SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - Flora Riddle 2

Ivana R · 03-30-2012, 04:54 AM

Few hours later, Harry stopped over her house to see how she was doing and found Hannah taking care of her. Flora was sleeping in her room. He went to Felipe’s shop, and told him about what had happened. Felipe got concerned, but assured his friend that his wife was strong. She would definitely get better by the next day.

He was right. When Flora awoke the next morning her expression was serene, but she said to her husband that her heart was broken. However, she was aware that nothing could be done about the past; what matters is the future.
By that she meant her children and grandchildren. They would and had to surely show the world that people could improve. And that's what she’d do.
She had made up her mind to apply for the position of Muggle Studies teacher. She would prove that being Voldemort’s descendant was not a sentence. But first of all, she wanted to reach the end of her investigations.

Flora asked Felipe to send out an owl to Harry Potter with the following message:

Harry Potter
Thank you for yesterday.”I'm ready again to continue my journey through the history of my ancestors.”
I hope you haven’t given up on helping me.
Kisses for you and Ginny
Flora

In the afternoon, while she was taking spell classes with Hermione, she got
Harry’s reply:

Flora,
Glad you're feeling better.
I’ll continue helping you whenever you need me.
Believe me; the worst is over.
When ready, please contact me.
Kisses and hugs for you and Felipe
Harry

Flora asked Hermione to accompany them the next time she would encounter her past. Hermione accepted her invitation, mainly because they would be going to the Chamber of Secrets. She knew that, because Harry had already told her what he would be doing when it was Slytherin’s turn. Besides, her sister-in-law Ginny - who smelt a rat in what concerned Flora and Harry - had also asked her to do the same.

Just two days later, they were again walking to the school. This time Harry was silent, listening to the chatter of the two witches. Hermione explained how she had managed to turn the elves’ release into law (how she had managed to convince the elves to accept freedom and decent working conditions, especially in terms of good wages, and weekly rest - as they were used to thinking that all this was a dishonor to them). Flora had heard wonders about these stories, and was proud to have Hermione as her friend.

The school yard was empty, as most classes were busy in writing tests, and whoever was not, was studying for them. They met an unusual silence.

As soon as they got into the castle, Harry started talking about Slytherin and his preference for pure-bloods, which ultimately turned into an obsession that culminated with his split with Gryffindor and consequently with the school.

“I’ll show you today the Chamber of Secrets that was the concrete result of Slytherin’s obsession, which, in Tom Riddle’s times, had disastrous consequences."

They went to the ladies toilet that still guarded the secret passage to Slytherin’s chamber. Harry asked Flora to stand in front of a sink, which had a tiny snake drawn on its old copper tap. Then, he asked her to utter the word "open" in Parseltongue – he could have done it himself (1), but he wanted to give her the opportunity to experience the grandeur of Slytherin’s magical power, even thousands of years after his death.

The small snake appeared to move. While Flora was still looking at the agile movement of the snake, the sink suddenly vanished. In its place she could see the entrance to a narrow and dark tunnel. Harry told her to follow him. She did that without any hesitation or doubt, due to her enormous confidence in him. Hermione followed closely behind. They slipped through the tunnel that reminded Flora of a water park toboggan, without an end, with a strong smell of mold, and with a little less water (it was not dry, but there was no water flowing in it either).

“Is it really long or is it my anxiety that makes it look longer? Laughing nervously, Flora asked her friends who were now only sounds in the darkness.”

“It's long, but as far as I can remember we’re already close to its end.” Hermione affectionately replied.

The way down ended and they reached a dark room-like place. The three said together "Lumos" and a dim light emitted from their wands, clearing their way as if it was poor day-light.

Nothing in the chamber reminded of the monster that it once hid. Only the labyrinthine circular tunnels were still there, but not a trace of the basilisk, not even its bones. They walked in silence along a winding tunnel until a stone wall on which were carved two intertwined snakes appeared. Their eyes were made of emeralds and when Harry pointed his wand at them the whole place went green. He gave way to Flora again.

She looked at the snakes for a moment. They looked real. She caressed them, closed her eyes and a chill ran down her spine. Her chest filled with air and she suddenly knew what to do and hissed:

“Open up.”

The snakes moved away and the walls gave way to a long passage into a lengthy and high-ceiled chamber. A diffuse green light that seemed to emanate from nowhere illuminated the place, giving it a strangely comfortable look, Flora thought. They remained in silence while walking towards the bottom of the chamber. Flora took out her shoes along the way. Harry and Hermione got curious, but did not say anything.

The cold ground and the tall columns that lined up the way, gave Flora the impression that she was walking inside a large snake. But she kept such feelings to herself, as she herself could not understand exactly what they meant. Her heart pounded and she felt as if every step was a surrender to the truth about her life: she was Slytherin's heir. Her eyes were moist, so was her skin. She was breaking into a cold sweat, but strangely enough she felt extremely well.

They got to the end. Slytherin’s statue stood still. While looking at it, Harry told her the story of when he first went in there; about Tom Riddle’s image gaining strength while Ginny was dying on the ground. His whispered voice reverberated in the immensity of the place, which gave her the impression that they were in a kind of temple. Flora fixed her gaze on Slytherin’s face; his hollow eyes seemed to look at her sternly. She felt so small, and immediately felt the urge to fight this feeling, to show her superiority over her ancestor. She shook her head to wave away this thought and tried to pay attention to the story Harry was telling her. It was about a sword inside the sorting hat, a giant snake he killed and a diary he destroyed. She had no idea about how the story had reached this point, but she was ashamed of asking for further explanation. While telling her the story, Harry took care not to mention anything about the true nature of Tom Riddle’s diary, the first Horcrux ever found.

He just said that the diary, Salazar Slytherin’s locket, as well as Cadmus Perverell’s ring (objects that were in the hands of Voldemort), all these objects had been destroyed because they contained black magic.

Flora did not go sick even after listening to all that, including the story of how Hagrid had lost the right to have a wand – an error that was rectified after seventy years. Somehow she had expected to hear terrible stories about her father, so nothing surprised her much. She came back from the exploration of the depths of the castle, assured of being the descendant of that rude and stone looking man.

__________________________________________________ _______________
(1)In my previous FF, Flora Riddle 1, I wrote that Ron told Neville that Harry mysteriously was returned to be able to speak to snakes. Which he suspected that only Dumbledore would be able to explain - but he was sure that if he were alive, Dumbledore would not share this explanation with them. Does someone disagree?

03-30-2012, 04:54 AM	#44 (permalink)
Ivana R ICW Ambassador Billywig Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brazil Posts: 3,433	13. Slytherin Portuguese Hippogriff Harrys Schokofrösche Few hours later, Harry stopped over her house to see how she was doing and found Hannah taking care of her. Flora was sleeping in her room. He went to Felipe’s shop, and told him about what had happened. Felipe got concerned, but assured his friend that his wife was strong. She would definitely get better by the next day. He was right. When Flora awoke the next morning her expression was serene, but she said to her husband that her heart was broken. However, she was aware that nothing could be done about the past; what matters is the future. By that she meant her children and grandchildren. They would and had to surely show the world that people could improve. And that's what she’d do. She had made up her mind to apply for the position of Muggle Studies teacher. She would prove that being Voldemort’s descendant was not a sentence. But first of all, she wanted to reach the end of her investigations. Flora asked Felipe to send out an owl to Harry Potter with the following message: Harry Potter Thank you for yesterday.”I'm ready again to continue my journey through the history of my ancestors.” I hope you haven’t given up on helping me. Kisses for you and Ginny Flora In the afternoon, while she was taking spell classes with Hermione, she got Harry’s reply: Flora, Glad you're feeling better. I’ll continue helping you whenever you need me. Believe me; the worst is over. When ready, please contact me. Kisses and hugs for you and Felipe Harry Flora asked Hermione to accompany them the next time she would encounter her past. Hermione accepted her invitation, mainly because they would be going to the Chamber of Secrets. She knew that, because Harry had already told her what he would be doing when it was Slytherin’s turn. Besides, her sister-in-law Ginny - who smelt a rat in what concerned Flora and Harry - had also asked her to do the same. Just two days later, they were again walking to the school. This time Harry was silent, listening to the chatter of the two witches. Hermione explained how she had managed to turn the elves’ release into law (how she had managed to convince the elves to accept freedom and decent working conditions, especially in terms of good wages, and weekly rest - as they were used to thinking that all this was a dishonor to them). Flora had heard wonders about these stories, and was proud to have Hermione as her friend. The school yard was empty, as most classes were busy in writing tests, and whoever was not, was studying for them. They met an unusual silence. As soon as they got into the castle, Harry started talking about Slytherin and his preference for pure-bloods, which ultimately turned into an obsession that culminated with his split with Gryffindor and consequently with the school. “I’ll show you today the Chamber of Secrets that was the concrete result of Slytherin’s obsession, which, in Tom Riddle’s times, had disastrous consequences." They went to the ladies toilet that still guarded the secret passage to Slytherin’s chamber. Harry asked Flora to stand in front of a sink, which had a tiny snake drawn on its old copper tap. Then, he asked her to utter the word "open" in Parseltongue – he could have done it himself (1), but he wanted to give her the opportunity to experience the grandeur of Slytherin’s magical power, even thousands of years after his death. The small snake appeared to move. While Flora was still looking at the agile movement of the snake, the sink suddenly vanished. In its place she could see the entrance to a narrow and dark tunnel. Harry told her to follow him. She did that without any hesitation or doubt, due to her enormous confidence in him. Hermione followed closely behind. They slipped through the tunnel that reminded Flora of a water park toboggan, without an end, with a strong smell of mold, and with a little less water (it was not dry, but there was no water flowing in it either). “Is it really long or is it my anxiety that makes it look longer? Laughing nervously, Flora asked her friends who were now only sounds in the darkness.” “It's long, but as far as I can remember we’re already close to its end.” Hermione affectionately replied. The way down ended and they reached a dark room-like place. The three said together "Lumos" and a dim light emitted from their wands, clearing their way as if it was poor day-light. Nothing in the chamber reminded of the monster that it once hid. Only the labyrinthine circular tunnels were still there, but not a trace of the basilisk, not even its bones. They walked in silence along a winding tunnel until a stone wall on which were carved two intertwined snakes appeared. Their eyes were made of emeralds and when Harry pointed his wand at them the whole place went green. He gave way to Flora again. She looked at the snakes for a moment. They looked real. She caressed them, closed her eyes and a chill ran down her spine. Her chest filled with air and she suddenly knew what to do and hissed: “Open up.” The snakes moved away and the walls gave way to a long passage into a lengthy and high-ceiled chamber. A diffuse green light that seemed to emanate from nowhere illuminated the place, giving it a strangely comfortable look, Flora thought. They remained in silence while walking towards the bottom of the chamber. Flora took out her shoes along the way. Harry and Hermione got curious, but did not say anything. The cold ground and the tall columns that lined up the way, gave Flora the impression that she was walking inside a large snake. But she kept such feelings to herself, as she herself could not understand exactly what they meant. Her heart pounded and she felt as if every step was a surrender to the truth about her life: she was Slytherin's heir. Her eyes were moist, so was her skin. She was breaking into a cold sweat, but strangely enough she felt extremely well. They got to the end. Slytherin’s statue stood still. While looking at it, Harry told her the story of when he first went in there; about Tom Riddle’s image gaining strength while Ginny was dying on the ground. His whispered voice reverberated in the immensity of the place, which gave her the impression that they were in a kind of temple. Flora fixed her gaze on Slytherin’s face; his hollow eyes seemed to look at her sternly. She felt so small, and immediately felt the urge to fight this feeling, to show her superiority over her ancestor. She shook her head to wave away this thought and tried to pay attention to the story Harry was telling her. It was about a sword inside the sorting hat, a giant snake he killed and a diary he destroyed. She had no idea about how the story had reached this point, but she was ashamed of asking for further explanation. While telling her the story, Harry took care not to mention anything about the true nature of Tom Riddle’s diary, the first Horcrux ever found. He just said that the diary, Salazar Slytherin’s locket, as well as Cadmus Perverell’s ring (objects that were in the hands of Voldemort), all these objects had been destroyed because they contained black magic. Flora did not go sick even after listening to all that, including the story of how Hagrid had lost the right to have a wand – an error that was rectified after seventy years. Somehow she had expected to hear terrible stories about her father, so nothing surprised her much. She came back from the exploration of the depths of the castle, assured of being the descendant of that rude and stone looking man. __________________________________________________ _______________ (1)In my previous FF, Flora Riddle 1, I wrote that Ron told Neville that Harry mysteriously was returned to be able to speak to snakes. Which he suspected that only Dumbledore would be able to explain - but he was sure that if he were alive, Dumbledore would not share this explanation with them. Does someone disagree? Last edited by Ivana R; 03-30-2012 at 05:04 AM.