Mare's POV

I woke up with Narcissa and Andromeda chatting away.

"But, really, I don't see why witches don't read Muggle magazines. That's where I get my best ideas," Narcissa was saying.

"Well, they just read Witch Weekly," said Andromeda.

"That stuff's garbage," said Narcissa empathetically. "It's just tireless gossip, most of it libel."

I stretched and got out of bed. "Good morning, girls," I greeted them.

"Good morning, Mare," the twins answered in unison.

"Now that Mare's up, we can have breakfast," said Bellatrix, who was feeding her owl.

"Let me just get dressed first," I told them.

So Andromeda went out of the tent to warn the boys not to come in while I dug through the assortment of clothing that Bellatrix had given me. I chose another outfit similar to the clothes I wore in Training.

"Ooh, can I do your hair?" asked Narcissa. "It's so pretty!"

I gave her my consent, so she took out her wand and began to charm my hair. I had expected her to turn it into something out of the Silver courts, but I was wrong. When she was done, my hair hung loose and looked natural, but still prettier than it looked when I got out of bed. She had tamed the flyaway strands and added a sort of shine.

"Thanks," I said, admiring Narcissa's work.

"You're welcome," she said cheerfully.

After admiring my hair in Narcissa's pocket mirror, I went outside, where the others were waiting to have breakfast. Bellatrix handed me a mug of coffee and a plate of fried eggs and bacon. We talked about things like Quidditch while we ate. I took a long swig of coffee, pursing my lips at the bitterness. Narcissa seemed to notice and offered me a jar of milk.

"Coffee's better with milk and sugar," she told me. "It lessens the bite."

She grabbed a container of sugar and handed that to me as well. After I had added the ingredients, I took another sip. Narcissa was right: it tasted a lot better this way.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked. "Like, are we going to spend all day traveling?"

"No, we're going to take breaks for meals," said Andromeda.

"We also need to spend some time training," said Arthur. "The Zone of Trials isn't a walk through the park."

"We need free time, too," said Regulus. "It's summer, for heaven's sake."

After discussing the matter for a while, we decided that we'd start traveling after breakfast and continue until lunch. Then we'd return to travelling until late afternoon. Come late afternoon, we'd spend an hour training, and then we'd have the rest of the day to ourselves.

"We should get moving now," said Arthur.

Regulus transfigured the fire pit used to cook our food into a basin and filled it with water using Aguamenti. Then he waved his wand, and the dishes began to float in and wash themselves. With that, the others left to finish getting ready for the day. I stayed behind with Regulus, who was staring into space.

"Do you have siblings, back in your world?" he asked suddenly.

I grinned. "Yeah. One sister, three brothers. Gisa, Bree, Tramy, and Shade," I felt a pang of sorrow and guilt at the last name, feelings that had been haunting my heart every day now, "but Shade is dead," I added quietly.

Regulus looked up to meet my gaze. His eyes radiated sadness and empathy. "I'm so sorry, Mare."

A tear slid out of my eye. "He died when we were helping the prisoners escape. A Silver guard threw a spear at him and…he never saw it coming."

I started crying hard, salty tears streaking down my cheeks. Regulus put an arm around me, comforting me immensely. I didn't know why, but I felt at ease around him, even though I barely knew him.

"Nobody should have to go through that, Mare," he told me.

I found myself telling him all about Shade, from my earliest memory of him to the day he died.

"People think that I didn't care about him. Farley even said it herself- that Shade was just another petty death to me."

"They don't know anything," Regulus growled. "You lost a brother, for the love of Merlin, how can they say that?"

I sighed. "It's easier to make assumptions about people you don't like, and people don't like me very much."

"I like you," said Regulus immediately.

"You barely know me," I countered.

"But I can tell that you have a good heart," he told me, "and you're kind."

That gave me a shock. Nobody had ever told me I was kind before. After all, I was Mare Barrow. The liar, the thief, the manipulator.

"Regulus! Mare!" Andromeda called. "Are you ready? We need to leave soon."

That marked the end of our conversation. I walked into the tent with Regulus's words still echoing in my mind.

You have a good heart.

After everyone had brushed their teeth and everything, we left. Bellatrix cast a spell over the tent to dismantle it and fold it up again. She cast a levitating charm over the trunk (so that it would float after us as we traveled) after she'd packed the tent within it. Then we began to walk.

"Tell me about this Timeless Library," I said.

"It contains all the information that there is to learn," said Andromeda.

"They have Muggle knowledge, all the magic there is, and even alternate universe stuff. Whatever you want to know, there's a book for it in the Timeless Library," said Arthur excitedly.

"That sounds amazing! Why don't more people go there?" I asked.

"If everyone went there, some of the knowledge could fall into the wrong hands," said Bellatrix.

I nodded, agreeing.

"Whoever created it knew that, so they made it extremely difficult to get there. It's guarded with some of the most dangerous creatures in the Wizarding World, and if someone manages to get through that, they have to face a test before they enter to see if their intentions are pure," said Regulus.

My throat suddenly went dry. "Are you sure we'll make it?"

"No, we'll probably die at the hands of a grindylow," said Arthur honestly. "There is no recorded survivor of the Timeless Library, and we're just a bunch of rookie wizards."

Bellatrix punched him in the arm. "Don't be so grim, Arthur. Have a little hope." She turned to look at me. "Mare, we will make it. That's one thing I'm absolutely sure of."

Her conviction eased away my doubts. "You're certain?"

"I'm certain," she said firmly.

"We're invincible!" Sirius whooped.

The seven of us continued to walk, talking and laughing happily. I was so wrapped up in the feeling of being a part of something, of being accepted, that I didn't think to keep an eye out for malevolent creatures. Then I heard Andromeda gasp. I looked up and saw a hulking, ugly, grey-skinned creature towering over us.

"Troll," Narcissa squeaked.

We'd met our first challenge.