GENESIS | TMR

☯︎ | FOURTEEN

————— ☯︎ —————

[ xiv. lovefool ]

Rough stone walls surrounded them, adding to the intimidating effects of the environment, and most Knights of Walpurgis members reclined on low-backed sofas, empowered figures against black and pine greens. Though the fire was out and a chill continued to draft through the room, none paid it any mind, having adjusted to the naturally cold temperatures of the dungeons at a young age.

The Great Lake tapped its greeting against the glass, and sunshine fought its way through the water, bathing the common room in a whirl of alternating patterns of light. It shone on their faces, painting blue-green stripes and squiggles along their skin, and presented a sense of peace that added to the feel of Jane combing through the Selwyn heiress' hair.

It was far too nice of a day to be speaking of Dark matters, Adelaide thought, and yet she found herself spread on the floor of the Slytherin common room anyway, leaning into Rosier's palm.

"You're a bit like a cat," Jane observed, grinning as the Hufflepuff hummed, eyes growing heavy with each stroke of the younger's hand.

"Cat," Abraxas echoed. "I wonder whether an animal would work as a substitute to a human."

Leaning against the mantle, the portrait of a serpent looming behind him, Tom cocked his head at the suggestion, face carefully blank.

"I doubt it," Walburga dismissed. Seated on the sofa across Abraxas, she glanced at Conan for agreement.

"It seems too easy," her cousin allowed, "and, if it were that simple, Horcruxes wouldn't be such a taboo. Everyone would be sacrificing any animal they could get their hands on. It would be a low price for immortality."

"I want to go outside," Adelaide said, peeking up at Jane. "It looks lovely today, don't you think?"

Jane nodded. "A walk sounds nice."

The others ignored them, turning back to Malfoy, who shrugged. "It's worth a try."

"It's a waste of time." Walburga ran her hands through her curls, tugging through small tangles and letting the dark strands pool over her shoulders. "But, by all means, try it if you'd like."

Abraxas fell silent, sighing softly, and Conan took the opportunity to voice his concerns. Though he was always frowning, it seemed, it deepened as his brows furrowed. "And Slughorn didn't say anything about precautions to take? No history of the spell backfiring?"

"Nope," Adelaide popped her mouth. "He pretty much just told us exactly what we already knew, excluding the whole 'Oi, you could possibly split your soul multiple times, but it's never knowingly been done before, and I don't suggest it' monologue."

Jane's teeth tugged on the flesh of her lip, making it pinker than usual when she let go. She looked firmly at Tom. "Are you really doing this, then?"

"Yes," he nodded, sharing a glance with Adelaide. "The sooner, the better. We just need to pick a person."

"Pick a person," Abraxas repeated. "Why not just go to the forest and use whoever follows first?"

Walburga shook her head. "It'll be easier to be discreet if we have a perfected plan beforehand."

"Besides," Conan added, "anyone would follow Riddle. It'd be hard to secretly get a single person if everyone knew and tried to go. Not to mention, a lot of purebloods don't know what we're doing, and it should stay that way. It has to be a Mudblood."