[HP] Looking for you #5

Chapter #5: Secrets.

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“I’m sorry that I can only offer you chamomile tea, it’s not usual to drink tea around here, due to the heat we prefer cold fruity water and when the rare cold comes, we usually drink hot chocolate,” Lola, the old witch said as she handled Harry and his friends each one a cup of tea.

“It’s fine ma’am really…It’s good,” Harry said after taking a sip.

“I also would like to apologize for mistreating you when you arrived but foreign wizards and witches usually came here with their own materials, they don't buy them here and that's where a lot of my earnings come from…That’s bad for the business, you know?” The old witch said before she sat and she was drinking a white beverage with some ice.

“It’s alright really, we just came here to ask you a few questions,” Hermione decided to speak now, as a politician she was good when it came to negotiating.

“What do you guys want to know?” Asked Lola with a surprised expression, she seemed easy to open up with Hermione.

Hermione smiled at her best friend before he coughed and clarified his voice.

“There’s a friend that came with other people on an expedition, he’s a curse-breaker and well, they were informed about a lost magical Mayan city nearby but it’s been almost a year since he disappeared and the first thing we’d like to know it’s if you have any information or clue about what could have happened or how to get there,” Harry asked the woman with a calm expression.

The local witch remained in silence for a few moments, she started to look around and suddenly looked at her drink before she sighed.

“You know…There was a group of foreign wizards who visited us more than a year ago, they asked about that city too,” the old woman said before massaging her temples.

Harry and the rest gulped, this wasn’t a good sign, there could be foul play in the disappearance of Bill and his colleagues and the idea of being too late was alarming the group, however, as an Auror Harry knows the importance of keeping himself calm.

“Ma’am…Could it be that those people had tattoos like this one,” Harry suddenly grabbed a napkin and with his wand he made something appear.

The youngest witch couldn’t recognize what it was, but Harry, Hermione, and Charlie were quite aware of it, after all during the war the most horrible people were showing it around, it was the dark mark.

“Yes…Definitely yes, they were asking about the resurrection temple which is a myth around here but that’s just one of the many treasures you can find in the lost city that no one has ever found, or at least that's what the legend says,” the old woman sighed.

The local witch could feel that the group was feeling a little worried and she was wondering why their reactions could be like that considering that’s nothing but a myth.

“It’s the sectumsempra group,” Harry said in a low tone as he nodded at his friends.

“The—What?” The old witch was confused.

Soon, Harry told her about Voldemort and his followers and how he, Hermione, and Ron defeated them alongside so many brave people but he tried to keep it as short as possible.

“If that Voldemort guy used the method that I’m thinking about to keep himself alive then there's no doubt that there's not a trace of him left in this dimension, there’s no way for him to come back,” the local witch couldn’t help but sigh.

“Wait...Do you know about—” Harry started but couldn’t finish.

“Oh, the cursed objects with pieces of soul? Yes, I know about them, in fact, it’s something that happens a lot in this country, most people respect death but a lot of wizards and witches refuse to leave without putting up a fight, we’re constantly called to exorcise those objects to avoid the nonmagical people finding about them,” Lola said calmly.

Harry was surprised by this revelation, it seems like in this country the study and devotion to death was something very serious, he was surprised Voldemort didn’t come here to expand his knowledge about immortality, well, it makes some sense because this kind of magic seems more a little detached from the one they use in Britain.

“Ma’am…Do you know something about that lost city? We want to go there and a few months ago no matter how many people me and the Aurors asked and how much area we explored, we couldn’t find a clue,” Harry said before sighing.

“That’s because you didn’t go through the ritual to open the door that leads you to the lost road, and that ritual can only be made by very few people in this country,” the old woman finished her drink.

“And you’re one of them, right?” Asked Victoire finally saying something.

The old woman remained in silence for a few moments before she smirked at the young witch but then, she grabbed Victoire’s hand and caressed it.

“My dear…You need to be careful with your words, especially when keeping that information a secret will keep most crazy people safe,” the old woman sighed. “Now I'd like to let out some information too…” The old woman suddenly looked at Harry and Victoire quickly became nervous.

Victoire was starting to wonder if she was too obvious when it came to the crush she had on Harry, she tried her best to hide it, but she was not that strong.

“But yes, you’re right, there were only three people who knew about the ritual and one of them died a few months ago…That was my husband,” her words shocked the group. “The other one is a younger girl who happens to be my granddaughter and the last one is…Me,” Lola couldn’t help but sigh after revealing this.

Lola’s family has been keeping the secret for generations, it was recommended to keep that place hidden from the world but in the end, it depends on the secret keepers if they decide to reveal it to other people.

“My husband was a bookworm who used to believe that everyone deserved the opportunity to try to find the lost city, he tried to do it in his free time but he never succeeded, I guess he was kind of a romantic who wanted to prove something no matter who found it,” the woman soon had a look of nostalgia.

She suddenly looked at a picture of a tall old man who looked like a farmer, she couldn’t stop herself from letting out a happy tear.

“Ma’am, I know there was a team here a few months ago asking for information about how to enter into the city…Why didn’t you tell them anything?” Harry was a bit frustrated.

He hated to sound like he was hating on the woman but due to her not telling them anything, the opportunity to find Bill and the rest was shortened.

“Because that’s a deathtrap, look, my husband was very good at exploring that area but he was doing it since he started to walk, his father instructed him and taught him everything he needed to survive there, I don’t mean to offend you and your friends but you’re not strong enough to survive through that,” the woman said in a cold tone that made the group shudder.

“Then what should we do? We can’t let my brother there, we have to save him!” Charlie was worried that this could be a waste of time.

The old woman remained in silence before she looked at them with a serious look, she suddenly walked around the room and grabbed a calendar.

“Before you risk your lives for something that seems like a pointless mission, we should find out if your loved one is still alive,” the old witch suddenly grabbed an orange flower.

“How can we do that?” Asked Harry with a preoccupied expression.

“Easy…We let him visit us…We’re near the end of October, the day of dead is close, the souls of our loved ones come to visit and enjoy what they loved while they were alive…We can do the same for your loved one,” the woman now had a warm motherly expression like the one Molly Weasley usually has.

However, the plan wasn’t bad, knowing that Bill died would be heartbreaking but at least they would find closure and avoid becoming victims too, yes, this was a good start.