Later that night, Aaric whistled a tune as he roamed the dungeons of the school. He paused in front of a certain bare, damp wall in a corridor.
"Waiting for someone to pass by, are you?" he asked as if speaking to thin air.
Suddenly, he disappeared as he was pulled into the Invisibility Cloak.
"How about you just announce our presence to everyone instead of using that loud voice of yours," Harry whispered to him.
Aaric chuckled as Harry, Ron, and Hermione adjusted themselves. There was even less space in the cloak now with his addition.
"Didn't think you would be here," Aaric commented as he raised an eyebrow toward Hermione.
"They begged," she whispered with a shrug.
Harry only shook his head and Ron scowled.
"I remember a certain someone clinging to us because she wanted to know what the locket was leading us to," Ron said, blowing air through his nose with a huff. "Can't place who that was, though."
He added the last part with a hand on his chin and his head tilted up as if he was in deep thought. Hermione responded by kicking his shin. Ron was about to yelp before Harry clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Sorry," Hermione muttered with a blush as she realized she might have caused them to be found if Harry had not acted quickly.
Harry just sighed as he held onto Ron, who was clutching his leg and glaring at Hermione.
"Let's go," she whispered suddenly just as she saw a Slytherin boy arrive in front of the wall.
"Facta, non verba," the boy said slowly.
The stone wall in front of them shifted. The bricks moved smoothly, revealing a rectangular entrance. Aaric and the group scurried along, making sure not to make a sound as they entered the hole before the wall could close the path.
They were welcomed by the sight of the Slytherin common room. It had a greenish, underwater ambiance that felt both soothing and eerie.
The windows to the side gave the impression that the room itself was moving because of the view of the lake water pressing against the glass.
Harry and Hermione sighed in admiration as everyone waited for the student to move to his dorms.
Once the coast was clear, Harry moved out of the cloak.
Aaric, Hermione, and Ron followed after him. Harry raised the locket in his grasp and moved it around, awaiting any signal coming from the artifact.
He paused in front of the fireplace when he felt a whisper from the locket intensify. He looked at the elaborately carved mantelpiece sitting over the crackling fire. It was adorned with the image of a serpent.
He looked into the portrait. A hissing sound exited his mouth, a language only understood by him and Aaric. He waited after he had spoken. A moment later, a little circular area on the mantle started glowing.
Harry waited a little longer before scratching his head. He looked back to his right where he thought the others were standing under the cloak.
"Try placing your wand there," Aaric's voice came from his left.
Harry nodded and took out his wand before placing the tip on the glowing circle. A little bit of his magic was siphoned in.
The figure of the serpent in the painting moved, and an actual, glittering green snake exited the canvas.
The snake slithered in front of Harry before coiling itself on the stone floor and looking at him. It opened its mouth with a hiss before moving back and regurgitating an intricate wooden box.
After the task was done, the snake slithered back into the painting, though its painted eyes were still tracking Harry.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood in place for some time as they just replayed what had happened in their heads.
"Take the box and let's scram," Aaric said, nudging Harry and bringing him out of his reverie.
Harry nodded with a jolt. He picked up the box and moved back into the cloak as they quickly exited the Slytherin common room. They did not go toward the Gryffindor area, instead moving out toward the Hogwarts grounds before removing the cloak.
Harry placed the wooden box on a rock while the four of them encircled it. They looked at the face carved on the lid, which possessed green gems for eyes, and marveled at the craftsmanship.
"Harry, I have a sneaking suspicion the locket may have belonged to one Salazar Slytherin," Ron muttered, giving Harry a look with thinned lips.
"Was it the face on the box that gave it away?" Aaric muttered with a smirk.
He got chuckles from everyone present.
They looked back at the box before Harry reached his hand out toward it, as if wanting to open it, but he was stopped by Hermione.
"Do we really want to know what is inside the box?" Hermione muttered with hesitation.
"I will be fine with not knowing if it means avoiding a curse he may have put on the things inside." she added in a whisper.
"Well, we have Aaric here. And with the white fire Harry has, we should be fine," Ron suggested.
He seemed to have gained a lot of confidence in the abilities Aaric possessed.
Hermione thought for a moment before letting go of Harry's hand, which the boy took that as her approval and moved toward the box, holding the lid.
The gems on the box glowed before it opened with a distinct clicking sound.
There was no light emitting from the box, nor was there any curse escaping it. Inside, there was just a rolled parchment. It was black in color and held closed with a red bow.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked at the scroll with curious frowns before Harry picked it up.
Aaric, however, had already deduced what the scroll was. He recognized the energy radiating from the parchment; it was from someone he had met before.
He had checked the scroll for any harm already, which was why he was allowing Harry and the gang to inspect it.
Harry held an end of the tied bow and pulled to untangle it, allowing him to open the scroll.
"It is... empty," he muttered out loud when he discovered there was nothing written on the black parchment.
Hermione tilted her head curiously before taking the scroll from Harry.
"Aparecium," she chanted out loud with her wand touching the parchment.
She shook her head when there was no result from the spell. She moved her wand in a slow, practiced manner to perform another spell.
"Specialis Revelio," she chanted clearly.
She was met with the same result. The parchment just laid harmlessly in her hand. She pursed her lips before handing the scroll back to Harry with a shake of her head.
"Do you have a spell that would tell us what the parchment does?" Harry asked Aaric with a hopeful raise of his eyebrows.
Aaric tilted his head for a moment before shrugging.
"Keep it with you for a bit. I will see what I can find," he said and got hopeful nods from the group.
"I will research for my part as well," Hermione muttered as they were about to leave.
"You better not stay up all night, Hermione. You are a demon when you are knackered," Ron spoke up.
He got a scowl from the girl.
"Please do shut up, prat." she shot back immediately.
The trio got a chuckle and a wave from Aaric as he walked away toward the Ravenclaw dorms while Harry draped the Invisibility Cloak over the three.
"Didn't take him for someone who would make deals with mortals," Aaric muttered to himself.
He melded into a dark corner of the castle and appeared in his room the next moment. He found Luna, Daphne, and Fleur sleeping on his bed. He crawled in as well, making sure not to disturb any of them as the day finally came to an end.