A/N: Hello, lovely witches! Thank you so much for all the sweet reviews and messages. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the story! I want to send a special shout out to HUNboy98, who's translating this story into Hungarian. So if you wanna check this out, the story is available on Wattpad, under the name of HUNboy. Now let's head to today's chapter, shall we? Any comments, critiques or concerns, feel free to contact me.


Chapter Thirteen - Under The Moonlight

I am the "who" when you call "Who's there?"

I am the wind blowing through your hair

I am the shadow on the moon at night

Filling your dreams to the brim with fright*


DUNCAN!

WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?

There are clouds in the horizon. A prelude for the rain, but the sky remains smooth and blue. Though it's a usually serene and calming sight, in my dreams it feels like a mistake.

Amidst it all, there are sobs.

It wasn't supposed to end up like this.

Duncan… forgive me…

I can't move. I feel frozen in place, standing by a window while watching the sky and the hypnotizing dance of the clouds against the wind. However, my heart feels heavy. My ears are filled by the sorrowful and painful cries of my brother. They are a blend of sobs, gulps and screams, and they slice my soul like a sharp blade.

I'm… I'm so sorry…

Please, God… let it be a dream…

I'm pulled out of my dreams with brutality. My eyes open to the midnight bedroom and it takes me long minutes to realize it was just a dream.

I sit on my bed, panting, allowing my heart to return to its usual pace, but the pain in my brother's voice continues to echo in my ears, drumming like a funeral march. I can feel his every feelings and what I first thought to be a dream, makes me realize it was a memory.

After my dreaming, I can't sleep anymore. So I lie in bed until it's six thirty, half an hour before detention. I put on comfortable clothes and fix my hair, but instead of leaving through the door, I leave through the window.

I need to talk to Duncan and that's all I know. My heart is aching as I circle the castle, looking for a window on the fifth floor that is close enough to the Prefect's bathroom. I don't know why I didn't think of doing this with Talbott, but now I am glad that I didn't. Talking to Duncan is something I must do alone, not with a crowd. His affairs with my brother are an infinity of feelings and if they are going to flood that bathroom, it isn't something people should watch.

There's a window that opens to the end of that corridor. I fly through it and continue my silent flight until I'm standing in front of the bathroom door. I look around to make sure I'm alone and turn back into myself. My lips whisper the password and the unlocking sound greets me in the dawn. I open the door reluctantly, because though my heart is filled with purpose, it also bears pain and fear.

The bathroom is empty, silent and cold. It still smells of all the fragrances from Merula's bath and all the floral scents make me feel a little calmer. I close the door behind me and walk towards the huge tub, whose water looks like a mirror. Since there's no open windows and no wind getting in, I can see myself perfectly reflected in the crystalline surface.

I sit by the edge of the tub and stare at my reflection. Though Jacob and I aren't twins, we share a lot of similarities. We both have blonde hair and electric blue eyes, and we also share the same beauty mark on the right corner of our upper lips. We have the same almond shaped eyes and same way of laughing. His lips also curled upwards, in an eterne secret smile. I close my eyes, thinking of him. I can almost hear him laugh through his songs.

"Duncan," I say, in a soft and calm tone, and my voice echoes all around the bathroom. "I know you're here."

Like a strange scene from a scary movie, I watch Duncan's head emerge from the water in front of me. I don't get startled. If he were alive, his movements would produce bubbles and a disturbance on the surface of the water. Instead, his translucent self against the clear water makes the whole scene look ethereal.

Like he's inside a dream.

"I told you to go away," he says, sharply.

"No," I reply. "You told me to figure out what happened between you and my brother, by myself. That's what I did."

He eyes me with severity. "You could not possibly have figured everything out in just one day," he says. "It's impossible."

I stand up. "I talked to Torvus. I visited the room you and Jacob used to study the Vaults. I read letters with your name mentioned in them. I think I know enough to have a civilized conversation with you."

He clenches his jaw. "What do you think you know?"

I take a deep breath, starting to stroll around the tub. "You and Jacob were looking for the Cursed Vaults. You wanted to stick together, but my brother was impatient. He thought that by splitting up you'd be able to put an end to the curses faster. He tried to enter the Forest Vault, while you prepared an extremely dangerous potion. But things went awfully wrong," I stop to look at him. "The potion accidentally exploded, taking away your life. Up until this day, you blame my brother. Your former best friend."

Duncan looks at me with wide, stunned eyes.

I continue. "You think if he would have stayed by your side, and not pushed you to brew the potion, you'd still be alive. However, it's too late to change things. You can continue to blame him for the rest of eternity, but you cannot change the fact that a part of him died too."

"Jacob didn't care that I died," he hisses.

"Of course he did," I say, sharp. "You were his best friend. His partner in crime. You went through a lot of troubles and tribulations together. You cannot share five years of your life with someone and not suffer when that person dies."

He looks down, to the surface of the water surrounding him. Somewhere in his eyes, I can see the pain. Duncan has probably suffered, having his soul attached to the castle. He didn't get the chance to say goodbye to his parents. He lost a future and an ocean of dreams. I can't blame him for resenting my brother. However, it is clear that Duncan doesn't hate him fully. Somewhere inside him, he misses his friend.

"I'm sorry, Duncan," I say, lastly.

His eyes meet mine, deep pools of darkness, and then he does something I'm not expecting.

He laughs.

Not a giggle. Not a short, discrete chuckle. No. He throws his head back and releases a loud guffaw. I stare at him as if he's gone mad, feeling my shoulders getting tenser by the second. When he finally stops laughing, he looks at me with an amused smile upon his lips.

"What so funny?" I inquire, annoyed.

"You don't notice how easy it is to manipulate someone's perception of the world until you're no longer part of it," he says with simplicity.

"You're saying it isn't true?"

He smirks. "Parts of it are true."

"If you're implying that Torvus lied, I can gua-"

"No," he interrupts me. "I'm saying that Torvus doesn't know what he's talking about."

"What's the truth, then?" I ask, my voice sounding a little demanding.

Duncan looks at the mermaid, and I notice that he little by little loses himself in his memories. In his lips, the smile remains, but as the mermaid looks back at him with sleepy eyes, I can feel the sorrow emanating from him.

"Torvus doesn't know what happened, because Jacob distorted the truth," he says. "We were being manipulated by someone who called itself R. Jacob did it to protect Torvus. If he knew too much, R would certainly go after him."

He turns his face to look at me.

"And to protect you, Athena," he says, serious. "You don't know how many times he'd mentioned your name while we were developing our plans. He wanted to put an end to the curses before you came to Hogwarts. He did everything in his power to protect you. And your mum. Your dad. Hagrid. Everyone he cared about. R threatened to make everyone disappear."

A sudden tear escapes my eye and falls heavily onto the floor.

"The letter from R made it sound like you were both trying to join their cause," I say, trying to ignore the pain in my voice.

He snorts. "We didn't want anything to do with them. But yes, in their mind, whoever lived the longest would earn the right to become their next member."

"Member of what?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I have no idea. You may not have noticed, but I didn't live the longest. It was R who told me to brew the potion. They said they needed it to destroy whatever was guarding the Vault after the Forest Vault."

"And the potion exploded and killed you."

"I tried to tell them it was too dangerous, but they were more than willing to risk my life to find out," he says, resentful.

I look at him, incredulous. "Then why are you so angry at my brother?"

He frowns, irritated. "Because after I died, he didn't expose R, or run away, or stay to plan our revenge. He took the blame for R. He let himself get expelled!"

I take a step back, apprehensive.

"At first, I was doubtful. He was my friend and I thought he was braver than that. But then he joined R and became even worse."

I swallow hard. "How do you know?"

"Eavesdropping isn't difficult when you can pass through walls," he tells me. "From what the teachers say, your brother became one of the most feared wizards in Knockturn Alley."

"Why would my brother even do that? He was trying to save everyone!"

Duncan snickers, resentfully. "He's either a coward who decided he'd rather side with a manipulator and murdered than face them, or a liar who used me from the very beginning. Either way, you're better off leaving him wherever he is. Leave R alone before you end up like me. Leave Hogwarts altogether before it's too late. Leave or watch your friends die like flies, because R isn't merciful."

"NO!" I shout, my voice filled with anger. "You don't know what you're talking about. You don't hear Jacob's voice like I do. You don't hear him calling for help while feeling impotent, because you're still too weak to do anything. Jacob didn't tell anyone about R either to protect everyone or because he knew he'd be ignored! Like I've been, countless times."

"You are delusional, Athena Lockhart," he says. "You have too much faith on your brother. Jacob wanted power. He did what he needed to achieve his goal."

"No! That's not how we were raised! He's been trapped in the next Vault for five years and I haven't been able to help him! Our mother died and he still doesn't know that! How can you say such terrible things of your best friend? Didn't he mean anything to you?"

His lips tremble, but he doesn't say anything.

I swallow hard. "Anyway, I cannot leave. Not until you give me the Marauder's Map."

He smirks. "You came here under false pretext," he says. "You're as manipulating as he was."

"You're wrong, again," I say. "I wanted to know my brother's friend. I wanted to know what really happened. You just happen to have the damn map. I need it before it gets in wrong hands."

He shrugs. "I doesn't matter. I don't have it. Peeves couldn't get it to work, so he swapped it with someone."

I close my hands into fists, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Who did he give it to?"

"Why don't you take a trip to Knockturn Alley and figure it out yourself?" he suggests. "You've got to uncover a bunch of things by yourself, anyway."

"Duncan, I don't have time for this!" I say, miffed. "I don't have time for riddles and puzzles and stupid games!"

His lips twist into frowny grin. "You're excessively boring, Athena Lockhart."

"Tell me that after I've saved this goddamn castle from this miserable curse," I say, deeply irritated.

He looks away, to the many closed faucets, and his face recovers the usual sadness. "I miss baths, you know. You cannot feel the water when you're dead."

His eyes return to me, taciturn, but full of knowledge. "Your answer is in Knockturn Alley. Find Mundungus Flether and you will find yourself the map."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Duncan. Thank you so much."

"I hope you can do it, Athena," he says. "Put an end to this curse before anyone else dies."

I nod. "And I'm sorry, Duncan. That you had to."

He looks away, sorrowful. "Yeah. Me too."


The story between Jacob and Duncan follows me all the way till Halloween. With the perspective of visiting Knockturn Alley still months in the future, I decide to focus my energy into my studies. Not only because I'll have to take my O. in the end of the school year, but also because I need to perfect my spells and potions if I want to save Jacob from the next Vault.

Dumbledore has promised an unforgettable Halloween party, counting with a special performance of the famous metal singer, Lady O'Banshee. The Great Hall is entirely decorated in shades of purple, green, black, orange and silver. There are shimmering stars pending from the ceiling, slimy ectoplasm dripping down the walls and bats flying everywhere. There's a giant rug on the floor, showing all moon phases, and the constant howls in the forest add to the spooky atmosphere.

This year, instead of Rowan's mint green dress that I wore last year, I'm wearing black jeans, a black fitted top with long sleeves and crisscrossed in the front, paired with my pair of black laced booties. To make everything look like a true Halloween outfit, I add a cat ear tiara that I got from Hogsmeade.

"You look super sexy," Rowan says, smiling, while I'm spraying some perfume.

"Look who's talking!" I say. "You look incredible, Row!"

Indeed, she does. She looks beautiful in her orange leotard and A-line black skirt with silver spider web pattern. She even has tiny silver spiders along her flawless braid, which adds a hint of spookiness to her sexiness.

I stare at myself in the mirror while brushing my hair. Last year, on this exact day, I was sharing my first kiss with Barnaby in the outskirts of the castle. Back then, that was all I wanted. I smile softly, thinking of how things have changed in such short amount of time. A year has gone by so fast and I had never imagined that, at fifteen, I'd be breaking curses and dating a vampire poet.

We leave our dorm and head to the common room, where I lose my breath somewhere inside of me.

Talbott is waiting for me, standing by Rowena Ravenclaw's statue, wearing a full black outfit along with a vampire cape that looks exactly like the one Lorcan D'Eath used to wear. He looks at me with a smirk and I can't help but blush a little.

"Oh my," it's all I'm able to say.

He wraps his hands around my waist and pulls me closer. "Meow, ma chèrie. You look ravishing tonight."

I snicker. "I thought you didn't like these social gatherings."

He shrugs. "And lose the opportunity to kiss you under the full moon? Never."

He smirks before placing a kiss upon my lips and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. We walk together to the Great Hall, where we meet the rest of the gang. Charlie, having enchanted his robes to look like the Chudley Cannons uniform, stares flabbergasted at Rowan. Tulip and Tonks are wearing matching outfits: orange dresses and pumpkin heads, probably caused by their Melofors jinx. Ben is wearing Charlie's lion hat and Bill is looking all charming in his red W sweater and a Phantom of the Opera mask. Liz is wearing a pink dress and a mask adorned by what seems to be many Fwooper feathers, and Barnaby is wearing a long green cape with a hoodie and an emerald green mask.

What astonishes me the most, apart from the wondrous décor and the huge table of food, is to see Penny there. She looks ravishing in her long, baby blue dress, adorned by a set of angel wings. Despite looking gorgeous, she still looks a little sad.

"Penny!" Rowan gasps. "You came!"

She shrugs. "Yeah, Barnaby convinced me. He said I need to have some fun for a change."

"Well, he's right," I say. "And you look magnificent!"

She blushes a little. "Oh, thank you. Tulip actually lent me this costume. Tonks and she were planning on coming as an angel and a devil, but they decided to lend me one of the costumes and come as pumpkins instead. A peculiar idea, but I guess it suits them."

I snicker. "Let's have fun, then!"

"And eat!" Rowan adds. "I'm starving!"

The table of food doesn't disappoint. There are cakes and tarts, candy apples and truffles, as well as many crispy turkey wings and golden mince pies. Rowan grabs a huge slice of blueberry pie and rushes to share it with Charlie.

Talbott pours me a glass of the red punch and smirks mischievously while watching me drink.

"What?" I ask, bashful.

"Nothing," he says, blushing. "I'm just not used to seeing you so… I don't know."

"The word you're looking for is 'sexy'," Penny says, stretching over the table to grab a strawberry truffle.

I blush furiously. She smirks at us before returning to talk to Liz and Barnaby. Talbott looks at me with a bashful expression and reaches out to curl a lock of my hair around his fingers.

"Attention, everyone!" Professor Flitwick's magically enhanced voice stands out in the crowd, and we turn around to look at him. "I'd like to convoke my wonderful choir to perform this year's Halloween song, chosen and arranged by our talented Athena Lockhart."

I blush even more. Talbott places a kiss on my cheek and whispers "Good luck" by my ear.

I rush to meet my choir mates in wood stage placed near the main door, where I grab Jujubee, the toad, and find my place among the other singers. Sally Norwood sits by the piano and begins playing the intense song. The frogs join her, adding the spookiness needed to such vivid song, and, at last, we start to sing.

"Screams break the silence… Waking from the dead of night… Vengeance is boiling… He's returned to kill the light… Then when he's found who he's looking for… Listen in awe and you'll hear him…" we sing, feeling the song drumming inside our hearts. "Bark at the moon."

In the distance, a wolf howls and the timing is so perfect that makes everyone smile. We sing excitedly until Sally plays the last chords and the frogs produce their last guttural croaks.

The Great Hall bursts into applause and we take our bow, returning to our groups of friends while Dumbledore climbs on stage.

"I hope everyone has a fun, spooky night!" he says. "Now, let's welcome our entertainment of the evening, Lady O'Banshee!"

Apart from the extremely long hair and ghostly white dress she's wearing, Lady O'Banshee doesn't look at all like one. She is too beautiful and seemingly delicate to be able to kill someone with a single scream. However, once she grabs the microphone and begins singing gutturally, I understand her stage name. The band behind her plays enthusiastically as their lead singer shouts a metal song that reverberates through the room.

I join my friends, who are all eating and chatting and having fun. It thrills me to see Penny smiling, even though there's a pinch of sadness behind her grin. Tonks is showing her the new Dungbomb she bought and is talking about how she's planning on throwing it inside Rakepick's office. I let out a chortle, but my laughter immediately vanishes when I see who's on the other side of the table, talking to Bill.

"Is that… Merula?" Rowan asks, nibbling on a huge turkey leg.

Indeed, it is. This time, she isn't wearing smudgy eyeliner or her usual thug clothes. Instead, she's wearing a soft black sweater, skeleton leggings and a pair of high heel booties. On her eyes there's a perfectly blend of purple and black eyeshadow and, on her lips, a satin black lipstick.

Next to us, Ben stares at her, flabbergasted.

"What's the matter with you?" Rowan asks, chugging on some acid blue punch, a new addition this year.

He looks at her, flustered. "Me? No, nothing. I'm just… I'm hungry. I'm going to get some cake."

Rowan shrugs, continuing to eat. In the background, Lady O'Banshee screams about a long lost love while all the students dance and hop around the hall. Just like last year, Rakepick is nowhere to be seen. I eat a lemon tart while wondering if she's allergic to happiness.

I giggle as I watch Tonks and Tulip, with their humongous pumpkin heads, bounce among the crowd of dancing students. The scene makes Penny laugh too and my heart rejoices with her blissfulness, but it also brings a mixture of confidence and fear. This was supposed to be Beatrice's first party at Hogwarts and she's missing it because she's stuck inside a portrait.

Talbott holds my hand gently and entwines our fingers, vanishing all thoughts of Beatrice and curses from my mind. His garnet eyes look at me with a wishful fondness as Lady O'Banshee starts to sing a more romantic metal song. He kisses my knuckles as he pulls me to a slow dance.

I bite my lip as he wraps his arms around my waist, almost engulfing me into his red lined vampire cape. We dance in circles, barely moving our feet, but inside his eyes I feel like we're waltzing. It's so easy to lose myself inside them that when he asks me if I want to take a stroll outside, all I can do is nod.

He guides me through the main door and as soon as we step foot on the cold grass, the full moon greets us in its magnificent glory. Talbott stares at it for a few seconds with a discrete grin upon his lips before looking at me and taking me to a stroll around the castle. We walk around the North tower, counting the stars on the velvety night sky, and his hand grows warmer in mine. We reach the Courtyard, where he stops in front of the fountain and gently places his hand on my nape, manoeuvring me to a kiss.

I could lose myself forever in his embrace. His lips taste of berries and his scent of cinnamon and clove nearly melts away my legs. I have to grasp at his shirt just to keep myself standing. His fingers get lost in my hair as he pulls me closer with his spare arm, placing his hand firmly over my back. I am aware of every touch and every sensation, and my heart beats uncontrollably the whole time.

A scream slices the night and we move away from each other abruptly. My heart is racing and my instinct is to withdraw my wand from my pocket and look around, waiting. Someone screams again and, this time, it's louder. By my side, Talbott is holding his wand too.

We hear rushed steps upon the stone floor as someone runs along the open corridors that lead to where we are standing. In the dark, it's hard to see who's coming.

"HELP!" the person screams again and I distinguish it as a girl cry. "PLEASE!"

She reaches the entrance of the Courtyard and, as the full moon touches her skin, I can see her icy blonde hair and porcelain skin glisten under the night sky, making her look almost ghostly. She screams one more time before falling heavily onto the ground, unconscious.

I make a mention to move towards her, but Talbott stretches his arm in front of me chest, preventing me. Entering the Courtyard are three frightening figures: two werewolves and a tall, bulky and hairy man. The two wolves howl at the moon as the man in the centre opens a terrifying grin, full of pointy teeth and evilness.

"Don't step closer!" I advise, aiming my wand at him.

His grin gets larger. "There's nothing to be afraid of, love. We're here to free you from your little lives. To show you what true power tastes like."

My heart pounds painfully inside my chest. "Who the hell are you?"

"How rude of me," he says in a deep, husky voice. "I am Fenrir Greyback. What's your name, sweet child?"

"Everte Statum!" I shout, casting the first spell.

Greyback deflects it with his own wand, opening a strange, scary grimace at me.

"What a strange name," he says. "Don't worry. I'll be taking care of you from now on. After I get a bite or two."

"Over my dead body," Talbott hisses under the moonlight.

"Fine," Greyback says. "I'll start with you, then."

"Athena, go get help," Talbott tells me.

"And leave you here alone?" I gasp. "Yeah, right."

I aim my wand to the sky. "Vermillious!"

In front of me, Fenrir Greyback releases a loud laugh. His two werewolf companions follow him, but their barks make them sound like hyenas. The sound makes the hairs on my arms stand up.

"Leave!" I shout at him. "You don't belong in here!"

He smiles again. "That's where you're wrong, little witch. Everything belongs to us."

"Depleo!" Talbott shouts next to me, making use of his favourite gory spell.

"Confringo!" I shout, but the man deflects our spells with agility. "Stupefy!"

He loses balance, but is able to make my spell vanish in faint lines of smoke. "You're strong for a little one… You might just make a valuable addition to my pack. If not, you'll at least make a decent meal."

I growl. "Incarcerous!"

He deflects it again. "That wasn't smart at all. Now, I'm gonna have to do this the slow way… You can scream if you want. It makes it taste better…"

Talbott and I take hesitant steps back, our wands still aimed at the three figures in front of us. My heart jumps inside of me when I hear the castle's door open, but I don't dare to unlock my eyes from the werewolves. They, however, look at us with disgust and turn around, running rapidly towards the forest.

I turn around, seeing Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape standing by the door. Behind them I can see Rowan, Charlie and Bill, looking at us with fright. Rowan rushes in my direction as Madam Pomfrey pushes the rest of the crowd aside to get to the girl that's unconscious on the stone floor.

"What happened to Miss Lobosca?" the matron asks me.

"I… I don't know," I say. "She came running at us, calling for help. Then she just… fainted."

"She doesn't appear to have been bitten," she says.

Rowan looks at me with concern. "Are you okay, Athie? We heard screams and then saw the red sparks…"

I nod. "We're okay."

"Back to the Great Hall, everyone!" Dumbledore shouts. "Madam Pomfrey, take Miss Lobosca to the hospital. Professor McGonagall, go summon Professor Rakepick, please. I'll need her help to inspect the school grounds."

Professor McGonagall produces a grunting noise, but promptly returns to the castle to look for Rakepick. Talbott places a hand on my back and looks at me, as if asking if I'm okay. I smile at him, taking one last glance at the icy blonde girl, that's being carried in a floating stretcher by a much worried Madam Pomfrey.

"Let's go back inside," Talbott says, guiding my back to the castle.

"Not so fast, Mr. Winger," Professor Snape says. "I need to have a word with Miss Lockhart. She will meet you in the Great Hall in a moment."

Talbott looks at me with hesitation, but I nod at him, flashing him a reassuring smile. He takes an apprehensive breath before turning around and leaving.

Professor Snape's black eyes stare at me with a mixture of anger and preoccupation. "Are you out of your mind, Miss Lockhart?"

I frown. "Excuse me?"

"Trying to fight werewolves? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he hisses.

"What did you want me to do?" I ask, exasperated. "To run away and leave the girl to be eaten by them?"

He makes a mention of speaking, but his mouth opens and closes several times. He clenches his jaw, eyeing me with irritation. I know that he hates when I'm a smartass, but it's the truth. If Talbott and I weren't strolling around the castle, the girl could've been killed.

"Don't you think it is strange," he says, dryly. "That these beasts showed up at the exact moment you were outside with Mr. Winger?"

I swallow hard. "Rakepick wasn't at the party."

He shakes his head, morose. "Indeed."

"Do you think these events are related?" I ask.

"At this stage, it would not surprise me if they were."

I look away, to the direction that the werewolves ran to. A howl breaks the silence and makes shivers run through my body. After everything that I had to face, werewolves sound like the most dangerous of them all. I sigh, preferring to face the Ice Knight again.

"Get back inside," Professor Snape says, at last. "I have werewolves to haunt."

I nod, taking a few steps towards the door before stopping and looking at him. "Be careful."

He smiles wryly. "I always am."

And just like that, he vanishes into the night.


* This Is Halloween, by A Nightmare Before Christmas.