Almost all the students had already returned to their homes during the holiday, including Narcissa and Amelia, much to Octavius's displeasure, who had a mission to accomplish at Hogwarts.
The grand castle was left in complete silence after a long time.
Octavius, satisfied with his activities in Minerva's office and having received a reward, refocused on the quest for Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, which had been stolen from Helena when she was deceived and ensnared by a Hogwarts student.
According to her, the one who stole it hid it in their special room on the seventh floor of Hogwarts after removing it from her tomb in the Albanian forest and imbuing the relic with dark magic from her mother.
"Helena said on the seventh floor," Octavius had already explored the entire seventh floor, but there was no sign of a special room.
'Should I give up?' he thought.
"But I promised her I'd find it," he clenched his fists.
Due to his Persuasion ability, he had a strange connection with the castle's ghosts, but mainly with Helena. It was something different from anything he had felt before; it was pacifying.
'I need to find it... need to find it... need to find it,' his mind had only one thought. Unbeknownst to him, his constant thought of necessity was what finally began to reveal a previously hidden door.
The Room of Requirement, also known as the Room of Hidden Things.
"This truly is a special room," he laughed, seeing the door complete its form.
Upon entering the room, the door in the seventh-floor corridor vanished again as if it had never been there.
Helena, in her conversations with him, spoke of the strong dark magic that was imbued in the relic. Luckily for Octavius, sensing dark magic in objects was something he knew well, as there were various artifacts like that in his father's office at the Black mansion and also some stored in the family vault at Gringotts.
Sensing the flow of magic in the air amid the heaps of various items in this immense seemingly endless room, Octavius followed the path that would lead him to the right place.
After minutes of navigating the labyrinth, he arrived at an old cabinet containing some items of dubious appearance.
'I hope I've found it,' he thought as he approached and carefully inspected the items inside the cabinet.
What he found wasn't the Diadem as expected, but a magical quill that was used in ancient times by professors to discipline students during detentions.
Hogwarts was an ancient and huge castle, and many wizards had studied or been there. Obviously, many dark magic items could be lost.
'It really won't be easy,' he thought and requested to leave the room. Moments later, he found himself back in the seventh-floor corridor. "Very conventional," he commented on the room's ability.
Octavius would resume his search for the Diadem at another time, as he intended to enjoy the rest of the day in Hogsmeade.
*************
{Hogsmeade}
Octavius was now inside the Three Broomsticks, enjoying a nice glass of Butterbeer while observing the beautiful blonde waitress with a curvaceous figure serving the various wizards placing orders.
'Great taste,' he thought while savoring his beer and watching time pass.
After a few hours, he had to return to Hogwarts, so he decided to get up and leave.
As he left, he nearly bumped into a short, red-haired woman.
"Oh... sorry, my lovely lady," he apologized, especially noticing that the woman had a child who appeared to be about a year old in her arms.
She carried the child and several heavy-looking bags in her other hand, obviously making it difficult for her to move around.
"Don't worry, don't worry," she said as she saw the handsome man apologizing to her.
Octavius subtly assessed the woman, a body with beautiful curves, probably still recovering from her son's birth. 'Red hair,' he thought and remembered that a few years ago, the daughter of the Prewett family, one of the twenty-eight pure-blood families, had married and recently given birth.
"You would be Miss Prewett, I presume," he smiled, greeting her and using his persuasion inadvertently, as it had become natural to use his ability in his daily life.
'What beautiful eyes he has... very handsome,' she got lost in some thoughts. 'Molly... Molly... you're married now and with a child,' she rid herself of the negative thoughts.
"I was," she said. "Now I'm a Weasley," she corrected him.
"Oh, of course... I apologize for the mistake," he smiled. "I remembered that the Prewett household had a beautiful red-haired daughter," his flattering speech made her blush a bit.
'If I had waited a few years... ahhh,' she thought, evaluating the young wizard in front of her. "And you would be?" she asked, waiting for his introduction.
"Black, ma'am. Octavius Black," he introduced himself, kissing her now free hand that had dropped the heavy bags.
"How lovely," she said without realizing as she looked into Octavius's eyes and only snapped back because the child in her arms moved.
Octavius noticed the compliment and smiled. He stepped forward to help her with the heavy purchases. "Allow me to assist you, my fair lady."
Molly was embarrassed but didn't want to refuse the help, as it was genuinely difficult for her to carry the goods. "Of course, thank you," she said gratefully.
"It will be a pleasure to help you," his persuasive voice again acted, clouding the thoughts of the first-time mother.
'Good that I had some help... Arthur is always away, busy with work, and leaves me alone,' her thoughts drifted to her husband, who had been absent lately.
Turning her gaze to the handsome wizard who was helping her, a smile appeared on her face. 'Truly handsome,' she thought."
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Warnings:
End of the first part of the story
Advanced chapters in Patre on;
+NSFW images of the female characters;
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