Star Crossed

Chapter One Hundred- Fate

'Level Nine- Department of Mysteries' I stepped from the lift into the dark and empty foyer the silence only shattered by the sound of the gate clattering shut behind me. I took a deep breath before stepping across the highly polished black tiled floor. My gut instinct was to turn around and leave, to abandon my task but yet my feet continued to lead me further down the left hand corridor, past the many blackened wood doors, repeated like a never ending pattern. It gave the illusion of being in some kind of reoccuring dream... but unfortunately I was very much awake.  I stopped as I stood parallel to one particular door I turned my body around to face it... I just stood staring at it for a moment before placing a wand that was not my own against the door. Instantly it clicked open loudly the sound echoing in the narrow tiled corridor. I stowed the wand back into the inside pocket of my jacket before placing a hand upon the cold iron door knob, twisting it I pushed the door inwards. Inside revealed a very long rectangular room lined from floor to ceiling in filing cabinets. I walked along the left hand side allowing my hand to brush along them as I browsed... but I could not see what I was looking for. Not until that is I reached halfway along the right hand side. I hesitated for a moment I shouldn't be doing this but then... I had gone too far now. I pulled open the cabinet and flicked my finger through the various dividers until I stopped upon a section entitled... Restricted Artefacts.' 

I frowned withdrawing it contents and beginning to sift through them, I paused as I saw the same compass like image Riddle had shown me in the church yard. Tilting my head to the side I took out my wand duplicating the document before placing the original back within its rightful place along with the rest of the contents in the file and closed the cabinet door with a soft click, quickly I folded up the parchment and secured it next to the 'borrowed' wand.

I sat in a darkened corner of the bar, a drink of black cherry in my hand I scrutinised the parchment that I had obtained early that evening. The compass like object was in fact called a Venari. It was a very rare and ancient artefact and was often used by the ancestors to aid them in hunting and traveling but was also rumored to have many unknown additional attributes. All whereabouts of any surviving Venari's were as of present unknown. The last person recorded to have owned one of the artefacts was British wizard Mr.Scabior Warrington who was reported missing in nineteen eighteen. 
What would Riddle want with this... it didn't sound dangerous... he had said that in the wrong hands it could be dangerous... did he know more about its other unknown uses? An unrelenting voice in the back of my mind urged me not to pass on this new found information to Riddle... but then why had I gone to the trouble of obtaining it? Was it purely to satisfy my own curiosity? I had sworn blank that night that I was not going to be used by him. I looked down at my glass to find it empty, I sighed as I placed the parchment back inside of my jacket and out of sight before approaching the bar. 
"A top up please," I asked politely as I pushed my empty glass across the bar. The barman looked at me with contempt before taking my glass and disappearing towards the back of the bar. I glanced around me I had not come to a bar in Knockturn Alley merely for pleasure, I looked at my watch, ten pm. An aurors job was never a nine till five position. 
I felt a shiver go up my spine, someone was watching me I could feel it. I resisted the urge to turn around and instead remained alert as I stared straight ahead watching the less than alive bar man walk towards me my freshly filled glass in hand. 
"Thank you," I breathed quietly before pushing some coins across the wooden counter towards him, he snatched them up hungrily before hurrying off to attend to another customer. 

I remained stood at the bar my drink in hand, I could still feel eyes upon me, I decided to wait it out. They were sure to either look away or approach me and if they did I would be ready, I felt up my sleeve for my wand making sure to dislodge it forcing it to drop into the palm of my hand. We were trained to work mostly undercover and instructed were possible not to make a scene... but if it was not possible. Five minutes had passed and the strangers eyes had remained upon me but I now felt their presence much closer to my own, I tensed as I felt someone place a hand upon my shoulder. 
"You're not a regular around here are you Mrs." a gruff unfamiliar voice breathed down my ear, his prutrid breath almost causing me to gag. 
"It's Miss actually," I replied calmly still not bothering to turn around to face my new acquaintance or to acknowledge his statement.  
"Is it now," He replied I felt him move around from the back of me to my left hand side, I could catch a glimpse of his hand resting against the bar... it looked old and wrinkled.