelves. On the shelves they could make out small, dust-covered potion bottles.
"Look, the bottom shelf broke, probably in the struggle," Kendra said, pointing to the wall. Some of the potion vials had broken when they fell, their contents long leaked out onto the floor. Some were still whole. Warren handed his wand to Wilbur to keep the light steady as he opened the first cupboard with delicate care. Inside were containers of all sizes and shapes, most likely for holding potion ingredients. Reaching over, Warren carefully opened the other cupboard, and found potion-making supplies.
The bottom of the cupboard held many small cauldrons, most of the pewter, but several cast-iron, a few that looked like silver, and one very decorative gold one. On the next shelf up were scales of all sizes and shapes, in bronze, gold, and steel. Most were very decorative and looked rather old-fashioned. The top shelf held a variety of mortar and pestles, and implements of all types. There were also several spare vials. Everything was coated in at least an inch of dust, and the wood of the cupboards looked like it had begun to mold in places.
"This is a wonderful discovery," Kendra said to Warren, smiling. Warren nodded.
"It's amazing." Warren took his wand back from Wilbur. "Let's get a full inventory of everything, including Urg's weapons and armor."
Warren and Kendra took opposite sides of the storeroom while Fuzz-Head held up a light. While carefully avoiding the remains of the Goblin warrior on the floor, they called out the contents of the room to Wilbur, who wrote them all down in his book. Warren had the potion ingredients side, and he tried to identify as many as he could. Some were dried up, shriveled, or molded beyond recognition. Some he consulted Kendra on.
After an hour, they had completed their inventory and sat down on the cold floor of the dungeon corridor to rest, and enjoy some cauldron cakes Wilbur had brought (they were his favorite).
"So what do we do now?" Fuzz-Head asked, trying not to look at the remains of Urg while he was trying to eat.
"I will write up a full report with an inventory, and we will present it to the Headmistress," Wilbur said. "Professor Sprout can then decide how to proceed. I imagine just trying to determine how to deal with the Goblin remains will be a project in itself. I imagine she'll have to notify someone in the Goblin Liaison Office. A lot of the potion-making tools are extremely valuable, and will probably be put somewhere where they'll be safe, and perhaps able to be viewed by students and guests."
"And Wilbur will have our first recorded victory in our mission for this year," Warren said.
Emerging from the dungeons, the group went to the first Professor they saw, Professor Longbottom ,who was strolling across the Entrance Hall towards the front doors, having found some more dragon-hide gloves to take back to the greenhouses.
"Professor Longbottom!" Warren called.
"Mr. Bones, how can I help you?"
"We need to see Professor Sprout, sir. It's very important," Warren said.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, we've just discovered something in the dungeons we think she should know about," Kendra said.
"Alright, I'll take you up to her office."
As they followed Professor Longbottom up the staircase towards the seventh floor, Warren came up beside him.
"I also wanted to ask you about something else," Warren said. "What do you know about the Whomping Willow?"
"What do you mean?" Professor Longbottom asked.
"I mean, why is it here? What purpose does it serve?"
"What purpose does it serve? It's an amazing and wondrous magical plant that brings interest and prestige to our school," Professor Longbottom said.
"Uh huh," Warren replied. "Do you know where it came from?"
"No, I don't think I do."
"Is it because it would be better if I didn't know, or do you really not know where it came from?"
"No, I really don't know much about it," Professor Longbottom said. "In fact, all I do know about it is that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley once crashed a flying car into it."
Warren thought about that. It seemed strange that their own Herbology professor knew almost nothing about the Whomping Willow. He was glad, however, that he now had something else he could ask Ron Weasley about if he found him in Hogsmeade.
The group made it to the seventh floor and were led to a gargoyle that Professor Longbottom stopped in front of.
"Flitterbloom," he said, causing the gargoyle to leap aside. The wall behind it opened to reveal a moving spiral staircase. They were led onto the staircase and it took them up to a door, which Professor Longbottom knocked on.
"Come in!" they heard Professor Sprout yell from inside. Professor Longbottom pushed open the door and led the students into the office.
"Professor Sprout, these students wanted to speak to you," Professor Longbottom said. They looked around the office. There were many unusual plants in different pots and planters around the office and on Professor Sprout's desk. Behind her on the walls were the many portraits of the past Headmasters, looking down at the group of students with curiosity. Warren stepped forward.
"Forgive us for bothering you, Professor Sprout, but we've been researching the school this year in our spare time, and we came across something in our research regarding an old potions storeroom in the dungeons," Warren said. He and Wilbur had decided it would be better to leave Sir Nicholas out of it altogether. "It was listed in the original plans of the school. When we looked into the history, we discovered that this storeroom had been bricked up since the Goblin rebellion of 1612, when a Goblin known as Urg the Unclean was trapped inside. We went down and after searching the dungeons we found the storeroom and removed the bricks, revealing the remains of Urg the Unclean and a variety of potions, potion ingredients, and some very rare potion-making tools. Wilbur here has written a report for you to read, and made an inventory of everything we found inside."
"Professor Longbottom, please find Mr. Yuan and send him down to guard that storeroom from anyone else who may stumble across it," Professor Sprout said. "The Goblins are not going to be happy about this, and they are going to want to claim the remains and whatever armor and weapons this Urg had on him. I'll need to contact the Goblin Liaison Office at once. What were you thinking opening up that storeroom?"
"We imagined that not only were there priceless tools and potions inside from centuries ago that should be found and displayed, but also that the Goblins would like to have their fallen hero back," Warren said.
"Yes, I'm sure you're right, but it's going to be a nightmare dealing with them," Professor Sprout said. "I am, of course, very impressed by your discovery."
"You will be sure to credit us with the discovery, then?" Warren said.
"Of course," Professor Sprout said, suddenly sounding exhausted. "Why don't you lot return to your common rooms now, I've got a lot of work to deal with."
Later that night, while most of the castle slept, Warren and Madam Yuan discussed the discovery of the storeroom over warm cups of tea.
"It is good that you were able to give the Goblins back their lost warrior," Madam Yuan said. "The British wizarding community has had many problems with the Goblins. Hopefully this will help bring them together."
"Is it different in China?" Warren asked.
"We have had our problems, but for the most part our dealings with the Goblins have been peaceful. The Goblins have their own way, is all," Madam Yuan said.
"A Ministry official from the Goblin Liaison Office showed up some time after with several Goblins," Warren said. "We were called back up to Professor Sprout's office to tell them our story. Things seemed kind of tense in that office, though."
"I imagine so," Madam Yuan said. "They did not want to upset the Goblins, and wanted to return to them what was there's."
"Yes, the Goblins seemed concerned we wouldn't give them the armor and weapons as well as the remains," Warren said.
"Goblins believe that whatever is made by Goblins belongs to them," Madam Yuan said. "In this instance, though, that was not in dispute. A lot of times, Goblins and Wizards have different ideas of ownership, especially when a wizard has bought something Goblin-made. The wizard believes it then belongs to him. The Goblins believe it always belongs to them."
"Professor Sprout was quick to assure these Goblins that the remains, armor, and weapons were inventoried, were all accounted for, and would be turned over to them. Once that was said, the Goblins seemed to relax. They'll be taking it all out tomorrow."
"What about the other items?" Madam Yuan asked.
"Professor Hooper has been assigned to go through and determine what every potion and ingredient is, making sure there's nothing too dangerous, and then everything will go into a display near the trophy room," Warren said. "Professor Sprout is having a plaque made to mark the date of the discovery and it will have our names on it as well."
"That is nice for you, Warren," Madam Yuan said. "You have your first discovery this year on your mission. I am happy for you."
"Thank you, Madam Yuan," Warren said.
"Are you troubled?"
"No, I just have a lot to think about. I have to stop by the kitchens when I leave here, I have our first GSA meeting tomorrow and I'll need to bring snacks. No doubt Augustus Gravelle will have something negative to say about them."
"Who is this Augustus?"
"He's a Slytherin. He's been giving me a hard time ever since we started at Hogwarts," Warren said.
"Oh yes, I know this boy. Tall, friendly boy?"
"Yes, usually."
"He seems very clever and pleasant," Madam Yuan said. "I think that you both are two sides to the same coin. Maybe what you dislike in eachother is what you dislike yourselves."
"He seems determined to make my life difficult," Warren said.
"Why do you think he does this?"
"I don't know. I've tried to understand him, and I've tried to make friends with him. He stops me at every turn."
"There are many reasons for rivalries. Perhaps he sees you as his competitor, to be eliminated at all costs so that he alone can be successful," Madam Yuan said. "However, he makes this process more difficult for himself by being your rival. If he could embrace you, you could help eachother to greatness. While you're divided, you only cause more problems for eachother. Two sides to same coin..."
Warren knew this. It's what had driven him to try and make peace with Augustus in the first place. Augustus would not allow it, though.
"How do you think I could get through to him?" Warren asked. Madam Yuan shook her head.
"Perhaps you can not. All you can do is try to show patience and kindness, and maybe he will see reason. Maybe he will always be your rival. Sometimes there is little to do be done."
"I want to get my revenge," Warren said. "I'd like to give him back what he's done to me."
"That is not the way," Madam Yuan said. "It will only distract you from your path."
"You don't think I should make him suffer as much as he's made me suffer?"
"What would that bring? Only more suffering. You have better things to do with your time than bringing suffering to others," Madam Yuan said.
"I suppose you're right. I should try to be the better man," Warren admitted, although nothing would please him more than to get his revenge on Gravelle.
"And you will be a better person for it," Madam Yuan said.
She set down her teacup and turned back to the tapestry she was repairing, the one of Barnabus the Barmy. The ballet-dancing trolls moved awkwardly across the tapestry while Madam Yuan picked up her needle and thread and continued where she left off.
"When I am finished, would you like to help me hang this back up on the wall?" Madam Yuan asked. "I don't like to bother Mr. Yuan with too much, he has enough to do."
"Sure, just let me know when you're done," Warren said, leaning back against the cushions to watch her work. After awhile, he knew he couldn't put it off any longer. He said goodbye to Madam Yuan and headed off to the kitchens.
The Astronomy Tower by Moon110581
Chapter Notes: The group makes their first official discovery