"Hi, Barnaby!" a Hufflepuff student named Cedric, whom he had met after the chocobo incident, bumped into him in the dungeons and couldn't help but greet him. "Why the gloomy mood?"
"Someone broke into Uncle Snape's ingredients store. I've had to go back and forth to the Forbidden Forest to replenish most of the stuff," Barnaby explained with a tired expression.
There wasn't actually that much work, as the centaurs had everything he needed or knew where it was, and he just had to trade with them. But finding the culprit had been the complicated part.
Although a lot of things were stolen, the most interesting included African tree snake skin and powdered bicorn horn. It didn't take a genius to realize someone was trying to prepare Polyjuice Potion, but since it took a month to brew correctly, Barnaby had been searching various hidden places to catch the culprit in the act.
With little success so far.
Sanshi had sometimes caught a trace of the culprit, but the fact that the students at the school used so much perfume and cologne was only counterproductive.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to face Snape in that situation," Cedric grimaced, trying to think of who dared provoke the dark serpent. "Changing the subject, did you hear about the dueling club?"
"Dueling club?" Barnaby felt like Flitwick had mentioned something, but his mind was elsewhere. "Wasn't it an initiative to be held this afternoon, so students could better defend themselves?"
"Dude, that was yesterday!" Cedric slapped his forehead. "You've been very busy since your dad went on vacation. Are you sure you're okay?"
"You say it as if I missed something important," Barnaby pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. It was just a dueling club between kids who sometimes still struggled to cast a light spell.
"Apart from Snape taking out his anger over the theft on Lockhart and totally humiliating him," Cedric commented, managing to capture Barnaby's attention effectively. "The most important part was the duel between Malfoy and Potter."
"Why? They're just second-year students."
He didn't even say it with disdain; they simply couldn't know anything remotely interesting to apply in a duel, could they?
"Malfoy summoned a snake during the duel, and it almost attacked a spectator. Do you know what Potter did?" Cedric made big gestures with his hands. "He stopped the snake by speaking Parseltongue!"
"…That's it?" Barnaby looked Cedric up and down to make sure he wasn't kidding him.
Cedric wanted to remind Barnaby about Parseltongue, but then he remembered who he was talking to and realized it was a bit ridiculous to emphasize that topic with someone who handled so many creatures.
A handful of snakes were probably not worth mentioning…
"Well, the point is that now people think Harry is the heir of Slytherin!" Cedric said, exasperated, trying to get to the point.
"That's ridiculous. If that were the case, everyone who can speak Parseltongue in India is a descendant of Slytherin," Barnaby dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "And I don't think Salazar was such a party animal."
Cedric looked at Barnaby speechless.
Good kid, you're the only one I know who can say such things about the founders of Hogwarts as naturally as water flows.
"You know how Hogwarts rumors are. I don't believe it either," Cedric clarified, making it clear he wasn't gullible either.
If Potter were really the heir of Slytherin, then he wouldn't be in Gryffindor.
"Exactly, but there are always people who seem to confuse rumors with facts!"
The two walked, talking about various things until a Hufflepuff girl ran up to Cedric, sweaty and breathless. Yes, living two steps from the kitchens has its price.
"There was another attack!" the student said.
She immediately had both their attention.
"Nick Nearly-Headless and Justin!"
"Justin Finch-Fletchley, the second-year?" Cedric wanted to confirm, alarmed. "From our house?"
The girl nodded, but while Cedric paid attention to this detail, Barnaby focused on something else.
"Strange, Nick was petrified too?"
This significantly shortened the list of suspects, as the ability to petrify even ghosts was much rarer. The positive side was that since Nick was now tangible, he could also be sprayed with mandrake extract.
"Let's go see," Cedric led the way until he realized he didn't know where to go and embarrassingly asked the girl who saw them to guide the way.
"I smell a potion!" Sanshi suddenly said as they passed the second floor.
Barnaby froze at this notice and turned to the other two.
"I just remembered I have something else to do; catch me up later."
Cedric nodded understandingly while taking the girl along, who was secretly happy to be alone with Cedric.
Making sure there was no one else around, Sanshi came out and shrank to fit into Barnaby's pocket as she did the last time in Diagon Alley.
"Which way?" Barnaby asked.
"Turn right…"
Sanshi guided him through the second-floor corridors until they reached…
"Is it here?" Barnaby frowned.
This is the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor where the ghost Myrtle, the Moaning, resided!
"Yes!" Sanshi assured while sniffing the air to be sure. "I smell the potion in one of the cubicles on the right. Besides, someone has been here recently."
Holding his staff in his hand, Barnaby entered after making sure to put some protections on. He opened the different stalls until…
"Bingo," Barnaby saw the half-cooked potion in a small cauldron hidden next to the toilet. "It seems whoever was brewing it was doing quite well. It only needs two more days at most. It's a shame… Evanesco!"
The cauldron was emptied without hesitation. While Barnaby could take the potion, he didn't need it, and it had a fairly short expiration date. He simply left the empty cauldron in place as a lesson for the culprit. The surprise they'd get should be punishment enough.
"The trail of whoever was here is a few stalls further," Sanshi reminded.
Barnaby left everything as it was and continued searching until he found a black diary lying in a puddle of water.
"Is that toilet water?" he said in disgust. "Scourgify."
The water vanished, leaving the book clean. Barnaby picked it up, and Sanshi quickly emerged and slapped it out of his hand, making him drop it to the floor once again.
"That book has something bad inside!"
Barnaby didn't doubt Sanshi and focused his gaze on the black diary.
Hmm, why does it feel like there's a soul inside?
No, not a soul, more like a piece of a soul…
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Are there any ATLA fans out there?
Well, just so you know, I started an ATLA FF today, on my Patreon.
This one will be exclusive to there, as a reward for the support of many.
As for the remaining three Naruto ones (one per village), those will come out as usual, in advance on Patreon and then there, so nobody panic.