Welcome, one and all, to yet another chapter of HP: The Path of Trials! Hope that everyone is enjoying the story so far, as it always makes me happy to see people taking the time out of their day to read what I post. Anyway, as usual...

Disclaimer: I own nothing of HP, which makes me sad. I do, however, own all OC's that are in this series, so no stealing!

With that, here's...

Chapter 5: The Tale of Merlin's Last Act

Enjoy!

Marcus and Harry kept whizzing by fireplace after fireplace until they were finally slowing down. While Marcus landed on his feet, Harry wasn't so lucky: He started to fall forward, but Harry threw out his hands, causing him instead to fall backwards.

"Did he eat it?" said Fred excitedly, holding out a hand to pull Harry to his feet.

"Yeah," said Harry, straightening up. "What was it?"

"Ton-Tongue Toffee," said Fred brightly. "George and I invented them, and we've been looking for someone to test them on all summer..."

The tiny kitchen exploded with laughter, including Marcus. Marcus also noticed that Ron and George were sitting with Bill and Charlie, the two eldest boys waiting for their return.

"How're you doing, Harry?" said Charlie, grinning at him and holding out one of his large hands to shake, to which Harry shook it.

As Bill approached Harry and did the same thing Charlie did, Marcus heard a faint popping noise. He turned to see Mr. Weasley standing at George's shoulder. He was looking angrier than Marcus had ever seen him.

"That wasn't funny, Fred!" he shouted. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?"

"I didn't give him anything," said Fred, with another evil grin. "I just dropped it...It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to."

"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr. Weasley. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet -"

"How big did his tongue get?" George asked eagerly.

"It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!"

Marcus, Harry, and the Weasleys roared with laughter again.

"It isn't funny!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spent half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons -"

"We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle!" said Fred indignantly.

"No, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying git," said George. "Isn't he, boys?"

"Yeah, he is, Mr. Weasley," said Marcus and Harry in earnest.

"That's not the point!" raged Mr. Weasley. "You wait until I tell your mother -"

"Tell me what?" said a familiar voice behind him.

All manner of laughter and cheer died the moment Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen. Marcus knew why: Her eyes were very narrow of suspicion, much like they were when Marcus came back from Harry's rescue mission two summers ago. Like back then, this sent a shiver up Marcus' spine.

"Oh hello, Harry, dear," she said, spotting him and smiling. Then her eyes snapped back to her husband. "Tell me what, Arthur?"

Mr. Weasley hesitated. Marcus could tell that, however angry he was with Fred and George, he hadn't really intended to tell Mrs. Weasley what had happened. There was an unnatural silence, while Mr. Weasley eyed his wife nervously. Then Hermione and Ginny appeared in the kitchen doorway behind Mrs. Weasley. Both of them smiled at Harry, to which he grinned back, making Ginny go scarlet - she had been very taken with Harry ever since his first visit to the Burrow.

"Tell me what, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley repeated, in a dangerous sort of voice.

"It's nothing, Molly," mumbled Mr. Weasley. "Fred and George just - but I've had words with them -"

"What have they done this time?" said Mrs. Weasley. "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes -"

"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione from the doorway.

"He knows where he's sleeping," said Ron, "in my room, he slept there last -"

"We can all go, Ron," Marcus said, nudging him in the ribs.

"Oh," said Ron, who was catching on. "Right."

"Yeah, we'll come too," said George.

"You stay where you are!" snarled Mrs. Weasley.

"And that's my cue to leave," thought Marcus as the three boys edged out of the kitchen, and they, Hermione, and Ginny set off along the narrow hallway and up the rickety staircase that zigzagged through the house to the upper stories.

"What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked as they climbed.

Ron and Ginny laughed while Marcus smirked, although Hermione did neither.

"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George's room," said Ron quietly. "Great long price lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that..."

"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making things," said Ginny. "We thought they just like the noise."

"Only, most of the stuff - well, all of it, really - was a bit dangerous," said Ron, "and, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them. Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it, and burned all the order forms...She's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many O.W.L.s as she expected.

"And then there was this big row," Ginny said, "because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told all they want to do is open a joke shop."

"I think it's a great move for them," said Marcus. "Given the opportunity, they'd be really successful."

"Marcus!" scolded Hermione. "They should really concentrate on their studies!"

"No, what they should concentrate on is a lifestyle that'll play to their greatest talent," said Marcus. "They're going after something that'll make them happy in life, and everyone gets on their case just because it doesn't fall within the system. I applaud them for going against the grain and pursuing their dream, because they are a lot of magic folk who are far too stagnant and stalwart to do such a thing."

At that point, a door on the second landing opened, and a face poked out wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a very annoyed expression.

"Hi, Percy," said Harry.

"Oh, hello, Harry," said Percy. "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here, you know - I've got a report to finish for the office - and it's rather difficult to concentrate when people keep thundering up and down the stairs."

"We're not thundering," said Ron irritably. "We're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic."

"What are you working on?" said Harry.

"A report for the Department of International Magical Cooperation," said Percy smugly. "We're trying to standardize cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade too thin - leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three percent a year -"

"That'll change the world, that report will," said Ron. "Front page of the Daily Prophet, I expect, cauldron leaks."

Percy went slightly pink.

"You might sneer, Ron," he said heatedly, "but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products that seriously endanger -"

"Yeah, yeah, all right," said Ron, and he started off upstairs again. As Percy slammed his bedroom door shut, Marcus was silently thanking himself that he'd only seen Percy a scarce number of times during his stay. It was no surprise that Marcus' least favorite Weasley was Percy, as his personality seemed to epitomize everything that he hated about normal Ministry of Magic officials, and Percy's personality seemed to have gotten worse, on top of that.

Suddenly, after following up Ron three more flights of stairs, Marcus got bombarded with noise that he could only surmise to be Mrs. Weasley blowing her top off due to Mr. Weasley finally telling her about the Ton-Tongue Toffee. To Marcus, it was as if someone decided to use the Noise Amplification Spell on themself point-blank.

"Ugh!" groaned Marcus as he was forced to cover both of his ears to try and shield the majority of the noise.

"Are you all right?" asked Hermione.

"I'll be fine," said Marcus, who thought it was more wishful thinking than anything else.

As Marcus and everything went inside Ron's room, he noticed that a familiar tiny gray owl was hopping up and down in a small cage and twittering madly.

"Shut up, Pig," said Ron, who made his way through the five makeshift beds that was squeezed into the room. "Fred and George are in here with us, because Bill and Charlie are in their room," he told Harry. "Percy gets to keep his room all to himself because he's got to work."

"Er - why are you calling that owl Pig?" Harry asked Ron.

Marcus, who was able to block out most of Mrs. Weasley's deafening yelling, said, "I was just wondering about that, actually. Why is it that you're calling your owl Pig?"

"Because he's being stupid," said Ginny. "Its proper name is Pigwidgeon."

"Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all," said Ron sarcastically. "Ginny named him," Ron told Marcus and Harry. "She reckons it's sweet. And I tried to change it, but it was too late, he won't answer to anything else. So now he's Pig. I've got to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. He annoys me too, come to that."

"Yeah, note to self: Do NOT let Ginny name any of my animals," Marcus thought, wholeheartedly agreeing on the stupidity of the name Pigwidgeon. Even though Ron was complaining about his pet owl, he knew better than to actually take Ron seriously in this matter, especially considering how upset Ron was when he thought Scabbers, his former pet rat, had been eaten by Crookshanks.

"Where exactly is Crookshanks?" asked Marcus.

"Out in the garden, I expect," she said. "He likes chasing gnomes. He's never seen any before."

"Percy's enjoying work, then?" said Harry, sitting down on one of the beds and watching the Chudley Cannons zooming in and out of the posters on the ceiling.

"Enjoying it?" said Ron darkly. "I don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him. He's obsessed. Just don't get him onto the subject of his boss. According to Mr. Crouch...as I was saying to Mr. Crouch...Mr. Crouch is of the opinion...Mr. Crouch was telling me...They'll be announcing their engagement any day now."

"Have you had a good summer, Harry?" said Hermione. "Did you get our food parcels and everything?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot," said Harry. "They saved my life, those cakes."

"Hey, Marcus, have you heard from -" Ron began, but one look look from Hermione was enough for him to fall silent. Marcus knew that Ron was going to ask him about Sirius, who he only heard from once: The day he got back home from King's Cross. He sent a letter back to Sirius only telling him that to keep doing what he always was doing and to keep him alert to anything suspicious.

Marcus' last year at Hogwarts was him being heavily involved in trying to prove Sirius' innocence to no avail, as much as he didn't want to admit. What he did succeed in was making sure that his godfather (and Harry's) was still alive, and since Ron and Hermione helped them out with that task, the two of them were almost as concerned about Sirius as Marcus and Harry were. Marcus did reason that talking about Sirius was not a good idea at the moment, considering Ginny was in their presence. Nobody, save for Professor Dumbledore and the four of them, knew about how Sirius had escpaed, or believed in his innocence, for that matter.

"I think they've stopped arguing," said Hermione to break the tension, especially when Ginny looking between the four of them. "Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?"

"Yeah, all right," said Ron. The five of them left Ron's room and went back downstairs to find Mrs. Weasley alone in the kitchen, looking extremely bad-tempered.

"We're eating out in the garden," she said when they came in. "There's just not room for fifteen people in here. Could you take the plates outside, girls? Bill and Charlie are setting up the tables. Knives and forks, please, you two," she said to Ron and Harry, pointing her wand a little more vigorously than she had intended at a pile of potatoes in the sink, which shot out of their skins so fast that they ricocheted off the walls and ceiling.

"Oh for heaven's sake," she snapped, now directing her wand at a dustpan, which hopped off the sideboard and started skaiting across the floor, scooping up the potatoes. "Those two!" she burst out rather savagely, now pulling pots and pans out of a cupboard, and Marcus knew instantly she was referring to Fred and George. "I don't know what's going to happen to them, I really don't. No ambition, unless you count making as much trouble as they possibly can..."

"And that's my cue to go out to the garden," thought Marcus, irritated by Mrs. Weasley's sudden narrow-mindness. He took a few steps out in the garden and saw a rather pleasing sight.

It was Bill and Charlie, and they were levitating two rather old, battered tables. Grins were evident on their faces, and to Marcus, it meant one thing: They were going to duel each other using the tables.

Rather eager to throw himself in the mix, Marcus ran to the tables as the two of them were getting ready to clash and, just as they were about to collide, Marcus was able to get inbetween the two tables.

He raised his armguards to intercept the tables, and he was able to take Bill and Charlie by surprise.

"Mind if I cut in?" he said with a grin on his face.

He saw that Bill and Charlie sported grins of their own again before they brought their tables back and, suddenly, brought them down on Marcus.

Marcus saw Charlie's table come in first, and at his legs, nonetheless. However, he also saw Bill's table following in very close behind, and coming at his head. To counter both, Marcus did a side twirl jump, causing both to miss.

It was all very fast from that point. For Marcus, this was rather easy to keep up with, as his training allowed him to pick up the slightest movements in a rather short amount of time. The tables would sweep from overhead, sneak from behind, or try to take his legs out from other. Marcus simply deflected their attempts away with his armguards and dodged out of any that he couldn't deflect.

All of a sudden, Marcus was grabbing the edges of both of the tables, ready to counterstrike when he heard an annoyingly familiar voice bellow out, "Will you keep it down?!"

Marcus looked up to see Percy sticking himself out the window with an angry look on his face. Marcus scowled to himself, thinking, "Leave to it Percy to ruin all the fun!"

"Sorry, Perce," said Bill, grinning. "How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?"

"Very badly," said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut. Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, fixed the damage they sustained in the skirmish. Then, with a flick of his wand, Bill conjured tableclothes out of nowhere.

"Nice to see that you're keeping up with your training, son," said another familiar voice.

Marcus looked to see his parents standing in the garden.

"Mom! Dad!" said Marcus. "When did you guys get here?"

"About the time you started the skirmish with Bill and Charlie," said Michael.

"You were looking quite agile out there, Marcus," said Brynn with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I was," said Marcus, who had a look of confusion on his face.

"Something wrong?" his father asked.

"No, nothing," Marcus quickly said. "I'm going to go help get everything together."

By six o'clock, the two tables were groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, the three Williams, Harry, and Hermione were settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky. Marcus had always been a big fan of Mrs. Weasley's cooking, aspiring to be just as good of a cook as her one day, and tonight was no exception, helping himself to a good portion of lean chicken, salad, and a couple of boiled potatoes.

While he was collecting his food, Marcus could hear Percy telling Mr. Weasley and his father all about his report on cauldron bottoms.

"I've told Mr. Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday," Percy was saying pompously. "That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time, I mean, it's extremely busy in our department just now, what with all the arrangements for the World Cup."

"All of the departments in the Ministry are feeling the weight of that task," said Michael. "We just got done escorting the U.S. Team to the Leaky Cauldron, and that was right after escorting the Bulgaria Team, too. Luckily, Shacklebolt is overseeing tonight's tasks for the World Cup site, as another night there would drive me overboard."

"I know exactly what you mean, Mr. Williams," said Percy. "Although, it's a bit disappointing that we're not getting the support needed from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman -"

"I like Ludo," said Mr. Weasley mildly. "He was the the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favor: His brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble -"

"Wasn't that the incident that had the lawnmower with unnatural powers?" asked Brynn.

"Oh, yes, it was," responded Mr. Weasley. "Of course, I smoothed the whole thing over."

"Oh, Bagman's likeable enough, of course," said Percy dismissively, "but how he ever got to be Head of Department...when I compare him to Mr. Crouch! I can't see Mr. Crouch losing a member of our department and not trying to find out what's happened to them. You realize Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?"

"Yes, I was asking Ludo about that," said Mr. Weasley, frowning. "He says Bertha's gotten lost plenty of times before now - though I must say, if it was someone in my department, I'd be worried. Michael, have you talked to Ludo about the matter?"

"I tried to," said Michael. "I've told him that I could send one of my Auror trainees out to find her. Of course, he just dismissed the matter, saying she'll turn up eventually. And, as I can't send someone to find her without the Department Head's authorization, in this case Ludo, my hands are tied."

"I'm not exactly sure it's worth fretting over, Mr. Williams," said Percy. "I mean, she's practically hopeless. I hear she's been shunned from department to department for years, much more trouble than she's worth...but all the same, Bagman ought to be trying to find her. Mr. Crouch was quite fond of her - but, like Mr. Williams already said, Bagman just keeps laughing and saying she probably misread the map and ended up in Australia instead of Albania. However" - Percy heaved an impressive sigh and took a deep swig of elderflower wine - "we've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Cooperation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big event to organize right after the World Cup."

Percy cleared his throat significantly and looked down toward the end of the table where Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting. "You know the one I'm talking about, Father, Mr. and Mrs. Williams." Percy raised his voice slightly. "The top-secret one."

"Yes, and I'd appreciate it if it was kept that way, Percy," said Michael in a rather stern voice.

Marcus, hoping that Percy would slip up, sighed in disappointment.

Ron, however, rolled his eyes and muttered to Marcus, Harry, and Hermione, "He's been trying to get us to ask what that event is ever since he started work. Probably an exhibition of thick-bottomed cauldrons."

"I don't think that's it at all," thought Marcus. He didn't hear what exactly was going to happen after the World Cup, as his Mom and Dad were keeping unusually quiet about it, but whatever it was, it was huge.

Marcus then diverted his attention to a different part of the table, where he saw Mrs. Weasley arguing with Bill about his earring, which seemed to be a recent acquisition.

"...with a horrible great fang on it. Really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?"

"Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure," said Bill patiently.

"And your hair's getting silly, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, fingering her wand lovingly. "I wish you'd let me give it a trim..."

"I like it," said Ginny, who was sitting beside Bill. "You're so old-fashioned, Mum. Anyway, it's nowhere near as long as Professor Dumbledore's..."

Next to Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and Charlie were all talking about spiritedly about the World Cup.

"It's got to be the U.S. All-Stars," said Charlie thickly, through a mouthful of potato. "They won against Ireland in the semifinals."

"Bulgaria has got Viktor Krum, though," said Fred.

"Krum's one decent player, U.S. has got seven," said Charlie shortly. "I wish England had got through. That was embarassing, that was."

"What happened?" said Harry eagerly.

"Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten," said Charlie gloomily. "Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg."

After eating their homemade strawberry ice cream by candlelight, Marcus heard his Mom say, "Oh, goodness! In all this eating and conversing, I almost forgot why Michael and I came tonight."

"And that would be?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I was going to tell Marcus that story."

Marcus turned his head down the table in excitement and said, "Is it truly time for that story?!"

"Yes, Marcus," said Brynn, who turned to Mrs. Weasley and stated, "In the States, every boy who turns 14 gets told a particular story, as a way of introducing the next stage of their life. It's tradition."

"And what's the story?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Merlin's Last Act."

Everyone, besides the adults, turned their head in excitement. Merlin was nothing short of a timeless legend, and to hear the tale of his last act was virtually unheard of, at least in the UK.

"But, I forgot we still have to clean up," said Brynn, looking over the table and it's many dishes. "We'll have to take care of this before -"

What happened next defied all explanation: Before Marcus knew it, all of the boys grabbed the dishes, magicked away the cloth, put the tables away, and had cleaned the dishes in ten minutes flat.

"Well, I guess everyone wants to listen, too," said Brynn, who had a smile on her face.

Almost instinctual, while Brynn took a seat in a chair, all of the underage witches and wizards took a seat on the cloth situated on the ground in front of Brynn.

Brynn cleared her throat and began the story.

"Back in the age of Merlin, everything prospered, so long as Merlin himself was able to guide King Arthur in being a righteous King. King Arthur, with his mighty sword Excalibur by his side, rid England and her neighboring countries of all war and peace was regained. This made Merlin happy, for he could remember how hard it was to be a wizard during Uther Pendragon's reign, being mercilessly hunted. However, in the midst of this peace, it made Merlin relax far too much and he did not expect what happened next."

She paused for a second, which was just enough time for Fred to ask, "What happened next, Mrs. Williams?"

"The kingdom of Camelot was attacked. And the instigator was none other than Morgan Le Fey, Merlin's most dangerous adversary. The attack was quick and precise, and it took King Arthur and Merlin everything they had to ward off the attack. Then, after the attack, Morgan Le Fey issued him a challenge between her and him, in the sacred fields of Evermore, an isolated location on the edges of King Arthur's realm."

Brynn took a deep breath before continuing.

"Up to this point, Merlin had avoided facing Morgan Le Fey, not because he couldn't defeat her, but because of the possible adverse effects facing her would bring upon the countryside. But, at this point, he could avoid her no longer."

"With his staff in hand, he met Morgan Le Fey on the fields of Evermore, the ominous black clouds flashing with lightning and rolling with thunder to herald the upcoming battle. Merlin had advised anyone living within 100 miles of the fields of Evermore to leave their homes and seek refuge in any nearby towns, for he feared that anyone that was caught in the crossfire would surely die. He was not wrong."

"What do you mean, Mrs. Williams?" asked Ginny.

"The fields of Evermore were thrown into chaos," responded Brynn. "The elements were flying around them, numerous flashes of light could be seen, even from the high walls of castle Camelot. Fearing the safety of his advisor and best friend, King Arthur mounted his steed, Llamrei, and rode towards the fields of Evermore. On his final approach, a blinding light had shone forth, which seemed to only scare King Arthur more. By the time he had arrived, he knew for a fact that he was too late."

"What do you mean, Mrs. Williams?" asked Harry.

"When he arrived at the site of the battle, two massive black spots could be seen as well as a note on a piece of parchment," explained Brynn. "When he picked up the piece of parchment, only one sentence was written on it: 'Love will be the deciding factor.' With message in hand and a heavy heart, he rode back to Camelot, knowing that Merlin sacrificed himself to defeat Morgan Le Fey. Upon his arrival, he gathered his Knights of the Round Table and told them that he was going to take Guinevere and travel east. He was never seen again from that point on."

All of the underage wizards gasped in awe over the story.

"This event also marks another significant point in history," said Brynn. "Can anyone tell me what that event is?"

To no one's surprise, Hermione raised her hand in the air.

"It was the last time that The Light Sage and The Dark Sage were confirmed to be in the Wizarding World and have fought one another," Hermione stated.

All of the underage wizards looked at her and said, "WHAT?!"

"You mean none of you know about that?!" Hermione said in surprise. "I thought all magic folk knew about them. Up until Merlin's time, they were the most powerful and prominent figureheads of the Wizarding World. Capable of performing miracles, they would inhabit themselves in chosen vessels, humans. The last vessels were Merlin, who was the vessel for the Sage of Light, and Morgan Le Fey, vessel of the Sage of Darkness. After their battle, however, the Sages disappeared and haven't been seen or identified since."

"Very good, Hermione," said Brynn. "You never know when the Sages may return, however, so you should always do your best in everything you do."

"Well said, Mrs. Williams!" exclaimed Percy pompously. "I daresay I always try to do my best!"

"And that's including the cauldron bottom report?" asked Bill, goading Percy.

"Hey!"

While the adults were conversing with each other, Marcus saw Ron get close to him and Harry and said, "So - have the two of you heard from Sirius?"

While Hermione looked around, listening closely, Harry responded softly, "Yeah, twice. I wrote to him yesterday. He might write back while I'm here."

"I heard from him once," said Marcus, in the same soft voice. "He seems to be safe, nothing to worry about on his end."

"Look at the time," Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch. "You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you - you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's."

"Actually, Molly, there'll be no need to get Marcus' things," Michael said, "We plan on getting Marcus's Hogwarts things as a family."

"But, Michael, there might not be time after the World Cup," Mrs. Weasley told him. "After all, the match went on for five days last time."

"Wow - hope it does this time!" said Harry enthusiastically.

"Well, I certainly don't," said Percy sactimoniously. "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days."

"Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?" said Fred.

"That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!" said Percy, going very red in the face. "It was nothing personal!"

"It was," Fred whispered to Marcus and Harry as they made their way into the house. "We sent it."


As Marcus was lying on his makeshift bed in Ron's room, so many thoughts were swirling around his head. As knowledgeable as he was about the Wizarding World, he found himself baffled that he had never heard about the Light and Dark Sages. Then again, they sounded like nothing more than myths, so he didn't hold this in too high of regard.

He also couldn't stop thinking about the Shieldhide dragon. Whenever his mind wandered to this subject, there was a fiery passion within himself. He wanted to find this species of dragon, to find out why they disappeared. But he also felt that it would probably be a mistake to find them. After all, they must've had a good reason why they disappeared.

The thing weighing the heaviest on his mind, however, was the letter he received from Sirius shortly after he got back home from Hogwarts this summer. He was initially glad that he received the letter. But, once he opened the letter, he found himself feeling quite worried.

He rustled his belongings until he found the letter. Then, making sure none of the boys were awake, he took it out and read it again.

Marcus,

Things are not looking so good outside of the UK. Other countries are feeling the effects of The Dark Prince's freedom, and it's taking everything they have to hold themselves together. The only country that has yet to be affected is the UK itself, and I fear that something may happen to change this. Enjoy yourself when you go to the Quidditch World Cup, but keep a constant lookout of your surroundings. You may be able to pick up on something that may just save your life. Keep your head up, dear godson.

Sirius

And this concludes this chapter of HP: The Path of Trials! Please feel free to leave a review, as this always helps me fine tune my writing skills. Or, if you want to ask me something, feel free to leave me a PM and I promise that I'll answer them to the best of my ability. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter of HP: The Path of Trials!