We know about Scrope but how many house elves do you have in Grimmauld Place?
Ha.
How should I know.
You expect me to concern myself with such mundane nonsense? Disgusting creatures. That, is a question best suited to my wife. She concerns herself with the running of household matters, I do not.
Suffice to say, the estate is maintained without the need for my wife to so much as lift a finger.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
After finding a book with missing pages. Phineas Hearst gets a lead on how he can find the knowledge he is lacking about the bookâs contents. And in order to do that, he needs to do a favor for the headmasterâs house elf, Scrope.
Themes: Black Lake, Treasure
Phineas Hearstâs POV, October 1896
Phineasâ eyes were glued to the newest piece of parchment as he departed the old hut with a pumpkin patch scattered around it. There had to be a better way from Scrope to get his attention than sending him on a scavenger hunt around Hogwarts of all places. Phineas frankly didnât see the point in all the cloak and dagger. Still, he remained determined and curious and began his journey to the edge of the black lake.
The headmasterâs house elf had somehow figured out that he had found that book in the restricted section. He supposed the gossip still somehow managed to spread around Hogwarts and even to the ears of the house elf. But if it had reached Scrope how had it not reached the headmaster or the other professors. Phineas surely would have received a notice to make his way to detention if that was the case. And on top of that oddly enough, the house elf knew the book was missing pages.
As he reached the broken dock that Scrope had described in the latest letter, he scoured around to see what the next clue was. He was partially expecting for yet another note that would lead him to the other side of the castle. Luckily for him, Scrope managed to appear rather suddenly, waiting for him, but not in plain sight in a way that would draw attention.
âI see you received my notes.â Scrope observed as he approached, âThank you for coming all this way. Apologies for their abundance and peculiar phrases. Scrope had to make sure you werenât followedâ
âFollowed?â Phineas echoed in confusion, âWhatâs this all about? Your notes mentioned the book I found in the restricted section, how did you know about that?â
âPatience young Slytherin.â The house elf politely advised. âScrope can tell you more in exchange for your help. But no one, especially the headmaster, can know.â
Phineasâ dark eyes lit up in a mixture of curiosity and hope, âAlright, Iâll be happy to help.â He promised, before recalling what he didnât know yet, âWhat will I be doing exactly?â
âScropeâs late mistress, Apollonia Black, may she rest in peace. Was a student at Hogwarts over fifty years ago.â The house elf began, âBefore she died she spoke with passion about pages ripped from a book. Scrope suspects she took them to her private grotto. She was delirious at the end, poor thing. Mistook Belladonna for Elderberries. Scrope tried to warn herâ
âIâm sorry to hear that.â Phineasâ gaze softened. Yet his eyes narrowed, not in suspicion, he could never see the house elf mean harm. Though it was confusing that the headmasterâs house elf out of everyone was offering him this lead on a silver platter, âBut what exactly does me going to this grotto to find the pages do for you?â
âScrope believes that a treasured Black Family Ring might also be in the grotto.â He elaborated, âScrope wishes to give it to the headmaster. Scrope cannot go because Apollonia forbade it long ago. Scrope continues to honor her wishes. Scrope would not dare ask a student for help normally. But when Scrope learned you were looking for the pages, Scrope hoped you might also be able to find the ringâ
A lost heirloom to one of the most prestigious families in the wizarding world. The Black Family likely had more artifacts than any wizarding family in the country could dream of. The headmaster was an extravagant man after all. And even figuring out the mystery behind how this ring became lost made him just as curious as locating those missing pages. And perhaps, just perhaps, if the headmaster knew he assisted in retrieving an heirloom, he could gain his favor, however impossible that seemed to be due to his carelessness. Phineas supposed he never knew when he might need assistance, especially if Ranrokâs lot and Rookwoodâs gang intensified in their actions and cruel desires.
âWhat can you tell me about this ring?â Phineas asked.
âWell itâs adorned with the Black Family crest for starters.â Scrope elaborated. A crest that didnât even need to be described to any pure blood who knew of the highest pure blood families, âAs such, the headmaster would be pleased with Scrope for returning itâ
âIt seems this might just help us both.â Phineas smiled with satisfaction âNow where do I find this secret grotto?â
âThank you. Itâs just down the coast, not far from here. Youâll know it when you see it.â Scrope explained, Phineas supposed a cave within the rocks would be easy enough to spot once he reached the general location. Phineas found himself off guard as Scrope handed him something unexpected, âTake this toast with you.â He instructed, âWhen you enter the grotto, you will place the toast on the pedestal.â
âToast?â Phineas remarked with surprise and confused eyes, âwhy would I-â but when he looked up from the toast Scrope was no where to be found, âand heâs goneâ
Phineasâ eyes traveled to the line where the water met the land before his feet decided to finally follow it as far as he could. It was worth a try to figure out the location of the grotto, especially if it could help him determine what information was missing from the pages that had been removed from the book.
Of course he should have known that needing to go into the water, nearly waist deep at parts, wasnât going to be the biggest of his concerns. Dugbogs started making themselves known and rather aggressively so. Phineas was not quite sure what was up with all the creatures recently. Perhaps the looming threat of poachers was getting them particularly on edge when humans came around. He tried to evade them to best of his ability though unlike Dugbogs, Phineas was not as swift in the water. Still, the spells he fired off in defense to prevent them possibly attacking him seemed to do just fine.
As he swam into what he assumed was the grotto that Scrope described, Phineas squinted his eyes to get a better look around at his surroundings. For a place that used to be a hideaway for a member of the Black Family, the grotto seemed deserted and barren. There were barely even any clues that people had come here before. With the exception of the pedestal Scrope referred to, as well as a cave painting of the giant squid.
Phineas pulled out the soggy piece of toast from the drenched pocket of his robe, âI suppose this is where this piece of ghost is.â He said to no one but himself as he placed the toast on top of the pedestal.
Almost as soon as he placed the toast right where Scrope instructed it vanished and reappeared as if it was always apart of the mural on the wall. The cave painting of the giant squib ate the flatten depiction of the piece of toast as if Phineas gave it an offering, perhaps he did in a way. It was an odd way of entering a place, then again, he had witnessed stranger methods so he just shrugged it off. After the squid ate the toast, the cave wall opened up and welcomed him into another room deeper within the grotto.
While still not as extravagant as Phineas would have expected from a traditional and typical woman of the Black family, this area of the grotto made more sense. The room was filled with all sorts of barely glimmering treasures that seemed to have been discarded even before Apolloniaâs death. As Phineasâ eyes danced around the room looking for clues, he eventually found himself drawn to a desk further into the room, one with pieces of parchment scattered about and a journal.
He was so entranced by his search for answers that he barely heard another voice within the grotto: âCould it be? A visitor?â
Phineas turned to see that he wasnât alone in the grotto. A ghost phased through the wall as if he had been trapped there waiting for someone to return. He didnât look from a time terribly long ago, at least compared to some of the ghosts he saw regularly around the halls of Hogwarts like the Bloody Baron. While he was dressed rather charmingly, his hair looked a bit disheveled, almost reminded him of Garreth in a way.
âHello.â Phineas acknowledged him, âWho are you?â
âThe nameâs Richard Jackdaw.â The ghost swiftly introduced himself, âOnce, I was a student just like you, about a century ago. How in the world did you find this place?â
âThe headmasterâs house elf, Scrope, sent me.â Phineas informed him, âHe believed I might be able to find a ring that belonged to the Black family here but has been lost.â
âSorry to say but I sold the ring a long time ago.â Richard apologized, âIt could be anywhere by now.â He added, âPoor Scrope. Still holds a candle for Apollonia it seems. Cant say I blame him. I stole all these treasuresâ he gestured around the room in reference to the dusty valuables around the grotto, âjust to impress herâ
âYou knew Apollonia Black?â Phineas realized
âI was in love with her.â Richard revealed, âbut she never felt the same. Even when I brought her a map pilfered from Peeves didnât peak her interest. She simply rolled her eyes. âwhat would I want with yellowed old pages torn from a book!ââ He quoted in a way that must have been similar to how Apollonia talked, âNot my finest momentâ he added with a chuckle and quick shake of his head
âPages?â Phineasâ eyes widened with hope, âAre they still here?â
âThey are not.â Richard shook his head, âI thought if Apollonia wasnât interesting in the map on the pages perhaps what it led to would intrigue her. So I followed the map to some sort of enchanted cave. And-â he then took his head clean off his shoulders to demonstrate, âyou can guess what happenedâ
âNoted.â Phineas acknowledged as the ghost reattached his decapitated head to the rest of his body.
âHereâs an idea.â Richard proposed, âWhy donât you meet me at the edge of the forbidden forest tomorrow at sunset? Iâll show you where you can find the pages if you are still intrigued by their contentsâ
âThat should work.â Phineas quickly agreed, determined to get his hands on those missing pages sooner rather than later, âThank you Richard Jackdawâ
âThose pages are bound to still be tucked in my waistcoat or nearby.â Richard added, âSo as long as you donât mind the sight of a- well my decapitated skeleton they are yours for the takingâ
âI believe I can manage.â Phineas assured him, âI will see you tomorrow evening.â
âLikewise.â Richard nodded before returning to his original place beyond the walls of the grotto.
Phineas exhaled slowly in reflection. He supposed things could have gone worse. All he needed to do was just follow Richardâs instructions and finally get his hands on those pages. Then he could show them to Professor Fig and finally get some more answers about what everything going on truly meant.
Still, there was the dread within him of knowing he had to tell Scrope the fate of the ring he desired. Richard had clearly been deceased for decades, the same amount of time that the ring would have been in the hands of whoever he sold it to, or the next person, or the person after that. It could have been anywhere in the wizarding world at this rate. Phineas shook his head, the ring was bound to never be found. Especially if a muggle who knew nothing about magical families got their hands on it thinking it was just a beautifully crafted ring. Perhaps it was just what was meant to be.
Henry V lets Montjoy the Herald get away with using the intimate "thee/thou" on him, instead of the more formal "you." He doesn't let anyone else do that. I read Henry V as bi, what with Scrope in his past, Montjoy in his present, and Katherine in his future.
Queer Shakespeare + early modern English grammar nerdery = you win submissions for the day.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming