The Prophesy of S

Chapter 15

"Alright, say the password," I said.

In his best pronunciation, he spoke to the gargoyle. "Toujours pur." The gargoyle spun upward to reveal a spiral staircase. We climbed up the stairs, and as we continued to climb I asked Sebastian, "Do all Pure-blood families have mottos like that?"

"Some of them do. Ominis told me once about the other families. The Lestrange motto is 'A crow will not pull out the eye of another crow'. A 'honor among thieves' sort of saying, I suppose. And the Malfoy's sound even more prejudice against non-purebloods than the Black's-and that's saying something. 'Purity always conquers'."

My face scrunched up in displeasure. "You're right, that does sound worse. And do the Gaunt's not have one?"

"They do, but Ominis didn't want to mention it. He says it makes him sick just thinking about it."

"Oh, and what about your family? I know my father's side doesn't have one."

"Same as you. My family may be of Pure-blood, but we fly under the radar. And I would imagine influential Pure-blood families like the Gaunt's are the only ones that have mottos to feel more superior."

I nodded in agreement. "Sounds about right."

When we reached the top of the stairs and entered the office, I was amazed by all that it had. The first thing I noticed was that sleeping portraits covered every inch of the office walls. And what the portraits didn't cover was occupied by large built-in cabinets and shelves filled with books. Deeper in the room sat the Headmaster's elegant wooden desk that was covered by paperwork, quills, and interesting knickknacks. And on each side of the desk sat a set of stairs that led to a second floor.

"Hey, look. It's the sorting hat," Sebastian pointed out. To the side was a long table where a glass display case sat with the old and ratty hat inside.

"You know, I didn't tell you this, but I ended up being a Hatstall when I was getting sorted."

"'Hatstall'?"

"It's when the Hat hasn't come to a decision after a few minutes. You weren't wrong to wonder how I wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw. The Hat was having a hard time to decide between the two houses for me. The whole time I was so nervous because Anne was already sorted and I thought I might be separated from her. That was my fear since we got our acceptance letter. My nerves came to a boiling point where I just told the Hat to 'place me in Slytherin already'." He chuckled. "As soon as said that, that's where the Hat placed me."

I laughed, too. "And you never wondered how it would be like if you were sorted into Ravenclaw?"

"Not once. I was with my sister, then later with my best friend, and I truly felt like Slytherin was where I'm supposed to be. And besides, it would be a pain to be in Ravenclaw where I have to answer riddles just to get into the common room. I've heard stories of Ravenclaw students having to sleep outside the door if they couldn't get in. They have a designated sleeping area and everything."

"Uh, yeah, that doesn't sound pleasant being locked out all the time when one isn't so skilled with riddles."

"I can concur, but one gets used to sleeping outside after a while," spoke a female voice. Sebastian and I turned to the voice to see Headmistress Fitzgerald in her gilded frame. "I'm glad you two were able to get in."

"Well, I at least wouldn't be able to without Sebastian's help. He's the one that came up with the plan on getting the password."

"Is that so?"

"Sure did. I just transformed into Black with polyjuice to get the password from his elf," he boasted.

She looked impressed. "How cunning, Mr. Sallow. You chose your house well. Now, Miss Holloway, approach the pedestal on the second floor. There, you'll find a book you need to read. Mr. Sallow, you'll need to wait for her in the Map Chamber. Again, this is a task that she has to go through-alone."