Lily awoke the next day to find that Poppy was either still asleep or simply pretending to be by hiding under her covers. Either way she appeared to have no intention of moving out from under them and so Lily went to the practice courtyard by herself. She practiced pushing offensive spells out through her palms until the sun had fully risen, more for the purpose of distracting herself from her worried thoughts than anything else. There was no doubt in her mind now that Professor Raleigh was influencing her brother and using him for something sinister.

She made up her mind to go and talk to Albus before breakfast, suspecting that he wouldn't show up in the great ballroom for that meal either.

When she rapped on his bedchamber door it was Scorpius who answered.

'Where's Poppy?' He asked ruefully.

'Not coming' Lily replied shortly. 'Where's Albus?'

With a look on his face that said he didn't think he should, he beckoned her inside the room.

Lily walked tentatively inside but was at first unable to locate her brother. She had thought he would be in his bed, as Poppy had been. But he wasn't. He was up and fully dressed in his Hogwarts uniform rather than his dueling jersey. He was sitting on a large stone window sill at the far end of the room staring out at the palace gardens and didn't appear to have noticed her arrival.

Lily opened her mouth to call to him but, realizing that she didn't know what to say, quickly closed it again. Asking about why he'd taken her wand just seemed like it would be adding salt to his wounds at this point.

After a few moments of silence, it was Scorpius who spoke up for her.

'Are you going to watch your sister's duel today?'

'No I don't think-' Albus turned his head as he spoke and then stopped as he noticed Lily was standing behind Scorpius.

'-I don't think she needs me there' he finished moodily.

'I'd like you to be there' Lily retorted uneasily.

Albus looked her up and down expressionlessly before shaking his head.

'No...' he said firmly, turning to look despondently out the window again.

'But,' Lily didn't feel ready to give up. 'Why not? Surely you-'

She had been about to say that surely he didn't have anything else to do in any case but she held her tongue.

'Do your think dad's heard by now?' Albus asked, seemingly too distracted to answer her question. He lifted up a newspaper that lay next to him on the window sill.

'Apparently it's in the French wizarding papers so I'm guessing it'll be in the prophet too'

'Oh Albus' Lily rushed over to him and put a hand to his shoulder. 'He won't care! He'll be so proud of how far you came...'

'But he would've gotten further' Albus said bitterly. 'He would have won'

'You don't know that...' Lily replied feebly. 'Dad made mistakes too...'

'Mistakes yes, but he never got so shamefully thrashed... in front of everyone' Albus closed his eyes and a wave of mortification took over his features.

'In practice you were great, everyone knows that-' Lily appealed to him, clutching his shoulder with both hands now.

'It's just that the wand wasn't quite right for you...' Scorpius cut in.

Albus turned around abruptly, his shoulder sliding roughly out of Lily's grip. He glared at Scorpius.

'It was my father's wand Malfoy- how could it not be right for me?' He shot at him through grit teeth.

Lily held her breath. It had been a long time since she had heard Albus say Scorpius's name with disdain and seeing as they'd been getting along so far she had thought that she would never hear it again.

'Because you're not the same person and there's nothing wrong with that' Scorpius replied evenly.

'Would you stay out of this?' Albus stood up. His face was flushed and he spat his words out with venom.

'You of all people could never understand-!'

There was a tense silence in which Scorpius looked Albus over, waiting for his heavy breathing to reside as his sudden burst of anger slowly subsided. Scorpius's face was an emotionless mask- the kind that he used to wear all the time when Lily had first met him.

'And what is that supposed to mean?' Scorpius finally spoke, his voice quiet and composed. But Lily could hear the undertone of anger.

'Well' Albus looked around him, appealing to Lily for support. 'Everyone knows that your father isn't exactly... admirable.'

Lily shook her head at Albus, willing him to stop talking.

'So you wouldn't understand what it's like to have to live up to a father who is' he finished defensively.

Scorpius didn't flinch. He continued to stare at Albus with a blank face. But Lily could sense the indignation resonating from him.

'I wasn't aware that you'd ever met my father' he commented lightly.

Albus flushed.

'Well I haven't but... everyone knows-'

'What everyone doesn't know-' Scorpius cut across him, his voice rising and a definite note of anger in his tone now.

'-is that my father is paying for the mistakes he made when he was seventeen by working every day in a job that he hates. That he's paying for it by being ostracized from every wizarding social circle the Malfoys had ever been a part of-'

'And that he has done so without ever once complaining about it because he excepts full responsibly for his actions. And amongst all that, my father still managed to spend every spare moment nursing my mother through her blood curse.

'Not to mention that my father gave my mother the one thing she had always wanted but had always been denied- a child- even though he knew that he would have to raise me alone'

Lily and Albus were frozen in silence. They didn't dare move or make a noise that might interrupt Scorpius's soft but scathing voice.

'So despite what everyone seems to think they know, I do think that my father is admirable, Potter' Scorpius finished icily.

'And I'd thank you not to make assumptions about who I do and don't want to live up to'

And with that Scorpius snatched his wand up from where it had been lying at the end of his bed and walked out of the room, leaving Albus and Lily still standing frozen in a tense silence.

'Merlin' Albus muttered finally. 'I was just trying to-'

'-you were just being a git' Lily snapped, stomping out of the room.

Lily walked down the many marble steps to the dueling arena alone. She was so distracted that at first she didn't notice that somebody was running after her calling her name.

'Lily! Lily Potter!'

It was Timothée, his mousy brown hair all in a tussle from having run so fast.

Lily stopped and waited for him to catch up. When he did his face broke out into a smile and he extended a hand to her.

'I just wanted to say that I'm looking forward to a good, fair fight'

Lily was momentarily confused but she took his hand to shake it.

'Didn't you hear?' Timothée looked at her blank face bemused.

'It's you and me and then Akingbade versus Steward'

'Oh right' Lily had been so distracted by last night and that morning's events that she had neglected to check the tapestry.

'I'm glad to have the opportunity to duel you Lily' Timothée said brightly, which cheered Lily up a great deal.

But Timothée must have noticed that her smile was somewhat restrained with uneasiness.

'I do hope you aren't taking what Olsen said to heart- everyone knows he's just a sore loser, making up fanciful stories'

'Boden Olsen? What did he say?' Lily asked confused again.

'There was an article in La Gazette Du Sorcier this morning- didn't you see?' Timothée took out a copy of the newspaper that Albus had had that morning.

Next to the article with a picture of Drew Steward holding both his own wand and their fathers' Phoenix feather one, was a smaller article with a picture of a fuming Boden Olsen holding his broken wand. Lily couldn't decipher the French but she could see her own name written in several places.

'He claims that you spoke parseltongue during your duel but the crowd was too noisy for anyone but himself to have heard it. Load of hogwash obviously. Even claims that your wandless magical ability proves that you're under the influence of some dark magic'

'Ridiculous' Lily agreed faintly. Of course, what Boden had said wasn't entirely wrong or ridiculous, but the fact that everything around her seemed to be falling down all at once was.

Once they had made it to the ensemble of tents, Timothée bid farewell to her. Lily couldn't help but feel more than a little relieved that her opponent was someone kind this time around. Or at least that it wasn't someone who was likely to resort to punching her in the stomach.

She walked into the Hogwarts delegation tent fully expecting it to be empty but she was mistaken.

Standing at the far end of the tent with his back to her looking down into the pit was Professor Raleigh. Lily could see from where she stood frozen in surprise at the entrance of the tent that the arena had been transformed once more, this time into an expanse of rust-coloured dessert dunes which looked even more reddish against the Professors scarlet robes.

'Good morning Miss Potter' He greeted her before turning his head slightly to glance back at her.

'Good morning Sir' Lily felt a sense of dread in her stomach. The last time she had spoken to the professor one on one was when he had first started as her defence against the dark arts teacher and she had hoped that would be the last time.

'These rumours about you speaking to snakes...' he said conversationally, turning around fully to look at her now.

'They couldn't be true could they?'

'Of course not Sir.' Lily replied evenly. She suddenly had a heightened sense of consciousness towards the weight of the Slytherin pendant around her neck, hidden under her jersey, but she kept her features passive under his stare. He held her gaze for several moments before sighing and looking back out at the desert sand below him.

'I had wondered what spell you'd used to get all those snakes off you yesterday... and to command them onto Mr Olsen. But I'd never imagined that you might have spoken to them in their own language'

'I didn't Sir' Lily repeated tersely.

'Then what spell was it?' He shot back silkily.

Lily clenched her jaw. She didn't have an answer; of course she didn't. He must already know that, she thought bitterly.

'It just happened Sir' Lily replied defiantly.

'It just happened?' Raleigh turned his head again and raised an eyebrow at her.

'You might have noticed but I often accidentally use magic without truly meaning to when I'm upset Sir'

'And why were you upset Miss Potter?' Raleigh's voice had become tight with frustration.

'Because there were snakes on me' Lily replied innocently, enjoying the way her words made the corners of the professor's mouth fall in annoyance.

There were a few moments of silence in which Raleigh looked her up and down, his forehead creased with disappointment at her non-compliance.

'And is there anything else you'd like to tell me Miss Potter?' He lowered his voice and asked her. To Lily it sounded like a threat.

'No' she said simply, lifting her chin up defiantly.

The Professor cleared his throat and made to leave but Lily stopped him as he was halfway out of the tent.

'There is something actually!'

He turned and smiled congenially but his eyes were cold.

'I'm going to win this tournament' Lily announced, surprising even herself with her own unfounded confidence.

'And when I do Sir I'd like you to promise me you'll leave my brother alone'

Professor Raleigh blinked back at her, his face impassive.

'I don't know what you mean Miss Potter-'

'I'd like you to stop teaching him and start teaching me whatever it is that... you've been teaching him' Lily demanded. If he was going to play stupid then she would play along with him.

'But I have been teaching you what I've been teaching him- how to duel' the Professor pointed out. His eyes roamed over her face in apparent confusion at her meaning.

'I noticed Sir that he's been getting more lessons than I have and many of them by himself. But if I win, then surely it would be better to put that extra time into training the one who is the better dueller?'

Raleigh considered her for a moment.

'Your brother wants to be an Auror. I didn't know that you had such ambitions Miss Potter'

'But I do' Lily lied, looking him right in the eyes. 'I'd do anything to stop evil wizards from messing with people's lives'

She watched his expression very carefully as she spoke looking for signs of annoyance or concern. But he was impassive once again.

'I suppose then, if you do win, it would only be right to dedicate the extra time to teaching you' he said finally.

'And to do that you'd need to stop teaching Albus' Lily insisted, determined to make sure he understood her. 'You'd need to leave him be.'

'If you win...' he repeated softly, his eyes clouded over in thought. Then he was gone, and Lily was left standing at the tent entrance wondering what on earth she'd gotten herself into.

The fine dessert sand sunk under her feet and slowed her footsteps considerably as she walked along it towards the centre of the arena where a smiling Timothée stood.

Lily found it hard to smile back, feeling for the first time a sense of urgency about her performance in the competition. She needed to win against Timothée and then against whoever would be the finalist tomorrow in order to take away Raleigh's excuse for spending time alone with Albus.

Unlike yesterday or the day before that, there was nowhere to take cover in the expanse of rust colored sand. It would be a battle of sheer agility and magical ability.

Lily propped herself up on the balls of her feet and bent her knees slightly, readying herself to move as soon as necessary. At the sound of the manticore's cry, she lunged to her left, dodging a stream of golden sparks that had left Timothée's wand and then sprinting straight at him with her palms held outwards.

'Stupefy!'

She could see Timothée's eyes widen in surprise as she closed in on him but his wand flicked upwards and he blocked her stunning spell just in time.

He was quick to recover and swiftly sent another spell right back at her.

'Conjonctivite!'

Lily tried to dodge it but she wasn't fast enough this time. The spell grazed her shoulder and instantly her eyes began to swell and water up. But she knew it wouldn't do to let her impaired vision slow her down. She ran as fast as the sandy arena surface would allow her and, unable to locate Timothée through the blur, held her palms out at the sand between them instead.

'Ventus!'

Lily had never performed this spell before, only read about it in text books. But to her relief a great wind blew up from the surface of the dunes, filling the air with specs of fine sand that rendered Timothée's vision just as obscured as her own.

A long stream of red sparks shot out of the cloud of sand and flew past her left cheek. Unfortunately for Timothée, having missed their target, they only served to alert Lily to his position.

'Petrificus Totalus!'

Lily heard the sound of Timothée cry out in French and then a dull thud as he fell motionless onto the sand.

She ran forward through the cloud of sand, blinking away some of the water that was still filling her eyes as she did. As she approached the spot where she thought Timothée had been, she could make out just enough to see that he was now lying stiff as a plank of wood on the dunes, his fallen wand just out of reach from his extended arm.

Her heart thudding in her chest, Lily bent down to pick up his wand. She could hardly believe that she had bested the talented Beauxbaton dueler. But just as her fingers curled around the base of his wand, Lily's stomach dropped. Her legs had fallen through the sand below her and she was now waist deep and unable to move.

Lily released the wand and it fell back onto the sand between her and Timothée.

She took one last look at Timothée's face, which was scrunched up in confusion and alarm, before the sand below her gave way again she found herself being sucked further downwards.

Lily let out a scream. Her arms were trapped below the surface and she was sinking fast.

The last thing that she saw was Timothée's arm fly outwards towards his wand as the body-binding hex she had hit him with finally began to ware off. Then, before she knew it sand was filling her mouth and she was making panicked gasps for air.

She continued to be pulled mercilessly downwards by some unearthly force until the sand was filling her ears and nose too. Then finally her eyes were covered with it and everything went dark.

When Lily's eyes flew open again, everything was still pitch black. But it was also very still and she found that she could breath again.

Once her eyes had accustomed to the darkness and her panicked mind had settled, she realized that she was lying on a small bed in a stone chamber. Potions lined wooden shelves along the walls and there was one small window out of which Lily could see stars shinning against a deep blue night sky.

She sat upright and threw off the blankets that covered her. But as she turned to get off the bed, she jolted in surprise. Right in front of her, lying asleep on a plump armchair with her long silky golden locks strewn across her face was Poppy.

Lily slid quickly off the bed and shook her awake.

'Poppy, where are we?' She hissed, looking around to check that there wasn't anyone else present in the dark room.

Poppy answered her with a sleepy groan.

'In les quartiers de guérison'

'Les what now?' Lily looked around again in confusion.

'The hospital wing Potter. They gave you a potion to evaporate away all that sand you swallowed and said you'd need to sleep it off as it worked it's magic. Seems like you have now'

'So the duels over' Lily felt a pang of disappointment and she fell back against the bed. She had lost all hope of forcing Raleigh to fulfill his promise to her now.

'I thought you'd be relieved' Poppy snorted.

Lily fell into a glum silence. It had been her one chance to get between Raleigh and her brother and she had failed.

Poppy's usual haughty expression dissipated and she let out a sigh.

'Potter?'

Lily's defeated gaze shot upwards again at the sound of Poppy's tense voice.

'I was going to tell you once you'd had a full nights sleep, but I think you ought to know...' she sounded unusually cautious about her words and that alarmed Lily more than anything.

'Tell me what?'

'During your duel, when I was up here in the Palace, I saw your brother acting rather... oddly' Poppy returned Lily's gaze with a serious look.

'How so?' Lily felt her throat go dry.

'He was walking the corridors with a sort of blank look on his face and he wouldn't respond to me when I called to him...'

'He was upset about having lost this morning' Lily explained quickly. 'He's not been able to focus on anything else...'

'He was more than just a bit out of it Potter' Poppy retorted firmly. 'It was as though he were transfixed... as though he were under some kind of spell'

Lily swallowed hard.

'I followed him' Poppy went on, her voice lowering to a whisper. 'And I saw him enter into another delegations bedchambers'

'Which delegation?' Lily demanded, her heart thudding in her chest.

'Uagadou' Poppy frowned. 'I think... I think that it was Babajide Akingbade's room'

'But he wouldn't have been there... he would have been down at the arena watching the duels' Lily said hoarsely.

'Exactly' Poppy said, 'He must have timed it that way so he could go in there and take it'

'Take what?' Lily shot back in alarm. 'What did you see him take Poppy?'

'I don't know' Poppy wailed, 'I couldn't see what it was. It was in a small velvet bag- like a jewelry bag. And no matter how many times I asked, he didn't say a word. He wouldn't respond at all. Just kept looking straight ahead and walking until he'd made it back to his own room and shut the door in my face.'

Lily clenched her jaw and then making up her mind to go and find out for herself, made to walk past Poppy towards the door. But her Gryffindor classmate stopped her.

'Where are you going? You need to stay here and rest!' Poppy cried.

'I have to find out what it was that he took and make him put it back!' Lily protested, trying to get around her but Poppy wouldn't have it and she continued to move into her path blocking her.

'I've already asked Malfoy to check all his belongings so there's no need' Poppy argued.

Lily groaned thinking back on Scorpius's tense words with Albus that morning. The last thing she needed was for Albus to find him snooping and for them to resume arguing again.

'You need to stay here and res!t' Poppy insisted angrily. 'How do you expect to duel tomorrow if you're half asleep?'

Lily froze.

'Duel?' She blinked back at the blonde girl. 'What're you talking about?'

'Your duel with Ebele Akingbade tomorrow. Everyone has been raving about how incredible she was against Drew Steward today. He was the favourite and he dueled well but she was even better' Poppy gushed before her voice became tense and strict again.

'So if you're to stand any chance then you'll need at least a full nights sleep!'

'But I lost' Lily's mind was racing in confusion. '...didn't I?'

Poppy gaped at her.

'No Potter. Didn't you see? Bonaccord threw out his handkerchief just as you were being sucked into the sand. That's how the healers got to you in time and got you out of there before you suffocated'

Lily paled with surprise. She still had a chance.

'You're dueling tomorrow' Poppy reiterated threateningly. 'So lie back down and rest before I give the healers more work to do'

Lily walked numbly back to her bed.

'Timothée forfeit the duel... to save me'

Poppy's face twisted into a disdainful expression.

'i suppose you could say that. But of course, it does strike me as odd that he would perform such a dangerous spell in the first place!'

Lily shook her head remembering the look of alarm in Timothée's pale blue eyes.

'I don't think he was the one who cast it' she said ruefully.

A/N: hello everyone! Thanks again for the reviews. Some of you have been so spot on in guessing what might happen, it sometimes makes me wonder if Ive made it all too obvious lol. But I think I've just got some really perceptive readers!

I'm in Europe on holiday at the moment but I'm trying to squeeze in as much writing time as possible. I've never been to Europe in the winter before, it's all so beautiful and Christmas-y and the buildings really inspire my love of Hogwarts haha. Hope you're all having a nice Christmas/ news years holidays too and I'll try to get more up soon for you too read. Xx