Dear Uther,

In response to your letter, I will be honest with you. I will not be available for this next month. Goroloth is engaged to Lady Catalina of Doring and the lady requests that I aid her in her preparations. Their wedding is going to happen soon because Catalina's father is in poor health and will most likely be dead in two months time. I'm sorry for any inconvenience that this has caused. After a month I shall be free to meet with you. See you soon.

Yours, Igraine

Igraine sealed the letter and gave it to Charlotte. Charlotte hooted softly and nipped at her fingers before flying off out the window. Igraine rested her head on her palm and looked at the owl as it flew off into the distance. How she longed for the magic world and all of its wonders. Uther was the one part of her life that still had magic. Many of their letters consisted of funny stories from Hogwarts, Uther's experiences with dragons or her own advancements in wandless magic. It was such a joy to be able to talk about the wizarding world. But most of all, Igraine found herself liking Uther.

Not in any romantic way, she assured herself, but in a platonic way. She would consider Uther a friend. Not a very close friend, but still a friend. Past an acquaintance. A friend. Igraine never really had friends during her years at Hogwarts. True, she had never made much of an effort, but after Dorian had proved that he couldn't even perform a simple Levitation spell by the end of their second year, she knew that there really wasn't any future friendship between the two of them. The other Slytherin girls weren't exactly welcoming either and Igraine hadn't made any move to befriend them. So she had spent her seven years at Hogwarts in peace and solitude, drinking up knowledge from books and learning more and more magic. But Uther was something else….

Igraine stood up at the sound of footsteps. She recognized the heavy sound as Gorlois' heeled shoes stomping on the ground. After quickly inspecting the room, Igraine noticed that there were traces of magic everywhere. Owl pellets, her cloak, a set of gold scales and assorted potions ingredients were strewn across the room. As the steps grew louder, Igraine took out her wand and waved it. Just as Gorlois was going to open the door, everything with a hint of magic disappeared.

"Disillusio," Igraine whispered and pointed a finger from her free hand to the wand, it vanished into thin air as Gorlois walked in.

"Igraine!" Gorlois smiled widely. He walked over to her and held out his arms wide, as if to tell her that she should hug him. Igraine put on a bright smile and gingerly hugged the man. Salazar, Gorlois was huge! Her hand almost instinctively retracted as she touched his back, but she had a mask to keep on so she did as Gorlois wished.

"How are you doing, m'love?" Gorlois asked, still holding onto her.

"I am doing fine," Igraine smiled a strained smile. She stepped away from Gorlois, relief sweeping through her when he didn't ask for another hug. "Isn't there going to be a ball tonight in honor of your brother and Lady Catalina?"

"Yes," Gorlois replied. He had an unreadable expression. No, it was actually quite readable, but Igraine would never think that that look would appear on Gorlois' face. It was a look of calculation and contemplation. It was almost as if Gorlois was sizing her up, observing her. Even though she had never thought that Gorlois had the intelligence to observe somebody, it still unnerved her. "Lady Catalina is quite beautiful, don't you think?"

"Yes I do," Igraine agreed. She had an inkling that Uther was jealous about her relationship with other men and was therefore trying to make her jealous. She would've laughed at his ridiculousness if it hadn't been implied that she and some other male (Uther popped to mind) were closer than they should did he have any clue about her and Uther? She would have to investigate this further, but for now, she could still mess around with him.

"Yes, Catalina is quite beautiful," Igraine smiled slightly. "A perfect match for your brother."

"What do you mean by that?" Uther demanded. Igraine could tell that he was confused. This ought to get his simple mind thinking.

"I mean that somebody as attractive as your brother deserves somebody equally as good-looking such as Catalina."

"You think that my brother is attractive?" Uther snarled. Igraine suppressed a laugh. The two brothers were equally ugly, but she didn't mind lying to Gorlois.

"Why, yes, I do," Igraine said, as though it was the most obvious and undisputed statement in all of Britain. "It runs in the family."

"You mean to say that you think my parents are attractive?" Gorlois was obviously confused. Igraine inhaled deeply to try and stay calm. Honestly, how thick was he? She had only mentioned family so he wouldn't get too upset and would feel flattered, but Gorlois clearly didn't understand.

"Yes, they're very attractive," Igraine nearly snapped. She still managed to keep up her mask of politeness. "Gorlois, why don't you go check on your brother. He told me that he wished to speak to you about 'important family matters' as he put it." At this, Gorlois suddenly paled and began chattering. Igraine immediately took note of this and observed his behavior closer. He seemed nervous at the mention of his brother and secrets. Did he think that she had found something out about the two of them? She hadn't, but this odd behavior was definitely a clue.

"Yes, I should go see him," Gorlois stuttered and left clumsily without another word. He knocked over a vase, spilling water on the floor. "Sorry," he muttered.

"It's fine," Igraine smiled. She would have to think of a plausible excuse after she used magic to clean up the spill. With a last nervous smile, Gorlois left the room and closed the door.

"Revelio," Igraine whispered and touched her wand. It glowed for a moment before turning back to its natural wood color. She waved the wand and the water spill cleared. Igraine sighed and walked over to her closet. Tonight there was going to be a party in honor of Goroloth and Catalina and she would have to dress up nicely. Since she was the wife of the wealthy Duke of Cornwall, Igraine had many dresses of all sorts, but none of them fit who she was.

Sighing again, Igraine took out her wand and began making changes to one of the more tolerable dresses. It was going to be a very long night.

"So, you mean to tell me that I need this amulet to protect me from the demons of Raoor?" Igraine asked suspiciously. For the entire night, her attention had been occupied by an old woman who smelled strongly of garlic. The woman was very tall and broad-shouldered. She wore a flowy black cloak that reminded Igraine of a witch's cloak. She wore a scarf around her head, but Igraine could've sworn that she saw stubble around the woman's mouth. She looked so much like someone part of the magic world. Igraine had wanted to ask her a question, but quickly discarded the idea as the woman started to ramble about the hellish world of Raoor and the Church.

"Yes, you must wear the Amulet of Lumos to guard yourself against the demons that seek your bones," the woman whispered ominously. She gave Igraine a pendant in the shape of a dragon. Suddenly, Igraine understood.

"Uther?" she asked, incredulous. How could she have missed it? The woman's eyes were the exact same shade as Uther's: They were almost brown, but not quite. They had a tiny hint of green and gold, making them not entirely brown.

"Hello Igraine," Uther replied cheerfully. He was smiling broadly. Igraine stared at him open-mouthed.

"What are you wearing?" Igraine gasped, motioning to his cloak.

"My mother's old cloak," Uther shrugged as he fingered the dark material.

"You look hideous," Igraine informed him bluntly. "And you also smell hideous."

"How else was I supposed to stop people from looking at me?" Uther asked.

"By looking like a normal person," Igraine snorted.

"Oh," Uther said simply. "Well, let me change now-"

"Right here?" Igraine hissed, looking around.

"Yeah," Uther answered, as if it was normal for an old woman to suddenly turn into a dashing, young man. Wait, dashing? Where did that come from?

"Well, why don't we go somewhere more private," Igraine snapped.

"So you want somewhere more private?" Uther wiggled his eyebrows. Why was he wiggling his eyebrows and acting strangely? She had only meant that she didn't want him to change in front of all the other guests. Was there a second meaning behind her words?

"Yes," Igraine stated uncertainly.

"Okay then," Uther chuckled softly. He suddenly took her by the arm and started leading her towards the door. Igraine's eyes widened in shock. She tried to break free from Uther's grasp, but he was strong and his fingers were stubborn.

"Let go," Igraine growled. Uther looked down at her arm, which was beginning to turn white.

"Sorry," Uther quickly apologized after looking at the murderous expression on her face. "Don't kill me," he warned as Igraine's hand went to her wand which was concealed under the many folds of her dress.

"What's going on?" came a silky voice. Igraine turned around to come face to face when a smirking Goroloth.

"Hello there Goroloth," Igriane smiled politely. She could feel her hand itching for her wand, but resisted the urge. Instead, she focused on Goroloth.

"Where are you going, Lady Igraine?" Goroloth asked smoothly. He swiftly moved in front of Igraine and a very confused Uther. "You should be with your husband, not this...person."

"I think that you'll recognize him as Lord Uther Pendragon," Igraine said coolly. Her hand wrapped around the invisible wand. Igraine held the wand tightly and tried to move it to a more comfortable position inconspicuously. Luckily, Goroloth was too busy sneering at Uther to notice her strange movements.

"Lord Pendragon?" Goroloth laughed. "This isn't Lord Pendragon! This is a mad old lady!"

"Igraine?" Uther pleaded. "Now can I change?"

"No," Igraine smiled slightly. Why didn't she think of this earlier? Of course Goroloth would be suspicious if she was leaving with a man, but an old woman? Not as suspicious.

"Forgive me Goroloth," Igraine cooed. "I made a mistake. This is Lady Charlotte of the Hebrides."

"Lady Charlotte of the Hebrides?" Goroloth frowned. "I have never heard of her!"

"You offend me," Uther suddenly spoke. His voice was higher and raspier. "Who are you?"

"I am Goroloth of Cornwall," Goroloth announced proudly. "And anyone-"

"Goroloth? Igraine? What's going on?" Igraine turned around to see a bewildered Gorlois. "Where are you two going?"

"Brother," Goroloth smirked. "I caught Igraine leaving with this so called 'Lady Charlotte of the Hebrides.' They were acting very oddly and I had to investigate. Do you remember when I told you about my suspicions? Well, here's the-"

"Obliviate," Igraine whispered, pointing her wand at Gorlois. There was a flash of white light. Then Gorlois fell to the ground. His eyes were blank and his body limp. Igraine knew that her spell would keep him in that position for as long as she wanted him to. When he woke, he would also forget all that had happened that night.

Goroloth hadn't said anything, but a look of fury was on his face. "I can retrieve back the memories that you erased," he threatened Igraine. "My magic is powerful as well!" He drew out his wand and stood his ground. Igraine was surprised for a moment, then she laughed.

"So you want to duel?" she smiled. "Well then," the wand became visible again, "let us commence."

Gorlois growled slightly and shot out the first spell: a simple, yet effective, stupefy. Igraine blocked it easily. She was mostly on the defensive side for the first part. She had a plan that usually worked. However, she didn't know just how good Gorlois was and that would certainly make things more interesting.

Uther was a man of very few fears, but he was slightly scared as he watched Igraine and Gorlois duel. And knowing the two of them, it was most likely a duel to the death. This troubled the man deeply and he resolved to find a way to end the duel before one of them got hurt. So he quietly left the scene and out the door.

The first thing that struck him was that nobody else had noticed the duel. None of the other guests had actually heard any disturbance. At first Uther thought that it was because the duel was quiet, but after hearing a particularly loud war cry that had most likely came from Igraine, he realized that another factor had played in.

The second thing that struck him was that he couldn't leave the property. Uther was able to walk out the door, but he couldn't get past it. Clearly somebody, presumably Gorlois, had put a spell around the area where the duel was taking place. So he obviously needed to get around the spell.

"Finite incantatum," Uther said slowly. With a swish of his wand, there was a soft blue glow around him. Then the spell lifted with a whoosh and Uther was left alone in the night. He took out a necklace from his pocket. It had a black string around it, but a jewel shaped like a dragon hung from it.

Uther held onto the necklace tightly. He could feel power rushing through his body. He couldn't tell if the power came from the necklace, or if the power was being given to the necklace. All that he knew was that Igraine would be safe as long as she held her own amulet. With that knowledge, Uther turned away from the house and disappeared into the darkness. He knew what was happening, the Founders had warned him about it. He had to tell them what happened.

She didn't want to admit it, but Goroloth was a good duelist. Igraine's original plan was to stay on the defensive side until Goroloth became tired and weaker, but he seemed to be dueling with even more energy and passion than before. However, Igraine had barely used any of her energy and was therefore ready to win this duel.

"I thought that you were supposed to be good at dueling!" Goroloth hooted at one point when she had a difficult time blocking a particularly nasty cutting spell. Igraine wanted to say something in retaliation, but she instead continued dueling and tried to block out the sound of Gorlois' taunts. She would need all of her concentration to defeat Goroloth. Deep down inside of her, there was something bugging her. Why was Goroloth dueling with her? She hadn't done anything to hurt him as far as she knew. Maybe it was because Goroloth just liked causing trouble. But for whatever reason it was, Igraine wished that they could just talk it out. It would be easier and she wouldn't have to use up all of her energy. Although, she did kind of like using her powers...

"Avis!" Igraine yelled at the same time that she thought "Protego" to fend off another stunning spell. A flock of crows flew out of her hands and circled around her; quite similar to that day with Uther in the meadow. "Oppugno!" she whispered and pointed a finger at Goroloth. He clearly wasn't expecting this because at the same time a flock of crows attacked him, Igraine had shot a Stunning spell at him from her wand. Unable to protect himself from both attacks, Goroloth dropped to the ground.

With a snap of her fingers, the crows disappeared into a thin layer of ash that blanketed the ground. Igraine cautiously made her way over to Goroloth's still body. He looked knocked out for sure. His eyes were still open in shock and rage. Igraine nudged his side with her foot. When he didn't move, she was convinced that he was either a really good actor or he was really Stunned. Probably the latter, because she performed the Tickling charm on him and he didn't budge. And honestly, who wasn't ticklish?

Then, Igraine saw another figure out of the corner of her eye. It was Lady Catalina and she was shocked.
"What was that?" she gasped, backing away in terror. Igraine smirked at the terrified lady and snapped her fingers again. This time, a flock of tiny hummingbirds surrounded themselves around Catalina. She began to scream again, but Igraine silenced her quickly.

"Hello Catalina," Igraine walked over to Catalina slowly. Catalina's eyes were wide with terror. "I am going to take off the Silencing spell now, but if you scream, you will die. Do I make myself clear?" Igraine relished Catalina's submissive nod. She would have fun with this weakling who just so happened to be rather close to Goroloth. Perhaps she could extract some information from her. "Finite Incantatem," Igraine chanted and Catalina breathed a sigh of relief.

"What did you do?" Catalina gasped. Igraine cupped her hands and blew into them. The hhummingbirds seemed to be sucked into her palms and disappeared.

"Magic," Igraine said simply. She took out her wand and Conjured up two chairs. "Please, sit. I have quite a few things to tell and ask you." She sat down regally on one of the chairs, the fancier one of the two. When Catalina didn't move, Igraine smiled kindly and gestured to the chair. "I said, please sit." Catalina must've sensed something dangerous in her gaze, because she sat down right away. Igraine almost laughed at her willingness to obey. "Good. Thank you Lady Catalina. First, tell me what exactly you saw."

"Well," Catalina began shakily. "I saw- well, I should actually be going now," she stuttered and tried to stand up from the chair. Igraine, anticipating the move, stared hard at the chair and chains immediately sprang from the chair, keeping Catalina back.

"When you have answered my questions, you will be free to go," Igraine said calmly. She folded her hands and looked right at Catalina. "Is that understood?"

Catalina quickly nodded, eyes fearful.

"Good. So, tell me, what did you see?"

"I s-saw, fl-flashes of light," Catalina whispered. "And G-Goroloth holding a s-st-stick. You w-were also h-holding one. I saw the l-light b-being shot out from them."

"How long were you here for?" Igraine asked. Outside, she was calm. But inside, there was a storm raging. How was this Muggle able to have seen their duel? She felt that Goroloth had put protection charms around them, so how was Catalina able to get through them?

"I-I saw when the old w-woman left," Catalina cried softly. The chains had tightened. Igraine noticed this, but didn't do anything to change the chains.

"The old woman left?" Igraine asked, eyebrows raised. Why did Uther leave her alone with an insane man?

"Y-yes," Catalina replied. Her voice shook even more. "It was then that I f-first heard n-noises. I came right away w-when I noticed that my G-Goroloth was g-gone." Igraine noted the way that she said "my Goroloth." Did that mean that Catalina truly had feeling for Goroloth? And she first noticed something about the duel after Uther had left. Could it be that he had lifted the spell? But why?

"How close are you to Goroloth?" Igraine questioned. This would answer several questions, but it could also lead to more new ones.

"Very close," Catalina's voice strengthened. "I love him so much. Especially after every time I have a drink of wine. Then I feel my love for him intensiy ten-fold..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes suddenly had a glassy look. Then, began the coughing. Igraine stood up immediately and quickly walked over to Catalina. Catalina had turned stark white and began coughing blood. Her eyes suddenly darted to Goroloth, as if to tell Igraine that Goroloth had something to do with it.

Igraine took out her wand and then made her way slowly over to Goroloth. He was still lying down, not changed at all. It must've been a spell done on her previously. Goroloth must've taken extra precautions about something. He must've told Catalina something that he didn't want anybody to know about. This was an important finding. Cataline had done her job and more. Now, Igraine was convinced that Goroloth had darker intentions.

"Thank you Catalina, that'll be all," Igraine said quickly and began cleaning up Catalina's blood. As soon as it had started, the coughing had stopped. Catalina looked up at Igraine, scared of her reaction. "Don't worry Catalina," Igraine smiled softly, trying to be cordial and kind. "As long as you don't tell anybody what happened, no harm will come to you. But I must take extra precautions."

Catalina stared at Igraine with wide eyes. Igraine noticed that they were a light blue-gray.

"Silencio," Igraine said, pointing her wand at Catalina. She didn't want any other noise to attract attention from any of the other guests.
"Fibulaengua," Igraine said. This time, she used her hands to perform the spell. Catalina whimpered silently. Igraine knew that this spell would be effective. It was a tongue-clamping charm, meaning that Catalina wouldn't be able to tell anybody about what happened. "That'll be all Catalina. Once again, thank you. You've been most useful to me. Now go back to the party and act as if nothing had never happened."
Catalina nodded and began to quickly walk away.

"Oh, and Catalina? I will know if you tell anybody," Igraine called out. "Goodnight." She saw one last glimpse of Catalina's golden curls, before they disappeared. Then she turned back to Goroloth and took out her wand. "Obliviate." Goroloth's memories of a duel came to her and she tucked them away into a glass vial. "Enervate," Igraine said again to Goroloth. He was revived after a few moments and looked around, confused.

But Igraine was nowhere in sight.