The Last Slytherin - Chapter 58

After the team selection is over, Neal and Grover began to train the new members on weekdays and Saturdays in the training pitch, whenever he can. Since it’s just the training pitch, not the stadium and four of them never played a match, most of the time, the training pitch ground was booked in advance by Slytherin until the summer cup starts in the first week of March.

As for Sundays, Neal kept Grover in charge of the training and left for Ireland with Steve, for the training with the National team. After he returns on Sunday evening, Neal calls everyone in the team for a meeting and discuss various tactics he learned at the National team training.

While everything is going great for him, on the other hand, the trio was in a miserable state. Hermoine had to drop several electives now that the Time-Turner is gone.

While people are still talking to Harry from time to time as he was the boy who lived, Ron was completely alienated from the rest of the House. Even Hermoine and his siblings started to ignore him like he was an atomic bomb.

Since Harry was busy with Quidditch practice and Hermoine was busy with books, Ron started to hang out with Hufflepuffs. The trio broke apart when his rat Scabbers went missing and Ron blamed Hermoine that her pet Crookshanks, a cat must have eaten him.

At first, Hermoine tried to defend herself but as Ron kept on making a ruckus in the common room and at the Great hall not listening to Percy at all and when Harry supported him, she snapped at him, “I’m done being patient with you, Ron. Both of you can just go to hell. I don’t care, anymore”.

She stood up from the Gryffindor table and sat with her bookish Ravenclaw friends. Looking at that, as Malfoy sneered, “seems like the trio became a duo, now”, Neal replied, “must have been a precious pet for Ron if he’s not even listening to his brother”.

Tracey then said, “I heard that it was being passed down in his family from Percy when he was about to join the school”. Daphne asked, “wasn’t Percy a seventh-year student? If Ron was given just before he joined Hogwarts, then it must have been like at least 7 years right? Very unusual for a common rat to live more than 3-4 years”.

Neal replied to her, “forget it. We have more important things to talk about”. As the March entered, the school became lively because of Quidditch season and everyone was eager to see new Slytherin’s Team.

With great expectations, Slytherin Team entered the stadium to play their first match against Ravenclaw. An hour later, students sitting in the Ravenclaw stands were completely silent as Slytherins erupted in applause.

The commentator, “what a magnificent game played by Slytherin. Ravenclaw was crushed to 10-340. And we see another talented seeker of Slytherin. Let’s give it up for Christine Eaglet. One huge round of applause, please! That magnificent dive at the end to catch the snitch deserves the praise”.

Meanwhile, Harry was practicing the Patronus spell under Lupin. As the Boggart turned into a Dementor, he tried to use the spell but failed and went unconscious. After waking up, Harry asked in frustration, “why is it not working?”.

Lupin replied, “you already know the answer, Harry. It needs either powerful happy moments or many small happy moments that will be accumulated to form a powerful positive feeling. You have too many horrible moments in your life which is obstructing you to create a positive force from you”.

As Harry thought for a while, he slowly said, “I have a memory. Well, it’s not that happy but it’s the best one I have got”. Lupin smiled, “well, try it then Harry”. While everyone is slowly trying to forget Sirius Black and dementors, one day, in the middle of the night, Ron screamed, “help”.

After that, as he made a ruckus around saying he saw Sirius Black with a knife while no one was believing, but he didn’t stop and woke everyone up with his screaming non-stop making Prof. McGonagall who was sleeping in her room quietly woke up and asked them sternly and when enquired with the Portrait, he said, “he has the password. He had a whole week of them on a paper”.

She turned to the students as her voice is shaking in anger, “Which person, Which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week’s passwords and left them lying around?”.

As every one of them went completely silent, Neville Longbottom, trembling from head to fluffy-slippered toes, raised his hand slowly in the air.

That incident once again reminded the school that Sirius Black is still out there and it still isn’t safe yet to wander Hogsmeade as they wish. On the other hand, Snape kept on growling at Lupin and telling Dumbledore that Lupin might be the one who is helping Sirius with it. Although Dumbledore never bought that.

Meanwhile, Neal is reading a book in the restricted section. He mumbled, “so, the room I went last year is one of those mythical cursed vaults, The Vault of Fear, huh. Hmm, it said here that Legendary wizard Merlin studied all the cursed vaults and taught to one of his portraits. I need to find the Portrait to know what dangerous things lie in the other vaults”.

Later, after asking the other portraits for help to find the Portrait of Merlin, he found Merlin Portrait on one of the walls at the Grand Staircase. He greeted him, “Hello Sir, I’m Neal Slytherin”. Merlin in the portrait laughed, “ho ho ho, Professor Slytherin’s descendent, eh. I’m hearing quite about you from others these days”.

Later Neal asked, “I’m hoping you would tell me about the cursed vaults”. The Portrait replied happily, “at last, someone is asking me about it after several decades. My boy, I’m waiting for someone to ask me about all this while and one would only pay their respects to me and other greedy fellows even ask about any spells I got.

There was even a descendent like you who asked me the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, Hmpf. Strangely the last one who asked about the cursed vaults is also descendent like you. Come to think of it, you two look certainly a bit similar. Hmm.

Anyway, Let me start it with the introduction. The Cursed Vaults were five legendary hidden rooms at Hogwarts, each vault shielded by a different curse placed on it”. Neal interrupted him, “I’ve read everything about it. I have already found the Vault of Fear and was hoping you would tell me about the other vaults locations”.

Merlin replied, “I only know about the four vaults. The knowledge of the final vault hasn’t been passed down to me. I will provide you the locations of the other three vaults if you prove it to me that you have found the vault of Fear”.

Neal replied, “Boggart. Not just one. There are 15 boggarts trapped in that room along with the map of Forbidden Forest”. Merlin replied, “don’t know about the map but yes, I believe you have found one of them”.

After getting the information about the locations of the vaults, he returned to his dormitory. Later on that Sunday, he canceled his Quidditch training and went to the Fifth floor and roamed around and pointing his wand at everywhere and using the Revelio Charm constantly to locate the Vanished stairs which were hidden somewhere.

After finally finding the Vanished stairs, he started climbing the stairs which led him to the Icy Corridor. He pulled out a tiny suitcase from his pocket which was shrunk with Shrinking charm. He waved his Blackwalnut wand, “Engorgio”. And returned it to the original size.

Then he opened it with muggle worthy switch on and took out his flying shoes and the Basilisk wand. After waking it up from its slumber with parseltongue, “Awake”, he sighed while looking at it, “do I still need to wake you up every time? Well, I managed to at least shorten to one word. I hope you’ll swear absolute loyalty to me in the future and I no longer need to wake you up by myself”.

As he saw a large door of Ice, he walked to the entrance but just when he’s a few steps away from the entrance, all of a sudden, an Ice spell short towards him.