Chapter 8: Concordia Mersus

20 August, 1939

Dear Piper Nobel,

I'm not sure if the owl I sent with a return letter has reached you, but I have not seen a reply from you.

Albus's challenges took a turn to torture, much to his own and his assistant McGonagall's surprise. It was an elaborate enchantment, no doubt. I am curious to its creation and workings myself. However, its effect on the other students was immediate. He says he wanted to teach us to be mindful of the effects of our magic by redirecting evert spell to a place we couldn't perceive. A place where a teammate would be. My spells went to my teammate Oswald and so on until Blink's spells affected my part of the tent. The worst part was not being able to see the magic I performed until I did this simple, literal trick of the light with a rock that wasn't even a rock. It took a while, but my first thought was that Albus had found a way to create a room where no magic could be performed. That would have been impressive as well, especially because of how large the spaces within each tent were and to keep the enchantment up for 4 different places. This kind of magic though. To passively redirect the flow of a spell into another, space, unknown to the caster. That's magic I can't even wrap my head around. To make it even better, each individual tent was under the influence of a time spell. The kind where those inside a space perceive time at a different rate than reality or those in other tents. I'm curious how these spells would have affected you, Piper.

Albus's assistant, this woman named McGonagall, doesn't like me much. She and Albus seemed impressed by my magic but something in her eyes tells me she might also know about the duel with Tarquin. When she held this group session to talk about everything that happened in the tents, she wouldn't stop looking at me when I didn't want to talk. Nothing weird happened to me. I got mad that I couldn't cast any spells or touch the fabric of the tent, but it wasn't anything like the others. A Gryffindor

Tom paused as he looked down at the letter he was slowly writing at a desk in the main library. He woke early that morning to write the letter before his group would head down to the lake for Albus Dumbledore's final challenge. But now he was stuck. What did he want to call that Gryffindor from the discussion McGonagall held all those days ago? He didn't understand. Although he was already used to Piper's rejection of gender dichotomy, he had never known someone of one gender to become the other. As he puzzled through it all for half an hour, he didn't notice Blink lean over his shoulder with one hand on the table and read the note. With a snicker, Blink vaulted over the table, grabbing a scone from the platter while he did, and sat on the opposite side of Tom.

When Tom finally looked up, Blink smiled and said in between bites, "Just 'er an 'er, Tommy-boy. Ain' nuffin wrong wiv it. Or are yuh…"

Tom fake smiled back and replied, "No I… I just haven't met… I haven't met someone like…"

"Her," Blink finished for him, crumbs falling out of his mouth and onto the table.

"Keep it in your mouth or it becomes a cactus in your throat, Crockett," Madame Fortescue commanded as she thumbed to the next page of the giant tome she had splayed wide on her desk amongst many others of varied size.

Tom laughed a little before his thoughts returned to the Gryffindor and he said, "Her. I just haven't met one…"

Blink looked sideways to his right at Madame Fortescue as he made a show of swallowing the last of the blueberry scones from the platter and coughed before he could say, "Oh come on, Tommy-boy. You're quick tuh bi'e off Sluggy and Ro-doof's heads for callin' va' change-uh a girl bu' yuh can' wrap va' big ol' nog aroun' someone wan'in tuh do i' permanen' like? I faw' you was savvy."

Tom began to feel heat rise in him as he snapped, "Look, I just haven't met someone like them. Alright? And Piper's my best friend. How do you even…"

Blink leaned forward a little as he said, "Awe-righ', Awe-righ'. Don' ge' in a paddy, Tommy-boy. I on'y mean' I'm suh-prised you weren'… You know… Par' of i' all. Mos' don' ge' i'."

Tom slowly unclenched his fists and the rest of his body followed suit as he asked, "I'm more surprised about you, Blink. I didn't think…"

Blink chuckled, "Va' I would be awe'righ wiv a boy wan'in tu be a girl? I ge' i'. Naw' many ge' i'. I on'y know abou' i' because vee pub I grew up in had a molly on top of i'. We…"

Though the to two boys didn't notice, Madame Fortescue stopped reading from her tome and was now sipping from a large cup of tea as she listened in and Tom cut in, "Wait… What's a molly?"

Blink shunted himself back and craned his neck back a little as he said in confusion, "You don' know wha'… Grows up in London Town and don' even… Tommy-boy… Are you tellin' me you've nevuh seen a molly before? Din' yuh ever wanduh vuh stree's a' nigh'?"

Tom leaned forward and said, "I mean, yeah, but I've never heard of a molly."

Blink replied, "Yuh've gu'ed me, Tommy-boy. Truly shivved me righ' in me 'eart." He sighed deep and continued, "My swee' inn-y-cen' lad. A Molly is place where… well… A place where men can be… friendly… togevvuh. Like…" Blink paused and looked over to Madame Fortescue, who didn't turn away as he met her gaze and said, "For'y, I fink Tommy-boy don' know vee essen-shoos. May I…"

"Only this once, Crockett," Madame Fortescue replied after a quick flick of her wand and every portrait in the vicinity of Blink and Tom's table was covered by a black fabric.

Blink blinked at her and continued, "Look, Tommy-boy, I'm no' gonna give yuh vuh foo' talk, bu' in London you ge' sen' to vuh chokey if vey even fink for a secon' you're a queenie. Ge' i'? Men and women, in vee eyes of vuh crown, ain' mean' tuh seek pleasures wiv'in. Two men can' love each-uvuh. So, mollies are where vey can do va'. Women too. And mixes. I ain' one, but we had plen'y o' pee-po seekin' one of vere own a' Ol' Red."

Tom sat back as he asked, taking small sip of his pumpkin juice, "So, like two men could be together there? At a molly? You're telling me that above a pub for fans of Liverpool football there is a place for…"

Blink laughed, "Bes' place for i', if you fink abou' i'. I mean, mos' chaps va' come to ge' a pin' don' know. An' I won' tell who, bu' a few Livuhpoo' foo'balluhs vemselves frequen' our upstairs too. Can' well do i' anywhere else, now can' vey? Anyway, back tuh my poin'. If you can accep' Piper, i' don' make sense not tuh do vuh same for Noelle."

Tom looked back down at his letter, still unsure if he understood whatever point Blink was trying to make, but he nodded and Blink said, "Finish va' up quick. Iz wan's tuh go ovuh our roles for vuh race again."

Tom smirked as he said, "You mean Bellie?" Madame Fortescue spewed a little of her tea and quickly cast a Scouring charm to get it off an open tome in front of her. Blink punched Tom a little too hard but smiled to himself as he left. Tom smiled as well as he returned to his letter and finished:

A Gryffindor Girl named Noelle had a pretty bad experience. I don't think she was comfortable with her magic yet. The enchantments of the tent must have rattled her because she shook quite a bit when she told us her story. Blink probably had it the worst, though. During the 12 minutes we had before we beat it, Blink experienced twelve days. He was furious at that McGonagall woman. Made her swear to make sure that spell wasn't taught ever again. I'm not sure if I agree. It could be pretty useful. What do you think?

Tarquin better be treating you well. I'll see you when term starts; I've got a boat race to win.

Cheers,

T. Riddle

P.s: What do yo think of me signing off like that? Tom is just so… Plain.

Perusing the letter a few times to make sure he didn't make any mistakes and to check the length of the parchment, Tom rolled up his letter and was about to exit the library before Madame Fortescue said, "Would you like me to take that to the Owlery? I'm headed up there myself. Lots of new goodies to add to my collection."

Tom hesitated, holding the letter close to his chest, and answered while holding it to her, "Uh… yeah. Sure. Just make sure it's a good owl. I don't think they got my last one."

Madame Fortescue's eyebrow raised as she inquired, rotating Tom's letter around in her hands, "Where's it headed?" Tom replied immediately, "My friend Piper. She lives in Godr…"

"Be careful whom you tell, Riddle. Their family isn't in hiding for no reason. I shall send it with my personal owl. Not a bird in England can catch my Percival. He'll get it to them." Tom walked silently side by side with Madame Fortescue until they reached the Great Hall and he thanked her for making sure the letter was safe. She bid him good luck in the last challenge and turned to walk toward the West tower. As Tom entered the Great Hall, he saw the other groups huddled up in sections of the same long table that had been there since the end of the second challenge.

Over the past couple of months, no one had objected to having only one table instead of the regular four. On the contrary, Tom being the exception, all of the other groups had become more friendly with each other and Tom's group was often joined for breakfast by members of other groups. Myrra was the most common, thanks to whatever was brewing between her and Oswald. Blink japed about them often and had given Myrra the friendly nickname 'Mordred'.

But others joined their table as well. Noelle joined them a few days prior to talk in whispers to Blink. Isobel and the boy Saunders, who's first name Tom finally learned was Edmund, or Ed as he insisted, got into a heated debate a week after the second challenge regarding the proper pronunciation of the Mermish word for wake. Tom didn't understand any of it and he and Blink both plugged their ears whenever they spoke the audibly grating language.

Today however, each group was huddled in isolation. Tom's group stood just in front of the professor's table at the very back of the hall. While Blink braced himself with both arms behind him on the large table, Isobel mimed something with her arms that Tom couldn't piece together until he came close enough to catch the end of her explanation.

With her hand flat and gliding in a curve along an invisible boundary, Isobel said, "If we have to, we use the waves of our boat to take out theirs. You can easily cast a water spell to make them even bigger, Oz. I…" She turned and smiled a little as she saw Tom coming up to them and continued, "As long as two of us keep up a steady wind jinx, we shouldn't lose our lead."

Tom nodded as he sat on the edge of the bench and said with his hands clasped, "Iz, Albus said we can use any spell so long as we don't mean to harm anyone. Between the two of us, we'll be fine."

Blink nudged Tom and Oz smirked as he said, "So says the second year."

Tom japed back, "So says the one without a win to date." He turned around and found Myrra in the crowd and yelled, "Mordred, what's our record?"

Myrra smiled at Tom and then looked to Oswald with a smile of pity as she replied, "You're still down 13-nill, love." Oswald smacked the side of Tom's left bicep and everyone in his and the adjacent group laughed.

Their most recent duel took place not ten feet from where they were now the previous night. Oswald almost won but Tom hurled himself underneath the headmaster Armando Dippet's tall throne and cast a powerful Disarming charm at Oswald's chest from below, sending the boy flying back into a set of cushions Isobel conjured at just the right moment. Unfortunately for them both, Albus and Madame Picard walked in as Oswald hit the cushions and they were both forced to non-magically scrub down the entire professor's table and its 13 chairs.

Oswald puffed his chest as he climbed on top of the table and looked up to Myrra as he affirmed, "I shall win one for you yet, my dearest. This knave shall rue the day he…"

Before Oswald could finish, Albus Dumbledore and Madams Picard, Fortescue, and Hogbin walked into the hall. Albus smiled at them all, stopping for a moment to wink at Tom, before he addressed them, "If you would all follow me. It is time for the third and final challenge." Oswald looked back down to Tom and held out his hand, palm facing up. Tom smiled as he slipped Oswald five and helped him hop down from the table. He and the rest of the groups filed out of the Great Hall and followed Professor Dumbledore out onto the grounds of Hogwarts.

Tom squinted as the early morning sun shown into his eyes and he barely saw Dumbledore wordlessly conjure a black and purple umbrella from nothing. A few of the 7th years ahead of him, Isobel included, did the same. Isobel was the only one to do so non-verbally, conjuring a blue and bronze parasol that defied gravity as it slowly floated down to her open hand. However, their fruits became obsolete as they took the long way around the Quidditch pitch and they entered the long shadow of the inner perimeter wall surrounding the grounds of Hogwarts. Tom had only seen it once, on the West end of the grounds by the station the Hogwarts Express arrived at nearly a year ago, but it seemed even more imposing now, seeing it in daylight.

While most of the students were whispering plans as they continued their long, downhill walk, Blink was the only one with his attention elsewhere. Tom looked back at him and saw him walking backwards, his eyes fixated on the slowly shrinking and disappearing Quidditch Pitch. It wasn't until it was fully behind the sloping hill down to the lake that he turned back around and met Tom's eyes and a brief flash of memory struck Tom. It didn't impact him like his nightmares or the flashes of green from the tent. Nor was it pleasant. He didn't feel anything.

But seeing Blink's face, long but neutral, his eyes drooped with a slight sheen of mixed sadness and nostalgia, reminded Tom of Mrs. Martha. She would sit on the edge of the front steps of Wool's Orphanage as she waited, her hands wringing while clutching her harmonica, for the postman to drop off the post. He saw this scene play out many times from his favorite spot: in a chair by the circular window above the buildings outer pediment. Each time, he saw Martha jump up, the soft curls in her dirty blonde bob springing up and down as she trotted to the edge of the always closed gate, and begin playing a new song she had written for the young postman. When the postman would smile and wave her goodbye, he would see the same face he saw on Blink now.

It was this face that made him want to take her harmonica when he did. He hated that she had someone on the outside. She wasn't trapped there like he was. Woefully, blissfully ignorant to the realities of the world. Rapunzel and her prince at the gates that kept London out. The gates that kept him in.

He took her harmonica to watch her face change. In the weeks before he met Dumbledore, he numbly watched her sulk on those same steps. It didn't matter how much the postman stroked the tears away from her face. Consoled her. Whispered aimless, futile promises to her. She always sulked back inside. Tom reveled in her pain in those days before Dumbledore.

But now, seeing the longing on Blink gave him a different feeling. He didn't want to take it away. Tom smiled at Blink as he stated, "This is the year, Blink. No keeper stands a chance this time. You're name is gonna go on that placard in the trophy room. You're going to be the one to raise that trophy. You're gonna smirk down at the Gryffindors from your broom. And I'm going to be there to see you do it."

Blink stopped in his tracks, the wind rustling the boy's unbuttoned, untucked dress shirt. He kept Tom's gaze for a few moments before smirking and tapping Tom on the shoulder twice as he strolled past and said, "Where was va' Tom two munfs ago?"

Tom didn't turn around for a few moments, unsure of what to think. He didn't know Blink still thought about the hesitated hug. Or was he referring to the talk he refrained from contributing to? Tom's mind muddled as he caught up with the rest of his group and Blink grabbed him around the shoulders and bragged loudly to anyone within earshot, "Le' i' be known va' i' was I, Blinkus vuh Bonkers va' broke vuh min' of Tommy-boy."

Tom didn't smile as a few people ahead of him, and Oswald and Isobel, snickered at both him and Blink before the moment passed and Blink let him go. Tom distanced himself a little but Blink came right back up to him, hands deep in his trousers, and said, "Sorry bou' va'. Bof' I mean. I know yuh don' ge' vuh emotion-oo stuff jus' ye'. An' me rubbin' i' in prolly din' help eye-vuh. Thaw' I'd give us a laugh before huh challenge, righ? Anyway, fanks for wha' yuh said. I know you was well meanin' and wha' no'. Nex' time I hug yuh, you be'a put vem arms up or I'm gonna curse 'em off." Blink held out his hand with a wide smile, which Tom barely returned with a feigned one of his own, and slipped him five as they rounded the lake and joined the other groups in looking at the far shore where 4 boats were waiting for them.

After following the perimeter of the lake for a while, they finally came upon the shore. Slightly larger than the boats Madame Picard took the first years in across the Black Lake on Tom's first day at Hogwarts, each one was identical and were loosely tethered by a rope to stakes buried in the sand. When each group was in their own boat, Madame Picard magically levitated the stakes out of the rocky sand and set them to drift slightly. Dumbledore walked in front of them all, his robes remaining dry as he took relaxed but determined steps out onto the lake and said, his hands clasped behind his back, "This is the third and final challenge. The objective is quite simple: the first to reach the bottom of that cliff…" He turned slightly to point at the very bottom of the cliff holding Hogwarts Castle high above the lake before continuing, "…Shall win this competition and receive not only a large selection of candies and treats from my personal favorite Sugarplum, but also have each of their books and supplies paid for the entire year. Quite the winnings, if I say so myself. The rules are simple. The boat must maintain contact with the lake and spells cast with the intent to harm the bodies of another group will result in immediate disqualification. At the sound of the spark, Ms. Kelly's group shall go first with a head start of 15 seconds."

Albus strode back behind them once again as everyone fixed their eyes on potential paths to take to get to the cliff. Tom exchanged a glance with Isobel and they both prepared their wands, pointing at the water at an angle to the water. Oswald took control of the rudder while Blink opened even more of his shirt and pounded on his noticeably muscular chest as he bellowed, "FOR VUH REDS!"

Albus chuckled as he stepped back on the gravelly beach, winked at Tom, and lifted his wand to cast a simple set of red sparks 20 feet in the air.

As soon as she heard the crack, Isobel shouted, "GO!"

Just out of sync, Tom and Isobel cast into the water, "Ventus Maximus!". They both nearly fell back onto the boat by the force of their spells and their craft shot forward as their wands shot forceful wind into the water. If not for a swift, too swift for all but Albus Dumbledore to see, and wordless conjuration of a dome of protection by Madame Fortescue, a massive wave of water would have drenched all left on the beach and in their boats. Albus smirked in her direction before directing his attention back to Tom's boat, which was now bouncing and racing across the lake towards the cliff.

Over the loud crashes of their boat bouncing off the water and the forceful wind propelling them forward, Oswald yelled as he watched their rear with a magically conjured spyglass, "The rest of the groups are starting. Looks like Myrra's group is ahead of their pack. She's got 3 people cas… BRACE FOR IM…"

A huge ball of water nearly capsized their ship as it fell like a meteor into the Black Lake a few meters behind their boat. Isobel's concentration broke for a moment and she recast her Wind jinx, jostling them all again as their boat resumed its previous speed. Over the cacophony, she yelled, "Blink, some cover please. Oswald, return fire!"

With one hand holding the rudder in place, Blink looked skyward and flourished his wand as he cast, "Protego Totalum."

Oswald tried in vane to recast the spell he used to conjure a spyglass and Isobel looked back at him as she bellowed, "GET YOUR HEAD BACK, OZ! Myrra won't miss again!"

Oswald shook his head and, carefully aiming his wand ahead of Myrra's boat, now within 50 meters of them, he stuttered against the force of the lake hitting their boat as he cast, "Her… Merlin's left…Herbivicus!"

His spell had the intended effect, but not on Myrra's quickly approaching boat. Instead, the sickly green beam sailed over their boat and like the tentacles of an octopus, a swarm of lively kelp strands reached up from the lake and captured the boat behind Myrra's. Myrra, after ducking under the spell, looked back up with a wild smirk and yelled her own commands over the roaring water.

Tom yelled up to Oswald and said, "Trade me. I'll deal with this." Disgruntled but affirming, Oswald nodded and cast his own wind jinx. Tom looked down to his feet and cast, "Colloshoo," before looking out over the lake to survey their opponents. Myrra's group was far in the lead of the rear pack while the other two were deep in an intense duel for third place. Tom watched as spells of all colors of the rainbow exploded and collided in mid-air over the lake behind Myrra, who met Tom's gaze as she raised her own wand and wordlessly sent a bolt of silver at an angle into the sky above him. Tom watched with a smile as the spell continued on its trajectory far above them and he looked back to give her a shrug. But he felt a pit open in his stomach as she replied by gesturing up with her right pointer finger and Tom looked up just in time to see the bolt explode and a thousand smaller bolts rain like shrapnel down from the sky.

Tom yelled, "BLINK!" and the boy looked up too and he screwed up his face as the bolts bombarded his shield. The bombardment began to break their protection and temporarily deafened Tom when one hit it just above Tom's head. The shield finally crumbled under the onslaught and the last few bolts shot into and through their boat, sending up small spouts of water from below and filling their boat.

Oswald broke his Wind Jinx and immediately cast, "Reparo" on the two punctures while Blink cursed loudly and cast a Hot Air Charm, sending the little water in their boat back into the lake.

His feet still stuck to the boat, Tom, now flushed with anger, raised his wand at the quickly gaining Myrra and bellowed, "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"

A jet of white light shot out of Tom's wand and hit the water just under Myrra's boat and for a moment, the girl smirked at his apparent miss. Then she heard the water from under her explode and both Isobel and Tom watched as Myrra and the rest of her group were sent flying 30 feet upward as their boat exploded from the force of the spell. From an unseen source, another jet of white shot from far beyond Tom's sight and exploded underneath Myrra's group as they fell towards the water. Whatever the spell was, Tom didn't know, but he looked in awe as its effect slowed all of their falls at once and they gingerly fell like feathers to the lake as the last remaining boat from the rear pack sped past underneath. Over the loud waves, Blink yelled, "Maybe we don' kill Ozzy-lad's girl, eh Tommy?"

While Oswald retook his position at the back of the boat and resumed his Wind Jinx, Isobel dispelled hers, conjured a spyglass of her own, and said as soon as she held it up to her left eye, " That's Saunders. They'll get us soon. Tom, get back on the wind. You'll disqualify us if you do that again."

Huffing and puffing, Tom grunted as he dispelled his Sticking Charm and joined Oswald, who didn't look at him as the former resumed his Wind Jinx.

Aside from the violent crashes of their boat against the choppy Black Lake, the race was relatively calm as Tom and his group did what they could to keep their quickly diminishing lead in front of Saunders's group's boat. No spells, offensive or defensive, were cast between them for nearly a minute.

Tom, keeping a close watch on everyone in the last boat, watched as Saunders, who was sitting with his eyes closed on a bench near the back, stood up and with a balance and calm that surprised Tom, walked to the front of his boat. With one last step, Saunders raised bare foot on the elevated edge of the boat and bellowed as loud as he could. His group joined him and Tom watched in awe as their battle cry increased the power of their wind spells and now they were gaining on Tom's group even quicker.

50 meters turned into 20, and then to 10 faster than Tom could anticipate and he fumbled with his wand as Blink smacked him in the back and yelled, "COME ON, TOMMY. GET YOUR HEAD…"

That was the last thing Tom heard as he turned his head at just the wrong moment. The last thing he saw was Saunders sending a bolt of bright red light right at his head. The last thing he felt was the impact of a powerful Stunning Spell hitting him right between the eyes.

Tom didn't feel anything more as Blink, Isobel, and Oswald watched their teammate's unconscious body fly 10 meters through the air and crash into the lake ahead of their speeding boat.

Tom didn't feel himself sinking into the depths of the Black Lake.

He didn't feel the intense cold of its waters.

He didn't feel the slimy, tendril-like kelp surround him as it met him halfway down.

He didn't hear the Mermish murmurs as a small group of mermaids watched with pointed tridents as he plunged even further down.

He didn't see them scatter as an unknown mass quickly approached him.

He didn't feel the iridescently blue, green, and purple tentacle catch and cradle his body just before his head would have hit the rocky floor of the Black Lake.

He didn't hear the low moans of the beast as it brought him closer.

He didn't see its massive, singular eye open as it looked at the helpless body in it's grasp.

The first thing Tom experienced was a massive, psychic migraine flood his brain as the Giant Squid gently clutching him brought another of its tentacles up and gently pressed its tip to Tom's forehead.

Tom's eyes burst open, but he didn't see any of what surrounded his body. Instead, he, rather his mind, saw flashes of images. Similar and yet different to the visions that plagued him since he first met Albus Dumbledore, Tom was powerless to stop the rush of information entering his mind.

The body of the Billy Stubb's rabbit slowly rotating in mid-air as he held his hand out.

A shark quickly approaching from ahead with the horrifying, baleful moans of an unknown source.

A massive fire erupting from his extended wand as it magically repaired along desk.

A group of menacing, scaled humanoids with large fins instead of legs angrily gesturing with long tridents at a gigantic, iridescently blue, purple, and green squid as it rushed at them.

A young boy with flowing red hair falling down a massive tower as he held his hand out to catch him, far out of reach.

A young, auburn haired boy carrying him as he walked towards the edge of a massive lake.

The images stopped just as sudden as they started and Tom faded away once again.