N.E.

The next day, Arthur Dayne and Megan Rapinoe interviewed Jojen, who told them everything. He told them every single detail that he could remember, from the very first encounter in Diagon Alley to the incident where they were trapped in the burning classroom to the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, ending with how he had found the entrance of the trapdoor planted by the Slytherins and led everyone into a trap.

He was a fool, a child playing a game that he did not understand.

Dayne and Rapinoe knew most of what had happened leading up to the night, they had interviewed everyone else, not everyone in his party knew all the details, but Griff and Louvel were there at every step of the way.

"So even after you found this trapdoor, it did not occur to you to tell any of the Professor or Aurors that were in the castle at that time," Dayne clarified.

"Why would I?" Jojen asked, "The Aurors were here for George and… I wanted to catch the Slytherins myself."

"So, the visions by this centaur Glenstorm were right all along, the vision of the boy with blood dripping from his eyes came true in the end," Leslie remarked.

"I did not want to bring him along with us," Jojen replied, 'But he wanted to be there at the very end, to see how it all goes down, and I thought that we would be able to protect him, you know… if a fight broke out."

Dayne nodded understandingly as he made notes in his notebook.

"If this is the great tragedy that the centaur had spoken off, then it is a guarantee that you would win the Triwizard Tournament," Leslie added.

"This might not have been the great tragedy that he foresaw…" Jojen said.

"Did they do something worse?" Dayne looked at Jojen with his eyes wide open in bewilderment. He was a veteran Auror and Jojen was sure that he would have seen nastier crimes than this. But probably none of those was committed by a couple of teenagers. That was what they were, nothing more than teenagers.

"They have George," Jojen muttered, the words coming out from his mouth sounded like the words of someone else, someone very foreign to him.

"What?" Dayne's eyes opened wide, his was looking even paler than he had been in the morning. Even Leslie stopped chewing her gum.

"George?" he finally asked, "Are you sure… They had killed him?"

"Not yet," Jojen replied, "But they are going to."

He told them about the last conversation he had with Lysander and Walder Frey, and everything that had happened in the dungeons that night. When he had at last finished, both Aurors fell silent.

The Hospital Wing was empty that morning, besides the two Aurors, the only other person around was Aunt Rose, in her office. The blinds we still being placed around Aemon's bed, so that any student that stumbled into the ward looking for treatment would not see his disfigured face.

Jojen's parents were still in the school, but neither of them had spoken to Jojen. He did not blame them, he would not want to speak to himself either, after everything that he had caused. Uncle Fred came over after breakfast to check on him, "You scared all of us yesterday," he told Jojen as he looked at the bandages on his arms and legs, Jojen was wrapped up like a mummified corpse, "Breaking all your bones just to walk across the rooms. We have all seen some crazy shit before, but never any like those."

"I've seen enough crazy shit this year to last several lifetimes," Jojen told him.

"You have been through a lot, all of you, do not blame your parents," Uncle Fred said when he was leaving, "They are in shock, that's all."

Jojen nodded as Uncle Fred left.

"Any luck finding the Slytherins?" Jojen asked the two Aurors.

Dayne and Leslie exchanged looks, "This information is sensitive, but..."

"We have Aurors watching the houses of all of the suspects," he told Jojen, "So far none of them has returned home.

"Officials are patrolling the Hogwarts gates the night of the incident, they have been there ever since George Wesley was reported missing during Easter, and no one had left the grounds unauthorised since then, including the night when you were attacked," Leslie added.

"It was late at night, visibility is low, they might be taking a nap," Jojen pointed out.

"Maybe they had dozed off," Dayne admitted, "But the security charms that they had cast were still in place. They might have been broken, but there was no mark of tampering, we're highly confident that no one had left the grounds through the gates."

"There are other ways to leave the school," Jojen pointed out. The Great Lake is impossible to guard, a simple ship can carry them out of Hogwarts's boundary. The Forbidden Forest stretches on for miles, it is dangerous, but they could make their way out of Hogwarts through the trees.

"Professor Longbottom had made us aware of such possible escape routes," Dayne informed him, "There are charms in place to prevent witches or wizards from unlawfully entering the Hogwarts grounds through those means, but nothing is stopping them from leaving."

"It could be possible that they are still holed up at Hogwarts?" Rapinoe told Jojen, "Do you know of any other hiding spots? Like another giant abandoned dungeon or something."

Jojen could not think of anything, but Hogwarts was full of secrets, he would not be surprised if it turns out that they were hiding in the massive castle after all. His grandparents have once told him the story of the Room of Requirement. A magical room on the Seventh Floor that can change into a room to meet whatever needs the user had at that moment, it was where Dumbledore's Army, a group founded by Harry Potter during the Second Wizarding War hid out. It was destroyed by an out-of-control Fiendfyre, and no one has ever been able to use it since. Could there possibly be the existence of a second Room of Requirement in the school?

"You would do well to check the Chamber of Secrets," Jojen suggested, "But I doubt that they would be there."

The Aurors left after their questioning. Aunt Rose walked out of her office to check on the two boys. Jojen heard her talking to Aemon from within the binds and Aemon replying, his voice still sounded cheerful.

After everything that happened last night, Aunt Rose had decided to tie Jojen to his bed, now he could not even sit up. His broken bones needed time to regrow and mend, and his action yesterday, undid a day of bone-growing.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked, sitting on the chair Rapinoe had vacated minutes earlier.

"Fantastic," Jojen lied, putting a smile on his face.

Aunt Rose checked his limbs, "The bones seemed to have healed pretty well," she concluded, "You will be out of here in no time."

"What about Aemon," Jojen asked, dropping his voice to a whisper, "Are you able to fix his eyes?"

"I can fix what is broken" she sighed softly, "But not create what is not there."

"But… his eyes are in the dungeons," Jojen insisted, "They were there on the floor…" squashed into a pulp by Dura Frey, part of it was still stuck to the shoes of her heels.

"I've seen it Jojen, I'm sorry, the damage cannot be undone," she told him.

Tied to the bed with nothing to do, Jojen slept for most of the morning, when Aunt Rose woke him up for lunch, Louvel, Griff and Daario had just walked in.

"I'll leave you boys to it," Aunt Rose said as she left.

Jojen unpacked the lunch that Aunt Rose had prepared for her, roast chicken and mash potatoes with salad. "Are any of you punished?" Jojen asked as he started eating.

"Everyone that participated in the skirmish received double detentions, even the Durmstrang students," Louvel informed him.

"And Julia," Griff added.

"I still can't believe that we were all taken out by sleeping gas," Daario grumbled, sitting on the bed to the right of Jojen, "I always imagined a climactic finale to end our year."

Poison was the weapon of cowards, but also ruthlessly effective. They had been outsmarted and beaten. Jojen had been too arrogant, thinking that he was the chosen one, and everything would go his way, and the day would end with him as a hero. It did not, the day ended with him as nothing but the helpless spectator. The only chosen one in his family was Harry Potter.

"There are lots of rumours going around," Louvel told Jojen as he ate.

"Who's telling stories?" Jojen asked.

"No one," Griff told him, "There was nothing glorious about being totally and utterly beaten…" His face was grim as he spoke.

"And after everything that had happened, everyone's morale is low," Louvel informed him.

"But the disappearance of over thirty Slytherins overnight had startled people, and your disappearance during the last two days has not been unnoticed," Daario explained.

"How is everyone else holding up?" Jojen asked.

"No one else had been hurt physically," Louvel assured him, "But many are still in shock. Julia had it the worst, she was worried sick the whole night, and the sight of the two of you being brought into the Hospital Wing must have left her traumatized."

"It must not have been pretty," Jojen muttered.

After his friends left, Jojen spent the afternoon sleeping once more, when he woke, he saw that the blinds placed on him by Aunt Rose had been removed. "You're not yet fully recovered," Aunt Rose told him, "But your bones are strong enough that they will not crack."

She placed a large bottle of potion beside Jojen's bedstand. "Drink this three times a day, one cup after every meal, and do not get yourself into another fight anytime soon."

"I will try my best not to," Jojen assured her.

He visited Aemon again before he left, he was lying on his bed, hands behind his head.

"I'm bored Jojen," he said, "I wish I have a book to read."

"I will come back tomorrow with a book," Jojen told him, "I will read to you." He promised.

A large grin appeared on his face when he heard it. Jojen's heart ached when he saw his grin. He left the Hospital Wing slowly, his newly grown bones ached as he walked, Jojen half expected them to crack once more while climbing the stairs, but his bones held up and he found his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room without much trouble. The more he walked and climb, the better he felt and the faster he went.

Everyone stared as he entered the room, they all had a hundred questions on their lips, but none asked as he made his way slowly back to his dormitory. Griff was not there, he was probably with Daario, Smalljon and Jacob were playing a game of Exploding Snap and drinking a bottle of mulberry wine.

"Hey! Look, the Dragonslayer is back," Smalljon's face split into a large grin when he saw Jojen enter the room.

"Come join us for a game," Jacob added, waving his hands in welcome.

Their warm welcome stunned Jojen for a few seconds, he stood there gawping at them for several moments before he found the words: "I'm sorry for putting the two of you through all that danger."

"It's alright, neither of us was hurt in any way," Smalljon replied, waving his hands at him, dusting away the past and throwing those unpleasant memories to the back of his mind.

"Come join us for a drink," Jacob grinned, holding up the bottle of mulberry wine.

Jojen obliged, spending the next hour playing card games with his friends and having a good time.

The month that followed was one of the most peaceful months that Jojen had experienced in his years in Hogwarts. With Walder Frey no longer at Hogwarts, Jojen felt like a part of him had gone missing, there will never be anyone who will prank Jojen in the corridors ever again.

Meanwhile, the Professors were busy preparing the students for their N.E. exams, April was almost over and the exams would start in the first week of June. Jojen had tons of revision materials to go through each day, which filled up most of his time and kept his mind from wandering about other things.

Professor Longbottom did not dish out any additional punishments to Jojen for his reckless actions, he even notified Jojen that all his remaining detentions for the year were cancelled so that he would have time to focus on his exams.

He visited Aemon every weekday night except Wednesday, spending an hour or two with him. Sometimes, he would read to Aemon from a thick spellbook, other times, he would discuss N.E. question with Aemon, whose mind was still as sharp as ever and was only too happy to answer. He could no longer see, but his intelligence and thirst for knowledge were not reduced the slightest.

Sometimes he would be joined besides Aemon's bed by Meera, or Louvel, or even Davos, Stannis or Julia. They would take turns reading, discussing academic questions or simply sit around chatting. Aunt Rose tried a hundred ways to help Aemon regain his sight, but to grow an organ, especially one as complex as the eye, is nearly impossible. She wrote letters and invited renowned Healers from St Mungo's and other healing institutions to Hogwarts, but none of the therapies that they had attempted worked.

Aemon remained in the Hospital Wing, away from prying eyes. Professor Longbottom told the school that the thirty-one Slytherin students that had vanished from the school were expelled and wanted by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for breaking school rules and magical law by practising forbidden Dark Arts. But Aemon's disappearance, which had coincided with the disappearance of the Slytherins, was not unnoticed, and dispute the Professor's strongest insistence that Aemon had only suffered minor injuries and is in St Mungo under observation, rumours were widespread that Aemon, along with George, had been murdered by the escaped Slytherins.

The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students have returned to their schools to prepare for their N.E. level exams. Jojen was longer spending his nights in Roza's room. He slept in his dormitory, often finding himself staring at George's empty bed next to him, wondering if the Aurors, Arthur Dayne and Ygritte Leslie would be able to find him before anything Lysander and Walder Frey finally decide to commit murder.

Weekends were no longer spent scrubbing shit stains from toilet bowls, instead, Jojen was in the library, buried behind a pile of revision materials. He studied with Griff and Daario, occasionally comparing notes, and discussing the finer points of the Human Transfiguration Theory.

On Sunday nights, Jojen would spend time with his friends and cousins, sitting by their usual corner of the Common Room and just enjoying being in each other's company. He would find himself spending a lot of time with Amanda and Brandon, telling them about his experiences in Hogwarts over the years and encouraging them to make more friends with the students from the other Houses. Both believed what their older cousins had told them, that Aemon was simply having under observation in St Mungo and would make a full recovery. One day, they would know the truth about what had happened, but before that day came, Jojen wanted to protect their innocence, and he did not want them to spend seven years feuding with someone from Slytherin House.

Just like during their O. year, after the Professors had covered the syllabus, they started devoting entire lessons to the revision of course materials. The professors spent the time either going through past year N.E. papers and likely questions that might come out this time or giving open consultations to their students.

The weather for May was perfect, the skies were clear and blue, there was a cool breeze outside and it was not cold enough to require anyone to wear more than two layers of cloths, and in the afternoon, the sun shone just warmly enough to bask everyone in a golden ray of sunshine. Jojen could only look longingly at the students playing outside in the castle grounds as he revised. The internal exams for most students in other levels were in mid-June, and for most of those who had finished their exams, schoolwork was tossed to the back of their minds, to be thought about only when the next school year came around. But for the students taking O. and N.E. , the last month before their papers was far too short, and time was a precious commodity to them, they hung on to every day and squeezed as many seconds as they could out of it.

Jojen remembered the revision for his O. being much harder, perhaps it was because he had more subjects and five years' worth of materials to cover back then or maybe he was just more efficient having had the experience of preparing for a major exam and was more adept at planning his revision schedule, Jojen found himself feeling much more confident for his N.E. then his O. .

Jojen's first paper was Transfiguration, one of his most confident subjects. Transfiguration at N.E. level was heavily focused on Creation Spells as well as Human Transfiguration, Jojen might have mis-phrased some of the definitions, but he had made up for it by acing the practical test. Creating a full set of modern style furniture out of thin air and turning himself into a lion on command.

He had Tuesday and Wednesday off to study for the next paper, while Griff, who took more subjects than Jojen, had his Herbology exams on Wednesday. On Thursday, Jojen was faced with one of his weakest subjects, Potions, he did not do very well for the theory test and was pretty sure he wrote a wrong explanation of Golpalott's Third Law, but the Wirbelsäule Potion that he brewed in the afternoon's practical lesson had reached an optimum colour and texture. He ended the week on a somewhat hopeful note and turned his attention to the revision of Charms and Alchemy.

He did not do as well for Charms as he would have wanted, failing to successfully cast the perfect Anti-Thief Charm, the examining professor was able to steal Jojen's fake Galleon from under his nose. Alchemy on Wednesday passed much more smoothly for Jojen, he had successfully turned a vial of plain water into the most delicious pumpkin juice, the examiner summoned one of Hogwarts's House Elf to try out Jojen's handicraft and she shrieked: "Best drink I have ever tasted sir!"

During the third week, Jojen had his theory test on Further Studies in Transfiguration and Charms on Monday and the practical test on Tuesday, he felt that he had done sufficiently well for both, being able to provide decent answers to the theoretical questions as well as animating a metal statue of a chimpanzee to play a violin.

Wednesday was Defence Against the Dark Arts, easily Jojen's most comfortable subject. As N.E. was conducted by external invigilators, the Hogwarts's professors were mostly not involved in the exams. But most of the Professors showed up, watching how their students had performed during the practical tests.

As Jojen left the Hall after his Defence Against the Dark Arts practical, he saw Professor Hotah leaning against the frame of the door with a rare smile. "Not bad Jojen, I would expect nothing less from a Hogwarts Champion."

"I had a good teacher," Jojen told him, "There is much more that I can learn from you."

"Flattery does not seem to be your strong suit Weasley," Professor Hotah replied, "Stick to fighting monsters."

"I have slain Chimeras and killed Dragons," Jojen recounted, "But I've found that humans would be the most monstrous of them all."

Professor Hotah let out a soft sigh as he nodded.

"Well… I still have one and a half week to The Third Task, and now that my N.E. are over, I have plenty of free time. Could I request a few more lessons with you? To learn more about duelling, Jojen requested, he had been thinking of asking Professor Hotah for some time now.

"I've taught hundreds of students these few years in Hogwarts, but I struggle to think of many that could even come close to your ability in fighting with a wand," he replied, "At your age, you are already strong than most witches or wizards would ever be in their whole life."

"I'm flattered by your praise Professor," Jojen replied, "But my abilities are still below that of Chloé and Ragnar, they are the ones I need to judge myself against."

Professor Hotah nodded as he replied, "Well reasoned, hmm… most of my classes have ended and I am rather free, I suppose a few lessons can benefit you greatly."

His exams might be over, but he still had one last lesson, with Professor Jory Cassel.

Ever since the night that Jojen almost killed his twin, Jory Cassel has been giving Jojen lessons, in the form of detentions every Sunday.

Jojen still remembered feeling tentative and uncertain when he reported to his first 'detention' with the Professor. It was in a small fifth-floor classroom.

"Come in Jojen," Professor Cassel said when he knocked on the door.

Jojen walked in, looking around the classroom, the Professor was standing in front of the chalkboard, he mentioned for Jojen to take a seat.

"I see you have learnt some fragmented pieces of air elemental magic from your cousin, Miss Potter," Professor Cassel started.

"How... how did you know?" Jojen asked.

"There are only a few students in the entire school that have managed to learn some of the rudimentary fundamentals of the elemental magic," he replied, "Most students struggle to even master the basic and conjure so much as a wisp of wind or a drop of water. It was not difficult to guess who taught you. Miss Potter have a natural affinity with wind, she was able to harness the element of air easily.

"But while her skills at using the air elements might have been one of the best in Hogwarts, she had not attained the required magical mastery to be able to teach, and pass on her skills in the elemental arts. You have learnt from someone who is not fit to be a teacher, and however impressive your aptitude for the elemental arts might have been, you have learnt wrongly, and I am here to undo your learning and teach you the right way."

Jojen spent the next few weeks under the personal tutelage of Professor Cassel, learning the mystics of the air and how to shape it.

"You should have taken Magical Theory in N.E. level," Professor Cassel remarked after their third lesson, "You would have gotten an easy 'O'."

"That was one of my first choices," Jojen admitted, "But Professor Sturgis convinced me to make full use of my talent in Transfiguration and to give Further Studies in Transfiguration and Charms a go."

By his fourth lesson, Jojen was able to manipulate the wind to carry a swan folded from paper parchment and fly a few circles around the castle. He was able to control the force of his spells, able to cut a watermelon into pieces with precise and dynamic cuts. He was far from a master of the air element, but he was, in Professor Cassel's words, an adept user.

Jojen's last lesson with Professor Cassel was simple, it was a revision of what he had learnt from the young Professor. Jojen demonstrated his capabilities, creating small whirlwinds, controlling the speed and direction of the air.

"You've learnt well, in such a short time," Professor Cassel nodded in approval.

"But I have only learnt one of the four elemental arts," Jojen replied, "There is still much more that you can teach me."

Professor Cassel smiled: "You are young Jojen, but I hope you can grasp the concept of proficiency versus extensive."

"Sometimes, the humblest spells are often the most effective," he said, "Take for example Professor Potter, he never mastered any of the four elemental arts, I doubt he is even familiar with the theory and concept of them, yet, he had managed to defeat one of the greatest Dark wizards of his generation with nothing but Expelliarmus."

Jojen nodded, he had not fully comprehended what the young Professor had just told him, but he understood what he meant.

The examinations for O. and N.E. took three weeks, and when it finally ended, the students were able to enjoy one last Hogsmeade trip. The Fifth and Seventh Years needed it the most, a chance to relax, enjoy themselves, and celebrate the end of a gruesome and long exam with their friends. Jojen's detentions had been cancelled, but his ban on Hogsmeade was not lifted, furthermore, he had a training session with Professor Hotah planed on that day.

Their training was conducted at the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, Professor Hotah wanted to test Jojen's strengths and weakness, they started with a duel.

Jojen went on the offence, throwing everything he had at Professor Hotah, but he was unable to breach his defences.

"Aim when you cast your spell Weasley!" the Professor shouted as a stunning spell from Jojen whizzed over his head.

"I am aiming," Jojen panted, he dived to his side when he saw a barrage of spells heading his way.

He took cover behind the trunk of a tree, breathing heavily. "Never let your guard down, just because I can't see you, doesn't mean that I can't hit you!"

There was a weird metallic rustling sound coming from above him, Jojen looked up and saw leaves start to drop from the branches, they had been transformed into silvery and metallic.

"Protego Maxima!" Jojen shouted, lifting his wand, his shield charm held and protected Jojen from the falling leaves, like an umbrella blocking out raindrops. The leaves bit into the ground as they landed, some burying themselves as much as two inches into the soil.

Jojen ran away from the hail of metal leaves, in front of him, the ground trembled. Was Professor Hotah so powerful that he could create an earthquake?

The ground before Jojen rose, a pillar of earth, as thick as the trunks of the trees blocked his route.

Jojen stood there, mouth opened in awe at the awesome display of power.

"Petrificus Totalus!" a green spell hit Jojen straight in the back. Jojen's hand and legs snapped, and he fell over, immobile.

"Never leave yourself open," Professor Hotah told Jojen when he revived him, "Never pause in battle like how you pause back there."

"I was just surprised," Jojen muttered, "I've never seen magic like that."

"There are many more wonders and magic in this world," Professor Hotah laughed, "I have seen much more bewildering and bizarre magic in my time, do I stand there like an idiot with my defences down and my jaw open like I'm a spectator watching a magical performance? If that is so, I would be three feet under the earth and not standing here talking to you."

Professor Hotah had Jojen practise his aiming, especially aiming a moving target while on the move himself. He taught him techniques to aim, how to position himself in the duel so that he was as agile as possible, and how to outflank and attack an opponent from his or her blind spot.

On Sunday, he gave Jojen tips on to face different situations and had him play out certain scenarios.

"When an actual fight starts, the theory would often get thrown to one side, thus, there is only so much to duelling that can be taught. What is most important in duelling is practise and actual fights, of which, you have plenty for someone as young," Professor Hotah told him at the end of their second lesson, "I would like to end this brief and hopefully productive training with a practise battle for you, and I believe I have found the best duelling partner for you."

"Who?" Jojen asked eagerly.

"Behind you," he replied.

Jojen turned and saw the big groundkeeper, Karroch walking towards them, his two great axes slung behind his back.

Jojen would admit that he had never thought too highly of the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He remembered when he first met him, he was wearing a pair of goggles over his head and a thick brown coat.

"First Years over here!" he stood at the front of the train and called in a loud booming voice. Behind him gathered a group of young students, looking at their surrounding in awe as the older students walked past them.

"Gee, that is one big man," George whispered in Jojen's ears as they walked. At that young age, the largest man Jojen had ever seen was his father Hugo, he towered over Jojen's other aunt and uncles by almost half a head. A Beater in the Gryffindor school team when he was in Hogwarts, Hugo had a stint as a professional Bater as an Occult player, he had developed huge muscles, especially on his biceps and triceps. When Jojen's first saw him, he was convinced that Karroch was two times the size of his father.

In his first six years at Hogwarts, he had little interaction with him, in fact, he rarely saw him besides occasionally passing by him along some corridors. Karroch sat at the last row of the High Table during mealtimes, often he would melt into the shadows, with some other members of the staff, like the librarian Mrs Phelps and the caretaker Mr Murphy.

"I was surprised when Aero called me to have a practice battle, suppose I would serve as a good warm-up to The Third Task eh?" Karroch said as he approached Jojen and Professor Hotah, "I suppose moving me bones would be good too, come Dragonslayer, show me what you got."

"Don't be so humble Karroch, aren't you a Dragonslayer yourself Karroch?" Professor Hotah commented.

The large man seemed almost embarrassed as he replied, "That was in me youth, these old bones won't be slaying dragons no more."

Jojen and Karroch bowed, standing ten yards apart from each other. Jojen with his wand looked inadequate against Karroch, a giant axe in each hand.

"Stupefy!" Jojen shouted, attacking first. Karroch had did not reach for his wand to attempt to dodge Jojen's spell, instead, he raised his left hand and blocked Jojen's spell with the blade of his giant axe. The runes on his axe glowed blue as Jojen's spell hit the metal.

"Stupefy," Jojen shouted again, aiming for Karroch's heels.

Karroch simply lowered his axe to block Jojen's spell. Using his two gigantic axes like shields, Karroch easily blocked several more of Jojen's attack.

Finally, he started his offensive, lifting his right arm, Karroch threw his heavy axe through the air, it spun as it can flying towards Jojen.

"Protego!" Jojen shouted, but his shield charm was ineffective, Karroch's axe sliced through his defences easily. Jojen threw himself flat on the ground. He scrambled up in panic as he saw the other axe hurling towards him.

Jojen tumbled onto the ground, just in time to see the second axe bury itself deep into the earth, at the spot where Jojen had been moments ago. If he were any slower, he could have been easily cut into half.

The first axe had spun one whole circle through the air and returned to Karroch's outstretched left hand. He held out his right hand, Jojen did not hear him cast any spells, all he saw was the second axe break free of the earth and fly back to its master, leaving a huge gaping crack in the ground.

After seeing his stunners fail easily blocked by the bury gamekeeper, Jojen decided to change his line of attack.

"Venit Caeli!" Jojen shouted, slicing through the air with his wand. The air in front of him rippled slightly after he cast his spell. A casual observer might have thought that his spell might have failed, but not Karroch, he knew exactly what he was dealing with.

Karroch threw the axe from his left hand, it looked like a random throw, he was not even aiming for Jojen, but halfway along its trajectory, the axe appeared to have hit a stone wall, there was an ear-shattering boom, it sounded like thunder. The axe bounced back, Karroch raised his left hand to receive his axe, with his right, Karroach threw his other axe at Jojen.

He was fast, Jojen thought, extremely fast. So were his axes. For a man larger than his father, and two metal axes that must have weighed a ton each, both man and weapon moved with the agility of a gazelle.

Karroch's axe whizzed through the air with a low hum. This time, Jojen was unable to dodge in time, the axe hit him in the chest.

Either by accident or design, Jojen was not hit by the blade of the axe, but rather knocked off his feet by the wooden handle. He was still seeing stars and feeling like his rib cage had been burst open when Karroch appeared in front of him and offered a large hand to Jojen. "That was a good fight, few people can last as long against my axe."

"What about Professor Hotah?" Jojen wondered.

Karroch laughed and replied, "I will not even last ten seconds against him."

"You are too humble Karroch," Professor Hotah told him, he turned to Jojen and said: "That was a good fight, Weasley, you showed your quick reflexes there, but you would need to keep your defences up, you still spend too long gawking at your opponent with your mouth open with your wand by your side.

"The Third Task is on Wednesday; you should spend the next two days relaxing and preparing yourself mentally."

"Oh," Jojen said, slightly disappointed, he had thought he still had two more days to learn from the Professor.

"You need to rest well," Professor Hotah told him, "I will be doing you more harm than good by pushing you too hard."

"Alright," Jojen said, nodding his head, "I could use the rest," he admitted, his head was still dizzy after being knocked down by Karroach's axe.

As Jojen was walked off his dizziness, Professor Hotah and Karroch started talking about making a trip into the Forbidden Forest.

"The person that attacked the hippogriffs and thestrals was yet to be caught?" Jojen asked curiously.

"Yes," Karroch replied, "And he has been striking once more, I have found two more dead thestrals just yesterday, with their hearts missing. Whomever he is, he is not even going through the trouble of hiding the bodies."

He turned to Professor Hotah and said: "I am cautious about using students to search the forest, whoever is doing this, he is dangerous."

"I wouldn't mind a trip into the forest," Jojen volunteered.

"No," Professor Hotah denied him sternly, "Did you just forgot what I've just told you? Rest and prepare mentally for the next two days. The Professors will handle this."

As Jojen walked back to the castle, he saw that the now-familiar sight of the Beauxbatons carriage parked next to the castle, and the Durmstrang boat by the Great Lake. The students from those two schools must have returned earlier that day when Jojen was training.

He saw a small group of foreign students, still with their luggage milling around the Entrance Hall. He continued walking, finally finding the girl he had been searching for, whom he had been thinking about for over a month now.

There was Roza, in her red Durmstrang robes, standing by the walls, a big trunk beside her, looking at the sea of students with a haughty look on her face.

"Roza," Jojen called as he approached. Roza turned her head, looking at him from head to toes.

"Have you miss me?" she asked, her voice was cold and apathetic.

"Hmm… I've missed your room I suppose," Jojen replied, "It's big and spacious, much better than mine."

Without showing a hint of emotion she asked, "That's all?"

"Your bed as well, it's warm and comfortable," he said, standing in front of her, looking her in the eye.

"Only the bed?" she questioned him again.

"And the girl on it."

At long last, she gave him a seductive grin.