"Ugh! This is horrible!" yelled Yang. The medicine administered by Lily was way out of Yang's liking. With a shuddered expression, staring into the dark-green drink, Yang slowly placed it on the table near Lily's workplace. She received scratches on her cheek and arms from the crows; she had fought them off in the corridors when the attack had occurred. John and Lily were safe in the dungeons the entire time.

The same classroom they used from last year was still not occupied, but it was obvious somebody had cleaned up the area. When the four had time, they would push all the desks and chairs to the side. This way, duels were easier and each of them had a personal workplace.

"I added Flobberworm mucus to make it a little thicker. I thought that would've made you more active and awake, but something's wrong, yes?"

"What is wrong with you?!" exclaimed Yang who was making her way to the bin filled with useless equipment and ingredients.

"It's because it's a blacky-green colour that you think it's disgusting." Lily said. She looked to the laughing boy next to her. "You need some, yes?"

John's face flushed pale and he immediately shook his head, waving his arms in front. "No, no, no… I don't have any wounds… See?"

"You have cuts on your fingers," she pointed.

"That's from Quicksilver," he defended. "You see… The weapon still needs a few tweaks and adjustments. That involves fiddling with the blades."

At the same moment, when Yang recovered from emptying her stomach, Xander walked into the classroom, carefully stepping on top of the stone floor. He had scratches on his face and his black hair was tousled. Lily's eyes lit up, but she was afraid he'd reject her concoction.

"Wow, you're worse than Yang," said John.

"Thank you for your trivial analysis, Jonathan." Xander was displeased with Yang. She never told him what she had planned. She told him she was thinking of one, but little did he know that she already had a master plan figured out.

"Xander? Um… Would you like to try this?" Lily held a cup of the same liquid Yang ingested. She wanted to break the silence, and this was the only thing she could come up with.

Xander viewed the contents carefully. His left eyebrow raised, unsure if the drink was going to continue bubbling like that. "What is it?"

Lily cleared her throat. "It's not a potion. I made it as an herbal drink, or as medicine. It contains a few ingredients used in potions. It's meant to speed up the wounds to heal, but I'm still waiting to see if it works."

"Waiting?" Xander then realised why Yang was looking woozy, and the room had a slight hint of reek coming from the bin. "Why not just make a potion?"

"I haven't unpacked. All my things are still in the common room, and I brought over more ingredients," she replied more calm than she had been around him.

Xander accepted the drink, and John and Yang were watching.

Lily was hoping it was successful. With only Yang's opinion, she would've given up on making medicines. Besides being a potioneer, another aspiration she had was becoming an herbalist at Corona.

Xander consumed the drink. Like Yang, he was already dissatisfied with the taste at the first sip.

"Sorry… Is it bad?" asked Lily.

"Yes." Xander continued drinking, which was a good sign for Lily. The drink was bitter and warm, like tea. But this 'tea' had a high viscosity like honey. The brew only went down the throat with each gulp, and Xander was able to feel it churning in his stomach.

"Dude, spit it out if it's bad," suggested John. Xander continued to ignore the boy's suggestion. Yang was almost bringing herself back to the bin, after watching Xander chug down the medicine like it was nothing.

From Lily's observations, the minor cuts were slowly fading. It was going to take several hours to see if it worked on the larger scratches. Lily was smiling with delight, but she remembered whom she was interacting with. She turned away and pretended to be busy.

"So you knew this was going to happen, Yang? You could have told me about this and I would have done whatever it took to stop people from getting hurt."

"This is my plan for this year, so I decide who knows and who doesn't," said Yang. "Don't worry. I have this all figured out. Merida was the one who was able to get the wisps to appear, so there's something special about her that I cannot see."

"And the reason you cannot tell any of us is?"

"The more people that know, the higher the chance the plan will fail. It's different compared to last year because we had the same chance of failing if we told Lily and John. It was just their lives that could've been in danger if we failed."

"Such loyalty you have, Yang," said Xander sarcastically.

Yang laughed it off. Xander knew the plan had something to do with finding a hidden tomb, containing the soul of a powerful witch. The question was where the tomb was located in Hogwarts and how Yang planned to get in.

"Attention all. Those who have any knowledge of this past event, please report to the Great Hall immediately. That's all students who were involved in the recent incident."


A valley of death was in front of the Headmaster. There was nothing but the carcasses of dead birds, littering the Hogwarts ground and plaguing the land with Black Sand. Some of the crows were injured, and their wounds were leaking out the black particles.

Lunar was now heading back to the Great Hall, where most of the Hogwarts staff were congregating. Moonhaven's voice then appeared once again.

"Attention all. Those who have any knowledge of this past event, please report to the Great Hall immediately. That's all students who were involved in the recent incident."

Lunar headed back inside. There were already students who were waiting around the door to the Great Hall. They weren't involved; he knew that. They were there to see who was. The Headmaster didn't bother making them scatter. The secrets and stories would've reached them either way.


Merida and her friends were all free of injuries thanks to Pierce. Only Flynn required rest after suffering the worst gashes. They heard the announcement from Moonhaven, so it was time to move. Merida got Hiccup, Anna, Rapunzel, and Mavis with her, as they were all somehow tied to that event.

They soon met up with Yang, John, Lily, and Xander. Only three of them were involved, but Lily wanted to wait for them outside. Merida thought Lily was more comfortable away from a lot of people.

Pierce also came with them. Being one of the staffs at Hogwarts, he had every right to hear what was going on, despite not being a professor.

They averted the stares of the students gathered near the Great Hall. With a short pause, Pierce opened the door for the students, only letting the ones who were following him. Jack and Lily stayed behind.

The door closed with a loud creak, echoing in the empty hall. Near the High Table were most of the professors, watching the students with curiosity and seriousness. On the left was Tooth, sitting on a chair with no energy. On the other side was Gothel, staring at Tooth with distaste.

"Is this everyone?" asked Lunar. The Headmaster paced around the hall, feeling restless and stressed. One would become stir crazy after managing the safety of an entire school. The silence made him continue without them answering. "How is it that second year students were the only ones involved?"

Merida looked at her friends. Nobody wanted to have the spotlight. Even Yang gave Merida the look that told her to talk on their behalf. "A wisp led us into the Forbidden Forest, Professor. We found the Callanish Stones again."

All the professors looked at the red-haired girl. She wasn't regretting it, but she also wished someone else had answered for her.

"Last year, you, Mr Haddock, Ms Gothel, and Mr Overland followed the wisps and placed yourselves in danger!" Professor Black looked around to see if the teachers were listening. "You were lucky Mr Yates saved you all from harm."

Lunar held up his hand at Black. He then looked back at Merida. "Go on."

"It was only Yang, John, Hiccup, and I. We were playing near the edge, which isn't against the rules. We saw a blue light and followed the wisp into the forest."

"Now that's against the rules," said Lunar.

"I know, but no matter what situation I'm in—no matter how old I am—I will follow the wisps so they'll lead me to my fate."

"You believe in the will-o'-the-wisp?" asked Lunar.

"Aye," replied Merida, moving away from her formal tone.

"Interesting." Professor Lunar watched as Gothel stood up, walking towards the students.

"How marvellous you all ended up alive. If it were up to me, you all would've wished you died with the crows because your punishments would've been far worse than death. You caused the harm of other students, and now you will pay." She wasn't directing this to all the students. She wanted to make Rapunzel feel safe, but it didn't work.

It was the first time Yang was in Gothel's presence, so what happened next wasn't what any of them expected. The second year female stood next to Merida, ready to take her turn in speaking.

"Don't make me laugh. If I were you, I would sit down and shut up before talking like I own the place. Watch the professors and learn a thing or two—better yet, watch the students and learn how to—"

The Headmaster held up his hand once again to prevent anything else pouring from Yang's mouth. "Professor Black has told me about your attitude last year, Ms Xavier. We are here to work together to resolve the mist problem. We don't have the time to punish anyone!" He turned to his left and waited for someone. "Professor Thorburn, you dealt with this situation in Year X. What do you suppose we do?"

The old professor slowly made her way to Lunar with the same crow on her shoulder. "I'm afraid this is far worse than I had anticipated. I'm over one hundred years old and I still remember that moment like a story. The witch that was sealed in a temple near Hogwarts was locked away for a reason. The good news is that she isn't as powerful as before she was sealed, but if we wait too long, these attacks will get worse, and the crows will look like a warm-up."

"I'm sorry, but… sealed?" asked Hiccup.

"Why don't you explain to your friend, Ms Dunbroch? That's right, I know what you did in the library. No book gets taken without us knowing." Professor Black said.

Mr Qwerty came and took out a book. It was the book about Year X, opened to the page that was torn off by Merida. "Is it too much to ask if you still have the page?"

Merida took the page out of her pocket. It wasn't like she needed it anymore. The page flew back to the book, and mended itself back into the tear.

"This book contains vital information about the Dark Weapon, who are long gone. What happened last year was an accident and there's nothing to worry about. But if there was by any chance a new organisation of people like the Dark Weapon, imagine the endgame if this book fell into their hands."

Mr Qwerty then ignited the book, destroying everything without hesitation. For a moment, he made eye contact with Professor Lunar, making a short nod and knowing he did the right thing.

"Is there another way to get to the Standing Stones?" asked Moonhaven.

"I'm afraid not, Tara. Only the wisps can lead a person to sacred areas like those, and the person has to be chosen by the wisps." Thorburn replied. "But please, children, do not try going back there. The witch will turn you like the crows."

Merida was feeling a strange superstition creeping on her skin. The paranoia that warned her about Professor Black, Thorburn, and now Gothel were starting to sound true to her. It was like they wanted to keep Merida and her friends away from the Callanish Stones, which was actually a tomb.

Professor Black waved his wand and a crow hovered in front of him. He was going to use it as an example to the students.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is a crow. Sure it might look normal, but if you look closely, you'll see that its eyes are oddly yellow. That's the hint that the crow is infected with Corruption, or more commonly known as Black Sand. This is a Semblance that both the witch and I possess, and unfortunately, when one is infected, they are left with two choices. They could either reject the corruption and die, or they could let it take over their body, destroying their humanity."

The crow was conscious. Struggling to get out of Black's spell. But it was no use.

"Avada Kedavra!" A green spell shot out of Pitch's wand, consuming the crow. It was dead.

Rapunzel received horrible memories of witnessing her first death, the day Gothel tried to save that boy and girl who visited. That girl wanted to use that same spell on her own friend, who was apparently sick by Darkcharm. Rapunzel didn't know if she herself was able to do something like that. She didn't want to kill off her friend if they had a chance to live on.

Black particles escaped the crow, dispersing around the air until Black controlled it. "Corruption Magic is the epitome of evil. I could infect anyone. Even the brightest light could be snuffed out. It would take a Corona's Potion to cure the infection, but even that's a myth. Stay out of this matter if you don't want to end up like the crow."

The Black Sand then rippled and grew in size. They could see faces appear in the sand and hear voices. "Corruption is fueled by fear. Already this one is turning into a Fearling, creatures that seek a host. If panic were to be brought to the entire school, imagine how powerful an army would become. Now… unlike a Boggart, it's not alive. There are dark forces that build up into wizards who don't execute their magic. But there are lucky ones like myself that can control this dark force. The majority haven't been so lucky and were completely taken over by the force. Sound familiar?"

"An Obscurus," answered Anna.

"When one is afraid, their Core Magic turns against them, and into a monster," said Black. He was scaring the children on purpose, so they wouldn't investigate into the mist again.

"What you have to do is not mention anything about the witch." Lunar warned. "People out there will make up rumours about you all, but they won't know anything about the evil witch. It would cause panic if they did. So far the mist is acting as a barrier, to prevent anyone from entering or leaving. It would seem that the entire school is trapped too until we lift the curse."


"All seventh period classes have been pushed forward by one hour. That means there are classes on 4:15 instead of the usual 3:15. Fifth years, don't forget that your Astronomy classes begin at 7:00 PM."

The students left the Great Hall after Moonhaven's announcement. Jack and Lily were the only ones who stayed behind. The other students who enjoyed the gossip were probably bored, or were busy brewing some new rumours.

"So what happened?" asked Jack.

"That mist outside is a curse, and we're trapped until it gets lifted," replied Anna. She and John were getting ready to go to Dusk Studies.

"So where are we going now?" asked Lily.

"I guess we'll be going our separate paths then. Bye, Merida," Yang left with Xander and Lily. John then parted with Anna to Ravenclaw Tower, and Mavis followed to get some sleep.

It was now Merida, Hiccup, Rapunzel, and Jack, seeing Flynn's status and probably spending the rest of the time at the hospital wing. Anna was presumably going to meet up with them. How else was Flynn going to get his notes for Dusk Studies?

Pierce wasn't at the hospital wing. He was still at the Great Hall, discussing more important stuff that had to be hidden from the students. But there was no point in hiding things if Yang was around.

Flynn was awake, resting on the comfy white bed. All the deep scratches and injuries were gone thanks to the Dittany.

"Well aren't you four the least I expected to come," said Flynn with a sheepish grin.

"So how do you feel?" asked Jack.

"Honestly, I haven't felt this way since I fell from the castle walls at Corona," admitted Flynn.

"Really? What were you doing on the castle walls?"

"Getting back to the orphanage."

"Your orphanage is outside of Corona?"

"You haven't been to Corona at all, have you, Rapunzel?"

"No." Thanks to Rapunzel's mother, she never got to explore her hometown once. There was also something odd about Professor Black earlier when he explained Black Sand. He had mentioned the Corona's Potion, and it reminded her of the thoughts that ran in her head in the library.

"Let me explain then. In Corona, there are two walls. One is the outer wall that separates Corona to the forest that surrounds it. The other wall separates the villages and markets from the castle, so nothing bad happens to the King or Queen."

"You got past the inner wall?" asked Merida.

"Sure. I was trying to steal from a jeweller who worked there. I mean hey, if it wasn't glued to the floor then I guess they wouldn't miss it, right? Anyway, I had a way to get past the guards and the wall, but something went wrong and I fell off. I would've been dead if it weren't for the soft patch of shrubbery. The only injuries I got were the sharp leaves and the prickly thorns."

"Your life seems very dangerous. How many times have you done this sort of thing?" asked Hiccup.

"As many as I could. Sometimes life has too many restrictions when living with the rest of the world. Even though you haven't got the things many people had, they still expect you to conform and live to their expectations. So every now and then I like to bend the rules."

"I think I understand what you're trying to say," said Merida.

"Trust me, you don't. You're a princess and you have no clue what it's like to be me. Detach yourself from your family tree and spend ten years away from magic and wealth. That's when you'll get it."


"What were you thinking?!" Tooth had nothing better to say to Tsar Lunar. They were now discussing the problem with Gothel's method of teaching. "She was attacking a student, so I had no choice!"

"From what we've heard, Gothel released Kathy and you attacked first. I know you wanted to keep the children safe, but you seem to have forgotten that the real danger was above you."

"That's not fair! Tooth thought Gothel was trying to escape and had Sandy and I deal with those bloody crows instead." Bunnymund argued.

"If I recall correctly, you were the one that gave Toothiana those blades so she could cut me!" argued Gothel.

"Enough!" ordered Lunar. "It's obvious that not everyone can agree with Gothel being here, but she's a valuable asset to make the world a better place."

"Yeah, valuable enough to replace North," added Bunnymund.

"North had his reasons." Black said.

"Reasons which you, Tsar, and Ingrid know but cannot tell us. You know, sometimes we wish you were more trustworthy, and maybe then you'll see why we're all better as a team!" Bunnymund walked off with Tooth and Mansnoozie. Sandy hadn't said a word, but the anger in his eyes was enough to state whose side he was on.

"They're right," said the man who arrived with the second years.

"I'm sorry but… who are you?" asked Gothel.

"My name's Pierce, and I can vouch for those three that Gothel indeed harmed a student." He wasn't afraid of the glare Gothel gave him afterwards.

"I can see that many people are disturbed with your methods, Gothel. I'm going to give you a warning. If I hear another incident, then you'll be sacked." Lunar warned.

"In case you've forgotten, but there's nowhere I can go with the mist surrounding the castle," stated Gothel.

"Then I guess you should help lift it before we exile you into nothingness."

"You wouldn't dare." Gothel was cornered, but she doubted the Headmaster's empty threat.

"You have no idea what he's capable of," said Ingrid.


"Was it really okay for Pitch to have scared them like that?" asked Tooth as she seated herself on the chairs in Mansnoozie's office. It was warm and soothing. She and Bunnymund always looked for opportunities to spend time there.

"If it gets their heads out of trouble," replied Bunnymund. "They know too much about Year X than other students."

Tooth then giggle, which made Bunnymund and Mansnoozie wonder.

"Something funny?" he asked.

Tooth shook her head. "Bunny, remember when we first taught here?"

"Centuries ago, yeah. Why?"

"The students were completely clueless then. As generations have passed, they know more and more, nearly to the point where they don't even need a professor."

"You're still talking about the second years, right?" Bunnymund asked.

"Even Anna knew what an Obscurus was. I thought that even though the Magic Pinnacles all around the world have prevented Core Magic from working, people have forgotten that an Obscurus existed."

"They still do though, only if the wizard repressed their Core Magic within Europe. That's what makes Lunar's job with finding these students important. It's also why North doesn't lose his mind trying to find every single wizard around the globe."


They arrived to Classroom 2, Anna and John. Located above the ground floor was the new Dusk Studies classroom, suitable for everything 'Dusk' related. There was a blackboard like all classrooms, and there were desks that could fit four students each. Behind the array of desks was a large section of emptiness. This classroom was around three times larger than the Charms classroom. The ceiling was impossible to reach, even with all the students of the class standing on top of each other.

"Wow," said Anna. "I'm really glad they gave a classroom for us."

"How'd they make it?" asked John. It was a logical question if magic didn't exist, so nobody answered.

Professor Once-ler was the only one in the classroom. He was not expecting a single student to attend this class. A lot of former first year students declined studying this subject, but the Headmaster allowed the class to continue so long as over ten students attended. There were eleven. If two left, the class would be over, unless Lunar became lenient.

After a while, Astrid and a few others entered the class. There were about six students now, so Professor Once-ler began. They already learnt the properties of Dusk, now they were beginning to discuss weapons.

Anna observed who was here today. There were six students, the lowest she had ever been with. The class had all the houses together, instead of two at a time. It was a good indication of how many dropped the subject. If there were roughly forty students in her year level, then around thirty had no interest with the subject, which was bad for the class if this continued. There was Astrid, John, and a few more recognisable faces.

According to the class roster, Miriam Funar was the only Hufflepuff. Around five were from Gryffindor. Three were from Slytherin, and two were coming from Ravenclaw including Anna.

John had delivered Anna a few schematics and conceptual possibilities of her weapon. John's weapon was fully operational, requiring only a few tweaks in the future. The focus was Anna's weapon, which would begin getting constructed next year—or if they were lucky, by the end of this year. Testing it out would take many weeks, and spending other weeks to adjust those errors would make this entire project even longer. The only advantage Anna had was having a nearly unlimited supply of Dusk Crystals, which they both knew how to convert into Dusk Powder.

The first idea John had was a rapier, a slender sword used for fencing. He figured it was a good representation of Anna, conveying her elegance and royalty. The hilt was planned to contain six compartments that stored the six colours of Dusk. The hilt acted as a revolver, and would change to whatever Anna desired to use. Anna shot down the idea, thinking it was unoriginal.

The second idea was promising though. It was mainly a royal sceptre, containing two sides that functioned differently. At the tip of the sceptre was a black gem that resembled a closed flower. It was capable of firing her Core Magic like Xander, but it wasn't as strong. This was the Ranged Form. The Melee Form of this weapon retracted the entire sceptre towards the handle, feeding the rod through the other side of the hilt, which would turn into a blade. The black gem would open up, and then reveal to be a six-petal flower, each petal being a specially cut Dusk Crystal. The magic from the petal would channel through the blade, coating it with a specific element of the Dusk Spectrum. This was the idea Anna wanted to go with.

"There are mainly two types of Dusk Weapons for those who do not know. The first relies on the wielder to only use the Dusk Crystals or Powder from their weapon. It purely uses the magic within the ammo for results. The only downside to this method is that if it runs out of ammo, replenishing would become difficult. How was this type of weapon useful? Who did it benefit?"

A girl's hand went up. "The Dark Weapon from Year X. They had no Core Magic, so they had no choice but to rely on the Dusk." Her name was Holly, a Slytherin.

"Correct, Ms Sancast."

Anna copied John's notes down. Her weapon relied on the ammo from the petals, but it sounded somehow different to what Professor Once-ler explained just then. Maybe it was her Semblance that made it different, which not many people knew because of their lack of interest.

"The second kind is what many wizards these days use. Core Magic is a powerful essence existing in only wizards. A few years ago, casting it was impossible, until Xander Yates created a new spell. This type of weapon relies on both Core Magic and Dusk. The ammunition is mainly Dusk Powder, so the process of converting the Core Magic into Dusk Magic is more beneficial. When something is grounded finely, the surface area is increased. Therefore, the reaction is quick. The downside to this is it will exhaust a wizard who uses it excessively. To this day, wizards who chose to practice the art of creating a Dusk Weapon usually create it in two forms: The Melee Form and the Ranged Form. But we'll cover that at a later time."

Still, that description wasn't matching up with what Anna desired with her weapon. She was beginning to doubt herself and this ambitious goal she wanted. She then placed her trust in John, because he made the first Dusk Weapon containing three forms.

"Before I end class early, I need to mention the third method to use Dusk. This method is extremely rare… So rare because it's actually a Semblance," the Once-ler added.

Anna then knew that this was about her, since she knew she possessed this kind of Semblance.

"This Semblance allows the user to extract the magic out of the crystal or powder. They fire the pure essence from Dusk. This is the most beneficial method, but only a few wizards on earth know how to do this. One of them is in this very room."

The class looked at Anna, and the Once-ler invited her to stand up for a demonstration.

Anna took a deep breath and pushed herself away from her desk. She got up in front of the class, as they were all interested to see it for the first time. The professor took out a red pea-sized diamond and placed it on the table.

"Whenever you're ready, extract as many as you can. Don't worry. This classroom is safe to create fire. Just don't make them touch the wall or ceiling."

Anna nodded. It was easier done than said this time. She focussed and the red gem was glowing even brighter, releasing a stream of fire above Anna's hand. She waved it to gather the blaze above the students, expanding the fire into a large inferno. There was still a lot of juice in that gem, so she kept going, amazing the students with the dazzling view of embracing flames. Tailfire was the happiest in the room. Anna could sense it. The entire space above the students was used up, and the gem finally ran out of magic, fading to a colourless crystal.

The Once-ler held it up to the students. "This tiny speck of Red Dusk Crystal was able to produce that many flames for Anna. For a Dark Weapon soldier, it would've been worth one bullet. To a normal wizard such as myself, it would've lasted roughly fifty shots give or take. For Anna, it would've lasted many days—weeks if she was conservative."

Anna was thrilled for her weapon. The Dusk Crystals for her weapon were going to be much larger than the one in the professor's hand.