AN: I find that there's nothing more fitting than updating a fic on my way to London. It's funny and ironic and I'm a child.

Happy Diwali to all who celebrate it! To my fellow British residents, Happy bonfire night/weekend. Hopefully, the fireworks aren't too much for your family/pets etc. I hope everyone has a good weekend regardless of what you're doing, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 21:The sweeter the sound

29th February 1994

Nariyah tapped her freshly painted nails against the desk. She'd gone with a flamboyant red, though that was mainly because she loved seeing the color as her hand pumped up and down around Blue's dick. The visual stimulus reminded her that all she'd have to do was squeeze a little too tightly, and he'd definitely feel it. That had entertained her more than once during their trysts. Along with the fact that Blue would get visibly frustrated when his actions didn't affect her like he expected them to.

It was probably not a great time to be thinking about that though; the call she was supposed to be having right then was important.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and stretched, feeling her back crack down her spine. When it was done, she sighed again. How long was Ilyas going to take? She hadn't realized that he would take such a long time to get back to her - and annoying as it was to acknowledge, she needed his help in finding Flamel.

What was Ilyas even doing now, anyways? Surely that covert government scheme would be able to wait the five minutes it would take to give her an area code or a country name - or better yet just the address!

Nariyah would have done it herself, but there was an annoying amount of interference surrounding the information. Almost like the Fidelius Charm - but you wouldn't be able to do that on a specific piece of information, would you?

Was it even possible?

If it was, that would be a whole new ball game. Maybe secrets would actually be able to be kept. And what would that mean for her gift? Would she be able to get answers to questions if the answer was shielded that way?

Oh, she didn't like that. Nariyah had spent years honing her gift. Very little was able to withstand it, but if something like that were to come up? Well her value would decrease exponentially.

Her mirror began to vibrate, breaking her out of her thoughts. Finally, it was about time! She reached for it and was immediately presented with her brother's dull face.

"What are you getting yourself into?" he asked.

Nariyah rolled her eyes. "Hello to you too. Did you get the address?"

"It was surprisingly difficult," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

He looked annoyed; things came fairly easily to their family, and Ilyas had always gotten incredibly petulant when things were harder than he expected. They all did to a certain extent.

"Even with my resources there was a hell of a lot of finesse finding the place, and even then I only managed to get the country."

Nariyah frowned. Finding things came easily to her brother, and he was so far up the food chain that for him to have trouble accessing the information the Goblins had given her was troubling. It made her wonder if the Flamels had actually managed to secure the information in some unconventional way that was lost to the ages. They were old as dirt after all.

"Hmm, I wouldn't worry about it," she said, eventually. "What's the address?"

"I managed to track them down to a place in Switzerland called Guarda."

"Anything more concrete?"

"No."

He was interrupted by voices in the background and he turned away from the mirror. Men shouting at each other in a language she didn't know but sounded sort of what she imagined African dialects to sound like. Nariyah knew that was his cue to go, and it was confirmed when he turned back to her.

"Got to go. You gonna make it back home for Adina's birthday?"

"Are you ?" she asked pointedly.

Ilyas smiled. "See you soon, N. Don't get yourself into too much trouble lest dad calls me out to help you. Again."

Nariyah flipped him off just as he ended the call, trying to hold back a groan. He must have worked on being that condescending. It couldn't just come naturally to him, could it? He sure as shit wasn't like that when she was younger.

But at least he'd given her a country to start looking into.

"Fila!" The loud crack was never a sound she'd liked hearing. It sounded a little too much like bones breaking to her, and while she didn't look down on violence, she didn't like being around it unnecessarily. Give her a good old fashioned psychological warfare play any day.

"How can Fila help?"

"Where's Lysander?"

"Master Nott is out doing important business at the moment," the elf said.

It was odd. A quick tempus charm told her that it was well past midnight. Where was the old man? Nariyah tapped her fingernails on the desk again. "What time will he be back?" she asked.

Fila paused, fidgeting with her long, bony fingers. "Fila isn't sure. Master Nott didn't give Fila a time."

"Alright then."

"Can Fila help with anything else?" she asked.

Nariyah was about to say no, but her stomach growled. When was the last time she'd eaten? It couldn't have been longer than a few hours at most. Evidently, Fila heard the noise and there was a shift in her whole demeanour. The elf immediately stopped playing with her fingers and stood up straighter. Her giant eyes narrowed in disdain.

"Will Miss be making her own food this time too?"

Jeez . You made your own food one time and the House Elves got pissy about it! She'd forgotten how uptight they were about it in other countries; when she'd grown up, the Elves back home had gotten used to her and her siblings making their own food when the mood suited them.

No one was getting sold off to another home or family because Nariyah couldn't be bothered to explain how to make a specific meal to enthusiastic servants.

"A grilled cheese sandwich would be nice."

Fila looked at her, measuring Nariyah with a disarming gaze, and then nodded. "Fila will make it. Will you be taking the food in your room?"

Nariyah had half a mind to wait up for Lysander in the drawing-room where he would most likely floo in like an old Bond villain. But she also couldn't be bothered waiting up for him. And he may use the one in his study.

She also didn't want to run into Blue. He'd been in a disgusting mood recently, but that's what happens when you obsessed over children, so…

"My room will be fine."

"Right away, Miss." Filla cracked out of her room and Nariyah moved from her desk to her bed. She lay down on it flat out, feeling her muscles stretch out deliciously. She'd talk to Lysander tomorrow.

Lysander had only been seeing a hooker. That was a boring revelation, but what was far more interesting was how quickly he moved into action when she told him that she'd traced the bank transactions to Guarda. He made preparations and they had an international portkey for his departure a week later.

Nariyah was not going to miss out on getting more information about the uber secret task so, when Lysander mentioned he was going alone, she kicked up the biggest fuss, In the end, both he and Blue acknowledged that it was better she went, just in case there were questions that people couldn't, or wouldn't, answer in person. Lysander didn't know Legilimency, and Blue wasn't going with them.

With that, she packed her bag, apparated to the portkey site and was in Guarda, Switzerland freezing herself off in no time. It was fucking cold in February!

At least she didn't have to wait too long; Lysander had booked a hotel for them for the week. That was the unofficial time limit they had, but Nariyah was under the impression that it would be worse for the two of them to turn back empty-handed than stay longer than they'd anticipated. Blue was impressively trigger happy on the best of days, but he'd been far more antsy than usual if the amount of time he spent in the duelling room was any indication.

It was an expensive hotel - of course it was, Lysander is a snob - so the concierge showed them to their rooms. Hers was just as she would have expected, if a little bit cold, but she wasn't allowed to have a bath like she wanted because as soon as the boy had been tipped and had left, Lysander was at her door.

They convened in the lounge with silencing spells around them so the No-maj's wouldn't hear their conversation. And Jesus, it was an annoying conversation.

"Did you find a specific address?"

"I swear," she said, exasperated, "if you ask me that one more time ." Flamel was hiding somewhere in Guarda, according to his No-Maj records.

It was clever; hiding in the No-Maj world, using their currency, blending in, it was a good move and one that made it all the more fun for Nariyah. Hardly anyone would even think about pulling a stunt like that. She almost hadn't thought about it, and it was pissing her off .

So if she was a little more snappish than usual, well.

"This is important , Nariyah."

"I know that. But Guarda is a small-ish place and has zero Wizarding Communities. We'll just ask around until someone gives us a lead."

Lysander looked at her owlishly. Nariyah took a sip of her hot chocolate while he processed whatever information he needed to, but when a minute passed, she tutted.

At the sound, his owlish stare turned into something with anger. "Is that how you gather your intel?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," she replied.

" That's what I pay you for? Chinese Whispers?! "

"Yep." And immaculate memory wiping for the truly sensitive information, but that was neither here nor there.

For a moment it looked like he was going to throw a tantrum. It would have been highly amusing, and Nariyah almost hoped he would, considering she'd never seen him anything other than stoic or crazy excited about learning or teaching something new. But Lysander brought himself back to neutral.

"I suppose, if it works…"

Nariyah snorted at his dramatics and sipped the last of her hot chocolate. Switzerland did amazing hot chocolate! She'd need to come back one day to just...enjoy the cuisine. And as her eyes slid over the very attractive figures around her, she decided that she'd need to taste more than just the food. But not right now.

Right now, she was on a job.

Lysander frowned and sipped at his tea. He looked like he was contemplating something big, so she let him stay quiet. He'd talk when he needed to. And then he did.

"Mr Nymous isn't someone to be trifled with," he said solemnly.

Nariyah tilted her head. This wasn't where she thought the conversation was going to go, but now that they were there, maybe it was time to bring up the information she had. "You mean Tom Riddle."

At the name, Lysander paled dramatically. It was a feat to do, considering he was already pretty fair-skinned, but all the same, his face rapidly turned an ashen white and his hands started trembling. From where she was sitting, Nariyah could see the tea rippling gently in the cup.

"How did you find out?" he asked.

"I just asked the right questions and he all but shouted it out to me," she said. Nariyah tried not to make it sound so blase. It wasn't like she was unaware of how dangerous the man could be, but it was difficult not to. Apathy was her default setting, and she'd been told more than a few times that it translated into arrogance. From the frown on Lysander's face, she figured she hadn't done too well with it.

"And do you know why that name is important?"

"Not yet." That was something that she hadn't quite latched onto yet. Obviously, she hadn't been able to outright ask Blue why he was holding the Riddle name so closely, and Gringotts was very reluctant to share any information with her regarding the last name - or more accurately, what line Riddle stemmed from - but she definitely hadn't missed their excitement about it.

Lysander sat back in his chair and placed the tea down. There was a moment when the glass rattled against the saucer that seemed to drown out the muffled noises of the patrons, and Nariyah knew that this was something she needed to be even more cautious about. She'd never seen Lysander so shaken.

"What's going on?" she asked. "What are we really doing with Flamel? Why is Blue so important?"

He shook his head. "I can't tell you. More importantly, it's safer that you don't know."

Nariyah bit her tongue at that. She wouldn't argue with Lysander about her safety; it was the one thing he'd always made sure of on all the jobs she'd done for him. For some reason, he'd come to care for her. And while it had been odd at first, she'd come to care for the odd little Nott family as well.

"Nariyah?" she looked up. "I think it's time you choose a side, and choose it now."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

Images of war and chaos flitted through Nariyah's mind. It was the Second Wizarding War; people were dead, families were torn apart, everyone hurt or tortured in some way. And superimposed onto what would have been the Dark Lord was Blue. He stood tall and proud, with a feral smile and a glint in his eye that she'd seen before.

She understood, then, what he meant. Nariyah swallowed.

"Think about it," Lysander said. "You don't need to actively be on his side, but don't oppose him. Your gift is rare and I would rather see it used than see you...disposed of."

"How long do I have?" she asked.

"I can't say for certain. But what we find on this trip is going to be instrumental to the upcoming plans. So I need you to take this seriously," he said.

Nariyah rubbed at her mouth, careful not to smudge her lipstick, and smiled. "I always do, Lysander. You know me."

It was long and tedious. Along with her portkey, Lysander had given her a Runic translate stone that she'd fashioned into a necklace. It was a good thing too, because not being able to understand the locals would have put a damper on her whole ' I'm really important to this so bring me along' spiel. The stone stopped her need to eat humble pie - which she always appreciated.

And because of the stones, she was able to hear all the boring shit that people spoke about in bars. And libraries. And restaurants. And hotel lobbies. People truly had dull lives.

And to top it all off, nobody was saying anything that could help her. And that was very bad. Her conversation with Lysander was still at the forefront of her mind.

The images she'd seen in Lysander's mind had left Nariyah shaken in a way that she wasn't able to brush off. Something about it had struck her hard. Of course she'd been old enough to hear about the last Wizarding War, but being in Egypt had kept the brunt of it away from her. It was easy to ignore when it didn't have anything to do with her.

It still didn't have anything to do with her. But Lysander hadn't been joking when he said she needed to pick a side. She'd sensed that.

But did that mean she needed to pick one now? Probably not. Still, she started redoubling her efforts, working harder to get any information she could on the Flamels. Just because she'd slept with Blue a few times didn't mean that he didn't think she was indispensable. He reminded her of that every time he looked at her.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing, drinking all alone?" he asked. The stone translated it perfectly.

Nariyah swivelled in her chair to look at the man who'd approached her. He was tall, blonde, had blue eyes and very nice to look at. And he was interested in her.

She'd been a little worried that translations would sound fuzzy; sometimes the quality of the stone was shit, and it made hearing the English translations difficult to understand. Almost like you were drunk. But, she reminded herself as she sat by the table and ordered herself a beer, this was Lysander. He was a giant fucking nerd. Or a Ravenclaw. Whichever. So the stones worked perfectly.

"Waiting for you to buy me another drink," she said, smiling coquettishly.

"Ah, a foreigner," he said, switching to accented English. "Well then, I must buy you one. What are you having?"

"A sour," she said.

The man raised his brow and then nodded to the bartender. The bartender immediately poured out another beer and took away her empty bottle, placing the fresh one on the coaster.

"You must like the strong ones, then?" he asked. The man took a seat next to her on the stool and made it face Nariyah. She angled it so that her legs were facing his, just touching, and she placed one hand on the base of the beer glass.

"I guess so," she said.

"Tell me, what are you doing here in the cold? You seem much more suited to warmer climates."

"Are you not even going to tell me your name?" she asked.

The man smiled. "Of course. My name is Elías. "

Nariyah held her hand out for him to shake, but he brought hers to his lips and kissed it softly. Images of Nariyah on her back and her knees played through her mind as he answered her question, and she smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Elías . My name is Nyla."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

"Thank you." She'd left her hand in his, but now it was time to gently pull it away. He let her hand go, but he continued to look into her eyes. He was a handsome man, that was true, and if it were any other job, she'd be more inclined to sleep with him. But this one was important.

"Will you answer my question now?" Elías asked, sipping from his own beer.

Nariyah sighed and leaned forward on the counter. "I'm a writer," she said. "I came to Guarda hoping to find some inspiration for my new novel but I've been coming up short."

"A writer? What do you write?"

"Horror fantasy," she said.

Elías raised a thick eyebrow and smiled almost patronisingly. "How interesting."

"It's a lot of fun. I enjoy coming to smaller towns and getting their histories, basing some of my works on those things. But there doesn't seem to be much in Guarda. So far it seems like this will be a wasted trip."

He hummed. "Well, we can't have that. What sorts of things are you looking for?" he asked.

She took a sip of her drink. "Urban legends, rumours...things that hold enough truth that you can make something of them."

Elías smiled. "I can definitely help you out with something like that. I'm a bit of a history expert here."

"Really?"

"Yes, very much so. In fact, have you heard of the Old Ghosts?"

"I don't think I have," she said.

"There is an old legend here, spanning back millennia. The legend tells of two spirits who lay unsettled in the hills. They were once peaceful spirits who would help the village, caring for the sick and the dying, providing water and food when the winters were harsh, and gold for trade. But they say one day the spirits were injured. A great, piercing cry was heard over the village and the ground cracked open. The mountains shook and the forest lost its life.

"When the town heard, they went to investigate. A handful of the strongest men left, taking their weapons and their prayers in case they were needed to fight off the spirits. For three days and three nights, they looked through the mountains, resting only when they could. Eventually, they came across a mountain with a hut carved into the side of it.

"They entered, and immediately were gripped from their bodies. The men cried out for help, but the spirits were tired of helping them. Of providing for them. And they were angry.

"Many of the men were left, shells of themselves, only alive in body but not in soul. And the spirits grew stronger from their feats. In front of those left behind, the spirits took on the body of the young, and with the power of a dozen lives, they laid waste to the area.

"Only a few escaped their wrath.

"When they returned, those few men that were left, they weren't able to tell anyone what had happened. The memory was lost to the village forever, and so were their men. Since then, no-one has gone up to that part of the mountains. Some have tried, but they all return confused and unable to remember where they had been for the last three days."

"That's quite a legend," Nariayh said.

"It is, isn't it?"

Nariyah took a moment to browse through his thoughts and she noticed something interesting. There was almost a filter on certain areas, like his thoughts would slide off something or another. It wasn't as strong as when she'd asked questions like this to the other patrons of the town - maybe because he was younger and he was more naturally inquisitive.

It reminded her of what would happen after No-Maj repelling wards had been applied or they'd been obliviated, but she needed a stronger connection.

" Elías," she reached forwards and grabbed at his arm with her hand. His shirt material was thin enough that she could feel the heat of his muscles radiating underneath. It wasn't the best, but it would do. " Please tell me there's a library with this information! I would love to research more about it."

He placed his own hand on hers, strengthening the connection on his own. "There is, but they're all in Romansch. I doubt, very much, that you'd be able to read them, beautiful lady."

She sighed as if disappointed. "Can I ask you more questions, then?"

"Of course! Would you like to come with me to my hotel room?"

Nariyah nodded. She gathered her things while Elías paid the rest of her tab. When he was done, she linked arms with him, and they walked towards the hotel. There was only one major one in Guarda, the rest were mom and pop beds and breakfasts.

Nariyah almost laughed when he walked her to the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor. And when he walked her to the room opposite hers, she couldn't help but laugh.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just think those Sours are getting to me," she said.

Elías grinned. "Ah, yes. They can be quite strong."

She waited until she was inside and had put her things down. Then she pulled out her wand and cast the befuddlement charm. So many people overlooked the charm because of its simplicity, but the more confused a person was, the easier it was to find what was being hidden.

"Tell me, Elías, when was this legend supposed to have taken place?"

" What legend?" He'd reverted back to Romansch. It seemed like Nariyah was going to have to thank Lysander for the stones again. Maybe a good bottle of Bourbon. Or a hooker.

"The Old Ghosts."

"I don't know. "

She grabbed his cheek with her hand and forced his face to focus on hers. "Think!" she ordered.

" About a thousand years ago," he mumbled. His thoughts said something else. Something was sliding over them and keeping them almost blank.

"More specifically?" she asked. "700 years?" Nope. "800 years?" Nope. "900?" His mind slid blank.

Nine hundred years ago. Interesting. Something powerful had happened here nine hundred years ago and made it so that, even now, the townspeople - and apparently people who didn't even live here anymore - were affected by them.

That was big magic.

"And these spirits, they lived in the mountains?" she asked.

" Think so, " he said. Nothing covered his thoughts, so it wasn't the mountains.

"How about the forest areas?" Nope, that was a bust. "The abandoned hills?"

" It's a legend, " he said. " I don't know. "

Bingo! In one of the many boring conversations she'd overheard, Nariyah had found out about a section of the hills that had been condemned due to how unstable they were. And in the winter, they were even more dangerous because they could cause a collapse that could lead to a massive avalanche. It was believable, but it had also struck her as super convenient too. That was exactly where she would have hidden if she were hiding.

Well, that was useful. But now she had to figure out how she was going to find the area.

Nariyah looked at Elías and a thought occurred. He was starting to brush off the befuddlement spell - apparently his ability to remember things went somewhat towards a mental shield as well. Maybe he was a natural Occlumens, or a squib from a powerful line. Whatever, it didn't really matter unless he was also able to brush off an Imperio. And not many people were able to do that .

" What did you do to me? " Elías groaned, rubbing at his head.

"Don't worry about that," she said, kneeling down so that she was level with him on the couch. "Do you know where the condemned hills are? Like, well enough to show me?"

He groaned again but in his mind, she saw a flash of the hills in the summertime, the restricted access signs and the fear of that area before it slid out of his mind again. So he knew where it was, he just didn't like being around there for whatever magical reason.

She could work with that.

"Imperio." There was a moment of panic before the familiar glaze over his eyes confirmed that he wasn't going to be able to fight it off.

Nariyah smiled.

"Alright Elías, tomorrow, you're gonna take me to these condemned hills, and we're gonna find ourselves some Old Ghosts."

Elías nodded. Maybe this wasn't going to be so hard.

Nariyah was up before her alarm. She'd slept badly, and now she had a killer headache. It was putting her in a bad mood, so when Elías knocked on her door, she was already hoping that she could punch something.

He didn't say much, but the glaze was still over his eye. She was never the best at using the Imperius curse, but she could do it in a pinch. Still, she reinforced the spell for good measure and then they were on their way.

He led her to a car and they began driving through the snow, higher and higher in altitude until they reached a small turning. Elías shut off the engine and for a moment, while they both sat in the car looking out at the huge mounds of snow, Nariyah wondered if she should have told Lysander what she was doing.

She really wasn't used to working with other people. In hindsight, it would be useful to have someone know where she was. Just in case.

Well, there wasn't anything she could do about it now.

" This isn't a good idea," Elías said.

"Yeah, well," was all she said. Nariyah opened the door and was met with the wind, slapping her in the face with its cold hands. She shivered forcefully and pulled her coat tightly around her before subtly casting a warming charm on herself. Then after another thought, she cast one on Elías as well. He wouldn't be much use to her if he froze to death.

" This way." He hoisted a heavy-looking rucksack onto his shoulders and began walking.

It wasn't too bad at first. The hills were covered over by large trees so the path they were on could vaguely be seen. But then they started going up a steeper incline, and it started getting challenging to walk. More than once, Nariyah slipped on the snow or the ice and had to catch herself from falling or hitting her head.

Elías commented on it after the third time it happened. " I told you this wasn't a good idea."

"You're real damn chatty, Elías!"

" There's obviously something off about you. You do not speak Romansch, and yet you respond to me like you do. I do not feel the cold, even though it is freezing temperatures. And I cannot leave, though I do not want to be doing this ."

Well, that was awesome. She had an aware No-Maj on her hands.

"It must be my stunning charm and personality," she deadpanned.

"I don't think it is. My Grandfather told stories of your kind. Though I never believed in the Fae."

Nariyah looked at him while she comprehended what he'd just said to her. He thought she was a Fae. He thought she was a fairy. Well, if that was what made sense to his No-Maj brain then she wasn't going to say anything. At the very least, it was going to make it easier to follow through with the Statute of Secrecy. Not that she wasn't going to obliviate the guy as soon as he'd got her there and back.

"Sure. Fae. Let's go now."

They walked for what felt like an eternity before they got to a large sign on a metal pole with red around it. The area behind the pole was fenced off with tall crisscrossing wire. Nariyah walked up to it and placed her hand on the wire. There was an undercurrent of magic thrumming through it that felt very much like a No-Maj repellent spell, but just beyond it she could sense something else as well. Something powerful. Something old.

Nariyah heard rustling from behind her. When she turned around, she saw Elías rummaging through the rucksack until he brought out a pair of large bolt cutters. She watched, with a raised brow, as he moved towards the wired fence and sliced through the metal like it was butter, creating an opening big enough for the two of them to get through.

Well, she always praised ingenuity. And it was also odd that the imperio had gotten him to bring those. That wasn't really how the commands worked, were they?

"There! Through this fence are the condemned hills. Will you release me from your power now?"

Nariyah laughed. "I don't think so. I still need to find my way back as well. Come on." She turned and walked through the fence knowing that he would follow her, and sure enough he did.

It wouldn't have mattered either way; she would have just imperio'd him again. But she'd seen the shack in his mind; he'd seen it before - whether he remembered it or not was another matter - and he would take her there.

As she walked through the fence, she felt something wash over her. There was almost an intense desire to leave - it was strong and pushed against the mental shields she had, but it was still only a compulsion. When she turned to look if Elías was following her though, she noticed how anxious and fidgety he seemed.

"This place is not right," he said quietly.

"Good. It means we're where we're supposed to be."

"Please -"

"Keep moving, Elías."

She heard him move through the snow, closer to her. Once he was next to her again, Nariyah started off. The further past the fence she got, the more this compulsion pressed on her mind. It was uncomfortable, but it was something she could manage.

There was also an unnatural silence. The snow still fell, and the wind still blew through the trees, but something about it seemed fake. Like the area was on show, or there was some sort of filter over it. Some sort of ward, maybe?

Soon enough, Nariyah could see a clearing up ahead. It couldn't have been more than five metres away, and it was without snow, without trees, incredibly bare and almost barren if not for the patch of grass that surrounded it.

" Nyla -"

"Shut up!"

"I can't be here -"

"Hush!"

Then, through that fake, unnatural noise, came the sound of a door being opened. Nariyah whipped her head back towards the clearing. It was almost too far away for her to make out, but she could barely see a frail old man standing at the front of the entrance to the shack. He was pulling along a bleating goat.

" Please -" Elías whimpered.

She turned to him, annoyed, but his face was pale and he was trembling. Like he was truly in the middle of needing to go and needing to stay.

Elías began convulsing on the spot. Blood began streaming from his nose, running down onto his white coat. He fell to the floor, spasming on the spot. And then he wasn't. His stillness held the same unnaturalness as the sounds in the clearing, and Nariyah knew he was dead.

Why though?

Sound from the clearing alerted her to someone coming her way. "Shit!"

Could she just leave him there? If she left him and whoever noticed or found him, they might leave. And while she couldn't be sure that it was Flamel in that house, it would be incredibly stupid to let someone that powerful find a body on their perimeters. At the very least they'd move! And Nariyah couldn't waste a potential lead.

The bleating was coming closer, and Nariyah panicked. She shrunk Elías' body, hoping it wouldn't cause him to swell or bloat like some organic materials could, and buried him by a tree with an unusual stone.

Would the magic stay on a dead body though? She knew it would stick when someone died with an enchantment on them, but she was pretty sure that Elías had been dead as a doornail when she'd cast the charm. Would it stick, then?

"For fuck's sake!" she whispered.

Nariyah dug up the body again, trying not to get any of the blood on her hands and vanishing the snow that was now tinged pink from where he'd fallen and where she'd buried him.

The bleating was too close now. She could hear the shuffling of steps in the snow. They were slow, but they were persistent.

Nariyah cast a silencing charm on her shoes and turned, trying to get back to the trail and the fence as quickly as possible. This was definitely not fun!

AN: Ok. The quest for the Philosopher's stone has some purchase. Keen-eyed readers may pick up similarities between Full Metal Alchemist - I highly recommend this anime. It's amazing! - and some of the things in the fic. I've pulled inspiration from FMA's philosopher stones and its Alchemy so hopefully, it's been interesting. More will tie in later.

I hope you... enjoyed (?) the chapter. The next will be up in a couple of weeks (hopefully). I start another new job in December - one that doesn't have me commuting between two cities every day - so there will be more time/energy to write. As always, thank you to my betas for reading through this.

If anyone wants to comment, I will always appreciate it and endeavour to respond. Questions, comments, queries - hell even theories. I'd love to hear it. I won't spoil it obviously, but it's always fun to see what readers extrapolate from what I've written. Gives a good indication as to whether I'm dropping enough hints too.