The Empress of Magic

Chapter 12 : A Curse that brings Insanity and the Slaying of a Unicorn

By the time they had returned to Hogwarts Celestia and Regulus had informed all of their friends about the Sorcerer's Stone being hidden within the school....

They had also told them about the Vision, the group was shocked, yet not very surprised to learn that Celestia had the gift of Sight.

After all Gellert Grindelwald was a known Seer.

The gift being passed down to Celestia had been more possible than her being born with white hair, and that was something every child born in the family had.

,, So the vision showed a Chessboard, a Quidditch-like task to unlock the next door, a Potion riddle, and a mirror which held the Stone." Aiden said, their group has spent the past week trying to figure out when the right time came to strike.

They weren't daft.

Dumbledore obviously placed the Stone there in the hopes of a student wandering up there and trying their luck on passing the tasks.

They also had a very good idea of who that student was, but they were going to keep quiet for now.

Celestia also made sure to inform Arcturus of the situation, hoping that he and Xavier may sway the Wizengamot to set up an investigation, though she knew it was for naught.

Dumbledore after all held most of the control over the Light and many Grey families.

Lucius, Theo's Grandfather, and Blaise's mother were all pushing for an investigation as well, after receiving Letters holding the dire situation the students were in.

Susan, Hannah, and the twins were unable to do much since their families were almost entirely Light and Grey allied.

And even though Amelia was the Head of the DMLE she couldn't do anything until there was solid proof about Dumbledore.

Celestia really hated the Laws the Wizarding World seemed to follow like a herd of simple-minded sheep.

,, We already know that the Chessboard was most likely Professor McGonagall's idea." Regulus said, standing next to Celestia who was looking at the Piece of Parchment where she wrote down the sentence whispered in her vision. ,, She loves Wizard-Chess, and the Queen striking the Bishop with her sword in Celestia's vision supports our suspicion of it functioning like the actual one."

,, The flying keys and the broom are a true Omáge on Quidditch, so it was probably Madam Hooch's task." Blaise suspected, though unsure since it could also belong to Professor Flitwick because of the Charm work.

,, And the Potions task could have only been created by Professor Snape." Hannah said, the Head of Slytherin being the only teacher who could have set up such a trap.

,, For a Dungeon Bat-"

,, He does have a lot of skill." The twins chimed, hating to admit it. Even if Professor Snape was the most disliked teacher at Hogwarts and favored his House more than anyone, everyone could agree that he had skills far superior in Potion making than anyone else at Hogwarts.

Their group already knew that the Cerberus was Hagrid's idea, the half-Giant not able to understand the difference between a dangerous Creature and a Kneazle.

And the Devil's Snare had come from Professor Sprout, the woman having talked with Celestia about its usage and the ways to protect oneself from it in great detail after the white-haired Witch had asked her.

,, But the Mirror..... What could it mean..." This was the very task hindering them from going down there.

As long as the Mirror remained a mystery they agreed to wait with retrieving the Stone.