Raising her hand to stop the approaching indignation, Lilith carried on. "I know, it's unbecoming and unladylike, but can you honestly say that if your father betrothed you to Goyle, that you wouldn't do something drastic to get out of it? Including getting pregnant before your majority?" Druella opened her mouth and closed it repeatedly before her shoulders slumped. "Alright, so I might have considered it then. If that is a condition for your aid, then I will accept it." Lilith nodded. "Good. If I were you, I would be careful how you interact with the other boys. Behave as you always have, but be vigilant to anything that might spell trouble for you. If worse comes to worse, send a letter to Melania Black. The future Lady of the House of Black will be incharge of vetting all the potential suitors for the children of the family. She will have the authority to get you to safety, if it were required." Druella nodded. "Thank you. I wish I could offer you any information in return, but I don't know anything other than that the family was ordered to stand down for now." Lilith shrugged. "Based on how you felt towards your family, I wasn't expecting anything. Now go. Your roommate might get suspicious."
Lilith waited for Druella to be out of earshot, before whispering to herself. "Anything you would like to add?" A disillusionment spell dropped, revealing a somewhat displeased Alphard. "How the hell did you see me?" Lilith smiled at him. "Same way that Professor Ross always ends up catching you when you try to sneak around him in the corridors." Alphard glared at Lilith. "How do you know about that!" Lilith shrugged her shoulders. "Being friendly with the grumpy old man has its perks. You would have a better chance at longer snogging sessions with McLaggen if you tried it. You might even get your hands to wander further." Blushing a little, Alphard waved his wand around, setting up the wards. "Are you sure we can trust her?" Lilith waved the comment off. "For the most part. The Maledictus has triggers associated with threats to the House of Black, among others, so if she meant harm to Cygnus or the rest, she would have triggered it. She is clean, for now." Alphard sighed but nodded. "I will let my Aunts know and I will keep an eye on her." Lilith smirked at the Black Family shadow in training. "Not telling Cygnus?" Alphard gave Lilith an incredulous look. "And get his ego inflated? Hell no." Lilith giggled as she picked up her bookbag, checking her person and everything for foreign spells, before waving goodbye at Alphard and heading to her room for the night.
-✦-
Tom moved through the corridors of the First Floor, near the Library, well past the hours of the Prefect Patrols. He had decided to risk going out that night, since he had a feeling about this particular marker that he had spotted a few times over the last few months. Hidden under a disillusionment spell, Tom reached the exposed wall next to a portrait of a forest, fairies flying back and forward, dancing and singing as the darkness of night allowed their lights to shine brightly. Tom had always wondered just how accurate the Portrait was. He knew that wizards and witches could create art that behaved no differently than what the subjects of the painting did themselves, a few even retaining some memories and the adequate personality of the actual person they depicted. According to Cassandra, who was apparently an avid painter herself, this was done by mixing Blood Magic and the magic of the canvas, creating an echo of the person depicted. This same magic allowed Portraits to be under the influence of the Family Magics, which was why many Magical Families were careful as to who was depicted where. Those who married into the family were the primary concern, as the Family Magics of the birth family could overwhelm those of the new one, allowing for people to spy on their distant relations. Tom had never been happier to not have a family, as he didn't want to be looking over his own shoulder and questioning just what portraits were loyal to him and which weren't.
As for the paintings of landscapes and creatures, Cassandra had been clear that while realistic representations worked best with the magic, the artists could be capable of altering or even fabricating the contents of them. The hard part was in animating the canvas to reflect their vision. According to Professor Merrythought, while elements of the Fae endured in the world in one form or another, fairies were some of the most reclusive, with many people believing them to have gone extinct. Lilith and Cassandra both believe that the fairies endure in locations so heavy in magic that not even the Magicals could find them, regions known to them as sídhes, with them only being spotted sporadically when they ventured out. The painting itself was centuries old, so the chance that it represented a proper view of the fairies in the wild was higher, though it certainly made Tom feel melancholic. Everywhere in the Castle, through portraits of scenes and landscapes, Hogwarts was a window into a past that, for many different reasons, could never be again. Burying the melancholy down, Tom's eyes looked down at the edge where the floor met the wall, spotting the two snakes carved into the stone, both bent at a ninety degree angle. Guessing that the snakes marked the edges of something, Tom ran his hand up from the right carving, feeling his way through the stone, until finally, just behind the frame of the picture, he felt an indentation.
Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes and felt his magic connect with the hidden carving, before whispering in Parseltongue. ~" Open ."~ Tom's heart skipped a beat as he felt the carving grow warm, before the wall slid backwards. In a few seconds, the wall had slid to the left, revealing a dark passageway. " Lumus ." As the tip of his wand lit up, the darkness of the passageway retreated, revealing a strange sight. Where the Castle was filled with corridors of sharp angles, the hidden passageway itself was carved in a circular fashion, as if it were some earthen tunnel. Moving into the passageway, Tom noticed how odd the ground felt, as if it had rows of raised stone, which certainly made him feel safer if the passageway had no stairs. Seeing a carving of a snake on his right, Tom reached out with his hand and charged it again. ~" Close ."~ He breathed a sigh of relief as the opening behind him closed up, meaning that he could no longer be caught by surprise. With his lit wand out, Tom followed the passage to its other end, feeling that it was descending in an arc. The floor was more like a ramp than stairs, with the raised ridges of stone helping his shoes maintain traction, before coming upon a stone wall. Seeing the same coiled snake on both sides of the wall, Tom triggered them, releasing the mechanism, the stone entrance sliding into view.
Stepping out into a typical Hogwarts Corridor, Tom looked behind him, instantly recognizing where he was. The painting to his right was one of a great battle from long ago, depicting muggles charging at each other on horseback, both sides holding onto lances as they skewered and fought each other for an innumerable amount of times. Finding a similarly hidden carving behind the edge of the frame, Tom charged it again, commanding the entrance to close up, before he left the corridor, a smile on his face. The hidden passageway made by his ancestors was a shortcut between the Library in the First Floor and the Dungeons, meaning that it passed from the First Floor, through the Ground Floor and into the Basement level. That would certainly come in quite handy. It was also located near one of the plaques that hid a Slytherin carving. It seemed that Lilith's theory was correct. The sections that once belonged to Salazar were all possibly interconnected by secret passageways that only a Parselmouth could open. Tom eyed the rest of the Dungeon Walls. He initially found it odd that the snake carvings at the edge where the wall met the ground were mostly found on the higher floors but not on the Dungeon level, but he felt that it was probably as a safety measure. Tom's eyes darted to the point where the wall met the sealing, but couldn't see anything at the distance he was at in the middle of the night either. Still, feeling exhilarated from his discovery, Tom made for the Slytherin Common Room as quickly and quietly as possible.
"I do believe it is well past the time Prefects should be out and about, wouldn't you agree, Tom?" The young Slytherin cursed in his head as he stopped, before turning to see the Deputy Headmaster approaching him. "My apologies, Professor, but I found the urge to stretch my legs to be… overwhelming." Dumbledore hummed to himself. "I am sure." Tom met the man's eyes and instantly felt a pressure against his Occlumency defences, which were still quite new, despite the amount of time he dedicated himself to mastering the most vital skill of the Mind Arts. Not knowing how well they could hold up against Dumbledore and his expertise, Tom broke eye contact and reinforced the walls around his mind as much as possible. Dumbledore shook his head and sighed. "Must we continue to play this game, Tom? I have already told you that what you seek is best left buried." Tom restrained the urge to growl in irritation. "That may be, but that doesn't mean that it's not worth seeking." Dumbledore shook his head in disappointment. "Very well. A week's worth of detention for breaking curfew and 50 points from Slytherin. Should I find you out and about again, I will be doubling that. Do we understand each other?" Tom nodded as he allowed the Deputy Headmaster to guide him back to the Slytherin Common Room. Acting on a hunch, Tom disillusioned himself as soon as he opened the bathroom door of his year group and waited.
A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps reached the entrance to the bathroom, beforing moving off. Tom, having the forethought to mask his sound and scent as well, followed silently behind the soft footfalls, finding himself being led up to the fifth year boy dorms. One of the doors opened in front of him, before it was closed and locked, with Tom clenching his fists. He always made sure to check where the other Slytherins were sleeping at the start of every year, with this particular door belonging to the room shared by Raphael Lestrange and Anton Bryce. The Lestrange Heir Apparent was unlikely to be spending his nights out and about, especially now. After Rosier's fall, he had quickly switched sides to the Blacks and was seemingly quite happy with the new arrangement. That left Bryce as the most likely suspect. Tom returned to his own room, running the possibilities through his mind. Bryce was unlikely to approach Dumbledore out of political gain and the same could be said in the reverse. Which meant that if Bryce was informing the Deputy Headmaster, it was simply for his own personal gains and to damage Tom's standing within Slytherin House. Letting the feelings of anger fester for a second, Tom took a deep breath sitting on his bed, before calming himself. He had found one of Salazar's hidden passageways. He now knew what to look for. The Chamber of Secrets was close at hand. He could feel it. He just needed the time to explore a bit more and his family's legacy would finally be in his grasp.
-✦-
Lilith sat quietly in her room, staring at the completed construct in front of her, her finger tapping a letter currently held in her hand, as her mind wandered. They were already halfway through November and soon enough the students would be returning home for the Yuletide. That meant that the majority of the population of the Castle would be missing, with the Prefect Patrols being cancelled for the most part. Two weeks and change of days and nights when Tom and her would be free to explore the Castle. Over the last few months, Lilith had done her best to only give the minimum amount of information regarding the location of all of Slytherin's Secrets. Based on what Tom had described from his meeting at Gringotts, he had to be the one to find the location to the Chamber of Secrets, which meant that Lilith couldn't take him to it, even if she wanted to. Still, his dedication to uncovering his family's legacy was impressive to behold. Ever since he discovered the various locations marked as Slytherin sections of the Castle, the young man had been relentlessly scanning every wall and surface. His discovery of one of the Slytherin secret passageways had led to the uncovering of several more scattered about. Tom now had access to most of the shortcuts that covered the lower Castle floors. The entrance wouldn't be that hard to find now, which left Lilith feeling nervous.
Tom's behaviour over the last few months had been exemplary, for the most part. His interactions with the students of Slytherin had improved greatly, and his treatment of the students from the other houses was agreeable, though Ignatius' love for Quidditch and Minerva McGonagall's nagging did test his temper to the point that he needed an hour or so of relaxation before he could hold a pleasant conversation again. He had apparently found some common ground with Myrtle, whose love of reading included several of the books and novels that Tom was familiar with. Both were actually quite fond of JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit," and Lilith had caught them a few times debating some of the possible history of the book and even the idea of replicating Bilbo's ring and its magical effects. Lilith had to steer clear of those discussions, even though she as Lillian had read "The Hobbit" at the Orphanage. The reason was due to the fact that she had also read the entirety of "The Lord of the Rings," none of which had yet to be published. The world that Tolkien had created had been one of Lillian's favorite places to escape to within the confines of her mind, contemplating what it would have been like to take part in all those stories. Sirius' gifts of "The Silmarillion" and "The Unfinished Tales" had been Lillian's favorites, though reading those had been a far more difficult challenge than the novels. Because of her advanced knowledge, every word needed to be thought out well in advance when discussing such subjects lest she reveal too much, especially with Tom's exceptional reasoning skills.
These constant instances of having to distance herself from conversations were growing more and more concerning, especially as people like Anton Bryce continued to tell the propaganda of Slytherin's hatred of muggleborns in attempt to sway the younger years, with Lilith having to rely on the absence of evidence of that being the Founder's stance as her only defence. She couldn't reveal the truths of the Founders interactions without drawing attention to the fact that she, an outsider, could possibly know more about Hogwarts' Founding than the very historians and the Magical Families of Britain, all of whom had been repeating the same lies for nearly five hundred years. That same propaganda worried Lilith, as Tom was still hearing it, even if his interactions showed that he was now more open minded. His dedication to the Slytherin name meant everything to Tom, which made Lilith smile, even as it made her worry. She herself had once shared the same dedication, first as Salazar's last chosen Heir and now as the Frau von Schwarzwald. Tom wanted to live up to the Slytherin name. The issue was that the family's truth had been so warped by the Gaunts that he could endanger his claim if he followed the propaganda too closely. Lilith wanted Tom to hurry up and find Salazar's Chamber, even as she stressed over whether he was ready for the responsibility or not.
Looking at the letter in her hand, Lilith was well aware that there were other reasons for her to be concerned about, beyond Tom's condition. Alexander had done quite a bit of research regarding what had occured on Samhain. Apparently, Lilith had been close to replicating the original conditions for one of the ceremonies carried out by the Druids during the Ritual of Calling. According to the Peverell Archives, the effects of the Calling Rituals were enhanced by the priests cracking open the Veil between the Realm of the Living and the Void. The Druids favored using magic that brought a volunteer into a near death state, which caused the Veil to part, but the volunteer's life was still anchored, preventing the individual's soul from passing on, though they were able to spend much of their time with their deceased family members in the Void. The gap the ritual created was large enough that the other spirits could travel through it once called, creating the condition by which the Dead could be called home, at least until the volunteer was released from his magically induced near death and resuscitated. Lilith had apparently achieved a similar result in reverse, creating an opening by forcing Merope Gaunt into the Realm of the Living. Because the tear wasn't within a runic array designed to improve its stability and amplitude, the spirits of the dead that had already been out and about didn't materialize, though it was only just.
The appearance of the Schattenwolves, however, had left Alexander stumped, believing it could have something to do with the von Schwarzwald Family Magic. Lilith's search of the Family Grimoire seemed to confirm that as it described how the ancient members of he family tended to summon their allied creatures using tears in the Veil as a diffusion point for the Family Magic, acting as a beacon for the creatures to gather around in times of need. Lilith still had trouble understanding the relationship between the more primal Dark Creatures and her family. Her interactions with the Barghests clearly indicated that there was something… instinctual that drew them to her, allowing them to behave in a manner that defied reason. But Lilith could find very little to confirm how this power could be directed or controlled, only that a proper Head of the Family could do it. Lilith sighed. She was the Head of the von Schwarzwald family, but it seemed that even wearing the ring or possessing the family Grimoire wasn't enough to complete her claim. Which left her wondering if she should. If she embraced the Family Magic to its conclusion, the chances that she could live a quiet life after the war as Lillian would be gone. If she did nothing… it could lead to her failing in completing her objectives.
Lilith sighed as she placed the letter that she had been holding into the letter box that she owned, before sealing it. With December just around the corner, she had just a few last things left to do before all she could do was sit back and wait for Tom to uncover his legacy. She had been working towards helping him recover his legacy for a few months now, though it would soon be a year of her doing it of her own accord. She desperately hoped that what she had in store for Tom would serve him well in his path to the Lordship of the House of Slytherin. It would have to serve him well. The alternative… was not even worth thinking about. Lilith turned her eyes to her completed construct, before pulling out a bit of parchment and her fountain pen. It had taken her almost a full year of design work, but finally her concept was completed. She had her initial construct to test every detail on to make sure that everything was working as intended. If everything checked out, then Tom would be getting far more than what Lilith had initially planned. He would be getting something that could be a prelude to her life's work. She blushed a little and wondered if he might read more into that than what was intended. What surprised Lilith more than anything was that she was no longer bothered if he did read more into what her gift might mean. In fact, she almost hoped that he would.