A Year in Bloom

by Elijah Vazquez

Years after Voldemort's downfall to Harry Potter, a theatre-wizard-boy with unique powers named Enceladus is invited to Hogawarts to join the WADA, the Wizarding Academy for the Dramatic Arts. As he immerses himself into this new world of drama, art and magic, he slowly discovers secrets from his past, while he battles with the horrors and traumas of his present.

For my beautiful fiance, the greatest magic in my life.

Estragon: We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist?

Vladimir: Yes, yes, we're magicians.

-Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot.

Uncivil Chronos: Part 1

After the retirement of Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister of Magic, Benedict Gumdrop, a plumpy man with a toad-like-soul, was adamant about improving relations with the muggles. One of the first orders of action was to eliminate memory charms on muggles, disposing of any involuntary encumberments for the sake of wizarding secrecy. He wanted to collaborate, with their full knowledge, on a new act that would enable, without faulty judicial outlooks, services to be exchanged back and forth for a new harmonious affair, one where all indifferences were set aside. Gumdrop was a big business wizard and found it worth working with the muggles. The wizarding world was highly skeptical per usual, considering its history with the muggles, but the newest and highest power, the Parliament of Pixies, finally gave in to Benedict's proposal, and finalized this new legislation with The Government of the United Kingdom. This gave wizards leeway to roam in the muggle world without concealment. Of course, limitations were imposed. The usage of magical powers in public was prohibited. This was to prevent any misunderstood upheavals.

In the Summer of 2005, leading up to this era of cohabitation, Benedict Gumdrop sent messages via owls to all of London's residents to join a union address at Richmond Park, talking about a "new and better world." Foreseeably, the muggle world, specifically the laboring classes, didn't fully accept this message. They saw it as unsolicited trespassing of dangerous freaks. But under duress and fear, they had no choice but to let it occur.

In the days leading to the event, muggles and wizards were prepared for the worst. Wizards were armed heavily with wands, exploring the new, personally uncharted terrain, and muggle law enforcement were all called to duty, patrolling London's streets in big groups and squad cars. No one knew what to expect. They only knew that precautions were a necessity.

With ceremonious excessiveness, the day eventually came with thousands of chirping people in attendance, filing around the open air on the neatly trimmed grass of Richmond Park. Attendees were divided into two large groups, the muggle side and the wizard side. Two small steel poles and a kilometer long rope tied on both ends acted as an obstruction. Near the street, large black platforms were raised with microphones. Confused by the microphones, Benedict Gumdrop pushed one aside and muttered "Amplicare" under his prominent chin, making his voice loud enough to hear miles away. Some muggles retorted with snorts and snickers, but Benedict was unphased, smiling with his round bouncy belly, ready to start his speech.

His speech was rather poor and abysmal. Frederick Chapman, a professor of oration at the University of Greenwich analyzed it and said it was, "...Sloppy. One-sided. Impersonal. And emotionally ineffectual..." It was vaguely about community growth, and togetherness and more about the importance of commerce and trade. Overall, his thoughts weren't linear, and the topic of money blundered out every other sentence. Despite his emphatic confidence about his rhetoric, the crowd responded indifferently. Shortly after, the Queen of England spoke next, but with indistinct confidence about the whole ordeal, trying to sound hopeful for her people. Seeking closure from their leaders was of no use; it only led to uneasiness for the muggles.

.

Hours commenced, under unfair skies, with a bunch of mumbling chatter, pointed glares, and swaying torses. Towards the end of the event, a sudden backlash broke out with anti-wizarding groups, crying chants such as, "We don't want you!", "Our home is not for freaks!" Some wizards retaliated with verbal detestment, yet stayed somewhat cautious since they were still on muggle turf. After the lingering hostility, a handful of muggles stood behind and offered welcoming handshakes. The rest scuttled back to their abodes, readying themselves for a forced future. It was a defensive tactic from here on out; staying put, complacent, and cordial, fearing for what's to come from this uncalled kinship.

And they were right. With this new freedom, the more rambunctious wizards would break all sorts of muggle laws, acting insubordinately. Some would make fire hydrants produce elaborate water shows in the middle of streets, or transfigure the lights on neon signs into serpents. Others would make traffic lights yell out wrong directions to the cars, purposely making them crash. If generic wizarding chaos wasn't enough, they would also break into muggle banks. It became so bad that Benedict Gumdrop reinstated the use of the Obliviate charm. Trying to save his plan, he would send secret representatives to reverse these illicit spells and cast about a thousand memory charms a week. But, after an absurd number of attempts to make things right, the muggles started to become immune to the charms, which made them wary and on edge, growing more irritable with every magical crime committed.

Special ambassadors were brought in by the Muggle Liaison Office and Department to try and fix these issues. With these new positions, the ambassadors negotiated with muggle British leaders to establish a common understanding and solution for these incidents. It was a valiant attempt, but to no avail. Still coiled with fear, the British leaders now saw wizarding efforts as a ploy to conquer their people and land, and decided to take direct action. Extreme direct action. By the end of 2008, The Third Great War eventually broke out, and things didn't look too good for the wizards.

With advanced artillery and weaponry, the muggles managed to outfight the magic of the wizards, shifting the power paradigm. The battle was well fought, but the muggles were surprisingly overwhelming. After the war, they captured any straggling wizards roaming freely in England. During this time, the muggles, with skillful aviation, also reached Azkaban, and released prisoners. They proposed a deal with them. They would guarantee their freedom, if they would aid them with understanding magic. They agreed unremorsefully, and taught the muggles what they knew. Struck by fascination, the muggles convinced the prisoners to charm all of their weapons with killing curses, making most of their bullets automatic one shot kills and their guns shine razor blue. They would use this to capture and interrogate any Ministry official or Auror. With this tactical advantage, they forcefully entered the wizarding world, and revealed all of their secrets. The muggles, with their newly gained powers and knowledge, were now in control. From then on, the hostility and resentment over wizards has not faltered.

But that wasn't the case for all muggles, some order and justice was sustained, and both worlds eventually signed a treaty, but mainly under muggle jurisdiction. They imposed restrictions on every wizarding illusionary entry point (Even some vital Portkeys). They sealed away The Leaky Cauldron and Platform 9 ¾ was barricaded. The only access to the wizarding world now is through a small tin trash can in a dingy alley by Big Ben. Joe Allen, landscape painter and secretary of the Society of British Artists states…"The mystical tin transporter is a symbol of humanity's ugliness, and how they cruelly treat others who don't fit into their standards of normalcy. Every time a wizard travels through it, they are constantly reminded about how unwanted they are. Such cynical degradation is a crime against creation, and no living being has the right to exercise such hate in a universe craving for love and acceptance." Additionally, the wizards and muggles both agreed (Even though the wizards desperately wanted to oppose) that most wands from Ollivander's would need to be forfeited and periodically delivered to archeological labs in downtown London, for research. The muggles were most intrigued by the wands and thought they were wooden keys to a better life. And after sieging a magically rich culture with questionable leadership, a better life seemed nothing but obtainable. The lead researcher and examiner for this wand project, who is also a military commander, Mr...

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Most. Boring. Article. Ever. Thought Enceladus, walking home from school, reading it on his phone. He read more and whispered to himself.

"Article by Dean Thomas, former graduate of Hogwarts and West London University, and scholar of muggle and wizard historical studies...mmm Hogwarts? Isn't that the school for wizards? I didn't know wizards could write articles."

That's harsh to assume. Because wizards, despite their traditional labels the world stamps on them, are still conscious beings, with conscious choices. They just have molecular differences. That's all. They have the right, like humans, to write articles on the internet. In Dean Thomas' case, articles on .

Enceladus was slowly regretting choosing this topic to write about for his history's class essay. But wizard history is apparently human history now, so he thought, why not. Considering his parents reject magic and think it will taint his soul and corrupt his brain, Enceladus felt like this research might be an avenue to possibly discovering something new. Enceladus knew another world existed, but his parents never allowed it to be a part of their daily lives. He never bothered to ask. Nor did he ever bothered to care.

As Enceladus was browsing on his phone, he noticed ashes and feathers were sprinkling down from the sky. This meant he was almost home, and it was mail time. Those ashes and feathers were from owls who were lit on fire. It's been happening near his house ever since he was eleven years old and nobody cannot figure out why. Enceladus thought this was the beginning of the apocalypse and the world was slowly bursting into flames. Whether it was global warming or divine causes, he just figured the universe was taking owls as its first victim.

As always, he brushed off the burnt flakes from his shirt, and continued to walk home, writing a poem on his phone about love and flowers.

Little Ursa Major

London was Enceladus' home, Holland Park specifically. A zone two loyalist for ten years, casually living under the standard discontents of life. But domestic shabbiness and mediocrity was common, unquestioned, and unconsciously accepted for Enceladus. It was ingrained in his mind that being a part of a low-income neighborhood was normal, and typical. So, as a fifteen year old boy, he was just that.

He was generic. He had pretty good grades. He dressed pretty basically. Graphic tee with cargo shorts was an unwritten fashion requirement. Shy, yet, not too shy. Words spilled out periodically. Very careful to engage in conversation, yet motivated by topics of interest. Emotional, yet an expert on when to hide it. Sometimes. He's not too popular, but popular enough. He liked to eat twice his body weight and had some bad experiences with girls. Yet, one thing was for sure, he had a heart of gold. Blemished gold, but still gold nonetheless. His skin was like the Tuscan sun; a healthy shade of medallion brown. His hair was jet black, forest thick, with knotted curls like nestling snails without their shells. He sported a mature high-cheek-bone face, mixed with the softness and gleam of a happy toddler eating cake. His physique, triangular, like an upside-down hanger. A disproportionate chest. One breast higher than the other. This was clinically and mirror reflection proven. He had pointy collar bones, broad shoulders, and a back shaped like a water slide. His smile was like a yawn. Contagious. Most importantly, he has an act...to act.

Theatrical arts were everything to him. Since, well, not too long ago. It's a recent passion, but a passion for the ages. Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts was his school. Fancy? Sure. School welfare and strategic begging has a way to give the poor chances. Luckily, because of the arts, chances come plentifully. The good, and the bad.

For him, the chances were a mixed bag of... Drama...and...Drama, mainly internal, specifically girls…okay girl...actually love...Love?...Yes, love. A chance for love. That's where Sammy Cloud wickedly walks in. Sammy Cloud, his current ex-girlfriend; a theatre connoisseur if you ever saw one. Or maybe an artsy narcissistic pantomath of astronomical proportions. Definitely the second choice. It's, well... endearing. And the obvious answer. Anywho. Description of the Siren. She had play-doh brown hair, acorn cheeks, and demonstrated a physical manner devoted primarily to the principles of God. And what did she and Enceladus have in common? Virtually nothing, but something at the same time, like, enjoying sunny walks along the Thames, pretty words, cast stone statues of old famous people, palpitating hearts, anxiety, paranoia, eyes of pure terror, DESOLATED SOULS!...and...Theatre. Especially theatre. They performed multiple plays together. Gladly, and, well, sadly. From Oscar Wilde to Shakespeare, they did it all.

For the most part, when they were together, he was happy because this was supposed to be the girl, the longing crush, no matter what dark storms she possessed. In their short time, they were both artsy, angsty, and tragically anomalous. Unfortunately, their wobbly track of wins and woes didn't last very long.

Enceladus was a hopeless romantic, desperate to save love because his raging hormones told him so. His humble infatuation was not enough though, as he sensed a great divide, a loss of tangible and spiritual connection from the day they first began dating. She would refuse to see him after school, lurch away from his "hellos" or ignore his text messages. It felt like a small gray cloud hovered over him, striking a sharp bolt of lightning towards his heart every time she denied his efforts. Again, typical teenage exaggerations, but still very emotionally valid reactions.

Soon enough she would break the deadly silence, but rather unkindly. Her retorts would be waspish, full of stinging words, and her long rants would always end with how useless their future was together. He officially lost her. As if she never cared for him, she doubted, denounced, and erased every emotional fiber she exhibited towards Enceladus with ease, and drastically decided that a permanent separation was the best choice, all while their sophomore year of high school was coming to an end. It was real. Enceladus couldn't refute the definitive stab and coldness behind her eyes and words. Even if they were wavering with regret or the slightest amount of pain, it didn't matter, because when it happened, she marched straight down the school hallway, left the building, and did not turn back. Enceladus was left on a deserted island, hoping she would come back. She didn't, and never would. Tears developed and streamed down his cheek with her favorite after-school-snack in his hand, readily to eat. A banana muffin. His good rehearsal was ruined. His day was ruined. His night was ruined. Everything. Was. Ruined. There was nothing left to do but go home. He sulkily dragged himself outside, head as low as possible, and crushed the muffin with his shaking fist. With no regard, he let the crumbs fall between his fingers, as he headed towards his neighborhood. The earth started swallowing the sun in the distance, and darkness slowly descended.

Jumping forward to today, junior year, or the end of the first chapter. Enceladus no longer felt unwanted like burnt toast. For the most part. He managed to suppress the urge to jump in front of cars since that dreadful day with Sammy. Always a good sign of healing.

After he brushed off the ashes and feathers from his shoulders, she slipped into his mind again. And being young doesn't help. For some reason the youth are weak at heart, unexercised and easily susceptible to past pains. It sucks.

With her frolicking in between his thoughts, he decided to take a scenic route home. A distraction of sorts. The scene was the constellations in the sky, way above the stratosphere. He was a human telescope and space calmed him. The sun wasn't fully down, yet he could see stars aligning perfectly. It was April, so the Big Dipper was the clearest one of all.

After he identified every single constellation verbatim, he magically arrived facing his badly chipped front door. He wiped his feet, grabbed the mail, retrieved his key and entered his home. He always had to jam and wiggle the teeth a bit first because of how old and rigged the keyholes are. Luckily years of habit helped. He entered sorely. It's not the spiffiest place, but it gets the job done. The living room, and the kitchen interconnected with a flight of stairs poking out between the two. Hanging plants and fruit were always ready to eat in metal baskets at various locations. Mainly bruised bananas. A pesky gnat here and there too. It smelled like cleaning supplies mixed with matted carpet and cheap convenient store candles. There was a scattered mess of envelopes and magazines on the living room coffee table, which was near a fold-out wooden table that had one wobbly wheel making it unbalanced and squeaky. His mom was in the kitchen attempting to cook up some grub with the little ingredients and skill that she had. She was short, with wavy red hair, and a fat button nose, which complimented her ivy green eyes. Her name was Laze Vega. Enceladus stomped past her, throwing his crossbody book bag onto the floor.

"What is wrong with you?" Her voice was shrill and concerned.

"Nothing. I'm skipping dinner."

"Why? I'm making fish and white rice. Your favorite."

"No, that's dad's favorite. I hate fish." bellowed Enceladus from upstairs.

"What happened? You used to love it."

"Mum please, I just want to be alone."

"You better eat boy! I worked very hard on it. Your father is out acting like a barmy fool, drinking his life away again anyways. I swear I cannot stand that man. His little boy pow wows about those rotten wizards are going to get him killed one of these days. I sometimes wish for one to stick a wand so far up his..."

"MUM!"

Enceladus sat down with his head slouched at the top staircase, solemnly listening amongst the shadows of the ceiling fan and the handrails.

"I'll...I'll be down in a minute..."

"Well, hurry up, it's going to get cold! And go get cleaned up too, you smell like a farm animal, I didn't raise a farm animal." She started to whistle a tune badly into the distance.

Enceladus went into his room and slammed the door behind him. His room was small, blue and square with a mini basketball hoop hanging on his door. His little heart was hurt, burdened with unfortunate memories, as he plopped onto his mattress and scrolled on his phone emptily, looking at old text messages from Sammy Cloud. He started to talk to himself and pace about.

"Ugh, I don't get it. Why me? Why me God? Everything was fine. Then all of a sudden. Bam. She called it off!...I should have known. She was acting weird. But she never wanted to talk about it. How could I have known anything if she never talked to me? I did everything right. I gave her distance when I needed to, I gave support when she wanted it. Like...ugh...she was...so...great. I don't understand where I went wrong."

A string of messages popped and pinged relentlessly. A swelling aggravation was brewing deep inside his stomach, knowing the messages were from his friends trying to give him closure and advice. He couldn't take it. Something snapped in him. After yelling into a pillow, and kicking walls uncontrollably, he maniacally tossed his phone out his window. Sucked back into reality, his horrified expression tells it all.

"I am such a bloody moron."

Enceladus tightly gripped a handful of his hair in aggravation, as he approached his window with haste.

As he popped his head out the window, he deflated a bit. What if his phone fell in his neighbor's yard? His neighbor's yard, that fostered a healthy, strong, and violent Rottweiler, ready to chew his legs off. His task was impossible. If it was plausible, the indigo silhouetted bushes nor the faint glow of the moon didn't really help. But, after a couple of seconds of hopeless searching, something miraculously odd happened. His phone appeared out of nowhere and struck him across the forehead.

"What in the bloody hell?!" Enceladus rubbed his head to relieve the sting.

"Watch your language boy! I didn't teach you to swear like an uncivilized hoodlum! If you choose to talk like that, you better take it elsewhere or else you'll be elsewhere! Do you hear me?"

His mom might have been one floor below, but it felt like she was right in Enceladus' ears. It always felt like that when she opened her mouth.

"It's like you have super hearing or something…" mumbled Enceladus under his breath.

"What did you say?!"

"Nothing..."

He ignored his mother and stared hard at his phone. Did the dog toss it back at him? No way. He's a dog, not a capable life form with fully functional appendages. Obviously a person. He poked his head out hesitantly, and to his disappointment, no person. Unless a burglar? That logic was foolish. Wouldn't they have just taken his phone? No. His phone was at least a couple generations back. It's worthless. So, he's crazy. Only one way to find out. He tested his sanity by recreating his flare up, and tossed his phone again. Conclusion. The same thing happened. Seriously questioning everything, he chucked his phone as hard as he could out the window again. Seconds later it smacked him in the face. His face and heart throbbed. He was simultaneously astounded and very freaked. He was convinced that he was losing his mind. Maybe, just maybe, he had the phone in his hand the whole time. This theory was far-fetched, yet comforting in a way for him. But, he took a deep breath, and tried one more time. Third time's the charm, right? This time, he was extra ready to pay attention to where it might have landed. He winded up his arm, and gave it another good chuck. A beat after, he sprung up to his window to identify the spot, but instead of expecting it to possibly slam him in the face, he was met face to face with two faces. One being a charismatic looking boy about the same age as Enceladus, with long wild hair, bulky build, a feathered fanny pack, and an outfit made of moleskin and embossed leaves. The other being a scaly, stone white dragon with innocent emerald eyes. The boy spoke.

"Is this yur version o' eh muggle Quaffle Ball? I must say, ets pretty sadly constructed if yeh ask me. If yeh didn' know, balls are typically spherical. Gillian's law o' geometric velocity says so." The boy admirably jumped off his dragon and entered Encleadus' room. The dragon stayed put, and only peered its head through the window. "The real issue es you throw like eh Hufflepuff. I hope the Sortin' Hat doesn' not place yeh in there."

"Woah! Uh, who are you and what is that thing coming into my room?!" Enceladus reeled back in fear, almost tripping on his pile of dirty clothes.

"Oh, her? Her name es Puddin, she was eh rescue from eh hoarder ranch in Scandinavia. Since the recent discovery o' the thirteenth use of dragon's blood, bless Dumbledore's soul, dragons have been eh hot commodity. Dark wizards have been poachin' en entrappin' them. They want their blood to counterfeit treasures. Things like gold, galleons, rubies, and other valuable thin's. It has strong duplicating properties. So strong, goblins cannot even decipher if it's fake or not once something is made en duplicated. Mi papa has eh group dedicated to savin em, and protectin em. Ets expected o' me to help him out, but I don' mind. I understand dragons. They are still highly illegal in the yur world, but I figure o' Puddin' wouldn' catch any attention if yeh know how to hide her, isn't that righ' girl?"

He scratched her head in delight, as she joyfully blew little sparks of fire out of her mouth, scouring the room with the fresh scent of burnt carpet. Like a game of dodgeball, Enceladus was evading.

"Oh boy, please, please, can you tell her not to do that?" Enceladus was stomping on various patches of flames spiraling on his floor. His mom would kill him if he set the house on fire.

"Fine. Fine. Go spread yur wings eh bit. The Deception Dust is still good if yur in the air. But, remember our rule. If eh muggle spots any bit o' yeh, yeh turn into eh statue outside eh hut right away, just like we practiced, okay?"

The dragon nodded with happy approval as she flapped her giant wings and swooped out from Enceladus' window.

"Who...who are you…? And what do you want with me?" This had to be reality. Too much fire to be hallucinations. Enceladus wasn't taking chances. He kept a healthy distance from the boy.

"Me? Oh, where are mi manners. My name es Sessabit. I'm here to deliver yur official acceptance letter to Hogwarts." Sessabit took a tan parchment scroll out of his fanny pack. "There yeh go. Fresh parchment from the desk o' Neville Longbottom."

"Hogwarts? The school for wizards? No, no that can't be right. I think you got the wrong person. I am not a wizard."

"Not eh wizard? Hah, if yeh weren' eh wizard, Neville, papa en I woudn' have broken our backs to get yeh to Hogwarts."

"What do you mean?"

"Yeh really are lost en the head are yeh? Did yeh know that yur grand folks were wizards? Mhm, great ambassadors, sweethearts, oh, some may say fighters fer freedom and equality, especially after all their sacrifices in the war. Oh yeah, they are famous at Hogwarts! Legends even!"

"My grandparents? But, my parents never said any-"

"En why do yeh think? Yeh know how they are. How their muggle brains work. They despise us. They want nothin' ter do with us. That's why yur late coming to Hogwarts. Yur going to be eh fifteen year ol first year student! It's wonkers! Unheard off! But, all es well, we finally figured eh way through to yeh."

"A way through?"

"Yes it was har', but we persevered. Neville, the headmaster at Hogwarts, has been sending owls with letters to yer house for four years now. But, they would neve' return en yeh would never show up. There would always be one student missin' in the roster. You woulda been eh fifth year by now with me, but yeh have to start et the bottom. Hah! Good luck with those snot slobbin ghouls." Pause. Sessabit smiled and caught himself drifting off topic. "Sorry bout that. Anywho, Neville then sent mi papa to see what was going on, en he noticed that there was eh invisible shield o' some sort around yeh house. He knew it had to be the work o' magic. We think yur parents did this and hired eh wizard to put it up. So, naturally, mi papa tested to see what would happen if he threw eh Hogwarts letter at et. Next thin' you know, poof, et burst into flames. He never seen anythin' like et. Once he reported back to Neville, I automatically knew em owls met their maker. I carved dozens of little tombstones for the little guys. I made sure their mail carrier efforts were not forgotten. It was eh very sad day." Was he crying? Yes, a tear released below his lashes. Enceladus was so confused. " Sorry, again, um, but, anywho, Neville himself came to take eh gander and tried to conjure up some counter spells to disenchant it. But, even his great power was limited. He came to the conclusion that this spell was en unbreakable spell, but not any ordinary unbreakable spell. It was en unbreakable spell made by the Stingy Stick. Formerly known es the Tenacis Wand. I like mi name better."

He pulled out a long wand out of his bag, taking a cozy seat on Enceladus' bed.

"Stingy Sticks are fifteen inches long en are made o' African Blackwood, really rare. The core es made up o' three things; gills of eh kraken, the suctions of en octopus, and the brain tissue of eh dragon. Much different from eh regular Ollivander Wand. En o' course, much stingier. When yeh cast eh spell with this wand, no other wand can change it. Et has to be that wand. There are only eh few in the world, and they're all very powerful."

He stroked the wand carefully, observing all of its little details.

"Determined to uplift this spell, Neville requested mi papa to go seek out this wand. Whoever had et. But when he set out, he became very ill and couldn' continue with the task, so Neville asked me to complete et. Neville knew I had the tricks to stay out o' trouble in yur world, en just tricks in general. I accepted. I wanted to help any way possible. Even though et was eh difficult journey, I had Merlin's luck on me side. I was walkin' in Hogsmeade one day, and my Probing Globe went off crazily. And there et was. The wand was tucked deep into the back pocket of eh tall wizard, barely showin' under his coat. Et was too good to be true. He was distracting himself mumbling, "Level 9, Level 9. This is it..." over and over. So, when I had a good look, I snatched et up. Et was like takin' jelly beans from a baby. Then, BAM!After some practice with Neville, I came back, took the charm away, and now I am here."

A heavy silence filled the room.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"No worries Enceladus, I know ets a lot. You've been deprived yur whole life. But, I'm tellin' yeh right now yur are eh wizard en yeh need to come to Hogwarts to find out more about yeh true self." Sessabit stood up purposely, trying to sound encouraging. "You know what. I'll let yeh ponder. Take a gander et the letter en I'll be back tomorrow to help yeh shop for the next semester. Maybe you can even teach me how to play muggle Quidditch. I try not to come to London, London. It stinks too much of fried fish and pubs. I prefer the smell of freshly brewed Butterbeer any day." Sessabit rubbed his tummy with euphoric swivels, now glancing around Encleadus' desk.

"But...but I'm still in school here? I have to graduate and finish…-"

"Ooop, that reminds me, I have to finish my Herbology homework. Giant bladderworts, tiny stomachs, big appetites. Well, I better zoom. Hindi Sprout will take major points away from Gryffindor if I don' turn et in." Sessabit whistled for Puddin to come. She swooped and fluttered her wings outside the window, readying herself for departure.

"Until tomorrow frien'. Hopefully I'll have less responsibilities to keep track o'. Cheers!"

With a sudden mount, and demand, Sessabit and Puddin flew into the blinking armada of starry dots, executing all kinds of flips and weaves.

"Oh en welcome to Hogwarts!" Soaring high, Sessabit slowly disappeared into the velvet darkness.

Enceladus was speechless. He was frozen to the core, and didn't know how to react. After about five minutes of extraneous contemplation, he eventually defrosted his shock, and found his breath again. Still woozy though. Still rocky in the head. He had to prevent himself from fainting. He ran to the loo and splashed water onto his face. He came back into his room frazzled. He viciously stared at the letter that laid upon his bed. Was it real? Was anything that happened five minutes ago real? Did his parents really hide this side of his life? He had to find out. He untied the ribbon holding the parchment scroll, and unrolled it slightly. He didn't open it fully; only to the point where he saw, in big bold letters, "Hogwarts" He decided not to read the rest. He wanted to let it sink in for him. His heart was racing like a mustang. As he tried to absorb and cope with this dream-like encounter, he noticed a bubble gum pink cupcake with a chocolate frog on top of it, along with a note. He grabbed the note and read it to himself.

Here's eh little somethin' I made for yeh. It's eh chocolate frog pink honey cream cupcake. Mi papa has been teaching me some o' his culinary favorites. Ets eh fine hobby I can get used to. I figure ets eh special time for yeh, en I only wante' to welcome yeh properly. With some sweets!

P.S If yeh don' know. The frog hops. So, yeh better eat em quick.

Right when Enceladus finished reading the last sentence, the chocolate frog jumped out the window. It was okay, he was already spooked out as it was. He started smiling at the cupcake. He imagined Sessabit happily cooking with his father. He knew they bonded together. Something he and his father never did. Ever. Maybe he will meet Sessabit's father one day. Who knows. But in the meantime, he gobbled up the cupcake like a black hole and plunked onto his bed. He again churned his mental gears, trying to fathom everything. Eventually, an idea came to mind. He got his phone and texted something. His mom called once more.

"Enceladus Damian Vega, if you don't get your arse downstairs in a minute, you will not be eating anything tonight. Do you hear me?!"

"Yes mum, I'll be down in a sec. I just got to do something real quick."

In his most gitty lame teenage manner yet, he texted Sammy Cloud, with the biggest smile on the planet.

"You broke up with a wizard."

Feeling accomplished, he tossed his phone out the window once more. Soon to realize Sessabit is not there to throw it back, he scurried out his door and downstairs.

"Where are you going mister? If you think you are planning to come back in, you better think again. Just ask your father. He never comes back at night." Laze was placing the forks on the dinner table.

With mild irritation, she sat down. The three plates of prepared food emitted trails of smoke, with two empty chairs at her front. This was a typical night for her. She let out a small sigh and started to dig into her mediocre cuisine.

Vile Scopious

Enceladus was too excited to pay attention at school the next day. He initially planned to read the letter when he woke up that morning, but his alarm wasn't set and he ran late. It didn't really matter. He felt unstoppable. He felt rejuvenated from the day before. He was going to Hogwarts. Possibly. The biggest dilemma still was breaking it to his parents, somehow, someway.

But let's take a moment and reflect. Why? Why didn't Enceladus' parents tell him he was a wizard? Whatever that exactly entailed. Regardless, a small dose of anger swelled up inside of him, thinking about how his parents hid this from him. Especially the part about his grandparents being wizards. His grandparents, who he always believed were regular old people who scarfed down bread pudding for a living. He tried not to think about it at school. If it was true, the only thing that was on his mind was Sessabit and Puddin. He had no clue where Sessabit was planning to take him for school supplies. Wizard school supplies at that. It was exciting and he couldn't hold it in.

Throughout the day, to prepare for his new fate, Enceladus would practice his non-existent wizarding skills. In the hall between classes, he would cast imaginary spells with a pencil to random students, sometimes mishandling the utensil and hitting kids across the head. During lunch, he would mix his applesauce with a myriad of condiments to make potions, daring some of his friends to eat it. Then during his rehearsals of Joan of Arc, he tried to make himself fly by jumping off of chairs with a broomstick. The primary reason for that was to embarrass Sammy Cloud, and prove...well...a very weak point. She wasn't impressed, yet slightly flustered and frustrated, as she didn't lay an eye on Enceladus all rehearsals. Thank God they weren't scene partners. A sharp ping did poke against his heart from time to time because of her, but it didn't diminish his spirits. He continued to act foolish for the rest of rehearsals. He felt invisible, and not sad for once. It might have been a surge of circumstantial octane, but it was a feeling he wanted to last. Who cares if he got recast in the show, right? Or better. Expelled from the academy.

He might have to do some serious explaining to his mom if any of that were to happen, but it was something he'd be willing to do. She rarely came to his shows anyways, so it didn't matter to him that much. He also wondered if Hogwarts did drama. He spent his whole life studying it, and wouldn't want to fully abandon it. He would just have to wait and see until the last dismissal bell rang.

After a mind numbing speech class, rolling around on the floor, the last few juts of the clock's arrows ticked away. Once the big hand struck twelve, the final bell finally rang with a blaring goodbye. Encleadus jumped up and flew straight home. He ran so fast that he startled about seven squirrels along the way; frantically scurrying up trees. He took multiple shortcuts through local backyards, jumping fences, and running through gardens. Once he made it home, he burst through the front door, and went straight up the stairs without any hesitation. His mother wasn't home. He found a note on the fridge saying she was out doing some errands and groceries. His father was probably at his favorite pub called Looneys. It was a perfect time for Sessabit and Puddin to come. The problem was, Enceladus didn't know when they would arrive. Sessabit never gave him a set time. Enceladus figured it would soon, so he made himself cozy as he opened the letter to read its entirety. His nerves were jumping. The letter stated.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Head Master: Neville Longbottom

(Veteran of Dumbledore's Army, Founder of the Godric Gryffindor Sword foundation, Chief of the right side up Cauldron Committee, Local Herbalist )

Dear Mr. Vega,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts school for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the WADA (Wizarding Academy for the Dramatic Arts). Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books, equipment and audition information.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than July 31st.

P.S Your first Astronomy class will be held on Sept. 3rd. Maintenance of the observatory is ongoing. More information will be given on the first day.

Yours sincerely,

Cho Chang

Deputy Headmistress.

"How on earth do I get an owl?"

He scanned a bit more and looked at his school supply list.

Uniform

First-Year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (Black)

One plain pointed hat (Plain) day wear

One pair of protective gloves. (Dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (Black with silver fastenings) `

A plentiful amount of tights, tutus, tanks, slippers and leotards

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

Course Books

All students, who are also enrolled in the WADA, should have a copy of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells

Magical Music Theory 101

A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration

Basic Fairy Ballet Principles

The Introduction to Wart Toad Hymns

Magical Drafts and Potions

Dark Forces: A Guide towards Self-Protection

Non-Magical Armed Wand Combat Glossary

Other equipment:

One wand

One cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

One set glass or crystal phials

One telescope

One set of brass scales

One harp

One metronome

Students may also bring an owl, cat or toad.

Parents are reminded that first years are not allowed broomsticks.

Audition information for season productions

Song: Students must prepare a 16-32 bar up-tempo chant of their choice. (Any language)

Monologue: Students must prepare a2 minute Shakespeare monologue from the Tempest or Macbeth. (Take note that you will be performing it in front of a mirror)

Dance: Bring comfortable form fitting attire. Professor Flurry will lead a general movement piece, along with a Ballet combination. Be prepared to fly.

Enceladus didn't even know what most of this stuff was or really meant. He also was afraid of not being able to afford anything. His mom did give him a credit card for emergencies, which meant don't ever spend it because saving-money-is-important-as a-lower-middle-citizen. But, this seemed like a big emergency to him. He was curious if he could find anything online. Of course, the wizarding world stores would be more authentic, but online could potentially save him money in the long run. It was worth a shot.

He set his laptop on his desk and browsed, hopefully able to find something. Anything. No. It was just the opposite. Nothing. Nothing popped up onto the screen. He just had to wait for Sessabit.

Hours passed as he continuously tried to look out his window for any sign of Sessabit. Sometimes helicopters would sike him out. He thought the propellers were dragon wings. Not the case at all. Fatigue was kicking in. It was almost 6pm and sundown. His nerves were unsteady and he started biting his nails. Questions popped into his brain. What if this was fake? What if Sessabit and Puddin weren't real, and this was all in his head? That everything, even the letter, that occurred yesterday was one big hoax. But, something in the pit of his consciousness made him believe; believe that he wasn't totally losing it. He continued to camp at his window, surveying the skies with his binoculars. He was desperately fighting to stay awake. He couldn't control the bob of his head much longer. It wanted to sink lower and lower. Any effort started to vanish. It was no use. His forehead planted onto the pane, and he started to snore. But, right as that happened a huge roar in the distance awoke him in a fright. It was Puddin and Sessabit. They circled and twirled uncontrollably, getting closer to his window. At this speed, one of them was bound to come crashing in. Sessabit tried to yield Puddin with all of his might, but decided to just let Puddin swerve upward as he dove and combat rolled through Enceladus' window, crashing straight into him.

"What eh wicked landin! Haha!" Sessabit sprang up from the floor with wild mirth. He noticed Enceladus lying on his back like a helpless turtle. " Mi bad, Mi bad, Puddin sorta lost the plot en saw some lightnin' en et shivered her scales. She's not the best with mother nature. But, I stuck the landin' like eh Celestial Dragon didn' I?" Sessabit, without any real effort, picked Enceladus like a rag doll and wiped him off.

Enceladus did not respond. His face was stoic.

"Sorry fer coming eh wee bit late, I had to finish mi chores. Papa mandates. Yeh know, who's going to sweep all o' the giant spiders webs off o' the patch's rails? Ets eh okay job, but papa says I have eh way with spiders en their webs, so I guess et makes me right to do et, right?"

Did he seriously expect Enceladus to answer? Despite ignoring Sessabit's babble for affirmation, Enceladus could at least affirm that he, himself, wasn't crazy. Sessabit was real as real can be.

"It's late Sessabit. There's no way I can go out now."

"What do yeh mean? We have all the time en the world. All o' Diagon Alley's shops are open all day all night. Except, the only thin' that es about to close es Gringotts bank, but that's if yeh need some currency for yah supplies. Yeh do have money?"

Enceladus shook his head no.

"Do yeh have eh vault?"

"No, I don't know anything about the wizarding world."

"I would let yeh borrow from mei but I'm saving for mi new Quidditch broom. But, I can probably spare eh couple galleons if need be. "

"Do wizards exchange human money?"

"Human?"

"Yes, our kind of money."

"Oh, muggle money! Yes, yes they do. How much yeh got?"

"Uh... a lot."

He showed Sessabit his credit card.

"That's a lot?"

"Yeah. I can get a lot from it. I just need an ATM."

Sessabit is obviously lost. Enceladus reads him.

"The ATM can get me a lot...of uh...what do you call it again?"

"Muggle."

"Yes...muggle money."

A brief pause filled the room.

"Alright! What are we waitin' for! Let's go to this ehteham before Gringots closes! Those goblins can be quite nasty if they catch yeh trying to stay for eh late transaction, but their brains are just filled with borin' numbers which makes them grumpy. They can't seem to ever get eh good grip on happiness."

"Goblins huh? Real goblins? So that means…-"

"Yes exactly, that means they will hound yeh down if you owe them anything."

"Oh, no, I was going to say that fantasy books should be classified as non-fiction then."

Pause. Sessabit, bent his eyebrow, and scratched his head in confusion

"Fantasy?"

"Yeah, it's a book genre about magic, adventure, and creatures. But, it's supposed to be fake, and not rooted in reality."

"But, magic es real."

"Muggles who write fantasy apparently believe it's not."

"Did they forget we ad eh war with you guys? And you guys won?"

Enceladus shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it's eh pity that folks don't believe in us, let alone call us "fantizzies"."

Enceladus agreed. Pre-Gumdrop era, muggle writers were still under the impression fantasy was fake. But, in this age, where wizards and muggles know of each group, fantasy was slowly becoming reality, specifically history for muggles. But, there will always be skeptics who refuse to acknowledge the existence of wizards and magic because the status quo of "human excellence" must never be disrupted.

"Most o' our books about muggles talk about how you all love war and colonization. This is why we wizards around the globe stay hidden, you all are screwballs."

Sessabit wasn't wrong.

"Welp, no real time for hiding now, we have to get goin'."

Sessabit jumped in between the window frame, readying himself to call Puddin.

"Will I be back home soon? My mum will kill me if she finds out I left."

"If not. I can take care o' it. But no need to worry, let's go to the ehteham!"

Enceladus couldn't help but laugh.

"ATM, but okay."

Sessabit whistled for Puddin and she appeared instantaneously. Enceladus was about to whiz his pants. He was about to fly on a dragon over London, a real dragon, heading into the wizarding world for the first time. It was a terrifying thought, but an exciting one as well. In an odd way, he felt like he could trust Sessabit. A stranger with his hundred ton winged killing machine seemed...safe? Enceladus was convinced that it was the fanny pack. It's a friendly sight. With that in mind, he gathered everything he needed and approached Puddin with an artificial confidence.

Sessabit hopped onto Puddin's back so effortlessly.

"Yeh have to treat her like a dog. She will only gain yer trust if yeh forfeit your scent. So, let her give yah a couple of sniffs and we'll be on our way."

Enceladus never owned a dog or really ever encountered dogs, but he knew this was the mandatory procedure to gain one's trust. He guessed it was the same deal with dragons. With the utmost ease and caution, he offered his palm to the mammoth lizard. Puddin took her time, and really made sure that he was worthy. After a couple seconds of slimy wet sniffs, she licked his face with approval and lowered her back so he could easily mount on.

"Yeh ready, we have eh bank to visit!"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Well come on! hold on tight!"

"What do I -"

Just as Enceladus was about to fully mount, Puddin took off, and shot straight to the wistful clouds. Enceladus was struggling tremendously to take hold, until Sessabit guided his hands around two protruding horns on Puddin's back rib cage. He felt secure. Kind of.

He felt like he was in a movie. He could feel the moisture of the clouds skim his cheeks. He could feel the wind ruffle in between his clothes rapidly. He could see the stars and the constellations much clearer, with higher definition. He could even see all of London; from the little tiny sparkles of lights, to the smoke of the night train spewing upwards like a ferocious funnel near a clump of hills.

Despite all of this new fun, he regretted not bringing a jacket. He didn't think the sky was going to be that nippy. But, he tried not to think about it, even after Sessabit decided to go even higher into the frosty atmosphere.

After about ten minutes, Enceladus wondered when and how they were going to make it into the wizarding world. He poked Sessabit's back to get his attention.

"Hey, uh, aren't wizards allowed in the hu-...I mean...the muggle world?"

"Magic isn't allowe', but that was always eh normal thin', especially for under age wizards, despite what happened before the Third Great War. Wizards are allowe' though, but they have to carry eh special passpor' now, en ets typically for business inquiries, or Quidditch matches.''

"Do you have one?"

"No! There...uh...hard to come by. I come in eh different way, with the help o' eh little thing called Deception Dust. Made et me self. Technically not magic, so I can't get caugh'. That's what keeps meh en Puddin undercover, Especially Puddin, since I typically sprinkle the dust on her. They hate magical creatures, so I have to protect her at all cost."

"So no one can like... see us right now?"

"Mostly muggles. Wizards kind o'. That's why you were able to see us. If yeh run into the wrong wizard though, they can quickly rat yeh out for breaking the rules. But, that's only if they are really payin' attention. Since we are on Puddin, the dust automatically conceals us just like eh conceal charm. We are practically invisible, especially at these heights."

"Invisible huh?"

Bonkers, thought Enceladus.

"Yup!"

Enceladus formed a small smile. His stomach began to feel light . Or it might have been his body wanting to vomit from this ride. Regardless he wouldn't trade this overwhelming feeling.

"Alrighty, keep en eye out for eh wee trash bin with a long line o' wizards en muggles. I'm going to take her low."

Sessabit ordered Puddin to descend from the clouds and get within eye distance of ground level. She maneuvered her giant wings like a glider, and dove down. It felt like a meteor got shot out of a cannon and was crashing towards earth. Luckily she pulled up, and all steady movement was back on track. Sessabit and Enceladus both located the trash bin, in a ruddy alley, next to Big Ben, sucking people inside of it like a vacuum. A guard monitored the line. He had a long black coat, patrol helmet, and a blue glowing pistol in his holster. Everyone in line presented a square identification pamphlet before they entered. Enceladus watched with growing doubts.

"Are we really going in there?"

"There's no other way mi frien'. Now where es this doohickey ehteham before we make our haiste?"

Enceladus knew you could practically find an ATM anywhere in London. They found the nearest one by a drug store with two homeless men trying to stay warm under a raggedy quilt. They prepared for landing. Upon their arrival, Puddin had to go hide again, but not for long. Enceladus inserted his card and deposited about 200 pounds. Enceladus looked at the cash questionably.

"Do you think this will be enough?"

"Do I look like eh goblin to yeh?" scoffed Sessabit, now playing with a yoyo. "This thing es great. Only muggles come up with these small addictin' gadgets."

Enceladus tried to keep his cool. He was jeopardizing so much right now. He didn't want to mess anything up. Time was precious. Because knowing his mother, she would know. She always knows.

Before they departed, Enceladus gave about twenty pounds to the two homeless guys. If he'd gotten in trouble tonight, at least he did something righteous before his mom killed him. Sessabit smiled at the exchange.

As they wandered away, they both found Puddin licking a satellite dish on top of a flat. It was her eating time soon, and Sessabit knew that they needed to get to Diagon Alley quickly to pick up some frozen eel at the deli before Puddin eats a muggle. That would put them all in trouble.

Sessabit and Enceladus scaled the building to prevent any suspicion. They both sat quickly on her back and off they went. Darting through the air, Sessabit went over the procedure.

"Okay, so for us to make et into the bin I have to cast eh shrinkin' spell. Only issue es, et only last for two measly seconds, because I'm doin' et on actual wizards en not things. Ets eh very har' spell to learn en et requires eh lot o' energy en mental concentration. We just have to time et righ' when the guard opens the lid. I promise, et won' hurt eh bit."

"Uh...okay…" Enceladus' heart dropped. He was not okay with this plan.

"Oh, another thin', I can't promise we will be together when we make et to Diagon. So, if yeh start to panic, don'. Just look for the shop with all of the exotic meat on display. I'll most likely be en there, okay?"

"Yup..." Like a broken elevator, his heart dropped more.

"Okay, hold on tight!"

After some time flying, Sessabit spotted his target and guided Puddin straight towards the trash bin, waiting for the perfect moment to cast his spell. He withdrew his wand from his fanny pack and prepared it with the sharpest focus. They were so low, that Puddin was dodging tall trees. They were almost there. A line of heads with flat and bowler hats was in view. Puddin streaked extremely fast and Sessabit needed to cast his spell quickly. Hovering inches above the heads now, Puddin sucked in her stomach and narrowed her long body to increase her flying speed. Enceladus grasped onto Puddin's horns for dear life .

"Are you going to do it?!"

"Wait for et."

"Hello?! We are literally about to crash!"

"Wait for et."

They were about 25 yards away.

"Sessabit!"

"Now! Divinos Diminuendo!"

Sessabit shot his white orb into all three of them and they all shrunk to the size of a fly. They all screamed when they noticed a big gray object crashing down on them. It was a chap's curvy bum that was about to enter the trash bin portal. They barely missed and automatically got sucked into a purplish black vortex within the bin. It sounded like a gurgly fan. Everything went numb for Enceladus, as streaks of black shapes flew ubiquitously. He continued to scream with confusion and terror.

After what seemed like forever swirling in a tar-colored toilet, Enceladus eventually got spat from the skies and landed onto a street filled with commotion and bustle. Enceladus groaned with agony and was partially blind from the after effects. He rubbed his eyes to regain his vision, and rose from the cobblestone ground to see this new world. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. There were wizards in long neutral-colored robes with crooked pointy hats and elaborate hairdos, swarming around stores and shops. There were stores with owls in cages and other exotic animals, parlors with every flavored ice cream you can possibly imagine, and casements piled to the top with dusty books, and old wizarding beakers. Then in the middle of it all, down to the very end of the street, laid a huge white marble building that looked like a slightly slanted legislation building. These attractions were beyond exciting, but Enceladus was still completely lost and didn't know how to get back to Sessabit. He wasn't always good with conversations, so asking for directions was going to be a real task. Especially in this world, filled with strangers that could do magic. He began to look around and see if he could get anyone to point him to the direction of the deli or even the bank. He was still in a major time crunch. But, the wizards weren't paying any attention to him, as they hurried along worrying about their own well-being. Enceladus' anxiety was rising tremendously.

"Excuse me...I'm sorry but would you happen to know...the Deli...Gringotts Bank can you show me...Hey, do you have time to…Have you seen a kid with long wild hair?...No?...Okay...Hello, can you assist me, I'm not really from around here so… Can I have just a second with you?"

No one stopped or helped, not even a cat he saw gave him any attention. He began to wander with panic and uncoordinated movements. He felt like his head was spinning. The repugnant smell of a pet toad's dung didn't help with that either.

As he maneuvered with dizziness down a sidewalk, he accidentally bumped into a girl. She had glowing hummus-white-skin. Her black bangs were perfectly aligned above her aqua eyes, which emphasized her cunning, fairy like facial features. She was also short, wearing a bright blue summer dress, making her presence airy and light. But if presented with the opportunity, she also looked like she could win in any fight. She began to help Enceladus up.

"Are you okay?"

Pause. He was dumbstruck. The girl didn't have wings, but he was convinced she was an angel. At this point, anything was possible.

"Uh...ummm...yeah, yeah I'm good. Something caught my eye and I just...yeah...fell."

She began to laugh, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Alrighty then. Glad you are all good. Well, I'm going to Magical Manssiere now. I hear they have a discount on some cats."

"Wait, wait, do you...do you know…"

"Do I know what…?"

Enceladus' brain was turning off. He was too distracted. Everything that was important to him meant nothing in this instant.

"Do you know...uh...what kind of cat you are getting?"

What was that Enceladus?

"No, not really, I'm going in with an open heart. When you walk in and look, you'll know when you find your next best friend forever."

She willed a small smirk, then stared blankly at the ground.

"Sorry, sorry it's just-"

"No, no, no. You are fine. It's all good."

Don't cut her off, idiot.

"It's just, my last cat drowned at Hogwarts. I don't know how, but the old octopus was kind and found her body for me. I swear she was the sweetest little thing, always bringing me flowers as a sign of affection whenever we read by the lake. Blue ones were her favorite." She took a brief pause. "But, what can you do right? It happened. I gave her all the love she deserved, but I was just stupid, and didn't monitor her enough. It won't happen again." She cuffed her hands with a foggy excitement. "It's a limited time, so if you want a cat for next year, you better get going. It was nice meeting you…?"

"Oh, Enceladus. Enceladus Vega."

Vega huh?" Her eyes squinted steadily, as she was momentarily stuck in an intense thought. "Nice to meet you. My name is Reina Rose. Are you a first year? You look a little old to be a first year?"

"Yes, yes. I will be a first year." Enceladus slightly forgot what she was talking about.

"Cool. Well, I hope you get into Slytherin. We like to impose our wills and physiologically manipulate anyone that stands in our way."

"Uh…" Enceladus contorted his face worriedly.

"Just kidding. Slytherins are pretty chill. For the most part."

A playful glint sparkled in her eye, as she waved goodbye.

"I'll see yah later!"

She smiled and bounced away towards the direction of Magical Manssiere, just past Weasleys Wizard Wheezes.

But, what were words? What were thoughts? What were feelings? This girl, this beautiful girl, single handedly turned Enceladus into vegetative blob. If this wasn't magic, he didn't know what magic was.

He was highly confused about that Slytherin part though. He remembered Sessabit talking about how he hoped he didn't get in Hufflepuff. Enceladus thought these might be certain clubs, or school groups everyone received. I guess he had to wait and find out.

Before he made his next move, he saw two elderly folks with semi-formal attire approach Reina and hand her some robes. The robes were emerald green and had a symbol of a serpent by the left breast area. The old couple seemed to be her parents. Next thing he knew, she went into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He had the urge to just follow her, but he knew he had to find Sessabit, get his things, and go back home.

Right as he started to walk in a different direction, because he messed up and was incapable of asking Reina for directions, he was met by a gang of teenagers. Two were short twins with blonde mohawks, and had faces like a shark. Their names were Cast and Pollux. One was big, with floppy cheeks, and a mini afro. He looked like he could inhale you for breakfast. His name was Ersin. Then the last one had a sharp rigid face, with piercing blue eyes, caramel skin, and long dark hair pulled up into a small bun. His name was Zelos.

"So, I saw you were talking to my girl huh?" Zelos approached him.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. My girl."

The rest of the boys started to enclose around him.

"You must be new around here huh? Are you getting ready to go to Hoggy Hoggywarts this fall? Huh?" Zelos was now circling him slowly like a great white shark.

"Yeah Hoggy Hoggywarts!" repeated the boys ruthlessly.

"Well I guess we have to teach you some rules before the Great Feast, don't we?"

They nodded, and cracked their knuckles. Without anybody noticing, they grabbed Enceladus and dragged him into a nearby side alley. Cast and Pollux pinned him against the wall as Zelos and Erso traded punches to the abdomen of Enceladus.

"Maybe after this, you won't be going around flirting with other guys' girlfriends!"

They all decided to exchange shots, as they pulled him down to the cobblestone. Encleadus was coughing up blood. Zelos dug into Enceladus' pockets to see what he could take. He found his credit card and his cash.

"Ah, look at this. He has muggle money. What are you doing with this huh? Don't tell me. You have muggle parents?! Hah, what a pathetic disgrace to be in the presence of such a courageous mudblood. Well boys, I believe we should give him a little something special before we leave, don't you think?"

They all nodded with approval. Enceladus was whimpering in pain, trying to reach for his money. But it was no use. Cast kicked his wrist and Zelos slipped out his black cherry wood wand, and whispered,

"Crucio."

The red blast flickered and clamped onto Enceladus' body. He began to wither around in complete torture, like an electrocuted fish.

"Come on boys, let's go before the DMLE comes this way. I thought I heard them nearby talking about some illegal magic or something." gestured Zelos, stuffing his wand back into his sleek leather jacket.

Zelos and his gang fled the scene as Enceladus lied in torture under his curse. But, the pain subsided. Not fully, because instead, he started to feel light headed, drowsy, with blurry vision and impaired hearing. Everything was spiraling, then everything went black.

Darkness and Delphinium

Echo after echo of distorted voices clunked around in Enceladus' head. He wasn't sure if he was fighting to stay alive or submitting to go to Heaven. Everything was still, blurry, and all sound was disjointed. He had no clue where he was or what he was doing.

After a while, things were becoming clearer. He heard his name being repeated over and over. He saw the outline of a person, but he really couldn't recognize their features. Feeling slowly came back into his body and fuzziness slowly subsided. Even his headaches declined. But, as his senses were recovering from his terrible state, he felt something gooey and slimy enter his mouth. There was so much of it, that he was unable to spit it out. The taste was horrific. He began to gag. He didn't know what was being inserted into his body. But, a faint voice kept saying, "Swallow, it's good for you. Swallow." If he remembered correctly, he was well enough to know whose voice that was. He listened and did what the voice said. With all of his might, he shut his eyes with unpleasant strain and swallowed the rest of the substance down his throat. It was like a never-ending lodge, slithering slowly into his stomach. Whatever it was, it worked and Enceladus felt like a new man. He blinked a couple dozen times and saw who it was. It was Reina Rose.

"Where am I at? How did I get here? And what did you just give me?" Enceladus pulled away from her.

"No worries, you are in a safe place. I saved you." Reina had a composed, yet warm tone. Instead of a bright summery dress, she was wearing a navy-blue romper.

"Saved me? Was I in trouble or something?"

"Something of the sort. But, everything is okay now."

"Well... Reina right? I really don't want to be rude, but I shouldn't be here. I need to be-"

He stopped himself abruptly.

"What time is it?!"

"Quarter past ten." answered Reina softly, without looking at a clock.

"Quarter past ten!? I have to get home. My mom is going to have my head!"

Reina, full of serenity and balance, looked out her window. "A curfew huh? Mmm."

"Yes, a curfew! My parents still give me one. Do...do you know how to get back into the...uh...the muggle world?"

"I do."

"Will you show me? I really don't know-"

"Do you have a passport?"

"No...I don't..."

"Well if you really need one, you could borrow mine, I have two, but I'm going to need it back."

"Sure! Whatever! Now, can you please just show me the way back to the bin?"

"Alright, just follow me."

Enceladus had no choice. Even though he felt a small amount of regret for not utilizing this God given opportunity to get to know Reina, he had to go home. He already imagined his mom and dad waiting by the door with arms crossed, cringing their faces disappointedly; preparing themselves to punish him on the spot. Also, he did not know how he was going to explain this to them. He had to think of an elaborate lie right away. He figured he would start preparing while Reina was escorting him back home. It was a challenge, everything was a challenge to him.

Right before they left, he managed to get a memorable look of what seemed to be Reina's home. Despite it lacking windows for sunshine, everywhere you looked, there was a flower in sight. They were on window seals, mantles, side tables, the floor, counter pieces, hanging in glass terrariums, and even a few sprouting on the floorboards and the ceiling, with stems perfectly erected, as if they were rooted into imaginary pots. Some flowers weren't their normal colors. In the far corner of her living space, there were tall rainbow-colored sunflowers, near her couch were a bouquet of charcoal black daffodils, by her bookcase were a dozen psychedelic chrome hydrangeas, and on top of the book case were a couple of iridescent marigolds. Some flowers looked frozen with icicles hanging from the petals; some flowers looked like they were slightly ablaze, and a few had mini clouds for petals. Then there was one flower that caught his attention. It was a dark blue rose, levitating over her window pane; gradually spinning like a carousel in slow motion. If Enceladus was correct, tiny bolts of blue lightning were periodically dancing around the flower. It was all surreal. He never saw anything like it. It was like a hidden part of the Garden of Eden. He desperately wanted to stay and chat like nothing happened, but Reina was already pushing him farther away from her place.

As they were trotting down the street, Enceladus noticed Reina possessed a certain grace when she walked. It was alive, and buoyant, yet still serious and subtle. Not too overwhelming. Just right. She was quirky, yet very inexplicable. He had trouble understanding how this girl operated. He couldn't fathom how they just met earlier and she practically saved his life, with God-knows-what. Now, she's helping him to potentially not die.

After turning around various street corners under the waxed moon, Reina eventually led him to a huge line of people, standing in between a bricked wall with a hole in it. He recognized his surroundings; it was Diagon Alley, but with less sunlight and less crowds. Everyone in the line was wearing suit jackets and holding suitcases. It was the line to the magical transporting trash bin.

"Alright here you are, just wait in line, show him the passport and you will be as good as gold." She ended her sentence with a vague sense of liveliness.

"Can I technically use your passport?"

"Yup. As long as you have one in possession, it automatically turns into yours. Check your information and picture."

Enceladus looked down and saw a moving picture of himself on the passport. In its most theatrical giddiness, it shows Enceladus waving and smiling broadly. He was mildly disgusted by it.

"I hope the drink helped, Enceladus. See you soon."

He was still captivated by the passport picture. When his ears finally processed what she said, he looked up incredulously, seeing that she vanished. He still had so many questions to ask. He had to figure it out on his own.

As the line continued to move up, he heard the guard yelling at someone for fraud paperwork. He also overheard a conversation a couple bodies back about some ambush that happened in downtown London. Apparently, it was about this menacing legion called the New Death Eaters. Enceladus had no clue what any of those gentlemen were talking about and tried to focus on something that wasn't related to his parents yelling at him, or sweating profusely.

He finally reached the top of the line, and in an instant, flashbacks traveling through the bin were rushing back into his brain. He felt a little more prepared than before, so hopefully he won't be as agitated. The trash guard demanded his passport with a low husky voice.

"Identification please?"

"Here you go sir." Enceladus couldn't help but look down at the guard's glowing pistol.

The guard gave it a good long look, and poked his beaming eyes back towards Enceladus.

"You get a hair cut boy?"

"Excuse me?"

"I said, did you get a haircut?"

There was a short pause.

Enceladus quickly remembered that the picture on the passport was him with longer, puffier hair.

"No sir. My hair...uh flattens. See."

Enceladus placed his palm on the crown of his head, and pushed his mini fro down.

The guard referred back to the photo, and considered it deeply. Enceladus' hands were damp from all of his nerves.

"You're all set." He grumbled, handing back the passport to Enceladus.

Enceladus silently sighed with relief. He inserted the passport into his back pocket and approached the trash bin with unsureness. The contents inside looked like someone tossed the galaxy into a blender. The last time he did this, he was crashing into it. Unnoticebaly, his feet were shuffling back and forth, trying to determine what the next move was. The guard was growing impatient.

"Are you going in or what?!"

"Yes, sorry about that. Have a good day."

He decided to just crash in like before. He dove in head first like a professional swimmer, and quickly got sucked into the wild vortex. This was a feeling you could never get used too, and Enceladus, again, wanted to vomit. But, after swirling through a meteoric space time continuum once more, he got spat out close to the River of Thames. He knew where he was and immediately tried to get a cab or a bus. But, when he looked into his pocket, nothing was there. He forgot to bring his phone as well, so he couldn't even get an Uber. This made him feel even worse, because he had no clue what happened, which adds to the explaining he had to do already. He took his last resort, and ran home as quickly as possible.

Enceladus made it to Holland Park, with heaving lungs and a glistening face of exhaustion. It was way past midnight and he smelled like a landfill of magical trash. He approached his house sluggishly, and was confronted with spinning blue and red lights. The police were at his house. He knew that wasn't a good sign at all and sprinted in. All he could see were police officers surrounding someone and asking them questions. It was his mother.

"Mum, what's going on?" He embraced his mother.

"Oh my baby boy! You are safe, I was so worried about you. I tried calling you. I sent search teams looking for you all night. What's...what's wrong with your face? Why are you all bruised up?"

Enceladus really didn't know why, but he didn't care.

"It doesn't matter. Just tell me what's going on here. Where's dad?"

An officer with a bigger badge than the rest approached Enceladus and Laze, and spoke in a controlled manner.

"Well I'm glad your son found his way back home. We are grateful that you didn't lose two tonight."

Enceladus' heart leapt off a cliff.

"Mum, what is he talking about? What happened?!"

Laze's eyes were puffy and blood-stricken red. Her veins were prominent and light green. A tremor occurred upon her lips.

"Your...your fathers gone..."

"What…?"

"He's gone. He was at the pub with his friends and...and...a bunch of wizards came and murdered him…"

Another officer chimed in.

"Again, our deepest condolences . We have already conducted some investigations, and gained a possible lead. Apparently this group of wizards identifies themselves as the New Death Eaters. Our justice department tries to keep close relations with the Ministry of Magic, and will report this crime to Gumdrop and company to see if they know anything about this group. It's ironic because our borders are pretty much on lock down when it comes to dark wizards. If a passport senses dark magic, then it won't work for the user. That's a safety feature the Ministry and our department have worked diligently on; to control who's really imposing a threat to our world or not."

"WELL YOU NEED TO WORK ON IT BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL THREATS! ALL OF THEM! THEY ARE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE. THEY KILLED MY PARENTS AND NOW THEY KILLED MY HUSBAND!"

The whole room grew quiet and cold. Enceladus went up to his mother and squeezed her tight. His mind was completely blank. Tears smeared down his bony cheek, as he tried to hold it all in. Hogwarts was out of the picture. He would never see Sessabit again. Never see Reina again. And, would never see his father again. He was the man now. He had to look over his mother. Protect her and help her out. His dad wasn't the greatest, but he did try when it mattered the most. That's something both Enceladus and Laze would never look past. But, they never imagined it would turn into this. They never imagined he would, all of a sudden, be gone forever, by the hands of wizards. Dark wizards. Enceladus continued to hug his mom, and promised her that, whenever he was around, he would never miss dinner with her.

Feisty Noctua

Enceladus never experienced death before. Everything felt surreal. Everything felt fast. One. Two. Three. Death. Funeral. Gone. There was no real way to prepare or process it. He had to endure it all at once. Enceladus was fatherless. And that was something, regardless of their history together, he had to accept. It was hard. Very hard.

Enceladus knew this was a calling though. He knew he had to go to Hogwarts. He had to discover himself, and use magic for good and not evil. In the muggle world, most wizards are stereotyped as vigilantes, doers of wrong, and only wrong. But, Enceladus knew that wasn't true. Not all wizards are bad. Sessabit proved this wrong, and Enceladus knew this could be a key step towards healing and inner peace.

Even though Enceladus was ready for Hogwarts, Mrs. Vega despised the idea. Making it borderline impossible to convince her otherwise.

Enceladus eventually told his mom everything, from Sessabit, to losing his credit card and cash. That night, she slapped him. Vigorously. She didn't even ask him any questions. She merely turned red, fought back tears, and walked out of his room. This influx of emotions from Laze continued for a week, while Enceladus kept on selling the idea of attending Hogwarts. Seeing that his efforts were futile, he needed some assistance. Cue Sessabit. His new friend.

Sessabit would secretly visit him, and suggested Neville Longbottom and some members of a group called the Order of the Phoenix to visit and speak with Laze. It took multiple, very calculated visits from them to bargain with Laze.

"Our school is not a school for murderers." said Neville sitting across from Laze.

"Magic is the Devil's work. It's deadly. It doesn't belong. I will not expose my child to that."

"I've personally never met this Devil, but I assure it is not his work. Magic can be wondrous, and it is who Enceladus is, whether you refute it or not. Did you forget, you've deprived your son from four years of training with the aid of magic? Isn't that, in itself, exposing your son to magic?"

"She what-..."

"Shhh, listen yah dope."

Enceladus and Sessabit were sitting up at the top step of the staircase, listening below.

"You had no right to intervene with our affairs. We had reasons we didn't want to receive that vile letter." Laze stood up. "I know what this school does to people. It's all a trick. It's all a trick to sacrifice people like pigs, using them as pawns, fighting for the sake of fighting! No chance to live normally! Only murder and death! Murder and death!"

Laze was fuming, flaring from her nostrils and heaving incessantly. Neville, without any flinch or twitch, rose from his chair, and placed a palm on her shoulder.

"You are hurting. And I understand why."

"Don't tell me what I am." She ripped away from his palm.

"They were beautiful wizards. And they did everything in their power to protect you and Enceladus. They loved you and still do."

Laze paused.

"They didn't have to leave me like that…"

Laze was fighting back tears.

"I know, you are mad, and you don't want to repeat the same fate with your son. But just remember, those same wizards, with all their magic, made such a positive impact on your life. Enceladus could do the same, and become the good wizards you've adored and admired your whole life. Wizards who are not murderous, yet compassionate and loving."

Laze sat back down, really taking in what Neville said. She actually listened. It was a start.

Neville Longbottom helped a lot. He never came off as the serious type, but he had a certain light hearted nature with a sprinkle of charm that made him respectable and easy to listen to. Her trust was thin as half-melted ice, yet as the visits progressed, she began to wonder things about her past that she didn't realize before. Whether they were true or not, she couldn't fully determine. All of this magic talk was all too overwhelming and exhausting. Nevertheless, progress was being made.

Weeks passed, and Laze started to loosen up about Hogwarts. The bulk of the visits consisted of topics such as keeping Enceladus safe and ensuring he gets an excellent wizarding education. One of Laze's main concerns was whether he would be fed. They promised he would.

While Neville mostly handled Hogwarts logistics, the Order of Phoenix butted in with other extra intentions in mind. They asked about the magical shield that was around her house. Laze didn't know much. All she knew is that her husband hired a man to place the spell. The members noted this and warned her to stray away from unwarranted magic near her household. They claimed it would keep her away from trouble with the London officials and Ministry of Magic. She promised she would, if she even knew how.

Enceladus' grandparents were mentioned in many discussions, but Neville was very vague and Laze relayed very little information about them, and even refused to talk about them entirely, even when Enceladus would join. Enceladus didn't know what to make of it.

After many long sessions and endless tea sipping nights, she finally agreed. Only under one condition; for Enceladus to write often letting her know that he's eating well. Neville Longbottom gave a bright smile, and ensured he would keep a watchful eye out for Enceladus.

Enceladus and Sessabit, as always, were sitting on the top stair case playing cards when they heard the news. They both sprung up and did a little jig to celebrate. Enceladus then sprinted down stairs and gave his mom the biggest hug ever.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I promise I won't disappoint you."

"Yes, thank yah, thank yah, thank yah! " said Sessabit, joining in and picking both of them up with glee.

"Okay, okay Sessabit you can let me down." said Laze.

"Oop, sorry, I tend to lift thins' when I'm dis happy."

Laze gave him a playfully scornful look. She then looked to Enceladus.

"It is meant to be. I can't hide that from you any longer."

"I feel kind of bad. I don't know how much I'll be back to visit. Who's going too-"

"Don't worry. The Order offered to check in on me from time. It was quite generous on their part."

Enceladus looked over to his front door and saw Neville, and the Order standing proudly, ready to depart.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Enceladus, we can't wait to finally have you next fall," said Neville.

They all nodded with enlightened approvals, as they all said their farewells, apparating instantaneously. When Enceladus turned back around, Sessabit was still dancing and lifting random furniture pieces around. Enceladus smiled and joined in.

From there on, Enceladus did what he needed to do for the rest of spring and summer. He finished his essay about wizards with that boring article. He received a B+. He then graduated high school early. He had enough credits to do it, and decided why not. It was sad at first because he'd grown to love all of his friends and experiences, but at this point the only thing on his mind was being a wizard, and...well...Reina. He even bid a "proper" farewell to Sammy Cloud and wrote her a poem encompassing all of his departing feelings towards her. Sessabit helped, and wrote a stanza every other line.

The Goodbye Poem

You buried our love under lies,

Yeh forehead always looks greasy like snail slime,

Making my heart run and hide,

Smellin' of orge stench, en dung pie,

I gave you everything,

Inferius look better,

And you gave me nothing,

Than yur dreadful school sweater,

But all the best in your endeavors,

I hope eh fairy urines on yeh ear,

With whatever actual love by your side,

Or yeh drown en Butterbeer,

Goodbye past mistake,

Yeh also kiss like eh ugly salamander,

And hello new me,

Good riddance ugly salamander,

Sincerely, Enceladus

"You rhymed salamander with salamander?" joked Enceladus.

"So, I think ets quite poetic."

"Do you think salamanders are actually ugly?"

"Of course not! But, if they were. I'd imagine she would be one."

They both giggled and laughed as Enceladus folded the poem. He did feel a little bad since he did care for Sammy, but Sessabit talked him out of it saying he deserved better. Enceladus agreed and put the poem somewhere safe, so wouldn't forget about it.

The next day was graduation and after school he did the deed. He gave her the poem, gave her a hug, and walked away. Once she grabbed it, she started crying and ripped it instantaneously. Enceladus did feel a small part of his heart snap, but Sessabit helped when he came to his graduation ceremony, disguised as a teenage muggle, and shot blue and red Wildfire Whizbangs up in the sky saying,"Wippee, yeh did it!" when Enceladus received his diploma. Enceladus was ecstatic. He never felt this recognized before. Not even with his own family.

Over the summer, Sessabit had become the friend he never had. He visited Enceladus almost every day until the first day of Hogwarts. Enceladus eventually made it to Gringotts with him and got his exchange too. They traveled via Puddin to get to the stone white building. They entered and walked down a marble aisle, each side having two rows of long booths with goblins hunched over, immersed in intense paperwork.

"Wow, real goblins…"

"Yes, real goblins. Now, let mi do the yappin'."

Enceladus nodded, still in awe from the bank and goblins.

"Hello mister, mi friend here would like to open en new vault en exchange some muggle money." said Sessabit swaggerly, leaning his elbow on top of the teller's booth.

"Oh, really? And who is giving this underagage wizard permission to open his own vault by himself? Mmm?" The palish gray goblin, wearing a three-piece suit, mutton chops, and lazy eye, hovered over his desk.

"Uh...Hagrid."

The globin gave him a penetrating stare.

"Oh yes Hagrid, dear old Hagrid. And what relation does he have with-?"

"Enceladus. That is my name, sir."

"He's his nephew. Mi third cousin. He has just lost his parents. Poor soul."

The goblin let down his guard a bit.

"Well my condolences, truly. Well if this is indeed true, do you have a written document from him stating-?"

"O' course!"

Sessabit handed him a piece of paper.

The goblin lowered his head and adjusted his reading glasses. He took a long pause.

"Well, well it looks like everything is in order. Come follow me gentlemen."

Enceladus was so bewildered. While they were walking towards the elevator he whispered near Sessabit's ear.

"What did you give him?"

"Oh yeh know, en old permission slip o' mine from school, signed off by me papa, but with yur name magically replaced on with unidentifiable ink from my unidentifiable quill. Good for forgin." Sessabit chuckled under his mischievous grin, which wasn't so mischievous at all.

Enceladus was impressed. He tried to give Sessabit a fist bump, but he didn't know how to react. He retreated his fist limply.

"Hey whatever works right? But...hey...um, will I ever meet him? Your dad?"

Sessabit didn't look back.

"Mmm one day. He's too ill right now for visitors."

Enceladus didn't know what to say next. He let the topic die, and was grateful for his new vault.

Right when they were about to leave to the lower levels, Zelos entered Gringotts and strutted to one of the tellers. He was accompanied by an older lady, who had long beautiful black hair, pecan colored skin, full lips, and nitrous blue eyes.

"I like to exchange and deposit some funds into my vault-

"Mine," said the lady.

"Whatever. Our vault. Can you just do it and be quick about it?"

"That's not how you speak to a goblin, especially one who is affiliated with the Ministry." said the lady, using wandless magic to grab Zelos by his collar.

"Mother please, you can't treat me like some delinquent in public. There are worse people than me who deserve more for their actions."

"It's alright, my Niffler has a louder squeak than insolent boys like him." scoffed the goblin with a stink eye. Zelos' mother and the goblin laughed.

"Why you little!-"

"Zelos, that's enough. Do what you need to do and let's go."

Zelos grumbled under his breath as he dug into his pocket for his funds.

As he was shuffling the contents in his hands, Enceladus noticed that he had, what looked to be, his mother's old credit card.

"Hold up a sec. Sessabit. I recognize that guy from somewhere."

"Zelos? Oh no, that's one person you should not recognize."

"Yes, yes I just don't know from where? He has my mum's credit card."

"That muggle square thingy...?"

"Yes, remember my mom had to get me another one because I lost it when we first went to Diagon Alley."

"Oh yes. Puddin en I felt really bad for not being able to find yeh that day."

"It's fine. I need to know how he got that card. Hold up a sec."

"Enceladus no, don' do it!" He tried to reel Enceladus back. He missed, and decided to peer around a corner, trembling viciously.

Enceladus approached Zelos and his mother.

"Hi...um...I just happen to notice that you have a credit card that looks awfully similar to the one I lost a while ago, I was just curious if you picked that one up off the floor or something and-"

"What is it to you?" Zelos confronted Enceladus, face to face.

"Well-"

"Leave."

"Zelos!"

His mother snapped again. He quieted down immediately .

"I apologize for my son's behavior, he can get easily defensive at times. Now, what is your concern with my son?"

"Uh, well, the credit card he held looked exactly like mine, so I was wondering if it was mine…"

"Are your parents muggles?"

"Uh...yeah?"

She transferred her attention to Zelos.

"Well, Zelos, whose card is that? You very well know that we don't use that method of banking as wizards. How did you get it?"

"I found it on the floor. But, I'm pretty sure-"

"What is your name?"

"Enceladus. But, my mother's name would be on the card, not mine."

"Well, what is her name?"

"Laze Vega."

"Okay, Zelos let's see it."

Zelos calmly slid out the card from his pocket and showed it to his mother. A huge pause occurred.

"Dobious Crinkle." announced this mother as she read off the name.

"Told you. Now leave."

"I'm so sorry, it just-"

"No worries. It was an honest mistake. I hope you get to find your card. Have a good day now."

"You too..."

Zelos gave him a piercing glare before he turned back to the teller with his mother. Sessabit ran up and dragged Enceladus away.

"Are yeh crazy?!" You never mess with Zelos! En his mom Leoda? Yur lucky nothing bad happened"

"What? I just asked a simple question."

"That question could put you on his hit list. He's eh sixth year Slytherin en he's been terrorizing Hogwarts since he came. The Sortin' hat told him that he held powers that were capable o' rippin' nightmares en half. He's eh nasty one, who only cares about himself. "

"That's ridiculous. I don't even know the guy. But, for some reason, I'm convinced I've seen him before. I just don't know when or where."

"Well, ets best to keep et that way. Come on, let's go to yur shiny new vault."

They both followed the goblin down stares into a dark damp cave full of hanging sharp rocks and a long winding coaster system. Enceladus got his vault and got his exchange and went to go shop for all of his wizarding necessities for next fall. Even his first wand at Ollivander's.

"Hello, I am the wand keeper, Gervaise Ollivander, son of Garrick Ollivander. How may I be of assistance today to you two?"

Sessabit gestured to Enceladus to talk to him on his own. Naturally, his nerves were jittery.

"Hi, I'm here to get a wand. Uh, my first wand."

Gervaise studied him.

"You seem a little old to be receiving your first wand."

"Yeah, I'm a little late to the game."

Gervaise smiled.

"All is well. Your wand will wait, until it's time. Which is right now,"

Gervaise circled around his counter and faced Enceladus.

"Please boy. Tell me your name."

"Enceladus."

"Ah Enceladus, the icy moon of Saturn."

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"As a wand keeper, I have to be knowledgeable in many disciplines sometimes." He smirked, as he adjusted his silver brimmed glasses. "Now, Enceladus, this is a special moment in your life. Choosing a wand is like choosing a friend. Can you show me your wand dominant arm please?"

"Uh, sure."

Gervaise uncoiled a measuring tape, and measured his arm, wrist, bicep, you name it. Enceladus looked at Sessabit confusingly. Sessabit just gave him a thumbs up.

"Now, there are typically three cores to a wand. But, I have found a fourth. Coincidentally enough, it is the moon. A moon core. Every ten years or so, a shower of tiny bite sized moon craters will plummet from space, and land in the Forbidden Forest. I have collected and tested this material and have made fully functional wands. I have learned with this core; it has an infinite amount of range. Not very powerful, yet still very useful. One time, I made it snow in Paris all the way from London." He chuckled at this and went back behind his counter, which housed hundreds of small rectangular boxes in shelves. "I think the moon core will suit you well. Now, we just have to find the right wood for you."

Gervaise let Enceladus try different wands from Elm, Hazel, to Maple and Pear. After many misfires, and beginner spells gone wrong inside the shop, Enceladus finally found his wand. Or the wand found him. It found him because it fell right into his hands after Sessabit hit a very tall shelf, ducking from Enceladus' mistakes. Fate nonetheless. The wand was a swishy, flexible fifteen-inch Ash wood wand, with a moon core. Enceladus couldn't believe it. Whenever he held his wand, he actually felt a tingly surge of energy flow through his palm. He knew this was his.

Now that Enceladus was equipped for Hogwarts, he needed to know what Hogwarts was exactly like. Whenever Sessabit visited, he would do just that. Sessabit easily excited himself, and tended to ramble furiously though. One night, he explained too much to Enceladus and Enceladus fell right to sleep.

"Depending on what year, depends on yur classes. I have Divination, with Professor Trelawney, she's pretty ol' en crazy, but pretty easy, then there's Transfiguration and Potions. All really fun, but a little harder. Then Defense against the Dark Arts es wild. The teacher's name es Hermoine Granger, eh lovely gal, but very strict for the right reasons. Then o' course the moving pictures, en the wallopin stare cases, en all of the ghosts that mess with yeh, en oh, the delicious food in the Great Hall. Splendid! Oh, en the houses; there are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. I just know from the pit of me stomach that the Sortin' hat is going to put yeh in Gryffindor. I don't know if yeh might get eh spot on the Quidditch team, since yeh a part o' the WADA, but we'll see. And…"

Sessabit would stop at some point when Enceladus was fast asleep, and record all of his ramblings into a jar he made called the Recording Jar. This jar would let him save every word he spoke. All you had to do was speak into the jar and your message would turn into floating letters that would snake around. Enceladus would wake up the next morning, open the jar, and see a train of words spew out of the jar; creating the sentence in mid-air. It was helpless. The jar couldn't even make out most of Sessabit's words. One day, a sentence said something along the lines of, "The chomping pillow pill mack chew like a bag dog." It was virtually useless to Enceladus.

Vice versa, Enceladus would try to teach Sessabit some everyday muggle activities. It started and pretty much ended with baseball. They did this at night so Sessabit didn't have to worry about staying undetected. They would go to a deserted field and play almost all night. Since Sessabit was ⅓ giant, he would rocket the ball miles away with a measly flick of the bat. Sometimes he would hit flying birds, or hovering search helicopters, even when he bunted. Enceladus decided that it was best to let muggle exposure happen naturally.

All summer Sessabit was a major influence on Enceladus' life. Even his mother approved of him, (Mainly because he helped with the chores) and allowed him to come over for dinner many times. Of course without Puddin, but he wouldn't always listen. Puddin would handle all of the burnt brussel sprouts, as Sessabit and Enceladus would toss them out the window when Laze wasn't looking. Dragon or not, Laze loved his company and enjoyed all of the wizarding dishes he would bring over. He would bring Pumpkin Pasties, Ginger Cakes, Chocolate Clusters, Steak and Kidney Pie and so much more. Laze was always a lover of food, even if she wasn't good at preparing it. She couldn't get enough of it. Since they weren't the richest family around, she enjoyed all of Sessabit's kind gestures. When he was around, positivity flooded the household. When he wasn't, the burden of not having a father and a husband was prevalent, as Laze would go into a downward funk. One night was worse than ever when Sessabit came to visit.

Laze finished saying grace.

"Two weeks away and you two will be in school, A wizarding school, how do guys feel?"

Enceladus was barely audible because his mouth was stuffed with food already.

"Pretty okay."

"How about you, Sessabit?" Laze was fairly calm as she passed the steamy stuffed potatoes.

He also had his mouth stuff.

"Er, another year in the books I guess. I just want to be done. My dream es to be a professional Quidditch player, but mi papa wants me to hang back and get a real job or somethin'. You know, to really utilize my skills en stuff. Ets okay, times are uncanny, en I have to keep on takin' care o' the dragons for now."

She paused for a brief moment and took a sip of her water.

"Interesting, Enceladus' father never really...uh...pushed him growing up. He's pretty much a self-made boy. With of course, the help of me along the way."

"Mum!" Enceladus vehemently dropped his silverware.

"It's okay. I'm just telling him how it is. Now, Sessabit, you should really bring your father for dinner one day. I loved to meet him. With a smart boy as yourself, I bet he's doing something right as a father."

"Mum Seriously!"

"Ets okay, ets okay. Well, Mrs. Vega, like I mentioned to me frien' Enceladus, my father has been quite ill, en hasn't been going out much, so I don' think it would be best if he comes. I'm his only caretaker righ' now, en I want to make sure he's always in tip top shape, yeh know?"

"Why can't you escort him then?"

"Because...Ets just too much work, we live really far from here and I just don' feel comfortable...-"

"One time won't hurt, will it?"

"MUM! QUIT IT NOW!"

"Don't tell me what to do boy! I'm just asking a simple request and he's acting like he's going to die or something?"

Sessabit remained quiet.

"I...I think...I think I better go...I uh...got sum chores I have to ten to... goodnight..."

He collected his stuff and stormed out the front door.

"What is your problem?!" Enceladus' anger was unfathomable.

"I just wanted to meet his father, that's all."

"He kept saying no and you kept on asking. That wasn't cool!"

"He acted like he's on his deathbed or something!"

"He practically is mom…" Enceladus looked back at the front door where Sessabit just left.

"Well, death isn't the worst thing ever I suppose. Anyone could get over it. Even a kid like him." Laze began cleaning up the dinner table.

"What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying I can get over dad's death just like that? Like he never lived in the first place? What's wrong with you!"

Enceladus stormed to his room and slammed his door shut. Laze spent the rest of the night crying and looking at the seat her husband used to sit on, feeling nothing but bleakness and futility.

Two weeks have passed since that dreadful night. Enceladus sat in his room alone listening to The Atomic Count Basie, packing all his stuff for the first day of school tomorrow. He struggled folding his robe, eventually giving up and tossing it into his case.

Piercing tweets filled his room, disrupting his packing flow. He looked over and realized that he missed his case and accidentally threw his robe onto the cage of his new pet, Profugus. Profugus was an Urasiian Pygmy owl; one of the last of his kind at Eeylops. His feathers were mud brown with a blotted mixture of creamy white on his belly. He had a curvy chip sized beak, a wing span the size of an inch worm, and a body the size of a kiwi. Most importantly, he hooted like a rowdy drunk sailor, and flew around like a maniac. Enceladus never owned a pet before therefore many challenges were bound to happen. With nights like these, he just wanted to concentrate and make sure everything was all set for tomorrow. But, for some reason Profugus kept on bugging him and bumping himself into the cage, which would teeter and tap the window, like he wanted to fly out.

"No Profugus, you can't go outside. It's too late buddy."

Profugus unlatched his cage door, bounced out, and batted his beak against Encelaus' head. He continued to bump himself onto the window. At this point, Enceladus gave up and wondered if Profugus was trying to tell him something. Soon enough, he opened his window. As he swung open the two frames, Profugus flew to the very opposite side of the room and perched on Enceladus' lamp shade, mustard yellow eyes transfixed on the outdoors, as if he was about to lurch onto his prey.

"Alright there you go. I hope you are happy. Now, leave me alone please."

Enceladus gave Profugus a shifty look and continued with his packing. Right as he sat down about to pile his books, a black and brown patched cat with very pointy ears sprung into his room with a note in its mouth. Enceladus jumped back in fear, and Profugus went into attack mode. Profugus hurled his little body towards the cat and pecked at it relentlessly. The cat raised its pink paw and gave one big swipe at Profugus. He went flying and hit the wall near him. Enceladus got up hurriedly and shooed away the cat.

"Hey! Get out of here you mangy fur ball!"

The cat hissed, and dropped a note onto his floor. The cat reversed her course, and strutted elegantly towards the window as if she just won a battle. Her tail wagged around like a flag, and in an instant she disappeared. After such a chaotic quarrel, Enceladus regained his train of thought, and swiftly went to shut his window. He looked over to Profugus as if he was about to lecture him.

"Seriously owl? That's what you wanted? You wanted to fight a smelly feral cat and die?"

Profugus looked embarrassed, as if he didn't feel he put up a good enough fight. He hopped gingerly into his cage and stared downward with sunken eyes, as if he self-punished himself. Enceladus noticed and tried to cheer him up.

"Hey, I'm...I'm sorry. I know you were just trying to protect me. Thanks buddy. I hope that mean cat didn't hurt you too much."

He gave him a pat on his little head and a grasshopper to eat for his bravery. Enceladus was easing up to the fact he owned a pet. The only fact he couldn't comprehend was how a cat managed to get onto his window seal considering he's about fifteen feet above the ground without any trees nearby. He examined the outside and didn't see any cat in sight. But, he did see the note that it dropped off. Why would a cat carry a note? He picked it up, sat down on the edge of his bed and started to read it.

Dear Enceladus,

I hope your summer has been treating you well. I don't know much about the muggle world, but I'd imagine it's quite interesting to some extent. You are probably wondering why I'm writing to you and how I got your address. Simple. One, I need my passport back. One of my friends needs to borrow it. Two, I asked Sessabit. I see you two quite frequently in Diagon Alley banting around and figured he would be a reliable source of information. I hope I was right, because my cat, Evelyn, does not like making any unnecessary trips if she doesn't have to. She cherishes her sleep. I apologize in advance if you are reading this. Because that means Evelyn made it to you, and probably caused some ruckus. Don't worry she is just saucy. She wouldn't truly harm unless she has to. Anyways, if you have any last-minute trips back into the wizarding world tonight, you can keep the passport, and give it back to me on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow. But, I do recommend rest, because tomorrow is going to be a long, yet extremely exciting day. See you then. A whole new adventure awaits.

P.S I hope that you are feeling better since our last encounter.

P.S.S Whatever house you are placed in, I could always sew on your symbol and embroider your colors. I like to help save a Galleon or two for newbies.

Sincerely, Reina Rose.

The parchment began to feel moist and flimsy, because of Enceladus' sweaty palms. Out of all the people on this planet, Reina Rose sent him a letter. He felt like he could melt into a blob right there, splitting into gooey pieces like a lava lamp. He thought about her often since they last met, but never had the guts to really bring her up in conversation. Just talking about her made him nervous. She was otherworldly to him, something beyond beauty. Yet, he fell for this trap before with Sammy and it didn't end well, so caution was of the utmost importance. But, caution or not, he had to vent his feelings. He had to manifest his emotions. Regardless, there was something special about her.

Some nights he would write poems about her to fully express himself. If, of course, Profugus was in good behavior and didn't try to eat them. It was the mango scented pens. Profugus couldn't refuse them.

He still wondered what happened that night and how he got into her flat? If that was even her flat. He hoped to have a moment with her to just talk.

But, talking might not be an option because of her passport. Flooded with nonstop commotion since his father's death, Enceladus completely forgot it. He rummaged and flipped his room upside down looking for the little square pamphlet. He looked in his sock drawer, his game box, and his closet. No avail. Seven minutes later, he finally found it inside his compartment pockets on his jacket. He was so relieved; he could care less about the self-blundered appearance of his room. Though, it would have been nice to remember that he had it, instead of constantly flying with Sessabit into garbage cans all summer.

He didn't need the passport anymore (Like he even used it). He decided to surprise Reina and give it back to her tonight. Now, his next question was how on earth was he supposed to send it? It was an hour before midnight, and all the post offices were closed. Yet, he wondered how her cat got into the muggle world and gave him her letter. He meandered around his room stroking his tiny chin hairs, and crunched his thick eyebrows up and down for answers. As he was looping around his room aimlessly, he saw Profugus dunking himself, on repeat, into Enceladus' toy basketball hoop latched onto his bedroom door.

"Are you okay?"

Profugus broke his flight pattern, flew by the passport that was on Enceladus' desk, and tried dragging it with his beak..

"Duh! I completely forgot! Owls can send letters! That's what Sessabit told me!" Enceladus slapped his hand against his I-can't-believe-it face.

Profugus readjusted his beak, and clamped tighter onto the passport. He then flapped his wings at high speeds to lift the passport, but it was no use. His body was too petite.

"That's what you want to do, isn't it bud? It's in your blood to do this kind of stuff. Well, hold up one second bud, I have an idea."

He scooped up Profugus and placed him onto his bed. Profugus gave a tiny hop, as if he knew Enceladus was trying to help.

"First, let me write my response letter. It can't be too long though, because it will be too heavy for you. Let's see."

He grabbed and tore a small piece off of some loose-leaf paper from his notebook. He wrote something down in under thirty seconds and folded it into a raisin sized ball. The letter went as such,

Dear Reina Rose,

Thanks for the heads up.

Sincerely, Enceladus.

It wasn't perfect, but it had potential. Kind of. Enceladus now needed a way for Profugus to carry both of these items without him choking, or ripping his twig-like-legs off. He searched around his room for anything that could possibly work. After digging under his bed and tossing loose articles of clothing around like a mini tornado, he found an empty marble bag and some yarn. He had an idea.

"Alright Profugus, hold still, I'm going to put this marble pouch onto your stomach okay? This is going to be your carrier bag."

Profugus pranced around with elation. It seemed that all his dreams were coming true. Enceladus finished tying the marble pouch around Profugus' fluffy belly, and stuffed the note inside, and folded the passport in half, inserting it between the pouch and the yarn.

"Alright buddy, uh, do you know where to go? Do you guys know...like...every location there is?"

Profugus beckoned Enceladus towards his window.

"Okay well I trust you." Enceladus was skeptical.

He lifted and cuffed his little friend with one hand, and unlatched the window with the other. On the count of three he tossed Profugus in the air, and off he went, soaring into the night like a measly fly.

"Fly my little friend! And come straight home when you are all done. No scuffles, do you hear me?" shouted Enceladus from his window.

Shrinking into a mere dot, Profugus was out of sight. Enceladus wished for a miracle. He didn't want to buy another owl. He was growing close to Profugus. As he stared out into the star blanketed sky wondering if Profugus hadn't crashed, he took a moment to reflect on his life.

A huge change was about to occur tomorrow. It never bothered him that he changed schools constantly and lived in multiple households, but this did. He was about to leave all of his friends, his home, and his mother. His mother, who did not have a husband anymore. He even thought about Sammy Cloud, feeling unusually saddened on how things ended between them. For the first time in a while he felt lost, afraid and confused.

He sat on his rug and dug into his pocket, playing with his lighter and grazing the flickering flame across his skin. He really hoped the wizarding world was the right fit. All he wanted was to make his parents proud, despite his father's absence. Now his mom was all he had.

As these thoughts clouded his brain, he grabbed a photo album book from under a hanging shelf and returned to his window. He skimmed through the pages and stopped at a picture of his grandparents.

"I hope I can learn more about you guys more, and bring wizarding back into this family. I know that's what you two would have wanted...from what I hear..."

At a second glance, he noticed that the picture of his grandparents was moving. They were smiling so happily and hugging each other tightly. Enceladus felt like crying. But, he held it in, grabbed the picture, and slipped it into his wallet to carry wherever he went. He knelt his elbows on his windowsill and looked up to the sky once more for comfort.

"Huh, another bee constellation I see, and a...comet…racing right past Saturn."

As he said this, the sky was stagnant, with no comet in sight. Then after a brief moment, a comet shot across the sky with trailing white sparks and faded into the dark unknown. Enceladus smiled, left his window for Profugus, wrote a poem about flowers and prepared for bed.

Fermi in the Flesh

Today was the day. First day of Hogwarts. Of course, mostly everything went awry. Enceladus woke up late. He smacked his alarm clock off and rushed to collect all of his things. He didn't even have time to eat breakfast, comb his hair, or really say goodbye to his mom. One good thing was, Profugus was back in his cage sleeping. He completed the mission. But, that wouldn't save Enceladus any time. Luckily, Sessabit brought a friend from school with him to help Enceladus out. His name was Gordan Aster. He's a tall, lengthy boy with freckles and pointy ears like an elf, yet physically alluring in some aspects. He's in Gryffindor just like Sessabit, and like all three of them, loved food, as he ate a double chocolate donut when he arrived.

Gordan and Sessabit gathered most of Enceladus' belongings and started packing it into the Aster's red Volkswagen. Mama Aster's a very small, tranquil woman with brown eyes and electric blonde hair. Papa Aster's a prime jokester, with a cooky persona and hiked up trousers past his belly button. They are non-magical like Enceladus' parents. They both greeted Enceladus by the sidewalk warmly.

"Hello, darling, nice to meet you. I heard special things about you. Oh, here is your own school passport honey. You can only use them during the school year, specifically first, last days of school, and major holidays to visit any family members." said Mama Aster.

"Nice to meet you too, and thank you for the ride and the passport.." Enceladus tried to ignore the part about , "Hearing special things…"

"Yes lad! It's really no jiffy. We work at the Department of Foreign Affairs at the embassy here in London, so if you ever lose it we can replace it for you. We work closely with the Ministry. Gordan will show you how if that happens. But, it's certainly a pleasure. You're gonna have a blast at Hogwarts! My son loves it! Don't you son! My star Seeker!" said Papa Aster loudly and proudly.

Gordan stood stone cold quiet as he continued to pack the car.

"Gotta love the kid. Hey, before we tread some rubber, how about a quick joke? What is something that doesn't live but flies around?"

"A ghost?" A basic guess thought Enceladus, but whatever.

"Nope . A broomstick! Get it? Great stuff yah?"

"Alright Dad that's enough, we have to go now, the train is going to leave pretty soon." Gordan was pestering, slowly obtaining second hand embarrassment.

"Sorry honey, he's a sports dad, and the only two things he really loves are his cheesy jokes, and watching his son play Quidditch."

Papa Alster went to give Gordan a gnarly noogy, full of his fatherly love.

Enceladus didn't mind his quirky nature. It was something nicely different.

Everyone eventually packed into the car and off they went. Right before they got off the curve, Enceladus waved goodbye to his mom, who looked deeply saddened and extremely proud at the same time. It would be three months before he stepped foot on the premises of Holland Park again. Enceladus smushed himself into the middle back seat between the large Sessabit and lengthy Gordan, trying to calm down Profugus who was trying to snip Gordan's pet toad, Otio, who looked more dead than alive with his rough rolly skin and heavy breathing. Traffic wasn't too bad either going towards downtown London, and Papa Aster seemed to be a very fast, yet safe driver.

"We are dropping you guys off by that one alley place by Big Ben right?" Papa Alster clicked on his right turning signal.

"Yes, like always, father."

"Alrighty, alley by Big Ben it is." Papa Aster, executed a fine turn, and pressed his foot firmly on the pedal, accelerating to a nice cruise.

"So, how exactly do we get to Hogsmeade station?" Enceladus kept on hearing about Hogsmeade, but didn't know zip about its whereabouts.

"We go through the portal en uh...run for it!"

"What happens if we miss the train?"

"We won't miss it, trust us." interjected Gordan with absolute confidence.

Enceladus knew he was in good company, and didn't bother to ask any more questions. He just didn't want to feel like an unnecessary burden, but it seemed that wasn't the case at all. Everyone was calm and determined that they were going to make it on time. After a while, the car ride went quiet for a bit and Enceladus slowly closed his eyes looking at the window dew and took a nap on Sessabit's shoulder.

A big screeching halt awoke Enceladus. They arrived near the alley, with a line of people that stretched down to Westminster Church.

"Alright guys, here is your stop. If you need anything, Gordan has my address. Just give me a write." Mama Aster peered behind the passenger car seat with a motherly smile, happy for her son and friends.

"Alright boys, just like what Mama Aster said, don't be-"

Enceladus, Sessabit, and Gordan all exited the car before he finished his sentence. Mama and papa Aster popped the trunk for Gordan and Enceladus. Sessabit didn't have anything because he already lived right by the school. They retrieved their items, closed the trunk, and waved their goodbyes as the red Volkswagen zoomed away into the morning moisture. The boys walked briskly towards the line and gave it a good look. Enceladus felt uncertain.

"Blimey, do we really have to wait in all that?"

Sessabit and Gordan looked at each other with conniving grins.

"Oh, we are not waiting in that mess, we have a better way." Gordan, with the biggest smile across his sea of freckles, perked up with excitement.

"Yeah, we'll be there en no time."

Enceladus didn't know what they were talking about. But, he was willing to try anything that would get them to the station on time.

"We have fifteen minutes guys, how are we going to do this?" Enceladus couldn't fathom any possible alternative.

"Come on Enceladus, we have our secrets," Gordan, went down and tied both of his shoes very tightly. Once he was done, both he and Sessabit gave each other confirming head nods.

"To the underground station we go!" Sessabit, with a great big leap into the air, clenched his fist towards the sky with tonic enthusiasm.

Sessabit and Gordan double checked if the coast was clear and booked it towards the Westmister underground train station, as if they were parkour professionals. They were both athletic and agile boys, so they didn't have an issue weaving in and out of London pedestrians. At one-point Sessabit did a front flip over a short old lady eating a Bueno Bar. Gordan only carried a backpack and decided to stuff Otio in it. He probably didn't feel a thing, since Gordan has probably done that a couple hundred times. With no choice but to follow, Enceladus ran right behind them. Enceladus had a difficult time because of his luggage and Profugus' cage. He kept on apologizing to ongoing walkers.

"Sorry!...uh pardon me...I didn't mean it...sorry, I'm trying to catch a tube."

Enceladus was worried that he was going to lose Sessabit and Gordan going down the entry stairs and escalators. Thankfully, the left side of the escalator was empty so he could sprint downward just in time to see Sessabit and Gordan turn right onto the Northbound tube track. Enceladus took a sharp right as well, and noticed Sessabit and Gordan looking at the train arrival monitor.

"What…what are we doing...here?" Enceladus was heaving, trying to regain his breath.

"Look for the tube going to King's Cross station." Gordan's eyes were glued to the monitor.

"There she es. One minute away!" Sessabit was jumping up and down like an exhilarated child in a bounce house.

"Okay, now listen here, Enceladus. What is about to happen you can't mention to anyone. Only you, Sessabit and I can know, okay?"

Gordan's demeanor was really serious, and Enceladus sensed that right away. He nodded with approval, while biting his lower lip with speculation as well. Gordan gave the directions.

"So here's the deal. When the tube comes down the tunnel, we jump down onto the tracks and lay underneath it. Once we are down there don't move. Wait until the train has completely stopped. Once it has done that, we should be golden and right at Hogsmeade Station."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Enceladus screeched so hard, he scared Profugus out of his deep sleep.

"Hey, I know it sounds like an easy suicide. But, it gets the job done if you want to avoid doing any extraneous traveling? Am I right, Sessabit?"

"Yeh, et only goes one way to Hogsmeade station, but et does the trick."

Enceladus knew he had to decide quickly. The tube was going to be there any second. These were two upper level wizards, who were practically wealths of knowledge. Enceladus was a novice. He had to trust them. Even if it did potentially cost him his life. He took a huge gulp of spit and wiped his forehead sweat.

"Okay. Okay. But, what about Profugus'cage? No way it can lay under the tube."

"Leave that to me. Take him out of his cage and you two help me cover the cage with our bodies so nobody sees."

Enceladus hastily took Profugus out of his cage and placed him inside of his coat pocket. The three boys proceeded to cover the birdcage. Gordan took out his maroon oak wand, charged his glowing tip and whispered two incantations. One charm was to momentarily protect them from being caught doing illegal magic, the other a charm was to shrink the cage.

"Diminuendo."

Right before their eyes, the cage shrunk to the size of a stone. Enceladus picked it up right away before anyone could have stepped on it. Just a few seconds later, the tube horn roared and echoed through the bricked tunnel. The headlights were approaching at death defying speeds.

"Alright mates, let's go." Gordan commanded them and led the way. This was really happening. Group affirming genocide with a sprinkle of guillible suicide. Great.

Enceladus was about to urinate his trousers. The three boys wiggled their way off the edge and layed above or below the other. Sessabit was the lowest, followed by Enceladus and Gordan. Enceladus placed his luggage between his legs. The steel rails were so cold that it gave Enceladus a rippling of goosebumps down his back. The pounding and shaking of the incoming tube matched Enceladus' heart. The lights turned around the corner of the tunnel like monstrous beams of death; gaining velocity along with the metal tube itself. Enceladus held Profugus as tight as he could, bracing for whatever impact. The tube, as if time and distance didn't matter, zoomed out of the tunnel within milliseconds and rumbled violently over the three boys. Enceladus was still as a mummy, as he was trapped by a wall of hot sparks, skidding off of the wheels on each side of the track. All he could see were the gray pipes and under guts of the tube with tiny red flares sizzling at his proverbial. His ears felt like they were going to explode from all the metallic clamor. He was pretty confident that he was going to die right there. But, after a few more seconds of deafening noise, and spiraling shadows of wheels and flames, the tube went to a screeching stop. Enceladus was frozen and didn't know what was happening.

"Here es our stop." said Sessabit, as he army crawled to the tail end of the tube.

"Go follow. We're here." Gordan was covered in soot, repositioning his body to crawl out as well.

The first thing Enceladus did was check if Profugus was okay. Shockingly, he was cuddled into a little ball, sleeping soundly; unperturbed. He adjusted and rotated his body to face the caboose of the tube and crawled towards Sessabit. He wasn't fully sure if they had made it to Hogsmeade. But, there was one thing that was different. He heard a slew of younger voices, yelling and playing around. As he continued to crawl on the jagged rocks between the tracks, he would see shadows of people on the walls flicking wands and running around with carts. As he neared the end, his anxiety dissipated and his excitement grew. When they finally made it to the end of the tube, Enceladus noticed that the tube wasn't a London tube anymore, it was a full blown black and red train that had the lettering Hogwarts Express wielded onto its front grill. They hopped onto the ledge and stood up, only to see a massive crowd of kids in black robes, meddling around and saying their last goodbyes to their parents. Sessabit started to skip merrily.

"Ain't it beautiful?"

They made it to Hogsmeade station. It was a huge frenzy as all the kids started to board the train.

"Five minutes to spare, how about that boys?" Gordan was proud of this, as if he just beat his personal time at a race. Enceladus was just glad he was alive,

The boys began to make their way to the train entrance. Gordan and Sessabit lead the way waving and saying hello to all of their friends. Enceladus felt out of the loop. But, he knew that with patience and time, he would make some new friends soon enough.

"Hey, yeh see that?" Sessabit pointed towards a bricked wall.

"That wall with the barricade?"

"Yeh, you know what that is right?"

"Uh, I believe not…"

"That right there used to be the wizard entrance to get here. That was the ol' Platform 9 ¾ quarters. Ets obsolete now."

"How do they get in now?"

"Same way. The trash bin, takin' other extra routes. The way we didn' want for sure. But our way must remain secret. Et has other special uses, but I have my way sometimes to make things happen."

"Yeah, some people say the great Harry Potter would always have trouble going through Platform 9 ¾ Even though he was considered a prodigy, he was kind of a dope." said Gordan.

"Uh...who is Harry Potter?"

Sessabit and Gordan both gave each other a fuzzy look and laughed.

"Oh, we have much to teach you. We'll leave that for another time. Right now we better claim our compartment before they all run out." Gordan patted his back amiably, in a brotherly type way. Enceladus surrendered his inquisitive urges, and accepted Gordan's getsure.

They all scrambled, jumbled onto the train, found an open compartment and stuffed their luggage onto an overhead rack. After getting situated, Enceladus went into the corridor to stretch. He typically stretched in the morning but this morning was mayhem, so he wanted to make the most of this downtime before they reached Hogwarts

As he was doing lunges, and occasionally blocking the candy cart lady, he noticed something down a couple compartments. And that something was someone. Reina Rose. Enceladus sprang instantly and tried to play cool, leaning on a wall as if it's a common thing to do. It wasn't and his stomach began to gnarl like entangled weeds. She was following one Gryffindor and one Ravenclaw girl to another compartment. And of course, Evelyn was perched on her shoulder.

"Hey." Enceladus approached her with concealed dote.

"Oh, hi Enceladus. How's it going?" Her sparkling eyes resembled blue crystals. It was like a cave of blue scintillating magnificence.

"Pretty good. Uh, did you get your passport?"

"Yes! Your owl was very sweet. He looked very fatigued, so I gave him some water on his way back to you. I apologize for Evelyn. She has certain tastes in things."

Reina petted Evelyn's furry head with delight. Evelyn meowed an inaudible meow of joy.

"Hey, no problem. She was actually...uh...very sweet as well."

An awkward silence swallowed the space between them.

"You are a part of the WADA right?" Reina adjusted her bangs in the process, never faltering in appearance

Her graceful gravity entrapped him. Things were difficult to comprehend. He eventually broke out.

"Ye-. Yesss...yes I am." Perfect. Slurred words. That is so attractive, Enceladus. Great job.

"Cool. See you at auditions. Break a wrist!"

"Wait I had a question, why did you-"

Like a gust of wind coming and vanishing away, Reina went into her compartment. And break a wrist? Must be some weird theatre wizard custom. He subconsciously massaged his wrist, as he packed all of his raw feelings and trotted back to his compartment.

Enceladus still itched to know what happened last spring at her flat. He didn't have a clue how he ended up there and what odious drink she poured down his throat. He wasn't dead yet, so that was a good sign. He just hoped that their next conversation would last longer than a few brief sentences. Once he entered, he saw Sessabit and Gordan munching on some licorice. The train whistle blasted and off they went.

"Want eh piece? I have plenty to share from." said Sessabit, extending his hands close to Enceladus' face.

"Thanks..." Enceladus mumbled and as he grabbed the licorice, munching on it sullenly.

"Yeh okay?"

"Yeah it's just...well...I assume you guys know who Reina Rose is right? Well, I know you do! You gave her my address without asking me if it was okay!"

Sessabit looked alarmed with his cheeks full of licorice like a bunny rabbit.

"Was et okay?"

Enceladus crossed his arms crotchety.

"Yes…" Enceladus did not look at Sessabit who was obviously smiling with accomplishment.

"Hey, that's something you shouldn't be pouting at. Reina is a national treasure. Weird, but a national treasure!" Gordan was half-serious, and half-joking.

"Haha, yes good ol Reina Rose. She's eh funny case. I'm surprised she even approached me to get yur address."

"How so?"

He took a big bite of his licorice before he got into his explanation.

"Well, yeh see she's really eh chalk en cheese girl if yeh know what I mean. She's eh sixth year Slytherin en practically the smartest gal en the whole school. Unlike most o' her Slytherin counterparts, she gets along with everybody. What makes et worse, es that she's eh mudblood doing this. So, she tends to be en outcast from her own house and her own doin'. She doesn' really get close with anyone anyways, she has eh handful o' friends here and there, but for the most part she relishes in isolation. If you ever see her, she's usually reading eh book somewhere in the castle with her cat, or practicing alone for eh show. Other than that, she pretty much moses around, spreadin' her beauty like eh little bee pollinatin' flowers."

Sessabit finished by taking more chomps into his licorice.

"Alright Romeo, get out of here!" Gordan used his wand to crumple up a piece of parchment and throw it at Sessabit's round face.

"Coming from Picasso over there!" Sessabit pantomimed an awful interpretation of painting.

"Hey, at least my stuff is good. Even my lady thinks so."

"What lady? I know yur not talking about Cindy Cauliflower? She wouldn't eye yah down even with a love potion." Sessabit chortled, slapping his belly with humorous delight like little bongos.

"Um...well… what if I told you...I was in her flat one day." intervened Enceladus, referring back to Reina.

"Reina's flat?! No way!" Gordan and Sessabit simultaneously yelled with boyish enthusiasm.

Enceladus just realized he never disclosed any details to Sessabit that night with Reina.

"Yeah, I don't know how I got there, but she gave me this god-awful drink to make me feel better and she let me borrow one of her passports to go back home."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Sessabit was disgruntled, sporting a serious tone in his voice.

"I don't know...I wasn't sure how to explain it before."

Gordan leaned into Enceladus' space with child-like curiosity.

"Whoa, did you try and-"

"No, it wasn't like that. She was just helping me out from...whatever happened before I got there…I think."

"What was her place-"

"Yeh said that yeh borrowed one o' her passports, es that correc'?" Sessabit rubbed his beard in deep thought.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Et's peculiar, because if they were school passports, they wouldn' have worked because it was still summer. So, they had to be regular ones, which are hard to come by, especially if yur a student at Hogwarts."

"Hey it's Reina Rose, she can do practically anything." Gordan looked out the window, which changed from rural London, to a vast open valley of thick trees and small snow-tipped mountains.

"Well, one day I'll get it out of her. I just hope I'm a Slytherin like her."

Sessabit and Gordan look at him worriedly.

"No yeh don't. That's the worst thin' that could possibly happen. Well, Hufflepuff es pretty bad too. Anywho, like I said before, yeh are bound for Gryffindor."

As they continued to bicker about what house Enceladus was going to be in, the train neared Hogwarts. They were approaching the Forbidden Forest. The three of them were talking to each other like they have been friends their whole lives. Gordan and Sessabit would talk about all of their Quidditch tournaments and Enceladus would talk about all his theatre experiences. Enceladus did really want to be in Slytherin, but a part of him wanted to be in Gryffindor so he could hang out with Gordan and Sessabit more. Whatever house he was bound to, he still knew in the back of his head that Reina offered to sew on his house emblem which made him very happy.

As they approached the Forbidden Forest, Sessabit and Gordan fell asleep, snoring in near unison. Enceladus began to write in his journal and practice his audition chant in a low repetitious mumble to himself. The name of his song was called Moon Oracle. He had a hard time trying to find the key signature, since he wasn't allowed a phone at the school. The train began to sway around as the wind picked up in ferver. It made the sliding doors creek and swivel on its hinges. He decided to take a small break and write another poem, when a man with shaggy brown hair, hunched back and wrinkled sunken eyes intruded and entered the coach.

"Pardon me, I thought this was my couch...I mean my coach. Would you happen to know where mine may be?"

He stumbled badly, trying to keep himself upright. He's obviously inebriated.

"Uh, I'm afraid I do not. Do...do you need help?"

"Help? Never. I'm perfectly capable of doing capable things. Am I perceived as helpless? Maybe you need assistance. You look like a person in need of tending. I can be your usher to rid all of your incapabilities."

"Me? Uh, no I think I'm pretty assisted..."

The man tried to find his balance on the door frame, then gave a very pinpointed look towards Enceladus.

"Did you say something...?"

"Excuse me...?"

Silence fell between the two.

"I know you," said the man.

"What?"

"Oh yes, I know you too well. I thought we got rid of you long ago."

He took a massive gulp of saliva, and twitched his brows with uneasiness

" I...I don't know what you are talking about...?"

The man froze intensively, and attentively.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Welcome to the WADA. I'll see you at auditions."

The man walked away with a determined stumble, and left Enceladus with more questions than answers. How did he know he was a part of the WADA? Did they already know what he looked like? The man had to be one of the professors from the department. Since there were only four, Enceladus did a process of elimination to see which one he might be. He wasn't the ballet teacher because she was a fairy, and this man was too disheveled and dark to look airy, glittery and graceful. He wasn't the choir teacher, because Enceladus witnessed one of the ceremonial toad concerts through a crystal ball Sessabit brought over when he visited. There were only two choices left. The acting teacher and the combat teacher. Sessabit was leaning more towards the acting, since he didn't look physically up to par to be slashing long swords and staffs around. If he were either of those professors, he hoped he made a good first impression.

He didn't know what the shows were like at Hogwarts, which made him uneasy. Sessabit wasn't much help for intel since he was more of a sports wizard. But, that was the nature of school. Everyone was obsessed with the culture of Quidditch. Sessabit would say that Qudditch would be funded more than the wizarding arts, and the arts would always conduct magical benefit shows and fundraisers to make money. One time they did a flash mob in Hogsmeade where they flashed people with mini artificial stars and that's it. Some people found it to be a hit. Key word. Some.

In a way, Enceladus was used to the idea of the arts being a struggling unrecognized sovereignty. He knew that if a ball wasn't being thrown on a field with a bunch of people yelling and hollering, it wouldn't be as treasured or revered. Enceladus hoped the WADA was worth it. He grabbed his journal once again, and started writing a poem entitled Garden of Apparitions.

The train finished its way through the forest and was nearing the stop. Enceladus was captivated by all of the wild unicorns he saw on the way, galloping over streams and mossy rocks. He even saw an infant one that looked more like a donkey, but with two spiraling horns on its crown. He was intrigued by this forest, and wanted to visit it as soon as he could. He knew Sessabit lived near it, so an adventure inside might be coming along soon.

As the train came to a full halt, everyone awoke, dressed into their robes, collected their things, and exited the train. A huge frenzy of kids was in awe about stopping at a station in the middle of a patchy groove, with wet spinach grass and chirping creatures all around, giving secret seances under the glow of the torches on poles. The moon was full and gave extra illumination. Enceladus looked up and saw a flawless definition of all of its craters. The night was indeed a brilliant display of celestial flashes.

As the commotion calmed, a person shouted to rally everyone together and gave instructions. To Enceladus' surprise it was Sessabit, commanding the crowd with his hefty presence and stocky stature.

"Okay, everyone, let's all congregate at the lake en settle into our boats. If yeh a firs' year make sure yeh are attended to by eh higher year, do I make myself clear?"

Some responded "Yes" with the utmost respect. Some just wallowed in their confusion.

"Like always, four eh boat! I don' want to be savin' anyone from killer mermaids now."

A bunch of first years gasped and huddled near each other; shivering their knees. One first year, that was smaller than a mailbox, cried horrendously.

"Just kiddin' just kiddin'. I know them all very well. They don' like the taste of first years. No no, they actually like the taste of first year Slytherins."

He chuckled loudly at this, as most of the Slytherins gave him a cold hard stare. Some did cry.

Sessabit and a bunch of first years, who were able to, uttered the word "Lumos", igniting the tips of their wands. They needed ground light to prevent any trips or falls. Once they reached the lakes port, they bunched and squished onto their wooden boats and sailed softly through an underpass full of hanging vines and vegetation. The water looked like distilled oil, black and scanty with motion. Hundreds of boats with oil lamps were converging to the mooring area, resembling lake spirits rising from the depths of the lagoon. The underpass ended and there stood erected the great Hogwarts castle, silhouetting in front of the radiant purple sky like a medieval painting. Tons of towers stood hauntingly, with roofs like upside down cones; spiraling down with rustic tiles. As Enceladus was gaping at this wondrous sight, he saw in the distance a giant tentacle thrash and submerge out of the water. He remembered the story Reina told him and clutched Profugus close to his body. Knowing his owl, he would be brave enough to fight that octopus all by himself. Enceladus grinned slightly at the idea, as they made it to the iron toiled gate with stoned twin boars that possessed angelic wings, guarding each side. Beyond the gate were long winding steps that lead to the main entrance of the castle.

Fling the Porcus Please

The crowd of students hustled up the stairs as they were eager to get warm and eat some food. The stone stairs were very old and cracked from years of usage. Some kids were skipping with ease, as others were tripping on their robes; slipping on unseen puddle divots. Enceladus stopped a few times to help some up so they wouldn't get trampled. He did this several more times, until he stopped a moment to catch a glimpse of two floating white dots pulsing steadily across the gloomy terrace, near the Forbidden Forest. The dots circumnavigated around a large pale tree with branches suited for a horrific thunderstorm. Enceladus couldn't look away for some reason; he was warped into trance and drawn to it like a firefly. He felt warm and tingly inside, and had a sudden rush of good memories. The dark velvet skies and eerie clouds couldn't even break his mood. Yet, after a few cycles fluttering around like possessed snowflakes, the dots vanished into the sailing fog. Enceladus had the urge to run and chase after it, but he didn't want to be that foolish kid making a scene on the first day. He had plenty of time to explore later on. He took one final glance into the distance, and turned around to proceed onward. But to his disquieting dismay, everyone had disappeared. They left without him. With desperation, Enceladus secured his stuff, and burst up the steps.

Enceladus looked like an uncoordinated wildebeest running up the stairs. His short legs didn't help, nor did his luggage which was dropping parchment everywhere from a small opening. Luckily, when he reached the top, the towering oak door was left open a smidge, and Enceladus slid in. There was nobody in sight. He didn't know where to go at all. This hall was very vast with a glowing white staircase, hanging torches, dozens of decorative knight armor, and a festive red rolling rug that ran through a bypassing hall that seemed to stretch longer the more you blinked.

Enceladus could hear his heart thump echoing and bouncing off of the towering walls. Going off his instincts, he jetted up the glowing white staircase. His eyes wavered fearfully, worrying that he could get lost in the castle for hours, missing the whole feast and the ceremony. He made a decision and tried to turn into an alcove, but stopped immediately when he heard a voice holler above his head. He looked up, and saw a white transparent figure hovering and waving "Hello".

"You know, I stood out of the crowd once too. But, it seems that my tragedy seems to be better than yours. Well, at this present moment at least."

He spoke with a witty, yet melancholic tone. Enceladus squeaked in a high- pitched voice.

"You're a ghost! And, and you are talking to...me?" Enceladus saw magic in the flesh and has grown to be accustomed, but he didn't think that included the paranormal.

"Yes, Yes I am. Been a ghost for hundreds of years now. Not too shabby defying the laws of nature I must say. My name is Despis, and honestly, I really shouldn't be here right now, my kind aren't allowed in these parts. School rules. I manage to make exceptions though for appropriate events like these. I always love investigating new recruits."

"Thespis? Wait you don't mean-"

"Yes, yes it is me. The first man ever to get pelted by a bombardment of tomatoes on stage, embarrassed by the people he adored and admired-"

"No, Thespis, as in the first actor ever."

"No no, that was my...twin brother." Despis' voice was filled with the utmost dissatisfaction. He descended and floated to Enceladus' level.

"Wait, you were brothers with Thespis?!" Enceladus held his hands behind his head incredulously.

Despis rolled his eyes sourly.

"Unfortunately, yes. The only difference between us was that I was magical and he wasn't. Well, I guess it depends on who was watching. I technically was supposed to be the first real actor, but he sabotaged me. History never mentions me being humiliated in front of millions of spectators. Well, muggle history. But can you really trust any muggle history to be completely accurate?" He gave a tiny, what-can-I-say shrug and continued. "That bright sunny day in the city of Dionysus quickly turned dark for me. We were performing a dithyramb. The idea has been brewing inside of me for years. Even my brother approved and encouraged me to follow through. The new age of theatre was about to be born. But, when we marched onto the stage and I started to separate myself from the chorus, making my daring move towards the audience, but once I did, he tripped me. I fell face first on the stone floor. Everyone booed and pelted me with tomatoes. I was extremely flustered and my powers became uncontrollable. The set was shaking, torches were flickering, and objects levitated sporadically. I ran away as quickly as possible before things had gotten worse. I vowed to never return to the muggle world ever since. Nor forgive my brother either. He of course seized that moment and changed theatre history forever. In my departing misery, he leapt far down stage, puffed his chest, sang his verse alone, and became a legend. I ended up running away to England, and joined an underground wizarding theatre troupe. After years of traveling and performing, a lovely peasant witch told me I should start a school for wizards and witches that were interested in the arts. It was too ambitious at the time, but after a couple hundred years, I met with the founders of Hogwarts and they allowed me to create the WADA. A couple days after that, I was impaled by a prop spear. Helga Hufflepuff graciously kept me around, and cast a spell to keep my spirit roaming. Now, I am just the artistic director. Not much, I would say. My brother created a whole new style of theatrical performance, with his name revered through the ions. And I'm...stuck here."

Enceladus was speechless.

"I...uh...am very sorry-"

"It is fine. Like my friend Euripides once said. "The fiercest anger of all, the most incurable, is that which rages in the place of dearest love." God bless his motley soul. Well, I'm sure you don't want to hear me ramble forever. You have a feast to go too. Just take this hall all of the way down, turn right, once you do follow the crimson- colored rug all the way down, and it will lead you to the Great Hall. You will see the other artistic faculty at their perspective tables. You can't miss it. If you ever need me, I'll be in the theatre wing. You'll soon know how to get there. Till then, it was a pleasure bumping into you Enceladus. Welcome to the WADA."

Despis attempted to shake his hand, but to no avail. In a split second he poofed away.

Enceladus could have reveled all day long about that encounter, but he had to hurry before the Sorting Hat ceremony began. He jogged down the corridor and took a right, encountering tiny glimpses of interior decorations along the way. They were very ancient, adorned, and all without a speck of dust.

He still had to get used to the moving pictures. Some were cheering him on as he ran. One had a horse that would jump from picture to picture as if Enceladus and it were racing. He tried to ignore all of it. He continued to trudge along the long red rug hall. At times it looked as if the hall was stretching before his eyes, making it feel endless and impossible to exit. But, he eventually heard a conglomerate of chatter. The walls ahead began to vibrate softly from the clinking of silverware and glass. He knew he was close. After a couple more yards of jogging, he heard a raspy sonorous voice shout people's names and what house they belonged to.

"Rey Odiosis...Gryffindor!"

"Todd Boilermaker…Slytherin!"

"Fiona Apple...Sytherin!"

"Suki Hana...Ravenclaw!"

Enceladus took his mild jog to a full-on sprint, and finally made it out of the hall. He blinked twice and saw he ended up where he started. Next to the glowing white staircase. But, what he didn't notice before was the large double door next to it, that was slightly open. Was the castle playing tricks on him? He didn't have any time to find out. He charged through the doors without any rational thought of what may happen to him next.

The hall inhabited hundreds of kids in black robes, seated at four wooden refectory tables, with hundreds of hovering candelabras over their heads, and hot scrumptious food on silver plating, which also hovered; from pineapple roasted pork to golden mash potatoes. As the steam rose from the cooked meat, an undulation of heads turned when they heard Enceladus barg in. Enceladus was heaving heavily; trying to hide his embarrassment at the same time. He heard snickering develop like a raging storm, and knew this was going to be the gossip for the night. Before he made his next move, a pretty lady with a soothing voice called out his name near the professor's dining table. It was the Deputy Headmistress of Students, Cho Chang.

"Come on down. Come on down. You are the last one to be sorted. We have to complete this ceremony so we can all eat."

Enceladus walked uncomfortably between the tables, as the whole school excruciatingly judged him. At least he saw Gordan and Sessabit in the distance giving him a thumbs up. He sat down on the stool as the lady put the hat on his head.

The hat grumbled in deep contemplation.

"Mmm, you are boosted by significance and recognition...and you are industriously obsessed about exceeding limitations...and you will go to great lengths to fulfill your charging heart's passions. Mhm. Ambitious, strong, and cunning I see. Signs of Slytherin are much in you."

Enceladus tried to hide his enthusiasm when he heard this. But, as he skimmed the crowd of wizards and witches once more, he saw Gordan and Sessabit frantically shaking their heads no.

"But, you are fairly flawed in these desires and are bound for a hubris downfall if heedless thoughts continue. The only thing preventing you from desire's glory is your heart's constitution for good. Your moral fiber is your attitude, yet not of proudness, but humbleness and justice. You stand behind the principles of loyalty and follow in the steps of kindness and giving. That is your true nature."

The batty old hat paused a moment before he shouted...

"Hufflepuff!"

Enceladus couldn't believe his ears. Out of all the houses, Hufflepuff was the last on his list.

"Wait a minute, are you sure? Are you sure I'm not supposed to be Slytherin?"

The hat hiccupped hoarsely.

"Brain or not, my powers never tell a fib."

Cho Chang took the hat away and pointed to Enceladus to go take his seat.

A bunch of Hufflepuffs at a table were cheering and clapping for him. One Hufflepuff girl blew him a kiss. The other students mildly clapped along as well, groaning about the lavish food that was still in front of their faces. Enceladus joined the Gryffindor table blithely, covering his face in shame. Sessabit and Gordan looked more shocked than displeased.

"Hufflepuff? Seriously?" muffled Enceladus under his hands.

Sessabit attempted to compute everything.

"I don' get et? I thought et was eh sure thin' that you were in Gryffindor. I guess me intuition finally failed me. Well, if yeh look on the bright side you are now known for being the the first, fifth year, first year ever, being the grandson of the Vega couple, and now being the second to truly gain negative points for yur house."

"Points?" Enceladus was still covering his face in shame.

"Yes, I told yeh earlier in the Summer, the house with the most points wins the House Cup."

"Oh come on, I might have caused a slight outburst-"

Cho Chang appeared behind Enceladus and whispered something in his ear, and strutted away where she came from.

"Never mind. That lady told me I lost fifteen points for Hufflepuff."

"Hey, negative fifteen is better than zero." said Gordan. Enceladus gave him a ugly look.

"Who is she anyways?"

"Her name es Cho Chang, she es the Head of Ravenclaw house and she teaches Transfiguration. She replaced a woman named Professor Mcgonagall a couple years back. My father knew her very well. It was said that Cho Chang was eh gifted en intelligent witch when she went to Hogwarts. Still is. Her tranquility en poise is lethal, but apparently she cries in the spur o' eh moment quite eh bit. She always levitates around eh small box o' tissues with her. Some say she cries about her boyfriend who died at eh Triwizard tournament when she was in school." Only Sessabit can explain something while scratching his armpit, but thanks nonetheless, thought Enceladus,

Enceladus cranked his neck back and looked at all twenty-one professors, including one greasy haired caretaker at the grand table, along with Neville Longbottom, the Headmaster, in the middle of it all. Towards the right stood the artistic professors placed at a smaller table below. It was apparent that it was the artistic professors, because Professor Flurry was choreographing something in her head as she was wafting around and spreading cotton candy colored fairy dust above her seat.

Who are the other Heads of the House?"

"Aurora Blue es the Head of Hufflepuff. She es the Astronomy teacher. How she got it? Who knows. She always says thins' like we are all the unique echoes o' the Big Bang, born o' flawless celestial infinity. Whatever that means. Then, Hermoine Granger, practically the greatest witch ever es the Head o' Gryffindor, she es the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. Her class es the hardest one in school."

"And she's banging hot!" Gordan sat up a bit to give her a good look. A neighboring Gryffindor girl pushed him off his seat in disgust.

"Then the Head of Slytherin is one of your professors from the WADA, his name is...uh…Alio. He tends to hang low eh bit."

Enceladus was about to say something, but he was interrupted by the bang of Neville Longbottom's goblet to get everyone's attention.

"Hello all, and welcome to another fantastic school year. Even though I honor the code of punctuality and responsibility very much, we can let this minor stir from our newly acquired Hufflepuff to dilute definitely. In the meantime, before we get into the fun nitty gritty news, let's enjoy this beloved feast that was bestowed upon us. Eat up!"

In the matter of seconds all of the students grabbed their silverware and dug into their dishes like ravenous hyenas. The teenage appetite is never keen with patience. The chatter had substantially diminished, since a good majority of students had their mouths stuffed with food. Some were using magic on their napkins to clean their faces, and others were pouring their pumpkin juice from their goblets into their mouths like a waterfall. Enceladus, Sessabit, and Gordan had appetites of a lion. Breathing was obsolete for most of the meal, as they devoured everything.

After demolishing a buttery corn on the cob, Enceladus noticed a bunch of ghosts flying and waltzing above their heads. The whole hall started to clap thunderously as the ghost swung their partners around dangerously; swinging and tossing each other from chandelier to chandelier. The candles would bobble and teeter, as the flames whisked about. Their dance was supposed to be orderly and choreographed, but chaos ensued when a ghost that looked like a sailor rifled his partner through the stained-glass window. Professor Flurry became very unpleasant, as she rushed to reorganize the goofy ghosts. They didn't listen and flew furiously in figure eights around her. The iridescent chandelier crystals were bustling and clinking about, as the aggravated Professor Flurry rained all sorts of fairy dust to the students below. A roar of laughter filled the room. Enceladus joined along, but stopped when he noticed a ghost standing all alone in a corner. It was Despis and he was shaking his head in a sorrowful disappointment. Enceladus wanted to get up and go over to him, but decided against it. He continued to watch the madness above, which, oddly enough, made him want dessert.

The ghosts made their final bows and dessert was finally served. In an instant, pumpkin pasties and marmalade lime pies appeared, and everyone cheered in delight. Enceladus rarely became full, but this feast made him feel lethargic and immobile.

"I don't know if I could eat another bite, guys..." Enceladus rubbed his stomach, and blurted out a succession of burps.

"This is pretty much our dinner all year. Got to relish it while you can, before summer arrives." said Gordan, as he stuffed another pumpkin pastie down his mouth.

"Quiet. I think Neville es about to speak again."

Neville stood up. He was lissome, and held a very prominent carriage of the shoulders. As if he used to slouch, but not anymore, reversing the image of old age. His double-breasted vest, pocket watch, and neatly trimmed beard, gave him an aura of self-control, ripeness and style.

"Alright, now that we are full and well fed, I have a few announcements concerning this school year. As we all know, no one is allowed to roam the castle after 10:00 PM. The night is for slumber, not shenanigans. Our dear ol' Mr Filch and Mrs. Norris will gladly take care of you if they find you out and about. Certainly respect the curfew, but don't become a slave to time." He developed a small smirk after that comment. "Uh...oh yes...Students are only allowed in their House's common room slash areas. Something dramatic is bound to happen if some sort of cross-trespassing were to occur. And then most importantly, stay away from the Forbidden Forest. There is no plausible reason for any student to be near that area. I would love all of you alive, and not be a part of a Daily Prophet headline. I cherish my position very much. I spent my younger years with friends who would take trips down there by themselves and get in the most outrageous situations."

With a mild chuckle and big smile, he subtly looked over to Hermione Granger who was sitting crossed-legged; wearing a charming grin.

"Great times. Great times truly. Uh where was I? Oh yes, one final thing, It's called the Forbidden Forest for a reason, so don't go near it."

"Didn't he just say that?" Enceladus whispered to Sessabit, who was somewhat disassociating from Nevile's speech since he heard it like five times already.

"He's infamous when it comes to forgettin' thin's. Apparently he was worse when he was a student at Hogwarts. The Second Great War made him eh changed man I suppose. Kind o'."

"But, before we go off and say goodnight, there is one last thing that needs to be addressed. There will be spontaneous visits from muggle officials who will oversee daily Hogwarts activities and classes. They will be coming to get a sense of in-school-operations, and how wizarding students act within these operations. You will notice them when you see them, so no need to fret. They might document some observations, but they will not bother unless given strict permission by me. This will only occur until further notice. So with that said, finish up your sweets and head off to bed!"

Enceladus did not pay attention to that last part. He wrote another poem about Reina, whom he didn't see during the feast. Gordan muttered something.

"I think it has to do with the New Death Eater hysteria. This has never happened before."

Enceladus dropped his quil from writing.

"Why do you say that?"

"How can it not? Muggles practically have most of the control right now, and if this New Death Eater group is legit, they are considered a threat, and the muggles don't want that at all. So, they're going to investigate any wizarding spot they can."

"Why Hogwarts?"

"Why not? We are a breeding field of wizards and witches. Including dark wizards and witches. Especially since we still have students, cough cough, Slytherins, with grandparents from the old regime. We are prime suspect number one, despite our great reputation. They just want to find any reason to wipe us out. We are nothing but terrorizers to them. My parents think otherwise, saying stuff like, "wizards and muggles just wish to coexist...blah blah…" But that's wrong. I don't care if they do have federal jobs, they refuse to see the big picture, and that makes them a part of the problem." He angrily bit into a buttery biscuit. "Like, they think Gumdrop's estate, AKA his Butterbeer factory, which is now selling to muggles, is not exploitative. Like, come on, everyone knows they basically have been enslaving wizards and witches for cheap labor for years. Especially the Anatomically Gifted ones."

"That's just eh myth Gordan."

Sessabit knew Gordan was getting into one of his rants.

"No, it's not. Muggles, along with Gumdrop, are all quacks."

"Well, if ets real, why do yeh still drink Butterbeer then? Yeh support that?"

Gordan paused.

"Shut up."

"But, not all muggles think that way." Even though Enceladus was a wizard, he grew up a muggle. He wasn't going to take comments like that lightly.

"We say the same about us, but, in their eyes, we are all held under one category. Dangerous." With his wand, Gordan burned his last few desserts as unsettling distress and animosity fell over him. "It probably has to do with Alio anyways."

"Why Alio?"

"Alio is a reformed Death Eater. He used to be eh follower o' Voldemort until his death."

"Voldemort, that snake dark lord man you talked about in the summer?" Enceladus physically demonstrated a snake with his arms, trying to deescalate the tension.

"Yes. He then received therapy, got into acting and traveled the world. Now he's here. He's not considered much o' eh wallflower, but that's obvious." Sessabit was trying very hard not to laugh at Enceladus' ridiculous snake interpretation. It didn't last.

Alio had to be the professor he encountered on the train earlier. Enceladus wanted to speak about it, but thought now wouldn't have been a great time. Eventually, a Gryffindor named Tommy Truthhurts, stomped angrily towards the table and took a seat next to Gordan.

"I'm finished with him. I am no longer taking any more of his damn ridicules and insults." Tommy huffed and struck the table with his fist with force.

"Hol' up Tommy, what's wrong'?"

"Zelos is wrong! He made fun of my dead grandmother…"

Tommy crouched over the table,and sobbed. He wiped his tears with his robe sleeve and stared at a peppermint cupcake with lime green frosting with stifling conviction. He spoke under his breath.

"I'm going to do it…"

The whole table contorted their faces in confusion.

"I'm going to do it! If I don't make it out alive. Tell my mom I love her."

With sudden blind fury, Tommy stood up, took out his wand and screamed "Wingardium Leviosa!". Immediately and simultaneously, all the sweets, cakes, cookies, jetted into the air, and stopped into a readily hurling formation. One student was still tightly holding onto theirs, as their body was dangling in mid-air.

Tommy swooshed his wand very ribbon like and the floating desserts emulated the movement. He then pointed his wand strongly at Zelos who was sitting at the Slytherin table. Like a jet train, thousands of desserts were hurtling towards Zelos. But, as if there was a huge stop sign that surrounded Zelos, they all stopped inches away from his body. Zelos was unphased, and did not flinch. He lifted from his seat very menacingly, turned around, and revealed his glowing wand nestled in his hand.

"So, you want to play it that way. Well, so be it."

In the blink of an eye, Zelos countered Tommy's attack and launched all of the desserts back at him. A Hufflepuff girl named August jumped onto the table and shouted, "food fight!"

It was a teenage war cry, as most of the students unsheathed their wands, flipping over tables, and using them as shields. Enceladus had no idea on how to really use his wand yet, so he just ducked and babbled random latin words. It didn't work. Sessabit and Gordan were pretending they were at the Quidditch field and threw fastballs at Cast, Pollux, and Erso, Zelo's gang of Slytherin misfits. Gordan threw one so hard that Erso tumbled straight into a table. Out of nowhere, Reina joined, and was very elusive. She found more joy leaping and twirling around the desserts than throwing any. Her ballet training paid off. Tommy was dodging constantly, as Zelos persisted with heavy pressure by sending a rapid barrage of Cauldron Cakes towards his head. Cauldron Cakes that he lit on fire. Some first years were cowering and crawling on the floor as if an air raid artillery was being rained down. Many students were covered head to toe with the shredded remains. Even some professors were showered in chunks of fluffy delight. The walls were splattered and smeared too. The leftover oils and sticky creams created trails as the desserts slid down the walls slowly like gooey slugs. The hall looked as if a dessert factory had exploded. But, before the sugar onslaught carried on, all of the sweets froze in midair once more. Neville Longbottom held his arms high, and spoke with a suppressed tone of indignancy in his voice.

"To bed. Everybody. Now. We will deal with this incident in the morning."

All of the decimated sweets descended back onto their plates. The hall was a complete mess, and would at least take a couple days for it to be thoroughly cleaned. It all happened so quickly. This had to be Hogwarts first food fight everand Enceladus didn't know how to comprehend the events that unfolded before him. At this point, he just wanted to take a hot shower and go to bed. He still had auditions tomorrow he had to worry about and he barely rehearsed any of his material.

The crowd of students gradually dispersed from the scene and went up to their prospective common rooms. Sessabit came out of the fight with a wand-kabob of extra Treacle Tarts before bed. He had no remorse or shame. He and Gordan went up to their Gryffindor tower and left Enceladus. Enceladus had to ask a handful of students where the WADA rooms were. Some led him astray, and he almost ended up in the Slytherin dungeon. He eventually found his way through the upended staircases, and phantom steps and ended up by a giant golden harp in front of a bare stone wall. All of the common rooms had magically sealed entry ways, with certain passwords to enter. Enceladus forgot to ask someone what was the password to the WADA common room. There wasn't anybody around to ask. He thought he might have to sleep there until morning. He tried saying anything that came to mind, or something remotely theatre related, but nothing worked. He slumped down against the wall and hugged his knees towards his chest. He was falling asleep. His eyes shot open when he heard a couple of voices around the corner of the corridor. He sat up and huddled against the wall to peer. It was Reina and Zelos. Reina was handing over a small piece of paper to him. He grabbed it, scanned it, and tucked it into his back pocket. They hugged and went their separate ways. Zelos was heading straight towards Enceladus. Enceladus curled around a large black vase, and hugged it closed. Zelos strode by, and headed into the darkness of the castle. Reina was walking to the dungeon. Enceladus was slightly baffled that Reina would associate herself with a guy like Zelos. And why would she give him some sort of parchment in the middle of the night? He had a difficult time trying to swallow that thought. He walked back to the harp, and to his amazement, found Reina standing near it looking at a painting of a bowl of pink eggplants. Enceladus spoke cautiously.

"Reina. What are you doing here?"

"I'm going home, why?" She was still gazing at the painting with her arms solemnly placed behind her back.

"Uh…don't you stay...down stairs though? Like the rest of the Slytherins. I know they typically prefer down there than the WADA rooms."

"Nope. I don't."

"I'm sorry but I swear I just saw you walk that way and headed-"

"Nope, not me. I'm headed home. Crazy day today. I need my rest. But, great work out there. You really know how to toss some baked goods. And congrats on being Hufflepuff." Her fatigue was apparent, but her beauty didn't falter. "Oh, would you still like me to sew on your crest?"

Enceladus almost forgot that she offered that in her letter. He slid his robes off his shoulders and handed it to her.

"There you go. Are you sure you don't want any payment?"

"Nope. On the house. And since your name is weird, I'll add something a bit extra. I'll see ya around. Have a goodnight Enceladus."

She gave him a weak, yet endearing smile and began to leave. Enceladus stopped her.

"Wait, uh, you wouldn't happen to know the password to the-"

"It's Apollo,"

Enceladus looked at the harp and back at her, but Reina was gone. This was her trademark departure and Enceladus still hasn't adapted to it. But, Enceladus' brain was too fatigued to puzzle things together. He wanted to sleep. He went to the giant golden harp and uttered, "Apollo". The harp played an angelic tune and the wall beside it became transparently fuzzy, with wiggling lines waving like heat. Enceladus walked past it unscathed and was immediately confronted with a never-ending spiraling staircase. With heavy feet, he lugged himself up the stairs as he whistled Moon Oracle. A small chirp bleated by his luggage. It was Profugus bouncing near the latches, fully awake from his all-day nap.

Orion the Only

Enceladus awoke to the sun beating across his face and the aroma of potted ferns. He was assigned a single room, since the WADA only had about 60 students. The WADA rooms were on the second floor of the castle. If you were Hufflepuff, the decor resembled a greenhouse, full of plants and flowers. It was nice.

For a split second, he thought he was back home at Holland Park. He scarcely remembered how he even climbed into bed last night. The only thing he remembered was Zelos and Reina hugging, which infuriated him. He groggily stood up, wore something yellow to represent Hufflepuff, and went to breakfast.

As he walked past the WADA Hufflepuff common area, he saw students practicing for auditions later after school. He was beyond nervous, and didn't know what to expect. Some of these students have been doing this for several years, and Enceladus is four years behind according to his age. He heard a girl sing a mystic Swedish chant, and his ears tuned out, only hearing the luscious sound of her voice. Some students were even warming up their bodies for dance. He figured he would have a decent amount of time to do all of that before the actual auditions.

He fumbled down the spiraling staircase, which he didn't realize last night, would light up a porcelain white with every other step, resembling keys on a piano. He continued towards the Great Hall.

Along the way, he saw Alio drinking coffee with his yellowish crooked teeth, stoic face, and unkempt hair. Compared to their last meeting, he looked cleared headed and standing perfectly upright, besides his normal hunched upper back. He was speaking with Erso, who was the only one apart of the WADA from Zelos' gang. Enceladus began to think about what Gordan said to him yesterday. Could he really be a part of the New Death Eaters? Or were his days done for? It was a New Death Eater who killed Enceladus' father, and he wondered if Alio might have some information on who might have done it? It was a stretch because Neville would have ensured that Alio's dark days were over before he hired him as the acting teacher, who was also the head of Slytherin House. Enceladus thought about his father often, but he knew his mother was thinking about him more. Maybe if he finds something out, it could assist with investigation. For now, Enceladus would just take things step by step.

Alio finished his conversation, sipped his coffee, and walked with his head hanging low, studying the floor. Enceladus decided he wanted to mail his mother later, and see how she was doing. He left and mumbled his monologue.

Once breakfast was over Enceladus went to his first class. The Defense against the Dark Arts. Since he is technically a first year, most of his general Hogwarts education classes consisted mainly of first years. This included all of his theatre classes. He tried to seek out Gordan and Sessabit in the halls, but they were nowhere to be found in the hustle and bustle of school traffic. Enceladus didn't have any friends besides them. He was typically good at being confident as a new student, but Hogwarts wasn't any ordinary school. He began to head upstairs keeping to himself.

As he entered the serpentine corridor on the third floor, he saw a pack of Hufflepuffs who were about a foot shorter than him. He felt like he could be their babysitter. An older group of Hufflepuff girls walked past him and giggled. He tried to cover himself with his books; hiding the embarrassment of his pink flustered cheeks. A moment later, Hermoione Granger walked into the classroom with elegance, decorum, and business. She wore a sleek pinstripe trouser suit, and held her hair in a tight ponytail. Enceladus followed the little group of Hufflepuffs and took a seat near the back of the room. The class barely chirped a word, as Hermoine was setting up about five different books onto her desk. She combed over a pesty curl, stood straight up with her hands behind her back, and scanned the room gently.

"This question will not pertain to the material in your books, so don't bother ruffling through the pages. It's quite simple actually, if you set aside your brain's habit to intellectualize."

Sessabit warned Enceladus that Professor Granger's class was the hardest, and that she would hold anyone accountable for not trying their very best when it came to education. She wasn't menacing or harsh, but held pride in knowledge, and thought that the more you know, the more you can live life more freely without restrictions. As an oppressed group, she felt wizards needed more representation, and less misinterpretation. She wanted students to identify the "problem" with wizards, and be able to change their narrative in society. After the Second Great War, she was instantaneously recruited as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, to show that the reputation of darkness and darkness itself could be overcome, with a little bit of brain, and a lot of practical information.

She stood silent for another moment.

"What is darkness?" Her voice was clean, and deliberate, spoken without the slightest bit of hesitation.

The class withdrew their faces from their resting palms, as most of them shot their arms up high into the sky. Except for Enceladus, he remained contained and attentive in the back.

She picked on a first year Ravenclaw named Simone Binky.

"It's nothing and everything. You can't see anything but you see everything." Simone was very confident in her answer.

"Are those your feelings about it or your definition?"

Simone fell silent, as if she had just been insulted. She picked on another eager student, who was a first year Gryffindor, her name was Flarry Fiztpatrick, who didn't look like the brightest in the bunch.

"Darkness is the color black. Maybe even blacker than black. But, I think darkness is mainly the color black, but black that could fly. Like the sky, or space, or the air in my attic."

The whole class blurted out in laughter. Enceladus even let out a small chortle.

Hermoine raised one hand with eviction, and the class calmed instantaneously. She pulled out her wand and pointed it to one of her books onto the table and said "Transfiguro''. In an instant, the book turned into a raven. The raven screeched and perched on Hermoine's shoulder.

"Now Flarry, are you saying this raven is darkness? It's black and it could fly, correct?"

"I…uh...I think so…"

Hermoine continued.

"It also could be nothing and everything. You can't see, but you could at the same time, am I right?"

She stroked the raven's little head and placed him back down onto the table. She pointed her wand again and said "Transfiguro". The raven turned back into a book.

"See, nothing. It once was a raven but now it is merely a book. But, do you think that raven possessed some sort of darkness? Or do you think our preconceptions based on its nature, and appearance may have provoked that? It all could be valid, until it is not."

The class was more timid than eager now, as Hermoine didn't find any of their answers to suffice.

"Would anyone like to give it another try?" Her tone was encouraging yet challenging.

More students gave it a jab, mainly Slytherins, but failed. At one point a kid said that darkness was his mother and father fighting. Enceladus knew what Hermoine might have wanted to hear, but refused to participate. Hermoine eventually caught him with his head down and called his name involuntarily. Enceladus' insides shriveled up like a plum in the sun.

"How about you? What is your name?"

"Enceladus Vega…"

He tried to not look straight into her penetrative brown eyes.

"Ah Vega. I heard a lot about you. Welcome finally. "

He nodded his head in agreement with a weak smile.

"So, do you have an answer?"

"Well, isn't darkness just the absence of light?"

She laughed a bit, admiring his answer.

"On the contrary, it is the light."

The class was clearly perplexed.

She spoke with a commanding edge in her voice.

"Well, let us go back to the raven example shall we. Ravens are known to be creatures associated with darkness and death, but do the ravens know that? That raven that I transfigured was probably filled with all the happiness and brightest thoughts a bird can ever possess. But, if we flip the picture and incorporate a baby peacock for example, cute, innocent, and covered with joyful fluorescent colors, one will say how could that adorable light hearted creature ever be filled with darkness? Little does everyone know that a peacock could grow up to be a vicious killer, ravenous for the adrenaline of death." The class gasped with wide eyes. "What I'm trying to get at is darkness is the good samaritan. We see what it wants us to see. And that's how dark creatures and dark wizards want it to be. They just don't want to be unidentifiable, they want to be amiable. That's how they intervene in wizarding and muggle affairs."

Hermoine was absolutely the brightest witch of her time, but the first years seemed to underestimate just how smart she really was. They all finagled for a couple pieces of parchment and rapidly wrote down notes. Their eleven-year-old brains have been severely fried.

"That is why I'm here for this class. As you well know, I was a part of many battles that involved dark arts and I was grateful to be a part of many wonderful wizards who were along my side. My job is to help you first years to recognize any signs associated with dark arts. Because darkness is clever, and constantly ever changing." She shuffled her books around until she found the one she needed. She raised it into the air for reference. "And what better way to absorb some information than reading a book. If you may, please open your newly revised versions of The Introductory to Defense Against the Dark Arts, Vol. 2 to chapter 4. We will collectively discuss the content once everyone is finished. In your later years you will learn more about creatures and spells, but first you must learn the genealogy of what constitutes darkness, before we can engage with darkness itself."

She quietly reorganized her books on her desk, sat down, and started reading one from the stack.

Enceladus never thought about darkness in that way before, even when he was practically a muggle. He began to wonder if the wizard who killed his father was a trustworthy member of the family and they blind-sided them? The ongoing investigation kept slipping into his mind, but he would try to dismiss it in the meantime and keep focus for the remainder of the class.

As he was struggling reading the chapter, he noticed that Hermoine really loved her job, as she would walk around and make sure everyone fully understood what they were reading. After the reading, she opened the floor for questions and answers and made it a group discussion. The chapter was about the detection of dark force. She went on to show the class a demonstration of their first charm right before class ended.

"Okay class, we will never truly read the minds of others. I wouldn't say never cause there are always special cases. But, there are ways around this. One's true intentions are ever wavering, no matter how you mask it," She stared briefly out the window. "So, when we are dealing with dark activity and energies, what is one thing we must consider to understand one's true intentions?" The class froze like deer in headlights. " Fear. Fear can reveal anything in anything. There is a charm that could delve deep into the brain and display a multitude of emotions, but it is highly powerful and takes many years of training. So, I'll show you one that is less straining. It only works with objects and plants, because we don't want to invade the privacy of a creature's thoughts either. The charm is a simple apathy charm. It's beginner level, but it still requires an empty, unclouded mind. Too much clutter can fray your ability to open up and hear what is typically unheard. To fully get a grasp of this demonstration, I'll interlink everyone's thoughts to this rose."

She flicked her wand up in the air and recited, "Animo Ligo!". Dozens of white arches stemmed from the tip of her wand, and latched onto the heads of the students.

"Now you will hear unclear things, so pay close attention…"

Enceladus thought this was rubbish, yet amazing at the same time.

"Time Revilio!"

She shot her wand towards the rose. It withered and shuddered its petals wildly. The class was leaning out of their desk, as if getting closer to the rose would help hearing it.

Brief moments passed, hearing everyone's breathing patterns. Then, they began hearing something that sounded like, "Drying out. More water. More water." The whole class gasped with shock and mingled with each other.

"The severity of fears will always decipher, but it's a start to understand certain energies, whether light or dark, a little bit better than before. Any volunteers before class ends?"

A small girl in the back, with short straight blonde hair, and tiny frame rose her hand with assurance. Her name was Eleanor Snow. Hermoine called on her. She stood up with slumped shoulders, and was escorted by a girl who obviously wasn't a student. Once she approached the front of the class, Hermoine configured her fingers in a communicative way. Eleanor responded with a different configuration, as they both nodded in silent agreement. Enceladus had no clue what was happening. He watched closely.

"Remember, declutter the mind." reemphasized Hermoine.

Eleanor pulled a long wand out of her robe and adjusted her focus to one of Hermione's books. Hermione gave her another silent gesture indicating that it was okay. Eleanor had droopy aqua blue eyes, which made her look like a sad angel. She lifted those eyes and closed them for concentration. In a matter of seconds her wand was levitating right in front of her. She was concentrating so hard that her forehead pulsed pink and glistened with sweat. While her wand was floating in mid-air, she configured her fingers once more, but with more emphatic expression behind it. Her wand lit brightly, as it cast its energy towards one of the books. Eleanor released the control of her wand and placed it back into her robes, exhausted, as if she ran a mile. The class shared inexpressible looks. Some snickered tauntingly. Some were wide eyed and silent. But most were holding their breaths again, anticipating the mind boggling phenomenal of hearing the same thing at once. The book shook and rattled around, bending the spine and tips slightly. Hermoine cringed inconsiderably, but managed to keep it all together. The book spoke inwardly.

"Fast page turns. Can't take it. Too fast. Too fast. Ms. Granger..."

Hermoine spoke swiftly.

"Very good Eleanor, but I think that is it for today. I will see everyone on Wednesday. And don't worry, the mind linking spell will wear off in about five minutes. Oh, and don't forget to read those dark manifestos by Charlemagne the Conniver. You can only find those in the library, so make sure you find time to visit. Goodbye."

The castle bell rang, and all of the students automatically rushed out of the classroom, gossiping about what Eleanor just did. Eleanor was the first to leave, gathering her books in a haste, and jolting head first out the door. Enceladus didn't notice, but what he did see from Eleanor was very impressive. He remembered Sessabit talking about wandless wizards and how powerful they are. Enceladus really wanted to know why she didn't speak, and what all of the hand movements meant. He scooped up his books after the initial wave of students left and darted out of the class to catch up with Eleanor. He took one step out of the classroom and heard Hermoine's voice call to him. He turned around sorely. She approached him lightly.

"Enceladus. Great job today in class. I just want to say that I can understand what you may be going through right now, and how it might all be kind of peculiar being the oldest within your year. I also know what it's like to be the kind of wizard you are. Which is a parent no-mag, or something worse that you should never say...mudblood."

That word rang familiar to Enceladus, but he couldn't completely remember.

"Mudblood?"

"Yes, it means you have two non-magical parents. But, it's outdated, cruel and extremely derogatory. There are still purebloods out there that believe they are the supreme wizarding entities, but with time it has gotten better. Hopefully it doesn't change anytime soon." She readjusted her shoulder bag. "I want to let you know that I am here if you need anything. Don't hesitate to bother."

Enceladus waved goodbye and continued his pursuit to Eleanor before his next class started. He had a fuzzy feeling in his stomach. It felt like a colony of bees were flying around. Having something similar with the great Hermoine Granger felt like a huge honor to Enceladus even if it wasn't a good thing. Plus, she had his back, which made his stomach feel like pop rocks.

Enceladus was determined to catch up with Eleanor. He knew he had plenty of time before his next class, so he ventured around. As he was walking downstairs, he saw Zelos and Tommy get escorted to Neville's office. Enceladus almost forgot that yesterday night the Great Hall went from magnificent to monstrous. Ever since the encounter at Gringotts, Enceladus wanted to punch Zelos in the face. He wanted to do it more than ever because of his late-night meeting with Reina. Zelos wasn't wearing his usual grimly cold grin. His countenance was apprehensive and unsteady. Then, what seemed to be from thin air, Zelos' mother appeared and followed steadily behind with a cold blank expression. Enceladus hoped he was getting expelled.

Enceladus walked by the Great Hall, and it looked as if it didn't change, maybe even fancier than before. There was one mingling elf sweeping up what seemed to be a lonesome cherry from what was a discombobulated cupcake. The elf wobbled with its little gray legs through a tall door and exited without any exertion; seemingly transporting into another dimension. Enceladus wondered if the elves worked all night to clean it. While in transit with this thought, he turned around and saw Eleanor with her gloomy grounded walk. Enceladus rushed up to her.

"Hi, um...my name is Enceladus…great job in class today."

She moved her fingers with ease and she responded back to Enceladus. The girl next to her watched thoughtfully.

"She says nice to meet you and thank you. She was very shy to even attempt to volunteer." said the girl.

Enceladus took a double take at the girl and then Eleanor. He figured it out.

"Oh, I'm very sorry I didn't know. I should have known...-"

"It's okay. Hello, I'm Eleanor's translator Patrice, nice to meet you." She extended her hand towards him. Eleanor waved shyly, shuffling her thin knobby legs. Patrice was a tall youthful looking girl who looked like she just graduated from Hogwarts just a couple years ago.

"I just didn't think wizards and witches could also...you know...-"

Eleanor configured another sentence. She giggled a bit at it, lowered her gaze to the floor, and tugged at her sleeves, occupying her timorous ticks with something tangible.

"She says that wizards and witches are magical, but not perfect." Patrice was watchfully surveying Eleanor's body language. "But, that could mean a good thing as well, right Eleanor?" Eleanor stayed cocooned, deflecting her comment with her sheltered nature. "You see, Eleanor is the second deaf wizard to be admitted into Hogwarts. Years ago, the Ministry of Magic prevented wizards with disabilities from any sort of magical education, for they thought disabilities equated to instability and hazardous behaviors. They didn't want to provide any accommodations because of this, and thought if we acknowledged their biological differences, they would become a liability to the wizarding community. In short, they didn't have faith. But, her parents fought for her and eventually made a breakthrough, giving people such as Eleanor a chance to develop a career and livelihood just like the rest of the wizarding students. We couldn't have done it without the Gifted Anatomical Act of 1990. It gave us viable grounds with the chairs of the department."

"What is that?" Enceladus skimmed his eyes over to the nearby grandfather clock. Time was ticking away, yet he wanted to know more.

"It's basically a written ordinance that prohibits the discrimination on the basis of disability. The Vegas wrote it themselves."

"Really? They...they were my grandparents."

Patrice's body tensed with disbelief, yet she gazed at Enceladus with a face of appreciation.

"You're their grandson!? Wow, I didn't know! Nice to meet you. It's definitely a pleasure. Your grandparents are heros, and have done so much for Hogwarts."

"Yeah, that's what I hear." Enceladus sounded indifferent. Eleanor and Patrice stared at him with a tilted expression.

"Well, that's a very good thing because they were very great people." Patrice looked over to the grandfather clock as well. "Well, we better go, Eleanor has to get to her next class. Nice to meet you! Cheers.!"

Eleanor waved goodbye as well, as they both trotted down the opposite direction. Even though she might have been an actual first year, he felt like he made another friend.

It was now time for Encleadus' WADA classes. Since he was in his first year, he probably wouldn't see Reina. That wasn't until the auditions later on. His first class he had to worry about was his voice class, with Professor Soapy.

The WADA was at the very far end of Hogwarts, near the greenhouse. Any regular Hogwarts student wouldn't know its location if they were staring at a map. It was as if you purposely had to get lost to find it. Enceladus overheard a couple students talking about how the entryway changes every week, with various locations near the back of the school. When Enceladus finally found the golden harp, it was moved to a hexagon shaped corner. But, the painting of the pink eggplant was still right next to it. He faced the harp and uttered "Apollo". The tune sounded like a whimsical rendition of Mozart's piano concerto number twenty-one. He went up the spiraling staircase to the WADA main common area, which was on the third floor.

The WADA common area was a prism of rich colors, with many wide halls that lead to the classrooms. Each wall encompassed one of the Hogwarts' houses colors, but with heightened brightness, sensitivity and contrast. The floor looked like it was made out of amethyst; glittered with magenta sparkles and white twinkles. Bordering the center of the area stood four distinct pillars that held banners of each house, but with the animal emblems more animated than usual. Hufflepuff's yellow honey badger was flapping its legs wildly and tap dancing. Slytherin's green Serpent was wearing a 16th century white ruff collar, carrying a skull with its fangs, representing Hamlet. Gryffindor's crimson lion was striking a majestic lunge with a fencing sword. And Ravenclaw's eagle was wearing a blue choir cassock, beaked unhinge and singing at a fine angle. Then on a huge wall, called The Wall of Dreams, near the spiraling staircase,where you can magically paint or draw whatever you like, hung a tapestry of WADA's symbol, which was the Tragedy and the Comedy mask, but with wizard hats on both.

In the WADA common area, pets were allowed to roam more freely. Some students would entrap them in magical unbreakable bubbles and make them fly around. Sometimes you would be graced with two plumply toads ribbiting in one bubble.

But, the most captivating part of the space was the large white Sycamore tree that laid in between the four pillars. It was the epicenter of the common area and it was called The Tree of Creativity. Enceladus heard if you stood under the tree, sparkly blue particles would rain down and shower you with inspiration. Literally. With new found inspirations, some students would energetically splash The Wall of Dreams with an assortment of colorful paints, spraying it out the tip of their wands like water, then watching bright orange butterflies, or yellow dragon flies come to life. One kid felt inclined to balance his wand on top of his nose and juggle eight Remembralls without touching them. They fell once he forgot something. Another kid, named Alto Barefoot, transfigured a rock into a block of ice and sculpted a Chinese Fireball Dragon with his wand, repeatedly saying "Cultrum Tuum" withgrunts of artistic passion.

The tree itself was so massive that it possessed tall wooden swings, playhouses, bird houses, and several nesting places for some owls. Some students would try to leap from swing to swing without powers as dares. The branches would reach far up into a glass dome that laid on top of the castle's roof. From the outside it looked like the castle had leaves for a brain. The branches were also laced with glass jars filled with blue fireflies to help with the general ambience and illumination of the area. The middle top of the trunk was squeezed into a stone circular opening of the castle that had little tunnel systems on the sides for the owls to navigate in and out.

It also was planted onto a small grassy island surrounded by a brook, with a generous amount of flower beds surveying its vicinity. The bridge to get over was an invisible bridge. The location of the bridge faced the hollow hole of the tree, but some students still hesitated tremendously as they tried to cross it. The brook had all sorts of aquatic creatures from somersaulting trout, and camouflaged swordfish, to horned turtles and abnormal sized moon jellyfishes. At night the algae skimming the water's surface would glow neon blue. Even the air smelled like a field of fresh fruit. Enceladus couldn't imagine how the other houses' common areas compared to the WADA'S. It was all a slice of paradise.

Enceladus eventually arrived and entered the voice room, noticing Professor Soapy setting up a little makeshift stage. Professor Soapy was a round woman with a chipper attitude, yet that chippy nature sometimes came across as pent-up anxiety. She wore a light blue dress littered with music symbols that would slowly change sizes, and had short wavy hair. Her class room had tan soundproof walls, with a sleek black grand piano posted near a corner. To top it off, a grumpy green toad with a fedora laid close to her feet, frozen like a statue. Enceladus took a seat, as he pensively passed a sea of students humming their audition songs to themselves.

"Hello Hello! I am just setting up for the simulated audition to prepare for tonight. Neat and orderly it will all be. Yup. Yup. All set to go. It's going to be a great year! I guarantee it!" She caught herself, and continued in a more fastidious manner. "As a disclosure, you will be practicing your audition pieces during your theatre courses throughout the rest of the day. Right now, you will one by one demonstrate your chants, and comment on each other's works, along with me, okay? My dear Mr. Henry will provide you with your starting note since his pitch is more acute than the pianos. As you come up, provide me with your pinned music parchments. Also, make sure your quill markings are easily identifiable, I don't want to sabotage you when I don't need to. If you need any Soothing Water for your throat, there is a wooden basin in the back of the room with goblets to do so. Magic in theatre is a beautiful thing, and we wizards have artistic gifts that are absolutely marvelous, especially for the art of singing. Now, who would like to volunteer first?"

Each face contracted by the very sound of "going first". Enceladus wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. He raised his hand and got chosen. The rest of the class took their seats with fidgety angst, as Enceladus prepped himself by the miniature stage, which looked like a tree stump. He never sang a chant before, and was afraid about what was going to happen. Professor Soapy sat at the piano and floated her wand above the lid.

"My wand is going to keep the tempo. Got it?"

Enceladus shook his head "Yes".

Mr. Henry mustered out a bellowing croak for Enceladus to find his first note, and the wand swiveled up for the upbeat. Enceladus took a deep breath and sang out.

Enceladus' voice was decent, but decent when it wanted to be. He sang his chant with heavy tension; as if all his theatre training flew out of the door. At least the student's applause felt genuine. Comments were another story. They were all the same and weren't constructive at all. Times like these are when he would notice the drastic difference of age and education. His only feedback from Professor Soapy was to-"Really feel the wind that travels through our lungs."

"As wizards and witches, we have the capability of using the air around us in phenomenal ways that no ordinary muggle can. It is what gives the song life, and fullness. If you don't feel a mini hurricane spiraling within your core, then we have a long rest of the school year." Professor Soapy was uplifting to a fault, but oddly profound as well.

One by one the class went. One Hufflepuff girl sang a chant about the Glomach Waterfalls. She cracked horribly during her high notes and cried. Another girl sang a chant about a pegasus flying through the clouds. She definitely was a wizard prodigy in the making. Her technique was flawless, but her emotional delivery was even more superb. She definitely was in tune with her wizarding powers, even if they were at a novice singing level. Despite her age, Enceladus felt like she might get a principal role in the musical, which he was still clueless about. Maybe he would run into Despis and ask how their season ran. He'd always forget. He never even signed an audition form or anything. Enceladus couldn't hear himself think anyways, for the last person to go sounded like a dying dolphin.

The class ended, and Enceladus headed to his combat class. Apparently, after overhearing some Ravenclaws by the Tree of Creativity, the class was canceled. They said the professor, Professor. Pero had to attend an emergency WADA meeting. Funny thing was that all of the professors were still in their prospective classrooms teaching. Rumor has it, he typically cancels class for "inexplicit reasons". Enceladus found that relieving, and disappointing at the same time.

Enceladus waited about an hour and changed his destination to the ballroom. He knew he was near when he started to see a line of girls slipping into their tutus and slippers. In the corner of his eye, he also saw Reina and Evelyn sitting on a rocking chair near the Tree of Creativity, sewing his robe he gave her the night before. He was tempted to talk to her, but stopped himself because he knew that he would see her later on. Plus, he didn't want to accidentally frighten her and make her mess up. Unnoticeably, his palms began to sweat profusely as he proceeded down the corridor of half-naked wizards, trying not to look foolish.

Professor Flurry was a feisty and eccentric professor. As students entered, they saw her buzzing around choreographing in her head like it was her obligation to Shiva. She was barely taller than a hand-held eraser and wore an all-black ball gown, with straight blonde hair. Enceladus decided that he should go change as well. But due to his careless awareness, he ended up in the girls changing room. They screamed, covered their chest with one arm and shot him in the face with their wand in the other. The bridge of his nose stung horrendously, as he stumbled with pain to correct the changing room.

Luckily for Enceladus they didn't perform anything extraneous. They only performed light stretching on the bars and the floor. The ballroom was brilliantly lofty and ordained with pigments of gold throughout. The ceiling had paintings of dancing creatures, from fairies to pixies to lele serpents, all interweaving around a giant chandelier the size of a small house. The floors were brightly polished to a tee; shining all the way down to the far end of the room that held a four-story bay window. The view outside was a small range of mountains. The room was also accompanied with portable bars, a grand piano, and ogre-sized mirrors that covered most of the walls. But when it came to dance, nothing was too good to be true. Professor Flurry proceeded to explain, in her squeaky sergeant voice, the procedure of the dance auditions.

"So as wizards and witches, especially in ballet, we utilize the materialized charm of flying fairy dust. Since most of you are first years, we will be doing a brief training on it. Magical tap, and ballroom comes later in the yearly curriculum." She flew to a decent height for everyone to see and hear. "Now the one thing you need to know about fairy dust is that the only way to keep a float is to focus only on dancing, nothing else. If your focus falters for even a second, you fall flat on your arse. Do you hear? Once you start more rigorous training, the focus can become multidimensional, meaning you could also focus on acting, and or singing as well, becoming that triple threat we all would love to see. But, there's no pressure at all. I will now come around and distribute the dust...Oh, and another thing! The dust only works in the WADA. If you try to steal some, and go outside it won't work. You'll look like an idiot. People will question whether you belong in a madhouse, or in an invisible circus. My bet is madhouse. So, don't be that student."

Professor Flurry picked up her small purple bucket and dropped the fairy dust from above. The dust waved down like falling leaves, and landed on top of everyone's hair. In a matter of seconds, students began to shake, and levitate off of the floor. Simone Binky didn't hold back. She was showing off her moves, as she whirled and twirled in the air with ease and grace, looking like a prima fairy. Most of the other students were struggling. A trio of girls collided in mid-air, bumping skulls. A boy flew in circles upside down, hanging by one foot, as if his foot was controlling the rest of his body. Enceladus was relatively successful, as he hovered about a foot off the ground on and off. He was very resolute, and daring. He attempted to do a couple fancy flips and some pirouettes, but he was bound for the floor every time. Professor Flurry tried to fly around and direct any issues, but even she started falling. When you are the size of a hand-held eraser, it's hard to divert the velocity of descending palms and feet. She took fifteen points away from Slytherin, because a boy was taking peaks under the girls' tutus. She spoke with more fervent, and vindication.

"Focus more focus more! Release the mind of any other useless juvenile thoughts you may have!"

Enceladus didn't know how the audition process would be, yet he still wanted to make a great first impression to his professors. Dancing was his forte, especially tap. It was one of his crafts he always wanted to excel at. If he couldn't get the chant or the monologue right, he knew he would make it up with dance. Even if it's a magical dance.

"Alright class I'll see you at 7:00 PM tonight sharp. I will start the combination right on the dot so don't be late. I teach fast and with pulsating passion, so you wouldn't want to miss anything. More information will be said at the audition, including what musical we will be doing this year. Merlin speed to you all." grunted Professor Flurry brusquely, planting no eye contact as she continued to whip her small limbs about, choreographing in her head. Enceladus couldn't imagine having her for a teacher for the next seven years.

Acting was the last class of the day before auditions. He felt exhausted, as if he'd been in a boring lecture all day. All he wanted to do was complete these auditions, and hang out with Sessabit. He didn't know when the next time he would run into Sessabit. He knew he lived down by the Forbidden Forest, but he didn't want to take any chances traveling by himself just yet. Knowing Sessabit, he would always find a way to find him. Of course, he would be accompanied by his trustee dragon, Puddin. Hopefully that's still the case.

Enceladus changed his clothes, and headed towards the acting den, as the WADA student body called it. But, something else caught his attention along the way. It was a side entrance to the theater. The place he's been subconsciously wanting to see. He went down a narrow hallway, just passed the Tree of Creativity and the practice rooms. He crept with curiosity, as he began to hear a cacophony of angelic vibrations emitting from a door at the end of the hall. He peered around the wooden door and saw a body of students practicing music with mermaid shaped harps. Enceladus couldn't make out the song they were playing. Regardless, the sound was luscious and stupendous. It wasn't any other harp concerto, as well. Each harp projected multicolored music notes from each plucked string, and danced above the player's heads. The notes would intertwine and stream into the rafters like fluorescent shooting stars. Enceladus felt like he was watching a concert in Heaven. To top it off, the theatre looked like a cathedral. There were murals of cherubs, royal purple seating, roman style pillars, and a beautiful red satin curtain. Enceladus would seldom go to fancy opera houses or theatres because of his financial upbringing. He was used to his small scaled theatre back at the Itali Academy. But, this was certainly not that; this was luxurious beyond belief.

Enceladus stayed a minute more to witness the big finish, but right when the outro was about to commence, Enceladus heard a student behind him shout.

"Duck! They said his name!"

Out of nowhere, one of the harp players jumped off the stage and tackled Enceladus to the floor. Through the small opening of the harp player's armpit, Enceladus saw the rest of the players dive down to the stage floor and duck their heads.

"What is going on?!"

"They said the name, mate. Just keep your head down and hope for the best!

A few more moments past, and all of sudden a shower of knives thrusted horizontally through the air, striking and thudding off of the stone walls.

"Is it clear?" One of the harp players on the stage trilled.

Another harp player stood up gingerly, and automatically dove back to the floor as another wave of knives tore through the flickering shadows of the hanging lanterns in the theater. There was a long heavy pause.

"I...I think that's it Willy, the coast is clear. It's usually only two rounds." professed another harp player.

Willy arose, picked up Enceladus, and dusted him down.

"That was a close call. I swear these first years need to get it together. They're just a bunch of little bastard wankers if you ask me."

Enceladus wanted to refrain from talking, but he was already reeled in.

"What's your name anyways mate? You a transfer? Let me guess, you a Castelobruxo chap? I haven't seen you around here."

"My name is Enceladus, and no...I'm...just a new student...what just happened?"

"Oh, you don't know? Come on, you have to, you're pulling my leg aren't you?"

"I'm sorry...but I really don't know…"

Willy's face lighted with surprise, eyes wide and mouth opened.

"You know, the Wicked Thane of Glamis. The Scottish fiend. Tomorrow, tomorrow and-"

A light bulb went off in Enceladus' head.

"Tomorrow! Yes, you mean-"

Faster than the speed of light, Willy covered his mouth.

"Yes mate, the superstition is true. Well, only for Hogwarts. When you say his name in this theater, disaster is promised. Like things get bloody bonkers. We get earthquakes, flying knives, random sinkholes that lead to Slytherin dungeons. Lethal lunacy all around. And who do we have to blame? The illustrious bard himself." Willy leaned onto a nearby wall, inserting his hands into his pockets. "Shakespeare, or should we say Thoth Periwinkle, his birth name, was once a wizard and a student at Hogwarts, who in short, thought WADA was all bollocks. Him and old Despis use to tussle about whether his plays were meant for the muggle or the wizarding world. At the end, the batty bard pissed off and got his way; cursed the school with you-know-who's name, and ventured across England to become one of the greatest writers ever. Hell, even with multiple identities and pseudonyms. I think before Shakespeare his name was Chris Marlowe, and then he ended his life with some berserk name like Bacon or something. Bloody hell if I know."

Enceladus' theater geekness was loving all of this history about Shakespeare.

Who would have known that the literature's finest writer was a wizard.

"Wow! That's pretty scary, yet cool at the same time. I'll keep all that in mind now." His enthusiasm didn't eliminate his conflicted feelings about how this castle can casually murder you if you say the wrong things. Yay. More death.

"Yeah, just keep your ears on high alert, and you'll be a smooth sailing mate. Next time I won't be there either." He produced a warm hearty chuckle. "Do you play?"

"Me? Harp? No, I don't. I'm sorry."

"Well we are called the Harpies, if you ever learn harp and change your mind let me know. We love to have yeah mate." Willy extended his arm out for a shake.

"Thanks. Will do."

They both shook hands. Willy's handshake was strong and firm. Even though he wasn't an athlete, he was certainly built like one. They disengaged their palms, and like a shrieking bird, the bell rang. Enceladus was late to his next class.

Enceladus felt his heart plummet out of his rib cage, as he sprinted to the acting acting den was on the first floor, above the Slytherin dungeons. Enceladus almost tripped his last few steps as he was approaching the doorway. He ended up catching himself on the frame. As he was catching his breath, the whole class gave him a cold stare that would leave you feeling ashamed. Enceladus tried to plead his case.

"I'm so sorry, I got-"

"Sit." snipped Alio with passionless eviction.

Enceladus scurried stiffly over to an open seat. Alio began to pace back and forth in silence with a black coffee mug wrapped between his hairy fingers. Enceladus knew this Alio was different from the Alio he met first on the train. He was less wobbly and battered; more contained and menacing. He fondled his mug like a precious glass figurine, and drank his coffee as if his life depended on it. Everything about him was deliberate and blunt. His slouch, his warped neck, his tucked pelvis, and his stale face all perfectly align with his daunting poise. He took a few more cherishing sips of his steaming coffee and continued to pace about around his empty worn down desk. He seemed in tune to tension, silence, and lack of light from the windowless room.

"Yes."

The class raised their eyebrows, looking around at each other for answers and closure.

"Yes. It was I who killed Hedwig, Harry Potter's Owl. Direct orders from Snape, a potions teacher from long ago."

"Yes." Now, with more emphasis.

"Yes. It's true that Voldemort and I were close friends who used to drink coffee together. Our favorite spot was at a little cafe on the outskirts of Liverpool." He paused. "I also had an affair with Bellatrix at the time. Even in private solitude, she was a very very aggressive woman." He paused, munching his thoughts. "Hopefully I get to see her soon."

Some students softly gasped, as others still were trying to compute what he was saying.

"And yes, I was a Death Eater years ago, who turned into an acting teacher because...why not?"

He paused again and sipped his coffee again while staring blankly into it, as if he were searching for some answers.

"Is there anything else you would like to know about me?"

A student started to raise their hand, but was quickly intercepted about another student, suggesting that it wasn't the best idea to inquire right now.

"I'm just enlightening your rumors. That is all. Whether they are true or not."

Enceladus couldn't tell if he was being serious, or just, acting. He remembered Gordan saying he once was a Death Eater. But, was he not, and just accused of being affiliated with them? By the look of it, Alio's gothic attitude would allude to yes, but he might be wearing an unpredictable veneer.

He began to drag a large ornate mirror out from a very cobwebbed infested corner. The frame was dark scarlet with spiraling horns protruding out from the top. He placed it at the center of the room, and mumbled with his hoarse and grumbly voice.

"Twere a mirror up to nature...alright, who wants to go first?"

The class didn't know how to respond.

"Come on. I don't have all day. Recite your monologues in the mirror."

His voice crackled and grew raspier, as if he just chain smoked a pack of cigarettes. He took a seat on a stool.

"And make sure you are loud and clear. For my sake."

No one knew what to do, or what would happen. Even Simone Binky, did not rise up to this mysterious challenge. But Candance Cauliflower, little sister of Cindy Cauliflower, eventually sat up from her seat and ambled on over. She confronted the mirror but her reflection didn't show. She looked like she saw a ghost, and trembled. She began to slate.

.

"Hi, my name is-"

"No slating. Just begin."

Everyone either had a monologue from the Tempest or Macbeth. Since the majority of the class were first years, most of them would not even be cast. There would have to be a role that would absolutely suit them. For the purpose of these plays, most of the girls did Ariel monologues, and most of the boys did Fleance. Candace Cauliflower finished and everyone stood silent, no applauds. This continued, and the same thing occurred in the mirror, no reflection. Professor Alio sat in his stool unamused, as he would inform the next person to go when one was finished. Enceladus decided to go last.

"Excuse me. Are you sure you are in the right class?"

"Yes...my name is Enceladus Vega." Enceladus was really trying to be polite.

Alio paused again.

"Vega huh? I guess they were right. Now, approach the mirror and recite."

Enceladus recited a Macduff monologue. But unlike the rest of the class, a reflection formed in the mirror. It wasn't his reflection; it was a reflection of a young boy like himself. He wasn't moving within the mirror but staying attentive. At times the boy would fade and reappear throughout the monologue. Enceladus tried not to get distracted, and finish the monologue strong. But, as he was entering the last two lines of his monologue the bell rang and class was dismissed.

Alio sipped his coffee like a mournful poet in a cafe. "You were late and you gave me that crap? That was below mediocre considering your background Mr. Vega." He turned to the rest of the class. "See you all at the auditions."

Enceladus wanted to stay back, and talk about what just happened in the mirror. But, Alio attended to other matters as he slammed his office door when the last student left.

Enceladus couldn't fully grasp Alio's behavior. Out of everything he said, Enceladus wasn't sure what to believe. He wasn't sure if Alio liked his monologue, or if he was doing anything correct. He gave zero feedback. And virtually, every teacher had a changed demeanor once they found out who Enceladus was. His grandparents did create a legacy, apparently, but deep-down Enceladus felt like there was more to everyone's out-of-kilter attitudes. He tried to block this, and focus on auditions in a couple of hours.

Enceladus headed back to his room to freshen up and get ready. The sun caressed the Earth's horizon, as the last glint of light showered past the windows and onto the stone walls. He switched out of his robes, combed his hair, and sprayed some wizard body spray from a fancy square bottle. He was all ready to leave, until he noticed a marmalade lime pie and a note by his night table. Enceladus opened it with interested curiosity.

Ello Frien'! Todays the day, you do tha' thin' with the dancin' en singin'! Congrats on one day down, et only gets wilder from here. To make sure yeh have plenty o' energy, here's eh Marmalade Lime Pie made from scratch on the top o' me iron stove. Papa, wishes yeh luck as well. He's eh big lump when it comes to supportin' friends, especially mine. Hopefully I'll see yeh in the halls more. Et took Gordan and I eh while to sneak into the WADA, but we foun' eh way. Some small blonde headed girl helped us. If not, I'll invite yah down to me house this weekend en we can explore the Forbidden Forest!

P.S Watch out for those nasty muggle patrols, theys came up to mi en asked mi some questions. I'm pretty sure Neville told them not too, but they still makin' their own exceptions.

Enceladus folded up the note, stuffed the pie down his throat and headed up to the WADA main common area. He took a seat at one of the swings hanging from the Tree of Creativity to meditate for a while. He went over his monologue one last time, and made sure that he was prepared for whatever. He took a few more deep breaths and walked to the theatre. But, when he jumped off of the swing, he saw Professor Alio, and the muggle officials talking very closely. There were a lot of head nods, and deliberate hand movements. It certainly was a conversation of high importance. What if they were questioning him about something? Enceladus wished he could hear what they were saying. He looked at his wand for guidance. Nothing. What was the wand going to do? He eventually packed up and headed into the theater.

There was a blare of muddled voices once he entered the theatre. Everyone at the WADA was on the stage warming up and talking up a storm. He even saw Reina downstage in her black skirt, and emerald leotard tilting her body back and forth to crack her hips. Enceladus placed his things down in the house, and found a spot to warm up and sit. He saw Professor Soapy, Alio, Professor Pero, Despis and Professor Flurry out in the audience conversing. It wasn't long until Professor Flurry flapped her wings, and encroached onto students' free talk.

"Alright WADA students, welcome to the first and only auditions for both semesters. We will start with the dance portion to get done, and over with. Then we will split up and proceed to the individual pieces one by one. If you didn't know, we will be performing Shakespear's Tempest, and for our musical we will be performing a new wizarding creation from our community protege Mr. Dionysus, called Wands and Wine…"

There was a mixture of clapping and smug faces.

"A few rules about the theatre before we get started. One, there is only one restroom in the greenroom. Deal with it. Two, don't eat in the theater. We might seem that we are a bucket of wealth here, but in actuality we are not. We can't afford for things to get ruined. Three, say hello to our stage hands."

Every student turned their heads offstage and saw multiple pairs of chain-linked gauntlets floating in the air next to the pulley system. They all waved briskly in unison.

"And whatever you do, don't whistle. They will drop sandbags or set pieces on you. And, last but not least, respect GL."

She looked around for something, but couldn't seem to find it.

"GL! GL! Where did you go?"

Out of nowhere, a torch on a pole with wheels came strolling in by itself.

"This is GL. He is our honorary ghost light here. And that's what he does. Keeps away evil ghosts. He is practically your bodyguard in this theatre. So when you get the chance, you should thank him, hug him, worship him, whatever you want to show that you appreciate him. He's a good light, and we would hate to see what this theatre may be if it was infested by...well you know."

GL flickered his flames on and off, as he wheeled around creating a donut on the floor with the black skid marks.

"He says hello. Okay GL you can do whatever you were doing. Thanks."

GL left prominently.

"Okay who's ready to dance!?"

The whole WADA roared as everyone stood up and did some last minute cracking of the bones. Professor Flurry got her pixie dust and tossed it atop everyone's heads. Everyone began to float. The music she selected had to be played by the Harpies in the pit or somewhere else. Enceladus didn't see a pit when he came in, but he instantly recognized the song because it was the song they were playing earlier. The dance itself was extremely hard. Professor Flurry was teaching at an excruciatingly fast pace, and wasn't stopping for any questions. Many bangs and crashes on the floor were heard as some students couldn't even stay in the air. Surprisingly Erso, Zelos' elephant henchmen, had great rhythm and kept up with most of the combination. Who knew a bowling ball could be so nimble? Then out of everyone, the one person who stood out was Reina Rose. It was like she was born to dance in the sky. She didn't miss a beat and excelled at the improv section. Her spins, leaps, and twirls were breathtaking, especially when she would do upside down splits jumping near the stage's fly out system. Enceladus tried to keep up with her, but it was a lost cause. He still added his own flare and energy with the mediocre flying ability he possessed.

"Alright guys! You have two minutes to go over the combo. We will then switch lines and do it one more time!" barked Professor Flurry downstage right.

Enceladus repeatedly marked the dance at half speed. Then to his astonishment, he saw Eleanor far upstage, in a corner struggling. He approached her.

"Eleanor it's me, Enceladus."

Her eyes retreated from her practice and met Enceladus' eyes. She nodded her head yes, and then pointed to her feet indicating she's having trouble getting the steps.

"Steps? Steps, yes, I could help you with them."

Enceladus helped her out step by step until Professor Flurry called time. Enceladus thought that only WADA students were allowed to audition. Maybe Eleanor found a loophole. Also, who knew that she was interested in theatre?

Professor Flurry eventually called time and cued the music again for one last go. When she screamed "5...6...7...8..", it felt like a countdown to a cardiac death. Students were heaving and sweating badly. Puddles of sweat were seen on shirts, behind backs, and on butts. One student hurled offstage. A couple students hurt themselves and were escorted to the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey. Some from the dance, and one from accidentally whistling offstage. The competitiveness of everyone was rising rapidly, as they were bringing out all their best moves. But right when the final eight counts came to a firm close, all the torches went out in the theatre, and it was pitch black. Everyone screamed.

"Don't worry, Don't worry it's only a minor mishap!" Despis shouted from the audience. Some of the teachers equipped their wands and uttered, "Lumos" waving them around in a furious manner like hand held flares. Enceladus ended up falling over someone's foot. He lifted himself back up with caution, and stretched his arms out to feel his surroundings. The room was in boisterous chaos. To top it off, frigidness blanketed the air. Enceladus did see a couple of wands onstage stroke around, but it was too dark to decipher who they were. Enceladus' hands became pruney and numb. They stung every time someone pushed into him.

Cumbersome shadows frolicked against the walls as well. Like the sudden rip of paper, Enceladus' ears were flooded with piercing disoriented whispers. They kept on getting closer and closer, as Enceladus tried to cover his ears in pain. Coincidentally, he felt a shortness of breath by some advancing force. The air became incredibly thick, and the whispers became louder. In the blink of an eye, GL raced onto center stage and shone his bright light. All you could see were hundreds of gray clumpy deformed creatures with hollowed eyes and skinny lengthy arms surrounding the sphere of light in frozen pain and agony. GL enhanced his brightness, and like lightning, they were gone. The torches of the theatre were again ablazed.

"Is everyone okay? Yes? I am so very sorry for this incident. Stuff like this shouldn't happen, but…it does unfortunately." Despis was trying to stop his ghostly chest from heaving. "Those theatre ghosts wouldn't have hurt you students anyways, take it from me. You had nothing to worry about. Nonetheless, thank you GL for being a hero."

GL gave an awkward curtsy, and raced back offstage. The floating gauntlets clapped appreciatively.

Enceladus regained his breath and warmth as he shook off the last of his nerves. Everyone was confused and heavily traumatized. Some students curled up in tight balls on the floor, unwilling to unfurl for another potential outbreak. Enceladus surveyed the aftermath, and noticed that Alio didn't seem bothered by what just happened; still sipping his coffee as he was reading his notes with a deadpan face. Despis on the other hand looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown.

"I know that you are all rattled, but we have GL assessing the issue right now. The show must go on!" Despis tried to keep calm and composed, as he passingly flew in and out of rows in the house, stroking his nonexistent chin.

Despite such a frightening setback, the rest of the auditions went well for Enceladus. The professors were on edge, expecting the hanging torches to extinguish once more, but it didn't occur again. Alio barely peeled an eyelash from his notes throughout.

Enceladus pushed through his chant, and somewhat adequately performed his monologue. Alio brought the mirror again, but this one was different. Instead of it being scarlet and with horns, this one was golden with clawed feet. It had an inscription on it as well. He could only make out one word and it was "Erised". He figured it was some philosophical latin proverb.

Alio soon realized it was the wrong one. As he took it back, Enceladus swore he saw a tiny glimpse of Reina in the reflection. But, Alio switched it out before Enceladus really got a good look. Alio placed the correct one four rows back from the stage. Enceladus had to recite his monologue staring at the young boy again. He still couldn't comprehend the meaning of the mirror, but went with the flow anyway. The night was closing to an end as the last few auditionees went.

"This was a wonderful evening full of talent, splendor, and creation! The casting process will be difficult, because of all of your wonderful work on the stage." Poor Despis was trying.

It wasn't the first time Enceladus heard that saying. He always thought that was a cop out phrase to make people feel less bad about themselves. He all of the sudden felt ill.

"And don't worry. The torch issue will not happen again. Uh...what else...oh, the cast list will go up next week. We will put much thought into all our candidates in these upcoming days. But for now, get some sleep! Job well done!"

Claps enraptured throughout the theatre, as people slowly packed their belongings and dispersed.

Enceladus was greatly fatigued, and yearned for his bed, but when he was about to leave, Patrice ran up to him with fear in her eyes.

"Enceladus! Have you seen Eleanor?"

"Yes, she was at the audition. Why?"

"Her parents told her not to, I told her not to, but she did it anyway! Now I can't find her. Sometimes she gets in these moods and...and-"

"Well, we just finished, so maybe she went to her room."

"Okay... yeah...I'll go check there. Thanks Enceladus."

She ran off with wide strickend eyes.

Now that he glossed it over, he didn't see Eleanor after the whole black out incident. He also didn't see Reina afterwards either. Maybe they got scared and ran somewhere? It seemed to be the most logical explanation, especially for that time of night. He remembered he still wanted to write to his mother though. He hurried back to his room, and grabbed a quill and parchment.

Dear Mum,

I just finished my auditions today. I think I did good? I'm pretty sure I did. Anyways, being a wizard requires major adjustment. Like major. But I'm getting the hang of it. I've learned to fly and cast some spells. Well spell. But, soon plural. And no worries, I ate well today. Lots of marinated roast pork and greasy gravy potatoes. I just wanted to check up on you. I know it's been a day, but I already miss you. When you get the chance let me know how the investigation is going as well. Oh, and I know you never did this, but just give your letter back to Profugus, he will know what to do.

Much Love,

Your son,

Enceladus

He crumbled the parchment into the size of a marble, stuck it into Profugus' pouch, and off he went. Profugus was itching for another journey, as he was gnawing and bouncing off of his cage when Enceladus entered the room. Enceladus closed his window, blew out his candles, and closed his eyes for bed. He tucked himself in with happy silence. But as he was preparing for his dreams, he remembered his first Astronomy class was in three hours at midnight. This happy silence quickly turned into sad groans, as he aggravatingly smothered his face with a pillow.

Closely Tucked Messiers

The castle walls tapped and clacked about as the night winds made their presence known beyond the stones. The skies were transparent, allowing many celestial objects to pose and blink with the finest of fashion. The bundled stars, as if white Christmas lights, scintillated in graceful stagnancy. The moon, frozen in beauty, curved neatly into its crescent, pulsating its glow to the beat of the silent universe. Everything looked surreal, as if the earth was being engulfed by the cosmos. It was a perfect night for the first Astronomy class of the year. If Enceladus felt like waking up.

Enceladus was sprawled atop his sheets with his right knee tucked near his ribs, drooling to his mouth's content. But, as the wind continued to hiss, and cool down Enceladus' room, his saliva on his pillow had gotten cold. He tossed grumpily to his side and planted his face right onto the cold sticky puddle. At least Enceladus was spared the incessant sound of his alarm clock. He rose out of his bed, rubbed his eyes, and stretched out his body. Not a fiber of his being wanted to go to this class. It gave him a peace of mind that this wouldn't occur frequently. He groggily got dressed, grabbed his telescope and headed to the Astronomy tower.

Enceladus reached the steps to the tower, and was met with other fellow students who looked like they were about to fall asleep at any moment. They all climbed up to the observatory like zombies. Once he reached the top, he felt more awake as the cool breeze was circulating under the open dome. The professor, Aurora Blue, was standing tall and elegant, greeting students one by one. She had bohemian vibes, metaphysical magnificents and interstellar tranquility. She accessorized draping scarves, sported thick rimmed glasses, wore a billowing flowy dress, and had white tattoos of planets and stars on both of her caramel-colored arms. Her voice was soft and welcoming, and she had short dark hair with blonde highlights.

"Welcome Astronomers. Take a seat wherever and make yourself at home. It's a lovely night to say hello to our astronomical neighbors up above. Much apologies about cancellation yesterday. Neville had hired a local caementarii to repair some loose bricks from the dome, but everything was fixed, and mortared down brilliantly. And no need to fret, this class will only occur on Wednesdays continuing on. Understood?" Stuck in a sleepy funk, the students barely flinched. "Fantastic. Well, the curriculum this year will be based around the Zodiac constellations, specifically the retrograde of Saturn, which is leaning into the sign of Aquarius. We will study its movements every week around the ecliptic, and pinpoint its location with charts. And as an added bonus, who knows what happens when Saturn is in retrograde?"

Silence from the class.

"When Saturn is in retrograde it means our magic as wizards and witches escalates exponentially. Since retrograde is quite timely, the power is raw, and somewhat untapped, so you won't really notice anything on a conscious level. But, there have been accounts of past wizards who have mastered and manifested this power during the season of Saturn. Which has been recognized and turned into a holiday in certain countries. Since then, many wizarding families have celebrated the importance of Saturn's movements and the positive effects it has on wizarding's body of work. Because without Saturn frolicking around the sun, who knows what we would be, right?"

More silence. Someone sneezed like a cow.

"For tonight though, we will simply stargaze. I will pass around star description parchments and you will identify them as you go. The person with the most stars identified will achieve thirty points for their house."

Enceladus didn't even know why he purchased a telescope in the first place. He already possessed the ability to see far away objects, especially in space. On really hot days he would have to cover his face with his palms because the sun would sometimes enlarge in size. Most of the time he could control it, but sometimes it wouldn't work at all. He never really questioned this ability growing up, for he thought it could happen to anyone. But, since his discovery of being a wizard, he might possess a secret power that wasn't so secret after all. He still wanted to play it safe, and not cause any unnecessary attention. He used his telescope, but incorrectly as he absent mindedly finagled with the dials. He finished his search in five minutes and returned his parchment back to Aurora.

"Here you go. I think I got them all right. I don't know if I got Betelgeuse though. I always get that one mixed with Rigel." Enceladus was still half-awake.

"Are you already familiar with some stars, Mr. Vega?"

"Uh...kind of…"

She scanned the parchment thoroughly.

"Yes, you did get Betelgeuse correct. Everything else seems to be correct as well. Well done Mr. Vega you just earned thirty points for your house. Congrats. You are Hufflepuff, correct?"

"Yes...I am..." Enceladus was still not proud of that fact.

"Lovely."

Professor Blue wrote a reminder on her parchment pad. The points were great and all, but he much rather would have his cozy bed.

"Uh...Professor Blue...may I be excused since I finished early?"

She gave him a pleasantly surprised look.

"Mmm, well I don't see why not. But, there is one question I must ask you before you go." She averted her gaze skyward. "The sky is quite active tonight, and I was curious if you knew the shape of the Messier constellation?"

"I am afraid I do not…"

"Well, that will be your homework for next class. It will be difficult, but I think you might like this one. The vibrations of tomorrow's waxed moon are strongly telling and full of surprises." She paused and took one more sweet glance at the sky; her hands cupped near her heart. "Have a lovely night Mr. Vega."

Enceladus packed all of his belongings and began to leave. All of the other students snarled with jealousy under their breaths. Despite the house points, even the Hufflepuffs were a little bit envious. But right before Enceladus took his first step down the stairs, he heard a familiar voice call from behind. It was Reina Rose.

"Reina...what...what are you doing here?" Enceladus' voice was shaky.

"This is my class."

Enceladus didn't know how to properly respond to that.

"But this is a first year level?"

"Yes it is. I never took Astronomy in my six years here. My loaded schedules never permitted me, and it was always a backburner class. But, question..."

Enceladus muscles clenched tightly. What did she possibly have to ask him? Reina, acquiring some sort of information, that doesn't involve the precious vault of knowledge from her brain, or an old book that reeks of petrichor. Enceladus prepared himself.

"How did you identify all of those stars so fast? I barely found four."

Not what he expected. But, it's manageable. He took a deep breath and responded.

"Well, it was quite easy actually I-"

"Can you show me? I seem to be mixing up my coordinates and calculations."

No matter how tired he was, there was no way he could have said no to Reina. He decided to stay.

"Sure." Cue big cheesy smile. It felt like a dream.

They went back to her telescope and discussed the star search. Enceladus tried to provide as many explanations as possible regarding the usage of the telescope rather than his innate powers. They carried on to the end of class with rare smiles and laughter. Professor Blue began to speak.

"Alright class, for next week we will study the first phase of Saturn. This weekend should have the most activity, so make sure you jot down any observations. We will then come together and discuss our findings. Have a lovely night."

Enceladus and Reina both walked out of class together in mild silence. Enceladus had so much to ask her, but opted out due to his lack of focus and sleep. Reina eventually broke the silence.

"Hey, um, do you think...do you think-"

"Yeah?"

Reina was rubbing her foreman trying to find words.

"I'm sorry, I never usually do this...but could you...possibly...help me with my homework for next week? You have a superb understanding of this stuff, and I only want to get better at it. We could meet this weekend at the Quidditch pitch, I know this great spot for gazing. What do you think?"

Enceladus couldn't believe his ears. Reina Rose wanted to do homework together. Just the two of them. A volcano of butterflies just erupted inside his stomach. His mouth felt like there was glue lodged between his teeth and tongue, as he couldn't formulate any sort of sound or sentence. He began to blush, and feel queasy. He played it cool. Well, he tried.

"Yeah...uh…that's fine with me." He tried to lean on a wall, but fatally missed it. He pounced up and laughed it off as much as he could.

In a way Enceladus thought this was a death wish. If Reina and Zelos did have a thing together, and he found out, Zelos would most likely be incarcerated into Azkaban for killing him. But, Enceladus was willing to take those chances.

"Perfect, I'll see you then. Oh, and here's your robe."

Reina popped out a long black robe from her backpack with the symbol of the famous Hufflepuff badger. Enceladus grabbed it and put it on, nearing the bottom of the stairway.

"I hope you like it."

In some instances, Enceladus thought a badger was a dumb symbol. Would he rather be flaunting a fierce green snake? Sure. But, The Sorting Hat said that this house was his true fate. Whether Enceladus could see it or not, he appreciated the sewing of the little yellow fur ball.

"I really do, thank you."

"Well, I'll see you soon, thanks for the help again."

She waved joyfully as she turned a corner into a corridor.

"No problem. Uh, goodnight."

He soon caught a small glimpse of a red substance on the floor. It looked like a flower. Did Reina drop it when she opened her bag and left? But, for some reason it was rooted in between a stone crevice. He plucked it out and tried to chase after her.

"Hey Reina I think you-"

Nothing. When he turned the corner, there was nothing but rows of antique vases. Reina was gone.

He analyzed the rose. The petals were a very intense red. He thought about all of her flowers she had at her place. Maybe this was one of them. He put it safely in his bag. If it was Reina's, he would tend to it and keep it safe until he saw her again.

His eyes were fighting badly to stay open at this point; he craved sleep. But, as he was looking down towards the floor for stability, he noticed that his robe also had a moon sewn onto it below the badger. It was very small; the size of a marshmallow. He gave it a tiny rub, and felt something shapely and solid inside his breast pocket. It was a note. A note from Reina.

Dear Enceladus,

You are probably wondering why you have a cheese ball sized moon on your robe. I questioned it as well, but for reasons regarding my sewing job. I just wanted to make your robe personal and fun. Like I said before, your name is weird. Like an idiosyncratic weird. So, I looked up the meaning of it. It turns out Enceladus is one of the moons on Saturn. (How ironic considering our Astronomy lessons) Your family seems very nonconforming, or should I say too conforming? Space names are common for wizards and witches, but I never heard of yours. It's quite unique. Anyways, I wanted to treat you with a little Enceladus of your own. I hope you like it.

P.S The library has a great book about the properties of moons called, "Ancient Lunar Landscapes and Wizards who Studied Them". You should check it sometime. It's a great read.

Enceladus felt his heart skip like a rock on flat water. Things were too good to be true right now. He didn't want to get too flowery or in over his head yet. He knew he had to keep cool. But, he couldn't help feeling a windstorm of happiness swelling inside. Reina was surely something special, even with her odd quirks. He was fading into ecstasy, as the surplus of emotions were caused by his intense drowsiness. He dragged his body along the wall with droopy eyelids, as he supported himself to his dorm. Before he went to bed, he put the rose in a goblet full of water by his bedside. The wind continued to bustle and howl, conducting a lullaby of whooshes. Enceladus blew out his candles near his moonlit flower, and fell fast asleep.

The weekend came, which was really three days later. Enceladus couldn't have been more excited. He wrote to Sessabit the day after Astronomy with an owlery owl and talked about his upcoming homework session with Reina. He didn't write back. Maybe he was tending to Puddin since it was the weekend. Either way, Enceladus would see him at his house tomorrow to explain everything.

He never went to the Quidditch pitch yet, but he figured he'd find someone who wasn't a part of the WADA and ask. Even though this was only homework practice, Enceladus treated it more like a date. He slipped on his best semi-formal outfit, groomed his hair, and sprinkled some cologne. As he was about to depart, he looked over and saw Profugus' empty cage. He hoped his feathery friend made it to his mothers safely. Knowing Profugus, he probably warded off plenty of foes with ease. He might be kiwi size, but he still could pack a mighty fight. Enceladus smiled at that thought, as he headed downstairs.

A nice Gryffindor boy gave him directions to the Quidditch pitch. At first, it sounded like a convoluted massive journey, but soon his gibberish started making sense. Enceladus thanked him and went on his way.

The night was a bit cloudier now than it was three days ago. Yet, it was still formidable gazing weather nonetheless. Enceladus bumbled down a couple of hills, and galloped gingerly through blades of tickly grass. He would hear noises from time to time with forest creatures, rustling along the leafy grounds. He'd also see funny shadows from branches steadily bobbing in place.

Along the way he also saw a spiraling bed of roses that almost reached the pitch. When he first came to Hogwarts, he didn't remember seeing flower beds on the fields? Maybe he wasn't really paying close attention.

He knew he was near when he saw the three prongs sticking out behind the pitch with three rings attached to the top. It was colossal, and way bigger than a soccer stadium. He approached the infrastructure, and found an entrance that led him to the encircling rows of seats inside.

The only light leading his way was the moon, which was in the phase of waxing crescent. But, the stadium was significantly darker than the terrace. There wasn't any way he was going to spot Reina. He squinted, and tried to spot any possible resemblance of a human outline through the shadows. Nothing. He was getting worried. What if Reina thought he took too long and left? What if she thought he stood her up? He began racing around each aisle whispering her name. At that point, he wanted to scream. But, he didn't know what creatures would be lurking nearby, so he eliminated that option.

Then, it came to him. He grabbed his wand, and gave it a long look. Throughout the week he heard people say "Lumos" and the tip of their wand would ignite a white glow. Anything was worth a shot. He snatched it out of his pocket, and gently mumbled "Lumos." To his surprise, it worked. He could now see better than before. He swung his wand around a couple of times, until he saw a figure on the opposite side of the stadium, waving their arms atop the roof of the announcer's box. This had to be Reina. He instinctively patted his wand "good job" and followed the flailing limbs in the distance.

He climbed up the side of the box, and grunted as he latched his arms to the edge. Plop! He fell onto his bum as he pulled himself over. But to his delight, Reina was right there. She helped him up and gave a brief demonstration of the graveled covered roof.

"Here it is, isn't it beautiful?"

Reina was absolutely correct, it was a beautiful location to look up at the sky. She had her golden telescope set up towards the corner of the box, which silhouetted magnificently in front of the dark blue sky.

"I'm glad you found it okay, it's always a stickler to find this place."

She slightly paused.

"Okay, how about we jump right in. I already found a couple patterns and movements we could talk about. Saturn was being stingy at first, but some progress was made."

Enceladus didn't plan how he was going to handle tonight. He knew Reina probably just wanted to talk about the work, but Enceladus had many questions to ask her. He stood silent for a couple of seconds, watching her set up her formulas on her telescope, and rambling about possible explanations. He took a deep breath and exhaled anxiously.

"Hey Reina, before we get to work, can...can I ask you a few questions?".

Enceladus knew Reina honored her schooling very much, and feared interfering with it. But, he needed answers. Reina's shoulder muscles tensed slightly, as she leisurely turned around

"Questions? Uh...sure, what do you want to know?"

Enceladus never knew how to properly engage with Reina's exuberant peculiarities, but he knew that the floor was finally open to him, and he didn't want to ruin this chance. They both sat down on the ledge nearest the field, dangling their feet by the open booth.

"Firstly, I just want to really thank you for my robe. The moon is great."

"No problem."

Enceladus tried to ease into it, but he didn't want to beat around the bush any more than he should.

"Right...well...um...do...you remember the time we first met?"

"Yes I do. I purchased Evelyn that day. Speaking of Evelyn, I hope I fed her today. Eh, she'll find a meal eventually."

"Well, I was just curious about what happened later on that day...you know...when I awoke at that place. Why and how did I get there?"

Reina responded lightly.

"You got in some tussles, and I decided to fix you. I thought you were dead at first."

"Fix me?"

"You were badly wounded from whatever you got yourself into."

"Did you see what happened to me? Because I can't seem to remember anything."

"Nope. I was walking to Ollivander's, and I saw you lying on the floor by an alley unconscious. I was acting on impulse, and took you to my flat. I concocted a healing potion to mend any internal or external wounds that you may have received. Whatever it was that attacked, they nicked you up pretty well."

Enceladus gave Reina a double take.

"Flat? I was at your fla- so you do have a place? An actual home space that is not...Hogwarts dorming. How? I thought all students were supposed to dorm at Hogwarts."

"I made some arrangements with Neville. The atmosphere at Hogwarts is a little too heavy for my liking. I require an abundance of alone space. It keeps me steady; at bay."

Enceladus tucked his chin, contemplating on what to say next.

"Well, it's a sweet place for all of those flowers. Did you use those flowers to make the potion?"

"Partially." Reina was solemnly basking under the moon's glow, holding onto her arm.

"Splendid. Well, thank you for, uh, mending me in my time of need."

"Of course. I hope you are okay and feeling better."

They both locked eyes for a brief moment, then separated because of a leaf that sailed past Reina's nose.

"Of course. Oh, and here's your card back. Well, your mothers. Apparently Zelos' mom found it and returned it to Neville's office on Monday when Zelos was getting " reprimanded" for the food fight. I just happened to be there, and since I'm a part of the WADA, Neville suggested that I give it to you. I just kept on forgetting. But here you go."

Reina handed him the card. That encounter at Gringotts seemed forever ago, but it was nice that Leoda kept an eye out for him. The card was useless now, since it was deactivated with less funds than it began with. Enceladus tossed it aside. There was another question he wanted to ask. Enceladus desperately tried to prevent his lips from staying shut, but it was no use; he ended up slipping.

"Speaking of Zelos...uh...I know this is none of my business...but the other night, on the first day of school, when you were about to go home I noticed...uh I noticed you talking to Zelos...I don't want you to think I'm instigating or intruding on anything…I was wondering…-"

"No. Zelos and I are not a thing." Reina did not hesitate.

"Oh...um-"

"Yeah, he always talks us up to his friends as if we're a thing, but we are not. We are just friends." A squall of wind brushed Reina's hair. She had to fix her displaced bangs. "And you said right before I left? Yeah, I didn't talk to Zelos. You probably saw my older sister."

"Older sister?!" Enceladus' astonishment was incomprehensible.

"Yup, Maddie Rose. She is a seventh year Slytherin, and she's probably the most likable between us two. Her and Zelos get along very well. And I think that night she was giving him my extra passport you used. She said she needed it but I guess he did. Anyways, she's the incarnation of venom if you ask me, but she's still my sister and I love her. Sometimes. She's typically considered the prettier Rose."

"That's ridiculous. Your pretty is unmatched."

Reina halted all of her movement as if those very words cast a paralyzing spell on her.

"What did you say?"

"I...uh...said that your pretty...that you currently possess is...uh...unmatched. Yeah."

What. An. Idiot. Thought Enceladus.

Reina didn't say anything. Her pale cheeks became cherry red, as she placed her palm on top of his palm unconsciously. It was more a gesture of gratitude than anything else. Enceladus' face became warm.

"I think we should get back to work." suggested Reina hastily.

"The work, yes, you are right…"

Awkward pause.

"So how do you do it?" Reina was setting up the telescope again.

"What do you mean?"

"How do you identify objects and stars so fast?"

Enceladus knew there was no way out of this. He had to admit sooner or later that he had this special gift.

"It's actually not that difficult."

"What do you mean?"

"Here, let me show you."

For the next hour Enceladus explained his powers to Reina. She was fiercely fascinated. Enceladus was explaining that he could see, with the naked eye, most celestial objects in the galaxy, including vivid outlines of constellations, clusters, and interstellar formations. He even explained how comets and asteroids are his favorites to watch. Reina was furiously writing notes on a piece of parchment, and converting his observations onto her telescope. In the back of his head, he still wished he was Slytherin, but maybe Hufflepuff wasn't so bad either.

Reina was a force when it came to her studies, and it was apparent. But, Enceladus didn't mind, he was just enjoying her company. They continued with their Saturn assignment

"Why do you think Saturn is not moving much?" Enceladus began to pack away his telescope.

"I don't know, some say Saturn's retrograde is an illusion, and that it's all based on the position of Earth and the Sun. That's just one theory. But, the mystical Aquarius sign may say it's stuck; reevaluating our lives in inertia. Whichever one, we have a tool that could determine its outcome." Reina poked at his shoulders, indicating that it was him. Enceladus blushed.

"True. True. I'll try to keep a close eye on it." Enceladus was ambivalent. He didn't consider himself an expert at his ability, but he didn't want to disappoint Reina. Her innocent wonderment was too pure. He had to play along.

Reina stood up as well and packed away her telescope, looking into the cavernous light show up above.

"You know, I always wanted to visit Saturn. I always wanted to dance and slide on its rings; feeling the space particles sprinkle between my fingers. But rumor has it, Saturn's rings are disappearing. If it's true, I hope Saturn is not too sad."

Reina longingly sighed, as she prepared to go back to the castle. Saturn was Enceladus favorite planet to watch, for he thought it was the prettiest of them all.

"If you must know, Saturn's rings are actually very bright tonight so maybe that could be signs of change, who knows."

"Yeah, who knows." With the utmost earnesty, she gave Saturn one last look. "Well, I should get back, it's getting kind of late. Who knows, maybe we can do this again sometime, or maybe you can come visit my flat. Either way, I'll see you around. Oh, and don't forget, the cast list goes up on Monday. Good luck."

In a flash, she jumped off of the announcer's box near the viewers seats with her telescope.

"Hey there was one more thing I wanted to ask, how do you-" He stopped at the edge of the ledge, and did not see Reina. She was gone and nowhere in sight. He dug into his cross-body bag and remembered the rose. "Well, I guess I'll just keep safe for a little longer." He placed it back gently, and readjusted his bag.

There were still many questions lingering inside his mind about Reina. Depending on his wounds, she could have deciphered what or who would've made them? And how did she so easily stumble across his body in the alley? If Enceladus remembered correctly, Ollivander's wand shop was on the other side of Diagon Alley. If he was attacked, his perpetrator would have dragged him to the nearest alley, which wasn't near Ollivander's. Finally, how long did Reina keep him? He arrived at Diagon Alley around sundown, and Reina kept him at her place close to midnight. Enceladus tried not to think too hard about it. He instead reminisced about the past hour. It honestly felt like a perfect dream.

It was his turn to take his final look at Saturn before he left. When he did, an interesting thought was born quickly. He decided to try something out. It was far-fetched, but he knew he had the moon core in his wand, which was good for long distance casting. So with low confidence and low anticipation, he slipped out his wand from his pocket, pointed it towards the very clear, high-definition Saturn, and concentrated with all of his might. With a rigid grip of two hands, he shouted, "Time Revelio!"

A tiny blue spark flickered on and off like a firefly, but nothing emitted from his wand. He shouldn't have been surprised. He never used the spell before. Yet, he wanted to try it on something that was millions of miles away. Bold, but predictably doomed from the get go.

So, he practiced. And failed. And practiced. And failed. Quite miserably. Hours went by and little to no progress was being made. For distance practice, he shot levitation spells towards the benches at the far end of the pitch. Duds. All duds. The only thing he lifted were Cornish Pixies who were trying to sleep underneath the benches. But they rose voluntarily, because of all the racket Enceladus was making with his mishaps. Enceladus was almost pummeled by them.

Then, he practiced Time Revelio and managed to accomplish nothing. Every object he tried to charm, didn't respond accordingly, or didn't respond at all. During this demoralizing fiasco of magical attempts, Enceladus felt defeated. He tried everything. From wand grip, to swish pattern, to wrist tension, to eye focus, to incantation pronunciation, Enceladus felt like he went through all the mechanics to execute this "simple" charm. He was getting tired.

"Seriously Enceladus? This is supposed to be easy. This is first year work. You're supposed to be a fifth year…"

He tried one last time, this time on his telescope.

"Time Revelio."

Nothing.

"SERIOUSLY?! WHY WON'T YOU WORK."

Enceladus tossed his wand aside with vigor and frustration. His head was throbbing and his wrist were soar. He hugged his knees together and began to tear up.

"Am I not meant for this…?"

Enceladus was a determined individual, but determination alone was not always the key to unlocking magic. He was stressed and his mind was too cluttered. He needed a release.

Before he called it quits, he meditated and breathed, giving himself the benefit of the doubt. Even wizards had flaws. This was a much-needed reminder to himself.

With a clear, dozing mind, and a numbing sense of fatigue, Enceladus gathered his belongings and without thought, flicked his wand over his shoulder towards Saturn and uttered, "Time Revilio" once more. His shoulder shuttered and became warm. Enceladus burst from his slumpy manner, turned around with his wand firm in his hand, and gaped at what was happening.

In an instant, a thin strip of light rocketed from his wand and past the clouds, tearing past the stratosphere and heading into space. It looked like a rope to heaven. Enceladus' hand began to shake violently, but he held on tightly not fully knowing what was happening. He struggled, yet held on with all his sleepy might. He knew this had to be it. He knew it was working. He waited for a response. A minute passed and he saw something pulse miles above his head. It came closer and closer by the second. Squinting his eyes, Enceladus noticed that a sequence of glowing billiard size spheres, as if they were attached to the white stream, descended from the roof of the stratosphere and landed upon the tip of his wand. He felt a surge of energy jolt onto his hands and head. Then, the unthinkable happened. He heard something. It was Saturn. Saturn and it's fears.

"Stuck. Stuck. Star growing. Star moaning. Falling away. Coldness dying. Matter melting. Rocks disappearing. Disappearing. Disappearing. Disappearing…"

Reina was right, Saturn was sad, if that was even possible. Enceladus' heart was beating twice it's normal rate and his stomach lurched inside out. He felt like he used every ounce of power he possessed to maintain that spell. He was exhausted, but at least he had something to enlighten Professor Granger with now. Maybe. He still technically was off the premises of the castle during sleeping hours. Getting in trouble was the last thing he wanted to do.

He soon realized this was a good time to leave the pitch and go back to the castle. For some reason, he sympathized with what he heard in his head, whether it was Saturn or not. He knew more than he liked about disappearance and feeling stuck.

He managed to shake off this minor despair, and prepare for his journey back. He took out his wand for light, but was stopped short past the exit of the stadium. He saw those two floating orbs from his first day of school in the misty distance. This time, they were brighter than before. They were circling wildly around the castle as if they were trying to get Enceladus' attention. Enceladus accepted this non-communicative offer, and unlike last time, he charged through the night's frosty air, next to the spiraling bed of roses. More ruffling creatures were heard as he neared the castle, but his heart continued to soar with utmost happiness.

Muddled Capricornus

A light blue path of astro debris curved far off into the distance of white speckled blackness. The music of crackling universes dying, emblazoned around. The scent of charred crater wafted with potency. To the right of the path, Jupiter smiled broadly with his dimples made from swirling clouds and circling storms. To the left of it, Uranus cried diamonds down her smooth methane cheeks, as she tried to align her lopsided ring. Down the middle floated Saturn, singing lullabies to all of her moons.

A couple with formal attire held hands lovingly, as they were being escorted by a team of stars with black bow ties down the path to Saturn. With each step the light blue path brightened, as if strips of the sun were laid down piece by piece. The couple would skip back and forth like cheery children, to notice the difference.

As they neared Saturn, they noticed one luxurious dining table with a vase of roses placed on its rings. Their eyes glimmered, as they squeezed each other's hands with excitement. The stars with bow ties were ecstatic for them, and wanted to assist with their evening. They generously performed a last-minute grooming session on the couple, like shining his shoes and touching up her makeup. The stars would finish with fashionable timing, and the couple looked more spiffy than before. They approached the entrance with cherishing strides, which simply was a booth between the connected path and the rings, and gave a friendly wave. The star with the bowtie running the booth said with a euphonious voice.

"Welcome to Souffle' Sirculum. Do you have a reservation with us for tonight?"

The couple looked at each other with silly admiration, and said, "Yes, we do."

One star with a bow tie whispered something to the booth star. The booth star's expression immediately changed, as its eyes widened with a sense of welcoming

urgency.

"Oh, my Red Dwarf! Yes, of course come in come in you two. We have a table all ready for you."

The couple chuckled a bit. Another bow tie star guided them to their table. Under their feet laid fluorescent particles that varied in sizes, from a grain of rice to a large house. Yet, despite the ring's flooring, they still were staying aloft. They swung their arms merrily as they curved around Saturn's belly.

"Would you like something to drink? We have sparkling Europa water and...yeah, sparkling Europa water." said the waiter with a dignified politeness.

"We'll take the sparkling Europa water please." answered the man as he nestled the girl's hands into his.

"Right away sir."

The star with the bowtie glided away; skimming the rings with his pointy sides.

"It's a beautiful night." whispered the man lovingly.

"Considering its night every night, you are correct."

Starting to play rock paper scissors, they heard sweet music from up above. They began to search for the source, and found that Titan, one of Saturn's moons, was singing "Fly Me to the Moon" in a soft jazzy way. Contently, the other moons were gently swaying back and forth with their eyes closed to Titan's lofty voice. The man automatically sat up, and pulled the girl onto the rings. He went to lift her arms onto his shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Reluctant at first, she finally understood what was happening. She gave in by placing her head onto his chest and swayed with him. Lovingly clenched into each other's arms, they began dancing little step touches in a circle. They circled in place for so long, they rotated to the other side of Saturn's belly. Their star waiter had brought them their drinks, but they were too enraptured to realize. Everything was going perfectly. Words were sparse, and that was okay. All the couple needed was each other's presence.

But, it seemed they weren't the only ones on the rings as they both noticed a group of bowtie stars trying to break up a group of black hooded figures with masks. The couple began to shuffle towards the hollering crowd and get a closer look.

Arriving with a spirit of inquisitiveness, they lurched into the body of people to see what was at the center of the commotion. It was utter chaos. Fists and elbows collided with the couple as they struggled to claw through. The people in masks were rowdy like apes, as they wailed their arms wildly; encouraging the disorder. The couple finally submerged from the sea of yellow and black and saw an older man lying on the ground being tortured with wands by a couple members of the masked group. With painful gazes, the couple tried to stop the madness, but their bodies couldn't move. They couldn't even speak, or twitch a muscle, as if an all-powerful puppet master attached strings to their dangling frames. They stood helplessly, witnessing the horridness of it all. The masked people kept on shooting their wands at the man with maniacal laughs. The older man was on the brink of death...then...

BOOM! A sonic clamor rocked the universe. In an instant, everybody fell over. They were confused and looked around in fear. An ominous hum fizzed for a moment. Slowly and menacingly, the hum turned into a sustained roar. Preparing for the worst, Saturn tried to cover her moon's ears. Jupiter's smile faded, and Uranus's ring dropped into the void. Even the moans of the dying older man subsided. But, it didn't matter. In the blink of an eye, the reverberation of thunderous echoes came rolling like a freight train. Everybody started to scream as they were all thrusted violently, holding onto different layers of Saturn's rings for dear life. It became even worse. Like a growing eclipse, a black circle the size of ten suns encroached upon them as the treacherous waves of invisible force continued to ram them tirelessly. Stars were losing their bowties. The hooded figure's masks were cracking under the intense pressure. Even the light blue path cracked and shattered into pieces, falling onto a nearby asteroid belt. The couple were clinging desperately onto a chunk of ice on Saturn's ring. The black circle kept on advancing with terror, growing larger and larger, as bodies rippled like flags in the wind.

Then like the eye of a hurricane, everything became calm. It was as if somebody paused the universe. The static of nothing buzzed on everyone's skin. They prayed that this was the end. But, it was far from it. The black circle renewed its course. Now, it wasn't just destroying anything in its path, it was devouring it. Jupiter and Uranus got sucked into its pit. Then all of the stars, who were crying for help, got sucked in next. The hooded figures did the opposite as they continued to cackle like hyenas into the spiraling darkness. Saturn tried to save her baby moons, but it was no use, as the black circle engulfed them all one by one. Titan was still singing "Fly Me to the Moon" when he was sucked in. Finally the older man and the couple met their demise. The older man, already lifeless as it was, broke in half as the gravitational pull of the black circle wrenched his limp body into its core. He obliterated in a matter of milliseconds. The man gave one last kiss to the girl, as they both held each other tightly, knowing this will be the last time they will ever see each other. Tears shedded rapidly from both. With an unbearably deafening screech, the black circle with ease, vacuumed light and darkness, stars and planets, universes and galaxies, and now the couple. Forehead to forehead, the couple embraced the howling vortex of spinning shades of black, and vanished. The feast was complete. The black circle halted, and floated in emptiness for a while. Silence finally arrived. But, not fully. Fast pounding drum noises began to resound within the black circle. Then, the black circle bubbled and vibrated ravenously until ...BOOM! Another powerful eruption occurred, and in an instant, everything had turned vanta. Nothing existed. Everything had disappeared. Except, a tiny flicker of light had survived. In a far corner of what used to be space, something happened. The light quietly gurgled. It was springing to life and increased in volume with each flicker...belch...belch...belch...belch!...belch!..BELCH!..BELCH! BELCH! BELCH! Mate...hey mate...come on...come on it's time to wake up. Come on, wake up. Wake up.

In a flash, Enceladus darted from his slumped position on the ground. He rubbed his blood shot eyes, and squinted because of the blazing sun pulsing straight onto his face.

"Hey mate, why were you sleeping by the greenhouse?" asked the Hufflepuff Quidditch player, all geared up for practice.

"I...uh...I don't know. But, thank you for waking me."

"No problem, you were shaking like a wet poodle so I figured I'd give you a poke. Bad dream?"

"Uh, yeah, very." He was desperately trying to repose himself. "I have to go. Thank you again. Cheers."

Enceladus' memory was hazy, but he eventually remembered what happened last night. He remembered that things became extremely foggy going back to the castle after his homework session with Reina, and he ended up going in circles trying to find the entrance. He must have eventually given up, and set camp by a damp patch of grass by the greenhouse windows. Maybe? He actually wasn't entirely sure. But, Enceladus didn't care much, because he was alive at least. The only thing that wasn't alive was the bed of roses from last night. The petals crusted black, crippling and falling off of the stems. Enceladus just blamed the Hogwarts gardener and went on with his day. Reina's rose was safe and that's what mattered most. All he wanted to do was tidy up and shower. He felt like a rotten banana.

Despite his outdoors odor, he couldn't fully grasp the dream he had. Or should he say twisted nightmare. He recognized the couple. It was Reina and him. And the masked people had to be the New Death Eaters. But, the older man was unclear, until it hit him after he passed the giant harp. It was obviously his father, who was murdered by the New Death Eaters earlier in the summer. He couldn't fully compute why he dreamed about his father's murder in such a bizarre way. But, this dream was different. It was too real. Too vivid. He felt like he was actually there. Then the black hole part was a total surprise. Enceladus never saw one before, and after that experience, he didn't want to see one. He tried to block these thoughts, and got ready for his Saturday.

After his much-needed cleanse, Enceladus headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. He walked past the WADA common area and saw students doing homework on the long dangly swings. Other students were either playing fanged frisbee with their pets or petting some moon jellies by the burrow. Despis says they are tamed, but there have been multiple reports of students receiving serious irritations and rashes. Getting rubbed with Babylonian vinegar by Madam Pomfrey wasn't always fun.

He decided to check the callboard near The Wall of Dreams to see if there were any updates or new information. Nothing about casting of course (That wasn't until Monday. Duh.) He did see a slip by a taped-on-envelope about a writing club called the Blotters. He picked up a slip, and read what they were about.

Dark writing does not equate to dark magic. As we know Beckett, Kafka, and Poe were all accused by multiple Ministries across the continent for injecting dark magic into their works to contaminate the reader's mind with infinite horrors, grueling nightmares, and even temptations of suicide. Thus, banishing them from the wizarding world indefinitely, burning their books without thought. But, as we all know they were misunderstood squibs with a tremendous talent for writing, and a tremendous thirst for darkness. Yes, many wizards have perished, but to their own accords. The unstable stimulation stems from the nature of their own psyche. The tricks and illusions develop because one isn't carefully prepared internally. It's all self-afflicting conflict. They can't handle rhetorical potency. These writings are not suited for wizards with frail souls or flustered consciousnesses willing to submit to the lies of their manufactured fears, but for ones with the intellectual tranquility to analyze the eerie significance these writings truly possess. These works are a template of the wizard condition, and how wizards cope with the harsh realities of our cruel universe. It is a glimpse into the wizard's relationship with darkness, not evil. Gracefully, with special permission, we have obtained numerous copies. We will read, dissect, comment and conduct conversations about selected works throughout the year. But, only the strong willed and formidable are encouraged to sign up. So, if you think you are capable of joining our intoxicating journey into the existential writings of these wizard-born muggles, submit this form stating why you want to join, and return it to the tan envelope. If you have any questions, talk to Willow.

Enceladus did enjoy writing, but this seemed to be a little extreme, and slightly depressive. He didn't want to agitate his dreams even more. But, he kept the slip anyway just in case he changed his mind.

As he passed the theater, he heard the Harpies practicing. They probably received the score early for the musical. Word on the WADA street says this musical is hot dumpster trash. He preferred The Tempest anyways, for he had already received some training with Shakespeare back at Italia Academy.

Just as he was about to approach the spiraling piano stairs, he heard screaming from the theater. He ran back and peeked around the corridor entry way that led to the side of the theater. He noticed through the doors that it had become pitch black again. He was tempted to run in, but held back. In a few seconds, he saw a racing light shoot across the wall. It was GL. Once GL planted himself onto center stage, the torches ignited once more. From a couple of feet away, Despis flew furiously through a wall and said, "It's okay. We have everything under control, no worries, no worries." Next thing after, a thud of bodies dove onto the floor. Enceladus knew what was happening. Somebody said he-who-should-not-to-be-named name. Luckily this time, it was flying rocks instead of flying knives.

He rose from the amethyst like floor, and caught a glimpse of all the WADA teachers exiting the castle with a group of those muggle patrols Neville talked about earlier in the week. Maybe they were all going out for lunch. With lunch latched to his mind, Enceladus didn't know if he wanted roasted lamb or a full English breakfast. His stomach gurgled at both options.

Enceladus was very excited for the weekend. He couldn't wait to finally visit Sessabit and tell him everything that has happened to him. Plus, the Forbidden Forest has constantly been on his mind. He was itching to finally explore it.

He strolled out the Great Hall chomping on a Treacle Tart. Hogwarts on the weekend was relatively inactive, as students were either sleeping, in the library, or playing Quidditch. He remembered he better visit the library soon, to complete Professor Granger's homework assignment. He had all day tomorrow to worry about it.

Enceladus was still wondering why and how Sessabit was able to live with his father near a pumpkin patch by the Forbidden Forest. He assumed it was for dragon purposes, since they looked after a couple of ranches in the mountains.

Finishing the last piece of his tart, he turned the wrong way to go outside. He was having a terrible time with directions at Hogwarts.

When he turned around another unrecognizable corner, he heard voices talking behind a large wooden book case. At first, he thought the books were talking, which wouldn't have been far off, but it sounded as if it were beyond the case and the wall altogether. He crouched near the first shelf, and pressed his ear against the dusty coverings of the books. Clutching tightly, Enceladus accidentally pulled one out called How to be Auror without Trying and caught a small rectangular glimpse into the next room. Despite the dark lighting of the room, he knew who was talking. It was Neville, Hermoine, and Cho Chang. Enceladus caught Neville in mid-sentence.

"...we must not interfere."

"Do you honestly believe they will aid us after this incident?" said Cho Chang nervously.

"As of right now, I am not fully aware of their true intentions. All I know is that they are handling the incident closely. Our main priority is to keep that wand hidden."

"Are you talking about the Tenacis Wand? How does he have-"

"I understand Neville. We are grateful for his efforts that night, but it might have been too costly. We risk the wand being out in the are bound to find it soon, whether it's here or at the Ministry." said Hermoine composedly.

"The Ministry would have proven inconsequential. I haven't been fond of their interventions lately. Even the Department of Mystery has been opening its chambers to certain outsiders." He maneuvered around the room, massaging his chin in deep contemplation. "But, no worries, I instructed his father to secure it somewhere safe in the meantime. It's probably best that he has it, and not any of us. Our close quarter exposure may be too hazardous. We just have to keep a close eye on you-know-who until all of this mess clears up. Is that understood?" Neville stroked his chin inadvertently.

With a collected exhalation, Hermoine and Cho Chang said "Yes."

"I tried getting Harry and Ron involved, but they have to play it safe with the Ministry as well. Apparently there have been signs of espionage within the past couple weeks, along with heated debates between cabinets regarding the New Death Eater attacks. I honestly don't know what's worse." Hermoine's voice was suppressed with aggravation. "You know all of this is out of line when the Department of Mystery is involved."

"Right now, I suggest we leave it be and do what we can for right now. Thank you ladies for your time. I hope I didn't forget anything?"

"Did you water your Mimbulus Mimbletonia today?" said Cho Chang playfully.

"As a matter of fact, I didn't. Thank you Cho Chang. Goodbye you two. See you at supper."

"Goodbye." uttered both in a harmonious unison.

Enceladus quickly grabbed the book, and placed it back. But, to his astonishment, the book case disappeared and was replaced with a statue of a giant bronze Chimera. Did Neville know somebody was listening? Enceladus didn't want to stick around to find out. He bolted back to the Great Hall, retraced his steps, and found the entrance to leave the castle.

As he was hopping down the stone steps, he noticed a small hut with smoke spewing out of its chimney in the distance, just past the sloped grounds near the Forbidden Forest. He scurried down and knocked on the tall splintered covered door.

"Hello? Sessabit? It 's Enceladus! You home?"

Enceladus observed his surroundings. The pumpkins vines spiraled around the patch's wooden fence, like coiling little snakes. The hut was quaint; mainly made out of assorted stones and grayish brown wood. He could smell burnt meat through the door, and hear a kettle whistling steam faintly. He knew Sessabit was home. He didn't know what was taking him so long to open the door.

"I'm comin' I'm comin'! No worries pal! I'm comin."

Sessabit opened the door with radiant glee and hugged Enceladus tightly.

"Ah! It's been way too long me frien'. Come on in where et's nice en cozy. I go' some pork on the skewer over the fire that should be don' any minut' now. Care fer some tea?"

"Yeah...sure…" He couldn't breathe. Sessabit's tarantula-like grip was very hard to wiggle out of.

"Oh, eh, sorry, it's the ⅓ giant in meh. Make yerself et home.'"

Sessabit's hut reminded Enceladus of his grandparents' house. It was intimate, warm, and had the smell of various spices and flavors. It had minimal scenery, with one room, one enormous tabel, a couple of chairs, and a decent number of dented pans hanging on the walls. Enceladus didn't think two people could live here. But, he did not completely doubt it. Sitting next to a velvet quilt, he entertained the possibility of secret magical rooms.

"Here yeh go, ets Da-Hong Pao tea, the national treasure o'Japan." He carefully handed Enceladus a hot small blue mug.

"Japanese? How did you get traditional Japanese tea in England? Or wherever Hogwarts is." Enceladus investigated the black gnarled tea leaves in his brownish orange liquid. He was suspicious if it even was tea.

"I wen' to the pub one day, en I ran into eh feller selling em by the bags. O' course I did'n buy et off o' him. I made a deal with him playin' some cards. If I win, I get a whole stoc' o' his teas, en if he wins I offered to pay off his tab o' Butterbeers, and buy him eh round o' fire whiskeys. I won by eh landslide. He did'n stand eh chance."

Enceladus was still examining the contents within his mug skeptically. "Are you sure it's tea and not poison?"

"Promise, tried et me self; only finicky reactions tha' sprung about was only mi natural gas. Nothin' detrimental." Sessabit chortled with boyish delight, as he leaned on the wooden chair with jolly content. "They drank et durin' the Ming Dynasty supposedly. Little fun fac', I learned en Professor Binns class tha' the Ming Dynasty wizards used porcelain in their wands, excelling at their Pulchritudinous charms."

"What are Pul-chri-...what you just said?"

"Beautifying spells. It helps when somethin' needs eh decorative makeover. That's why ol' palaces en temples were so extravagant in the olden times for the Japanese, cause o' good ol' porcelain wands. Ancient Egyptian wizards did et as well with the pyramids and hieroglyphics. I think they used Lapis Lazuli gems, or somethin'."

Enceladus now took several sips, adjusting to the strong taste.

"Sounds better than the Salem Witch Trials. I swear, Binns is something else."

Still sipping periodically, Enceladus heard creeks in the floorboard. It was probably some field mice playing underneath, smelling the savoring pork through the cracks. Enceladus ignored it.

"So, how's your first week been Sessabit? It sucks not seeing you."

"Oh, yeh know." He fixed his body upright, as if he's about to tell this long, fantastic tale. "Nothin' much honestly. Jus' homework, chores, and Quidditch practice. I'm a Seeker en Gordan's a Keeper. Gryffindor has won the House cup for seven years straight now. But, Hufflepuff has eh good squad this year. Their captain has em on this new leaf diet to fly more proficiently, and have instincts o' eh cheetah. They are no' too happy about et."

"Seeker, that's the guy who catches...uh…?"

"The snitch, yes it is, five years straight en countin' I've been Seeker. I was hoping to make et it to eh professional league but, I don' know if that's going to happen…" Sessabit's tone was murky, as he slouched his shoulders.

"Why not?" The floorboards cracked and creaked even more.

"Because I have to look over the ranches. The dragons need me."

Sessabit quickly became silent. Enceladus knew that Sessabit was done with this topic. He tried to improvise, as he drank the final droplets of his tea, confused on whether he truly liked it or not.

"Speaking of dragons, how's Puddin? Still eating satellite dishes?"

"She's good. She likes et when we visit other ranches around England. She likes playin' with the other Dragons. She's still a bit young and small, so she gets pushed around a lot, but she has tons o' figh' en her." Sessabit's positively infectious smile returned to his face. Enceladus knew that Sessabit absolutely loved Puddin. They were best friends.

"Where exactly are those other ranches located?" Enceladus felt a sudden cold breeze on his skin. Was the window open?

"Well, there are only eh few. There's eh couple in Wales en a couple in Scotland. We don' technically own these ranches, we just fin' the dragons en ask for em to be refuged there. It's eh tough job, especially when most Dragons are going extinct, even Puddin's kin', the Antipodean Opaleye. It's even worse, when they are huge games for dark wizard poachers, trying to kill en steal their blood. But, luckily the owners o' the ranches are very kind en protective of these creatures. We could'n have done it without em. But, enough bout me, how've yeh been? Yeh get my treat before yer audition thingy? I put extra globs of marmalade for en extra boost."

Enceladus prepared for his turn, thinking about how he was going to tell him everything.

"Yes I did, it was delicious. Thanks. And yeah, they-…"

Out of the blue, a rapid clicking sound was being made near the counters, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"Don worry, that's mi timer, I charmed eh fork to clink when the pork was ready. I'll get some plates ready. Keep on talkin', I'm listening." he persisted, gathering napkins, plates and silverware.

Enceladus didn't feel like explaining his weird dream to him. Maybe another time. If of course, it kept on occuring.

"Right, well the auditions went alright. Cast list won't go up until Monday. But, something strange happened. All the torches went out in the theater during the dance portion, and then these hideous ghost-like monsters with crusty skin surrounded the stage. I felt like...like…all the happiness was being drained out of me."

"Funny lookin ghost if ye ask me." He began slicing the pork's limbs off.

"Yeah, well, that ended okay. GL. Our "ghost" light. Came and saved us."

Sessabit gave him a funny look as if the idea of a light saving anything sounded ridiculous.

"And, I don't know how I feel about Alio. He's a very blunt man, with a serious coffee addiction. During the torch incident he didn't freak out or try to assess the situation he just sat; without a care. I also have been seeing him talk to Slytherins and some of those muggle patrols. I can't help but think he's a part of all of this New Death Eater stuff."

"Yeah, those muggle patrols are very noisy. Luckily, they haven' talked to me. They've talked to Gordan though, and all he tells me es that they're asking him about "suspicious activity" around Hogwarts. Ets Hogwarts, somethin' out o' place always happens here." He belted humorously, now cutting some potatoes.

"And earlier this morning, all of the WADA teachers were escorted out of the castle by the muggle patrols. I figured they were all going to lunch…but…I don't know."

He then seasoned the potatoes.

"I wouldn't pass yeh on it. The Three Broomsticks has some hefty deals on the weekend. Oh, I'm obsessed with their Shepards Pie. To die for." He flipped the potatoes around. " So, anythin with you-know-who?"

"Reina? Well, actually…"

Sessabit dropped everything, and pounced over to the table with a rush of enthusiasm. "What do you mean "Well?" did somethin' happen…?"

Enceladus saw the potatoes now flying behind Sessabit, but he was trapped by the topic of Reina.

"Well, yesterday, we had a homework session together…"

"Homework session?! I know all about homework sessions." With a cheeky gleam, Sessabit nudged Enceladus' shoulder.

"It wasn't even like that. She needed help with her Astronomy homework…-"

"Reina needing help with school? That's unheard of. Either Reina was really smitten over yeh, or yeh must be really good at Astronomy." He patted Enceladus' back with a mocking bemusement. Each pat felt like a hammer. Sessabit was unnaturally strong sometimes.

Enceladus obviously knew the answer. But, he felt like there could have been more. His face became red, and began to swell slightly. Sessabit noticed and knew it was his turn to try to change the subject.

"Well, anything else that happened to you this week?"

Enceladus was ready to eat, but he had to say one more thing.

"Well, right before I came, I heard Neville, Hermoine, and Cho Chang talk, uh, behind a bookcase. I think they were talking about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, they were talking about the Ten- Well, Stingy Stick, and keepin it safe, along with protecting you."

Sessabit's face turned slightly pale.

"Me protected? I...I don…-"

"I think they might be talking about the New Death Eaters. Do you know why they would want that wand?"

Sessabit's face contorted, as if thinking was a strenuous task.

"Well, I know Neville told me et was a very powerful wand, way more powerful than I thought. He said it kind o' has eh mind of its own. It decides when et works and who et works for. But, ets safe and locked away. Eleanor Snow was convinced she could use et, but she gave it back."

"Eleanor Snow?" Enceladus blundered out those syllables, spitting a bit of leftover leaf onto the floor.

"Yeah, before Neville told Papa to stow it away, Eleanor saw me playing with it in the halls and wanted to try it out. Well, that's what Patrice said. She said it was calling her name and she wanted to borrow et. So I let her, but she gave it back the other day."

Why would Eleanor Snow, a first year, want that wand? Maybe it was a secret sense that she possessed, and the wand complimented it? Enceladus couldn't help but think about that day in Professor Granger's class. She certainly knew how to use a wand. He just couldn't imagine her with the Stingy Stick. That was a different kind of level. Regardless, he thought it was careless on Sessabit's part to just lend away the wand that was solely responsible for Enceladus' absence from Hogwarts these past four years. What a dip. But dip or not, Sessabit was still his friend.

Sessabit eventually finished preparing dinner. He certainly had a fondness for cooking. The roast pork was seared perfectly, the steamed potatoes were glazed with creamy melted butter, and the vegetables were seasoned evenly. Like the ravenous teenagers they were, they both finished their meals in a matter of minutes.

"So, would you like to go into the forest now?" asked Sessabit, cleaning up.

"Is that a trick question?" smiled Enceladus.

They both put on their shoes and pushed in the chairs before they left. The only thing untouched was the dancing fire that cooked the pork.

"Remind me to tell yeh about the party."

"Party?"

Sessabit nodded his head with zesty mischief. "Come on now, let's go. Gordan said he will meet us there. We don' want to miss em."

As they walked out of his hut, Enceladus noticed that fire extinguished itself. Enceladus tried to give it a better look, but Sessabit had already closed the door. They jumped off of the porch and headed into the forest.

Antagonizing Algol

The Forbidden Forest chirped and rustled about, as the sun's pale light beamed through the tiny holes of caterpillar eaten leaves. The tops of trees nearly covered the skies, making it difficult for any winged creature to enter or exit. Moss, dew, and damp air properly garnished most of the Forbidden Forest's plant life and rocks. The smell of petrichor was apparent and pungent, mixing with all of the elements. Enceladus, Sessabit, and Gordan trudged along a dirt path, looking for anything interesting.

"So, what's in here?" Enceladus was scanning his surroundings

Sessabit, and Gordan looked at each other with mutual mischief.

"Anythin' and everythin' really." Sessabit was skipping some rocks against a patch of grass. "Mostly centaurs, wild globlins, unicorns, and, yah know, giant spiders."

"I hear there's a king spider in the middle of the forest that has a colony of minion baby spiders. They spit stomach acid onto their victims and decapitate them with their sharp mouth pincers." said Gordan, very mendaciously.

Enceladus was on edge, and frequently looked behind his back for any sign of a creeping creature.

"Gordan, you know ets the cold hard truth that eh king spider exists. Mi papa fought em off once. He told me it was a grueling battle, but the king spider was too strong. He had to retreat or his life would have been...yeah...yah know."

"Well, that's why we have wands right? To protect ourselves." Enceladus hoped they knew how to handle a situation like that.

Gordan gave Enceladus a nudge, like a big brother. They continued to walk around and gaze within the dark confines of lumber, leaves, and the constant threat of some creature popping out. Gordan was drawing on a piece of parchment, looking up and down frequently so he wouldn't fall. He was drawing tree stumps and flowers. At one point they all saw a tribe of centaurs in the distance cantering over submerged tree roots and small shrubs. Enceladus waved, but Gordan quickly took down his hand before the centaurs mistook him for an intruder. They would have shot an arrow through his palm. Enceladus thanked him. Sessabit on the other hand, was silent, taking in his surroundings with a mix of admiration and uncertainty.

"Hey, Sessabit, I've been thinking, I know this is random, but I never really apologized for that incident with my mom this past summer. She's still trying to cope with everything, you know?"

Enceladus questioned if he should have mentioned that or not. It was so long ago, yet still a very traumatic time.

"It's fine. I understand."

"So...um...how is your dad? I didn't see him back at the hut…"

Gordan left the two momentarily and sat on a rock, to draw some more flowers. He never really came across as an artsy guy. When he drew, he was zoned in, and unbothered. Nature. A solid distraction for a hyper minded boy. And an ethereal escape for everyone.

"He's fine. He's staying et St. Mungo's hospital now. Better treatmen' over there." Sessabit twiddled his thumbs, as if trying to find more words.

"Oh, do they allow visitors?"

"The Healers prefer not. They say he really needs his res' without any bother."

Enceladus has never met Sessabit's dad. Sessabit talked about him so fondly and lovingly, that Enceladus felt like he already knew his father. But, Enceladus knew this was a sensitive topic and knew the day would come eventually. Maybe he could send a letter in the meantime to St. Mungos.

"Come on boys, let's look for double-horned unicorns." Sessabit threw a pebble at Gordan to get his attention.

"Hey watch where you're throwing that or I'll make your invitations smell like rotten cheese."

Gordan rubbed his head to relieve his small pain. He then threw a rock back at Sessabit. Sessabit easily caught it and smashed it in his hands.

"Can any of mi friends throw? Or are all of them pambys? Maybe this is why you are a Keeper."

Gordan huffed some more, ignoring Sessabit. And Enceladus promised himself to never get into a physical altercation with Sessabit. He would squish him with ease.

The boys continued deeper into the forest. They've encountered skeleton remains of forest critters scattered along the ground. They would crunch with every step, like cracked eggs. Sessabit picked up some pieces and pocketed them. Gordan was still drawing, and Enceladus was modestly trying not to bump into them.

Enceladus was leading the pack, followed by Sessabit, then Gordan. Sessabit ensured Enceladus nothing would happen to him, but he stood on guard with his wand ready to withdraw. Over the summer Sessabit had taught Enceladus some wand defenses. He wasn't fully confident with these "defenses", but he knew Sessabit and Gordan wouldn't leave him in the dust.

After about a mile in, the sky became nonexistent, and the air grew thicker. The trees and path were more widespread, creating unnerving gaps in the foliage for anything suspicious or alarming to pop out. But, in a way it made the forest more sinister looking. Branches on trees looked like deformed human extremities, and the holes on their trunks looked like dark portals, creepily guarded by the round yellow eyes of the owls within. Shiny blue particles of pollen were covering certain leaves and plants, throbbing softly like fireflies. It smelled like foul fruit. A slight fog smeared the ground as well, slithering over the soil like a snake on the prowl. Enceladus had goosebumps, and expected for some creature to snatch him up. But, what he did see surprised him. He saw Reina's cat, Evelyn, in the far distance chasing a Monarch butterfly by a trail. A trail made of books? Old books that were carefully stacked from spine to fore edges; snaking into an unknown area. But, what was her cat doing in the forest anyways? Maybe Reina is out studying on the lawn and let her venture a bit. Enceladus didn't worry too much, because Evelyn was Reina's precious property. She probably placed a protection charm on her. Sadly, Evelyn was probably safer than Enceladus.

Enceladus sneezed, and before he knew it, Evelyn was running the opposite direction, but with a dragonfly instead. Enceladus stopped, and wiped his nose with his sleeve.

"Hey guys, are you sure this route is okay to take? It's getting kind of dark over here." Enceladus was desperately trying to hold in another sneeze. " Hey guys?"

He looked back, and nobody was there. Enceladus felt his stomach do backflips to the point of vomiting. They must've accidentally gone the wrong way. No way they would have left him in the middle of an unpredictably dangerous magical forest with magical predators. They weren't that cruel? Right?

He looked around again. No sight of them. They of course left him.

Arse holes.

He began to panic and shout out their names, going around the perimeter. But, his body was on autopilot and started to recklessly plow through vines and low hanging branches in every direction. Hyperventilation followed soon after, as he tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down. It didn't work. His mind was racing. The buzzing and chirping sounds around him amplified. He felt like things were crawling onto his skin. Shadows of different shapes swung from the trees, and scurried past him. The shiny blue pollen throbbed with higher intensity, and soon became blinding. Enceladus was spiraling with anxiety; draped by a sharp dizziness. He felt his feet giving out as he tumbled and pushed through thick layers of forest, trying not to fall over. But his coordination eventually failed, as he gained spontaneous momentum, and somersaulted through a thin silky substance. He landed on a black boulder of some kind.

"Oh man, I'm going to feel that tomorrow." He rubbed his lower back, cringing with pain. "Where...where am I?"

Standing atop the boulder, he looked around and saw black triangular twigs puncturing through the low swimming fog. The smell was beyond repugnant. It was a sour rotting smell that seemed to marinate with the warm mist. Enceladus took as few breaths as possible. He tried to survey his surroundings once more, and tried to choose a direction. But, as he took a step off of the boulder, it began to move and slide under him. Enceladus quickly jumped off, and saw the boulder grow twice its size. Eight ruby red eyes blinked to life, and two curling black pinchers snapped under. Then eight furry ligaments unfolded, tensed and into a defensive position. Enceladus was frozen.

"That's a spider."

The giant spider purred menacingly, with strings of clear goo dripping from its black fangs.

"And I'm dead."

Enceladus gulped fretfully, sweating bullets like there was no tomorrow.

The spider, without thought, shot webs at him. Enceladus dodged right at the nick of time, watching the first thread of the web stick onto an actual boulder. Enceladus had trouble staying on his feet. He'd accidentally tripped over a few of the black twig triangles while he was avoiding the spider's lurches. When he regained his balance, he shuffled around like a football player, trying to find any opening, but it was useless. The wrathful hissing spider was too big and agile; blocking every attempt successfully. He found a slight opening to tuck and roll under the spider's belly, but the spider lowered his body and smashed the earth. He was pinned by a small pond. The spider approached with salivating fangs, gnawing at his soon-to-be feast. Enceladus' only choice was to jump in the pond, hoping it didn't jump in right after him. Desperately clinging to the muddy weeds by the shore, he snatched out his wand, pointed, and yelled,

"Attack-o...FIRE-O!"

His wand did not produce fire, but it did glow nitrous blue. His eyes were shut tight, as he extended his shivering arm towards the spider. Then, the unthinkable happened.

"Oh please, get that deadly thing away from me. Please, I beg of you. Didn't you have enough killings for today? You and your savage clan have already annihilated most of my siblings and children. Please, just spare me and leave me alone to mourn. Your slaughtering has brought enough agony in this forest. Leave please, and never return." pleaded the giant spider, cowering and weeping near a large tree.

Enceladus immediately felt a shot of sympathy surge through his body. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation from here.

"No, no, no I'm sorry you must be mistaking me for somebody else. I would never do such a thing." Enceladus neared the spider unconsciously while putting away his wand. He knew something was wrong.

"Don't get near me! I don't trust you!"

The giant spider resumed its attack position.

"I promise you, I'm not here to harm. I am just lost. Whoever you were referring to, it wasn't me."

"But, you are human just like them?" The giant spider did not let down its guard. "How do I know if you're bluffing or not, huh?"

Enceladus had to think quickly. This was life or death.

"Here's my wand. I have nothing else armed on me."

He tossed his wand across the pool of gray fog.

The giant spider blinked all eight eyes simultaneously, purring low.

"Why were you trespassing onto my land then?"

"Like I said, I got lost. I was walking with some friends and we seperated somehow. You wouldn't happen to know Sessabit?" Feeling comfortable to move, he picked himself up from the slippery mud.

"Sessabit? You know Sessabit? Sessabit is the only wizard I trust. He comes frequently and says hello. And he cares for us spiders, unlike the rest of the world. The rest of the world sees us as vile vicious creatures, but he sees us as neighbors and friends. I mean if it wasn't for us, your precious world would be filled with some nasty creatures, ruining your precious lives."

The giant spider settled down his defensive stance a bit.

"Yes, yes I do, he's one of my best friends."

The giant spider could sense the fear oozing out of Enceladus' soul. He knew he was telling the truth.

"Well, any friend of Sessabit is a friend of mine. I apologize for attacking you. It's been a rough-couple of hours." The giant spider relaxed, drooping into a resting position. "My name is Araneus. I was the son of Aragog, before he passed away with a severe illness. Not even the finest grub could save him." Spiders have feelings as well? And family? Amazing, thought Enceladus. Araneus rubbed his long gangly leg against another.

"Do you know what the illness was?"

"No clue, Hagrid, Sessabit's father, tried everything to heal him. But, it was no use. They were both loyal friends."

Enceladus wanted to make a run for it, but something overcame him. Something inside his head told him to stay and find out who Araneus was referring to.

"So, what actually happened a couple hours ago?"

Araneus stood quietly, and bent all eight of his legs onto the smushy ground. His ruby red eyes wilted a microinch, steadily focused into the distance. His dark orange chest cavity began to heave heavily.

"A group of wizards trespassed onto my land and outright attacked my family. They had glowing sticks just like yours. There wasn't any use fighting back. Their glowing sticks were very powerful, shredding my family to pieces. We tried to escape but it was no use. They kept on shooting, relentless in their pursuits. I eventually took cover, and hid the rest of my children under my stomach, trying to play dead. They fired a couple more shots, and left. I'm still badly injured, but I should be okay."

Enceladus now noticed the pale blue liquid drip down his black abdomen.

"Did you see what they looked like?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't. Their flashes were too bright for my eyes. I just know there were a handful of them with glowing sticks like yours." Araneus was very disappointed by this fact.

"Um...where did all of your children go?"

Araneus stood silent once more. Soon after his meditative state, he inhaled deeply and blew out across the ground. Araneus' breath was awful; smelling like moldy meat. Enceladus didn't want to be rude, and cover his nose, so he just held his breath. But, as the hovering fog began to migrate along the pond, Enceladus gasped at the sight below his knees. Those black triangular sticks weren't just twigs, they were the gnarled legs of dead spiders, smaller than Araneus. Encleadus' stomach churned at the thought that he trampled over dead spider carcusses.

"Right here. My poor babies didn't stand a chance. And no survivors, as far as I know."

The small hexagons in his eyes were glimmering different shades of red, looking like a kaleidoscope. Was this his way of crying?

"I'm so sorry...is...is there anything I could do to help?"

"No, suffering like this could never be mended." Araneus paused, stopping his eyes into one shade of red. "Actually, there is one thing I do ask. If you happen to see those wizards with the glowing sticks around here, guide them to me."

Enceladus couldn't believe he was about to make a deal with a giant tarantula, but he knew Araneus had a good heart.

"I'll try my best. Well, I better be going now." His voice quivered, still somewhat fearing for his life. "I should try to find Sessabit. Um, do you know how to get out of here? Like to Sessabit's house or something?"

Araneus rose from the ground, rotated his crackly exoskeleton ninety degrees and pointed his long limb to a grassy path.

"If you follow this path straight, you should strike light, and arrive at the hills of Hogwarts."

"Thank you very much Araneus. Again, I am truly sorry for your losses."

Enceladus picked up his wand and stuffed it into his back pocket.

"They belong to the earth, there is nothing I can do now. Goodbye."

Araneus turned around, found a solid patch of dirt, and began digging. He was digging graves for his loved ones.

"I hope we meet again. Truly. Goodbye."

Enceladus sprinted down the path and didn't look back. He had a bag of mixed emotions. Firstly, he was furious towards Sessabit and Gordan. Of course, they left him all alone. Secondly, he couldn't help but feel pure sympathy towards Araneus. What horrible monsters would do such a thing? Glowing sticks? He wondered if it had anything to do with the New Death Eaters. But, why would they be this deep in the forest? Enceladus dismissed that thought momentarily, and focused on getting out in one piece.

Things weren't becoming clearer for Enceladus. The dense forest looked exactly the same everywhere he went. He followed the path straight ahead but it slowly disappeared along the way. Enceladus was past the point of aggravation now. His clothes were being torn from grazing thorns, scratching deep within his skin. Even the forest fairies were throwing acorns at him. He was beyond irritated, and just wanted to leave. But, right after he hobbled over a large root arching from the ground, he saw a slit of white in the distance. He gave a sigh of relief, and sprinted towards it.

Crash!

Enceladus collided with a tall stout boy. It was Sessabit. He and Gordan were peeking through a bush and looking at something.

"Hey, I didn't like-"

"Shh." commanded Sessabit, still peeking through the bush.

"No, don't shh-"

"Shh."

Now it was Gordan.

"Are you to going to explain-"

"Will yeh be quiet! Come here we have something to show yeh."

Sessabit had an oddly serious tone unlike anything Enceladus has ever heard.

"What are you talking about-"

"Stay low, we don't want them to see us," said Gordan.

Near a sloping hill, below mammoth sized trees, a group of hooded figures were standing with a sense of rigidness and poise. Four of them had gray robes and the others had Hogwarts robes. The ones with the Hogwarts robes were carrying jars of blood with them. One lowered his hood, and to the boy's shock, it was Zelos.

"What on earth is he doing?" Gordan was trying to get a better view.

"It looks like they are exchanging blood." The thought of blood made Enceladus itchy. Or maybe it was all the poison ivy he went through kicking in on his skin.

"Dragons Blood." chimed Sessabit, with a slight quiver in his voice.

"Wait, do you think those are the New Death Eaters Zelos is talking too?"

"He's probably one of them!"

Gordan softly scoffed, ready to cause commotion.

"I jus' wan' to know where he go' the blood from. I know it wasn't from mi ranches. ''

Sessabit was stroking his chin.

"Well, are we going to tell someone? Or do something?" Enceladus was eager to expose Zelos. But, right now, everything was risky.

"It's too dangerous, if they are the New Death eaters, wha' are we supposed to do? Plus, Zelos' mother works for the Ministry, she can practically snuff himself out o' any situation."

The group with Zelos finished the exchange and both parties bowed their heads for departure. Like lightning struck them off this earth, the gray robed group disappeared with a sheering crack.

"Hey, they disappeared! Woah."

Enceladus was amazed.

"Yeah, we better start disappearing, Zelos is headed this way." encouraged Gordan, rampantly collecting his parchments of drawings.

The boys nodded with agreement and headed the opposite direction.

"We have ter…hurry, we don' want Zelos…ter catch us en question why we were…snoopin' about en the fores'." Talking was hard for Sessabit, especially when he was running and globs of his hair continuously smacked his face.

Between Gordan's flying parchment and Sessabit's heavy feet, Enceladus almost forgot about Araneus. The group of people who attacked him had to be Zelos' group or the New Death Eaters.

"Sessabit! I met your friend Araneus. He was attacked by a group of people. I think it might have been Zelos or the New Death Eaters."

"Araneus was attacked?! Wha...I...ugh, I'll deal with et later, we have to get out of here before anythin'."

Sessabit swallowed chunks of air as he continued to sprint like an Olympic athlete.

As they finally reached Sessabit's hut, they all tried to take hold of his gate, clutching their chest for breath.

"Do you think we lost him?" said Gordan, tidying up his shirt.

But, once they finally lifted their gazes towards the school, Zelos, Maddie, and his grimy gang; Cast, Pollux, and Ersin, were stationary, looming over them like a squad of menacing bats.

"You just came out of the Forbidden Forest." Zelos sneered under his teeth. His caramel face was cold and his eyes were a burning blue.

"Congrats you have eyes, Zelos." Gordan was slowly reaching for his wand.

"Envious much? At least I can see a quaffle ball to block it, unlike you. We all know if it wasn't for Sessabit catching the snitch every game, you'd be next to nothing."

Gordan's feisty nature was turning into heated anger. Sessabit had to hold him back before he seriously injured himself.

"Now tell me, why were you in the Forbidden Forest?"

"We could be asking you the same thing Zelos." said Enceladus impertinently.

"Well, if it isn't Vega. The grandson of the great, all loving peace freaks, Vegas. Well, let me tell you something, look where your grandparents lead us. Do you call a world, under militant supervision, a world we are destined to live in? Mmm. Do you condone people, who are less superior than us, to manage and control our every move? I'll tell you myself. Muggles and wizards don't go together, and will never achieve unity."

"What are you talking about?"

"What I'm saying is that I despise wizards like your grandparents who believe in idiotic affairs. So, if you are just like them. I suggest you stay far away from us."

Enceladus quickly snatched his wand and pointed it at Zelos. Zelos didn't flinch. His gang, except Maddie, took out their wands as well. Sessabit and Gordan followed.

"Oh look at the courage of this first year. What, are you going to do, torture me with a measly hot air charm?" Zelos was baiting in a scornfully condescending tone.

"Oh, I'll show you torture!

Enceladus lurched towards Zelos. Sessabit and Gordan were aiming their wands for cover. Maddie, Cast, Pollux, and Ersin were about to whisper spells under their breaths. Zelos still didn't move an inch, staying cool with an uninterested face. But before any blood could spill, a shout in the distance halted everyone's movements. A group of muggle women and men, strolled casually towards the fighting wizards. They were dressed in street clothes, some fancier than others. One man was the obvious leader. He had a cherry red Windsor tie with a white collar, some nicely pressed khaki pants and a coat. He was presentable, fresh faced, and happily poised.

"Good evening gentleman, and madam. How are you all on this fine sunny day?"

Everyone stood silent, slowly hiding away their once pointed wands.

"Certainly, you'd all indulge my friends and I with a fellow "Hello" at least? Am I right?" The man chuckled.

Still nobody moved, or attempted to make a move.

"No? Well, I do apologize if we flabbergasted you fine wizards and witches into momentary shock during your recreational interventions." The man was very pleasant . His arms were perfectly propped behind his back.

Still nobody answered.

"So, what were you students doing anyways on a lovely weekend like this? The weather has been quite wonderful lately, and the night sky has been tremendous."

Gordan spoke up.

"We were just practicing some spells...from our…Defense against the Darks arts class."

Sessabit nudged him to stop talking.

"Defense against the Dark Arts. Yes, Yes. I have joined a couple of Mrs. Granger's classes. She is certainly a brilliant witch, with brilliant powers." The man took a couple of steps into the cross fires from both sides and walked about. "That class is quite vital. Very vital indeed. I know it has had a fishy history, but I think Mrs. Granger is doing a fine job. Would you guys agree?"

They all shook their shoods.

The man walked over to Enceladus and gave him a warm smile, then turned away.

"My sincerest apologies, I didn't properly introduce myself. My name is Ventril, and I am a part of a new committee, forged between the British embassy, and the Ministry of Magic, to track down this insensible threat called the New Death Eaters. As you know my allies and I are only here to ensure your safety, especially after this week's incident in the WADA. I understand most students are not used to having our kind around, and hear things regarding the relationship we have with the Ministry. I will respect their opinions nonetheless. But, at the end of the day, we are here for you, and here to protect you. Now, not every muggle has this mindset, but we believe it's important to have each other's back during these uneasy times. So, if you see anything suspicious, we are not too far to contact. If not us, Headmaster Longbottom will inform us of the matter." Ventril, turned his back, pocketed a piece of parchment he held in his hands, and headed back to his group. "Please, don't mind us bland old adults. We will continue patrolling around the castle doing boring stuff. You all play and enjoy the weather. But, don't have too much fun now. You have to save some because the weekend is young and far from over. "He gave everyone one last examining glance and smiled broadly. "Who knows, I might go to the library, and have a nice read myself. We'll see. Well, anywho, have a splendid day." Ventril tipped his head finely as he and his group curled around the castle and disappeared.

For a split moment, they wanted to resume where they left off. But decided to retreat.

Zelos, Maddie and his gang turned away first, shooting Sessabit, Gordan, and Enceladus obvious cold shoulders.

"See you around freaks. Oh, and Enceladus. Remember what I said about Reina. Those are unsafe waters you don't want to tread." Zelos was sporting a snotty smirk. Maddie gave him a dirty eye, and separated from him, heading to the entrance by herself with her arms convincingly crossed.

Sessabit, and Gordan gave each other a quick look to see if they wanted to ambush them from behind. But it wasn't worth it.

"I swear that Ventril fella looks oddly familiar…" Sessabit was scratching his head in deep thought, trying to figure it out.

A loud groan shuttered between the boys.

"Sorry guys, I'm kind of starved." Enceladus clutched his tummy. Hunger was common. Especially with all of this delicious Hogwarts food.

"Well, come on, let's go to the Great Hall, snag some grub, en talk all this over." Good plan. Sessabit put his long matte hair into a ponytail, and the boys went on their hungry, merry way,

The Great Hall was half full, since it was the weekend, the food wasn't as extravagant from earlier in the week. Bummer. The boys sat at the far end of the Gryffindor table. Gordan immediately sat up and passed out flyers to whomever was still in the hall.

"It seems like Ventril really wants to hound those New Death Eaters." This sentence was surprisingly comprehensible because Enceladus was stuffing his mouth with two crispy biscuits.

"Yeh, he should hound Zelos. I swear, that boy makes mi blood boil. New Death Eater or not I can' grasp how he obtained all o' that Dragon Blood."

"How do you know that was Dragon Blood?"

Gravy was now dripping down Enceladus' chin.

"Trust me, I jus' know."

Gordan was going around hyping up the party for tomorrow night.

"Tomorrow night, meet us at the Three Broomsticks! Yeah, not the main entrance. Yeah that one! That's the one baby!"

There was a steady increase in volume within the hall. Students were huddled onto top of each other trying to see all the details on the invitations. Every single one looked thrilled by the idea.

"Hey Gordan, I can't wait for tonight. It seems like it will be a groovy time. Oh, and thanks for the drawing…again. This tree stump is just as lovely as the others." said Cindy Cauliflower, leaning out her body into the Hall's main walkway. Cindy Cauliflower. Gordan's want-to-be girlfriend. Her hair was sun blonde. She rocked long braids and fierce makeup, wore tons of bracelets and charms, and was a Ravenclaw. She was smart, but only in things that she thought that mattered. Like fashion, and steering away boys who clung onto her, seeking attention like charged up little puppies.

"Uh, yeah, no problem. See you then." Gordan was blushing horribly.

He returned to the Gryffindor table.

"Did...did you give Reina one?" asked Enceladus with a gleam in his eye and a piece of angel cake between his teeth.

"Sure did. I wouldn't want you to leave unattended tomorrow."

"Whatever you bloke!" Enceladus flicked a spoonful of corn his way. "What's this party all about anyways?"

"Just en end o' the week party, yeh know, a celebration o' our first week o' hard' work." Sessabit grunted proudly, as if he was the main contributor to the party's longevity and success. Gordan began to snicker. "It's eh school favorite. We have two eh year. Maybe even more."

The atmosphere was light, as the three boys joked about some Hufflepuff girls exiting the Great Hall. Despite them leaving him in the forest, Enceladus owed a lot to Gordan and Sessabit for helping him with this wizarding transition. It was nice. He was beginning to feel comfortable with his new life.

But, as they were laughing with chewed up food, Neville Longbottom made an appearance with his usual vest, pocket watch, and neatly trimmed beard. He clanked his goblet and rose steadily from his seat at the teacher's table.

"Good evening to all of the students who are with us today. Congratulations on a wonderful first week of school. I know you all have been working very hard. I unfortunately have some news I wish I hadn't received. Last night, during the WADA auditions, an incident occurred. Which some of you may know." He paused to clear his throat. "Once the initial incident was cleared, and the theater went back to normal, there was a notification from one of the Ravenclaw prefects that somebody didn't make it back to their bedrooms that night. We sent search parties out this morning to look around the premises of the castle, but to no avail. We are assessing the situation the best we can with our patrols, and are still persistently searching for any information about her whereabouts. As you know, your safety is our priority always, and we don't want to detriment that in any way. The student's name was Eleanor Snow. So, if anyone knows or has an idea of where she might be, please feel free to talk to me. We are all hoping for a quick return from Eleanor. I've already notified your parents that there is nothing to fret about. So, until we sort this out, I ask you to continue with your daily routines and not to fret as well." He gave a firm wave and sat back down. "Oh, and if anyone is a part of the WADA, you are excused from your theatrical classes for Monday. That is all."

The whole hall started to mumble and gossip about.

"Eleanor Snow, huh. Do you know her Enceladus?" Gordan scanned all of the ruckus growing around their table.

"I do. She's actually deaf."

"What do they want with a deaf girl?"

Sessabit punched his shoulder. Gordan punched him right back.

"Maybe, they should have taken you!"

"Calm down, deaf police, I was just asking a simple question."

During their little tussle, hundreds of owls burst through the windows, creating a gust of wind. Dodging each other with aggressive hoots, the owls encircled around the chandeliers and dropped envelopes of mail to their respective owners. Sessabit fed his owl a piece of bread and petted it fondly.

"Look here boys, looks like someone leaked Eleanor's disappearance to the Daily Prophet. Read the headline."

New Death Eaters Strike Hogwarts?

The well renowned Hogwarts has been a staple of wizarding education for centuries. From its diverse classes, and well-trained professors, the attraction of its foundations and principles have been one of the primary reasons why the school has endured. But, there was always one thing that would offset these promising qualities. The school's safety. Safety has been advertised greatly. It is even advertised by fellow Hogwarts followers as the "Safest place on Earth." Yet, do these words still ring true today? The Second Great War didn't help with this practical philosophy twenty-five years ago when the Dark Lord returned. Proven exploitable, "protective" enchantments on school grounds lead more infiltrators in than out. Fast forward into the present day and it still seems to be the case, particularly after the tragically sudden disappearance of first year student, Eleanor Snow. Eleanor Snow strangely disappeared Friday night around 9;30 PM, September 30th after her audition with the WADA department, which is already known for casualties of students due to the department's capricious nature. British officials and Aurors have collected most of the WADA staff for questioning, mainly because of high suspicions towards Alio Oak, current acting professor and former Death Eater. Many are speculating this might be the doing of The New Death Eaters. The school has claimed they have increased their security along with the newly enforced community measures, but when does it not become enough? With the growing fear of this new radical group looming, how much more can Hogwarts protect its students before it's too late.

The boys read down the parchment a bit more.

WADA Professor, Andrew Pero, has been arrested today and sent straight to Azkaban for four months without bail, charged and convicted with three accounts of sexual harassment and two accounts statutory ravishment with multiple Hogwarts students.

"No wonder everyone thinks you guys are all looney." said Gordan half-sarcastically. " Mmm I wonder who it was?"

"I...uh…I don't even know where to start." Enceladus was trying to compute everything, yet also thankful he hadn't formally met Professor Pero.

"Poor Eleanor. It's absurd to think I was there with her? And nobody noticed that she left? I can't help but think those ugly theater ghosts caught her. But how and why? And what would anyone want with Eleanor?"

Enceladus felt displaced and shaken. He should have helped Patrice look for Eleanor, instead of worrying about his stupid fatigue that night.

"Hey, we'll worry about et soon enough, alrigh'? Let's just be grateful we are still en one piece." Sessabit patted Enceladus back very reassuringly. "I should go check on Araneus to see how he's doin'. I'll catch yeh mates later. Oh, en don' forge' about the party tomorrow Enceladus, meet Gordan en I at me hut around sundown."

Sessabit got up from his seat and left the Great Hall with a less cheery bounce than usual.

"Yeah, I better get some work done at the library. I have loads to do." Enceladus started packing up his backpack.

"You need some help? Considering I have already done everything that you are doing. Unless it's WADA stuff then I am absolutely no use."

"It's Professor Granger's class."

There was a slight pause. Gordan shrugged his shoulders dismissively.

"Yeah, you are on your own. I'm barely scraping by with straight A's"

"Well aren't A's a good thing?"

"A's? No no, you want O's. O's are outstanding and A's are average."

Gordan looked at him as if he was a complete moron.

"Right, sorry. I was thinking about the muggle system."

"Right, well, good luck on your work. I'll catch you around. If you need me, I'll be at the Quidditch pitch practicing my keeping."

Gordan hung onto the word "practicing" as if the very essence of it bothered him. Maybe he was still sour about Zelos' comment and wanted to prove himself. Despite his hard rugged shell on the outside, Gordan seemed to have a sensitive spot floating inside. He drew tree stumps for a girl who didn't really like him. Of course he's sensitive. Yet, it's evidently hard for him to admit it. It seemed that he hid his disappointments, his futility, trying desperately to prove people wrong. And himself. For a boy, being sensitive was a sin. Boys worked every day to hide it, proving themselves worthy and appropriate to the world of man. Hopefully Gordan will realize one day that sensitivity is actually a gift, even for a wizard.

Gordan got up from his seat and left the Great Hall as well. Enceladus was left alone. He eventually stood up, and headed towards the exit. Nearing the doors, he noticed Ventril walking towards the library. Just the place he needed to go.

As he stopped into the hall, he then noticed Reina in the corner of his eyes, sitting on a stone window pane, as the sun dazzled onto her skin. She was reading a very large book called The Ethics of Owning an Elf right next to a dozing Evelyn. Enceladus shyly looked away, and hoped she would go to the party. He just wanted a good time. He continued towards the library with a wide warm smile, using a quill to write another poem about flowers onto his hand.

Faded Borealis

Every star was deployed, as the sky was swarmed by an army of the tiniest twinkles. The moon was full, blazing motionless like a bud of bioluminescence. Enceladus, Sessabit, and Gordan were at Sessabit's hut finishing getting ready for the big party. The inside reeked of body odor and teenage wizard perfume. Sessabit wore a black tartan six button waistcoat, a sub sandwich sized bow tie, and a multi-silver checkered printed kilt, with shiny black boots. He was rubbing glops of Sleekeazy's hair potion on his long brown hair. Gordan was sporting black trousers with black suspenders and a black collared shirt. He topped off his get up with a largely round leather watch. Enceladus was wearing typical muggle attire, like branded white sneakers, slim fitted jeans, and a yellow striped long-sleeved sweater. Since he was Hufflepuff, most of his clothing was yellow now, so his choice of color was quite limited.

He was drinking some tea trying to compose his nerves. He was never really the party type, nor did he feel a wizard party would change that. He just wanted to have a good time, and talk to Reina some more, if she came of course.

It was getting late, but the energy did not crash. Sessabit was merrily singing random war songs about warlocks and flesh-eating sirens as he was picking his teeth with a fork. Gordan on the other hand was at the wooden table preparing the entertainment for the evening.

"What are you doing over here Gordan?" asked Sessabit, fanoodling with his hair a bit.

"Oh, you know what I'm doing. Check it out."

Gordan revealed a row of about thirty clay pipes lined up perpendicular to each other. Some were filled with greenish, brown powder as Gordan continued to fill the rest of the pipes with the same substance out of a jar.

"You have skunk?! Where did you get all of this?" Enceladus was desperately trying not to smell.

"Skunk what are you talking about? If you are insinuating that I chopped up a magical ice skunk, you are gravely mistaken my friend. This is prime content that we are dealing with here. This right here is called Fool's Fantasy."

"Fool's Fantasy?"

"I forget, you muggles have your own deadly version of it. That stuff is like putting smoky venom into your lungs. I tried it once, and I felt like my whole body shut down. Never again." Gordan's face contorted with disapproval. "Your narcotic rubbish numbs the senses, and dulls the mind. But, Fools Fantasy does the opposite. It enhances the imagination into a state of engineered ecstasy. Basically, whenever you take a hit, it sends you into an alternate-universe-illusion that you could control. Kind of. It always depends how much you intake. Because if you take too much then you could possibly lose all touch with reality and bad things tend to happen from there. Trust me I've been there. But, the good thing about it is that you still have a sense of your actual surroundings. It's basically your dreams meet the real world and you decide what to do from there. Hence, the Fool part in the name. But, it's wicked chill. Here check it out, I'll show what I put in it." Gordan looked like a savant of "recreational activities" as he prepared a pipe with obvious skill and efficiency. "For one pipe, you get three moonflower seeds and pulverize them. Then you get a few snippets of blue hydrangea petals, one tiny chunk of crushed sativum shivreldfig, two micropieces of yunshi roots, and the shredded ovules from a sunflower. I know it sounds gross, but it's a key ingredient." Gordan was chopping the plants with ease and precision. It looked like a well-organized massacre. He used a mini pocket knife and kitchen mallet as his weapons of choice. The pure earthy smell sizzled so much that Enceladus eyes began to water.

"Once you are all done, you grind it in the grinder and pour the contents into the pipe."

He picked up a basin, pressed all of the continents together and slid them into the basin with his knife. He then sealed it, and grinded it with a firm twist of the wrist. After a few seconds, he opened the seal. A wavy mist slithered out, rising to the ceiling. He poured the finalized content into a pipe, and muttered "Incendio". His wand emitted fire at the point and he held it under the pipe to light it up.

"And that's how you make the Fool's Fantasy. It's powerful stuff, but you are safe as rock. You are guaranteed no internal damage too. Heck, sometimes they use these ingredients for healing purposes."

He took a fat puff, and sat down by a nearby rocking chair, feeling like a king.

"Wow, that is...a lot." Enceladus was trying to cover his nose so he wouldn't get contact high. "Does Sessabit's father allow this?"

"Oh yeah, he doesn't fuss about it. Sometimes they smoke together, and even drink together. It's that giant blood in them."

"Is there a special way you brew alcoholic drinks here? Any special feeling you get?" Enceladus was curious now, toying with the concept of wizard drugs and drinks.

"No, Butterbeer and Firewhiskey are no different. You just have to ferment some brown sugar, butter, barley, and cinnamon, brew it all together, and wallah, you are off your trolley in no time!" Gordan took vicious puffs as he laughed and coughed at the same time. Enceladus laughed at his struggle.

"Are you going to drink or smoke tonight?"

"I don't know. We'll see."

Enceladus knew this was a no, but it didn't fully eliminate his curiosity for Fool's Fantasy and how it impacted the body.

"Are yeh rapscallions ready to go?" Sessabit was ready. So ready, he packed up most of his pipes into his fanny pack.

"Yeah, uh, how are we getting there?"

"How do I usually get around moon boy? I've kept her away for eh bit, but she's with me this weeken'.'"

Enceladus knew he was talking about his silver scaled dragon, Puddin, who in an instant roared over the roof with her flapping wings, and perched delicately on Sessabit's chimney.

"Looks like our rides here. Let's get goin' we don' want to keep our guest waitin'. Did Palmer let em in already Gordan?"

"I hope he did. I'm not going to toss some knuckles with any half-dazed prats tonight." Gordan adjusted his suspenders one last time, and slicked his hair back, walking away with obnoxious swagger while twirling his wand "Cindy baby, here I come."

"Poor boy, not even Fool's Fantasy will help him get some snoggin' action tonight." Enceladus laughed and agreed with Sessabit. Gordan was too immersed within his own little realm of teenage cockiness.

"Who knows, you might get some Expelliarmus actiontonight Enceladus with you-know-who."

No Gordan. Modesty. Not being some pathetic horn dog.

Sessabit ignored Gordan's antics and proceeded to briskly walk outside. Gordan and Enceladus followed as Enceladus closed the door from behind.

Sessabit whistled for Puddin to come down. She looked like she grew a considerable amount since the last time Enceladus saw her. Her horns looked longer and her face grew another layer of silver scales; developing with more angular shapes. She gave Enceladus a soaking lick with her rosy pointed tongue to say hello. She looked stunning, happy, and healthy. Sessabit and Enceladus mounted on top of her rippling spine, and Gordan decided to take his broom, which soared from a far open window at the castle and braked near his stomach. He didn't want to put any extra weight on Puddin's back.

On the count of three, they all launched from ground and wisped straight into the gliding clouds. Enceladus noticed Saturn up above, bathed in bright red, still unmoved from its position.

"So…how did you…even get this place?" Enceladus never had an easy flight. He was trying to pry a piece of his sweater from Puddin's smaller horns.

"I'm good friends with the owner. And this es the safes' place we knew of with everythin' goin' on." Sessabit pointed to the direction for Puddin to go.

"Et's right over here Gordan, just keep close to her tail."

This was considerably hard since her tail was a swinging club of spikes. But, it was accomplished. The three boys bubbled and bobbled in the air, and took a sharp right downward towards the village of Hogsmeade. They landed on top of a flat and plopped off of their transportations. Sessabit rubbed the side of Puddin's rib, and gave her a dead mouse that he had in his pocket.

"Now Puddin, stay above the clouds et all times if you are goin' to fly around London. I don' want you runnin' into trouble now."

Puddin frizzled her skin and spurted some fire from her snout in agreement. She extended her wings with great force and rocketed into the white gleam of the moon, resembling an image of a frolicking bat.

"Alrigh', follow me, there's eh special entrance we have to go." Sessabit slid down a crooked pipe along the side of the flat. The boys followed behind and slid after another.

The village of Hogsmeade was quaint, with night time strollers talking-it-up and seeking pleasurable festivities wherever they were presented. Enceladus saw their shadows flicker on buildings whenever they passed a lamp pole on the main street. On the other hand, the alley was dark and very empty. Sessabit lifted an arm and told the boys to follow him.

The alley didn't have any windows between the buildings, nor waste bins. The bricks were smooth and uncracked, exhibiting various shades of red. It was rather clean. Too clean and without a trace of stench or anything that would usually be associated with an alley. Enceladus and Gordan were lured towards a rather normal-looking section of the wall.

"Welcome to Ancentus Alley. A seemingly normal alley, with the darkest secrets en all o' Hogsmeade. This alley was jinxed by eh powerful dark wizard known as Pluto. He jinxed it en eh way that anythin' that dwelled behind these walls; any act o'malice, any crime, would be undetectable or completely wiped away. As you could figure, his intentions were ill-mannered. There was eh story eh few years ago about eh wizard murderin' another wizard here abou' some financial dispute, en the wizard who died, completely vanished as if the alley swallowed the body whole. There wasn't eh trace o' his body anywhere. Since et was eh dirty crime, the alley "covered" it up. How et does et, no one really knows. Nobody dares to trespass here in the firs' place, except for some suspicious clientele who actually know about this place. But, wizards like us, like to keep et that way. Now, we are not going to kill, but we will partake en confidential partakings exclusively for our safety en of course our enjoyment. Luckily for us, Madame Violett is the third cousin of Pluto so she's the only one that could slightly tamper with the jinx. She kind of runs this alley now and turned it into an underground business. Beyond these grounds and walls are scrappier taprooms, dance parlors, and bargaining dens. The entrances are typically off limits to dark wizards, but sometimes things tend to slip." Sessabit stopped talking and massaged the wall, feeling for something. "But like I said, this alley likes having eh "clean" image. Try throwin somethin' on the ground en see wha' happens."

Enceladus dug into his pocket and scooped a few Acid Pop wrappers, tossing them onto the ground. To Enceladus' surprise, the wrapper melted into a gooey black substance, slivering into the zig zagging cracks.

"Told yah...ahh here et is."

Sessabit leaned his arm by a blank wall with a sense of fulfillment. "Here is the entrance to the Three Broomsticks."

"It's just a wall..." said Enceladus quizzically.

"True, en behind et is the Three Broomsticks, but that's not where we want to be. We wan' to be...drum roll please Gordan."

Gordan grabbed his wand and patted it against his thighs rapidly.

"We want the…Four Broomsticks."

Enceladus found this to be extremely uncreative.

"Why?"

"Don' ask me, ask Madame Violet."

Enceladus imagined the place having four broomsticks hanging above an extravagant fireplace like taxidermy, with a polar bear rug next to the crackling hearth. Anything was possible at this point.

Sessabit placed a pinky on the only brick that wasn't the color of red. It was a midnight blue, and appeared as if there wasn't a brick there in the first place. He pressed firmly and uttered, "Quattuor Peniculus" and the brick slid out to the very edge, not tipping over. Sessabit opened a tiny compartment that looked like a fairy closet, and pricked out a bronze cruciform key and blew off the little cobwebs that it had. Then right below Sessabit's feet, a sewer plate that had a tarnished door knob, magically appeared. Sessabit crouched, and inserted the key into the hole, and opened the plate which was attached to the ground. He placed the key back into the compartment and the midnight blue brick slid back into place. The hole had a ladder that led to a blinding velvet blue light. Enceladus couldn't make out what was down there. Sessabit, grappled both sides of the ladder and slid down. Gordan and Enceladus decided to climb down instead.

"Don' forget to close the plate behind yeh." Sessabit was already way below, deep into the ground.

Gordan went to close it and when he did, the plate disappeared. He continued to step down.

"What did he say?"

Enceladus was trying not to slip and fall.

"The password? Uh, it means Four Mops, I think, but...uh...in latin. Pretty extensive if you ask me." Gordan was above Enceladus's head.

The ladder felt never ending, as Enceladus continuously stepped down with caution. He couldn't even identify Sessabit down below.

After what seemed like forever, Enceladus and Gordan finally made it to what seemed to be the bottom. What laid in front of Enceladus didn't match what he had expected. It was a long slender hallway that had a row of hanging pictures on both sides. The wooden flooring glimmered with polish, and a long magenta rub laid neatly along the straight path. As they walked steadily down the hall, Enceladus noticed that pictures were mostly of young wizards and witches partying and celebrating. A common theme was Butterbeer consumption. As they walked farther down Enceladus started to hear music playing. It was very upbeat, and had a rapid jazz feel to it. They eventually approached a large picture frame with a large funky wizard in a black suit playing a saxophone.

"Follow my lead." said Sessabit, cracking his fingers.

Sessabit snapped four times in a swingy rhythm. Enceladus gave Gordan a befuddled look, and they proceeded to repeat the snaps in unison. Once completed, the picture blew a rift of notes from the saxophone. Music notes flew out like butterflies, swooshing in every direction. When butterflies vanished, the picture began to fuzz. Past the frame, was no longer a bluesy wizard, but a room of wizards and witches chatting, drinking, and dancing.

"Welcome, to the Four Broomsticks mi friens'.'' Sessabit immediately climbed into the frame, jolting the party to life even more.

Enceladus couldn't believe the sight. The low ceiling room was a smoky blue, and covered with vintage love sofas. A stage placed at the corner of the room was overcrowded with wizards and witches cheering on the band, who were playing some jubilant jazz music. Enceladus noticed that the players were none other than the Harpies. They all sported white suits. And instead of playing on giant harps, they were playing on saxophones, bases, trumpets, a drum set, and a piano. Flying projecting music notes, like the harps, were bouncing and flopping everywhere. At one point, a quarter note and a whole note were sliding under people's legs. The atmosphere was electric. Everyone cheered adoringly as the three boys all entered. Gordan immediately passed out the pipes.

"Aye Sessabit, took you awhile! Want to play Black Rubiks with us at the back table?" asked a Gryffindor boy.

Sessabit didn't hesitate for a second, and headed towards the back tabel.

"I'll see yeh mates around."

Sessabit ran off to a rowdy table of Gryffindors where black rubik's cubes were floating, and assembling themselves. It looked like a Sessabit type of game. Whatever it was. Then next to them were two, very drunk, Ravenclaw boys shooting Stupify spells at Butterbeer bottles placed on each other's heads. One hit the other's groin, and the other hit himself because he was facing his wand the wrong way. They both fell on the floor, crashing the glass bottles into pieces. This was going to be an interesting night.

On the other hand, Gordan did not waste any time with his fun. He took out a pipe for himself and ignited it.

"Are you sure you don't want one?" Gordan blew out duck shaped puff clouds from his mouth. "Ah, look, I'm making little sparrows."

"Uh, they look like ducks."

"Yeah, yeah. That's what I meant. Ducks."

Was Gordan losing it already?

"Okay, well, I'll pass anyway."

From far within the crowd of laughing patrons, a small blonde headed girl popped out and waved her hands to get Gordan's attention.

"Hey Gordan! Wanna come hang over here?"

It was Gordan's crush Cindy Cauliflower. Gordan quickly plucked his pipe from his mouth and handed it over to Enceladus.

"Here you go. I have some business to handle. Have fun!"

He pushed about a dozen lolling shoulders to get to her.

Enceladus thought about giving it a hit, but opted out and handed it to a random Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff student already possessed one, but didn't mind the extra, as he double palmed the pipes, staggering towards a group of giggling Hufflepuff girls with unwanted, yet open arms.

Enceladus ventured out and explored the place a bit more. It resembled an underground jazz club, but for wizards. Candles with deep blue fire floated above the finely draped tables, tracing people's faces along the shadowy and smoky walls. Many were standing in clumps or seated tightly together on polyester sofas, laughing and socializing heavily. A fragrance that smells like blueberries lingered with subtlety as well. Students were even swing dancing (Flying, floating, tossing, dipping, flipping and hopping) wildly near the band. Judging by the heavy collection of glitter in the air, the students managed to put a spell on the dancing fairy dust to use outside of school. Enceladus wondered if they took some from Professor Flurry, which would have been an impressive task.

As he strolled deeper into the rowdiness, he noticed a large number of students either smoking and chugging down Butterbeer. He even saw a group of Ravenclaws boys having a chugging contest to see who would drink the most Butterbeers the fastest. Yes, the Ravenclaws were smart, but also very alcoholic. One of the boys ended up vomiting on the dress of a Ravenclaw girl. She gave him a hearty slap across the face. Enceladus shook his head with queasy disapproval and headed towards the bar area for a refreshment. But, as he aimed towards the bar, a shiny golden bird flew past him. Little did he know, people were tossing a Golden Snitch back and forth. Specifically tossing it into goblets. Like beer pong, but with goblets. All the goblets.

As Enceladus continued to surf through the sweaty pool of people to get his highly anticipated beverage, he noticed that none of his classmates were there. He then remembered they were about four years younger, probably trading chocolate frog cards. Yet since he was considered a first year, he was under the impression people were probably poking fun at him. Few seconds into the thought, he heard a couple of Slytherin girls sniggering and staring in his direction. He tucked his chin down, restraining himself from eye contact and sheer embarrassment.

At the bar, he ordered a Gillywater. The bartender had a patchy beard, a lazy eye and a grisly face. He grumbled under his breath as he cranked the lever on the barrel, pouring Enceladus' drink into a goblet. He then slammed it near Enceladus' fingers and turned around vexedly, scratching his belly. He grunted silently, expressing, well, nothing.

Behind the bar was a huge dusky water tank filled with fish that looked to be Pufferfishes but with lengthy frog-like legs attached to its undercarriage. Some were synchronized swimming, while others were merely passing by the glass window staring at Enceladus with their lifeless red beady eyes. A few seconds later, after a roaring applause near the stage area, a stout, yet familiar body approached him.

.

"Aye mate, how's it going?! Haven't seen you in ages, buckaroo." said Willy offering him a pipe "Fool's Fantasy?"

"I'm okay, thanks."

Enceladus continued to sip on his Gillywater.

"Ah, you're one of them. It's all ace chap, bee's knees and all. I understand it's not for everyone. It makes people do funny things." He wrapped his arms around Enceladus' shoulders. "You see, the only reason I recognized you was because of your gargantuan head. It's quite unforgettable. Wait, I lie, I lie. Slightly. The real reason is you are one of the very few people I see as Thestrals. Well, half. It's all haywire this Fool's Fantasy, but I'm not legless. Nope. No sir. Yet, combining the two, with that sweet yellow liquid is verrrrrryyy wally. Take a gander." He directed Enceladus' attention to the other side of the room. "Mr. Combo himself, Palmer, was wrestling one of the tables because he thought it was a gorilla. Apparently that's one of the muggle creatures he fears the most. Ol Sweeny saw and gave him a tickling charm. Before you know it, Combo Palmer made up with the gorilla, and gave it a Butterbeer to commemorate their new friendship. A touching tale if you ask me. Of course, people start snogging their "lovers'', trying to get knee deep in their knickers. But they typically turn out to be complete strangers. With a place like this, they let it. Well, sometimes. There is still some consensual dignity even if your mind is totally wrecked. Yup, yup. Like, I saw Nancy Noodlebocker, and May Sao viciously entangled in each other's tongues earlier, until Nancy realized what she was doing. May Sao kept on trying to go to town, slobbing for more, but Nancy doused her with a meanaqua charm. Oh, Oh, Oh then, then, Bubbly Bessy over there thought she saw a monkey tail grow out of some lads trousers and thought it would've been hysterical to pull it. Unfortunately for her it wasn't a tail but his "wand", if you catch my drift. I believe he's still bundled up on the floor somewhere crying incessantly. Hah, imagine Madam Pomfrey trying to fix that! Actually, don't imagine. Erase that from your brain right now. Matter of fact, I'll do it. " Willy took out his wand, pointed it at Enceladus' head, slurring, "Obliviate".

"Does Bubbly Bessy ring a bell to you?"

"Uh, yeah, you just talked about her."

"Right...um...well...good luck tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, the cast list! Hope you're in the musical! You got some moves! I'm pretty sure that's how you get down in Castelobruxo."

"I 'm not from…-"

It was useless to fight.

"Thanks Willy."

A loud bong clamored, and Willy sprang up from the bar and headed back to the stage.

"There goes the cymbal. That's my cue for another set, but with the lovely Agratha Sol, aka, Miss Winehouse. But, she prefers Agratha Sol." Winehouse? As in Amy? Enceladus freaked out a bit. "If you have any requests just let me know. Nothing from the Bluesy Barristers though, we're not too fond of their music. Cheers!"

Willy skipped off, twirling like a happy monkey.

The bong rang again, and to Enceladus' bemusement, a small wizard with a brass mallet was indeed swinging against a giant cymbal strapped to a wall next to the stage. The timbre was resounding and caught everyone's attention to focus on the next set of music.

Once the gazes were averted, Agratha Sol, who was a ghost, commanded the stage with delicate power. She was wearing a long silky white dress, and peered upon the eager crowd, with her hands humbly furled below her sternum. She lifted her chin and sang a song called "Kisses and Wishes". Her voice was smooth as honey, and delightfully sultry and deep. Wow. It was Amy.

Enceladus swiveled around his stool, and chugged the rest of his Gillywater.

As the crowd congregated around the stage, Enceladus swiveled back around and saw Reina, walking swiftly across the room. She was here. This was it. This was his chance. Nothing school related. Just them two, talking at a party. Typical teenage relationship building. It sounded easy. But as always, those butterflies were fluttering their wings wildly, making his whole body fuzzy and weak,

Enceladus took a deep breath, checked his breath, and got up. He followed her to her destination without seeming like a creep, which was far from his intentions. He just wanted someone to talk to someone while his pals were living it up. Meanwhile, Agatha was giving a forlorn performance.

Sweet kisses and long nights,

Only a white memory to grasp,

Wishing at the warm moonlight,

To bring back our magical past…

He again, trudged through a blob of laughing students, escaping elbows and shuffling feet. A girl even tried to cast a spell at Enceladus, but she tripped and fell, shooting the spell at a tall boy, which turned his hair into a Mulberry Bush. Enceladus tried to move faster, so he wouldn't be the next victim of plant hair.

Young hearts wild and faultless,

At the hour of no going back,

Futures toying and fruitless,

Of something we once had...

Reina had a very deliberate stride. According to Enceladus' observations, her walk closely emulated a cute determined skunk. This party crowd seemed to disperse whenever she took any steps near them. Her hair was shorter though, and the clothes she was wearing did not look like anything that Reina would wear. But, it was Reina, and anything was a go for her. Agatha beautifully transitioned into a key change, and with dreary adrenaline, tackled the song's bridge.

Kisses and wishes dead,

Buried all along,

Magic turned to dread,

Of what never belonged.

For some odd reason, Sammy Cloud invaded his mind and bad memories began to form. He shook it off and lost Reina's track.

At the corner of his eye, he saw her turn slightly right at the last moment before a clump of students surged together. He slipped between the students and saw Reina sitting next to...Reina? The girl he was following wasn't Reina, it was her sister Maddie. She and Maddie were sitting on a sofa and talking to each other. Enceladus didn't feel comfortable going over there because of his earlier encounter with her on the terrace. He softly bobbed to the music, paying no attention to the girls, hoping Maddie would walk away. Sweat began to drip down his nose, as he stepped in place.

Unlike Reina, Maddie's appearance was quite ruthless. They both had dark silky hair, and similar facial features, but Maddie strutted with an attitude, and always seemed to carry a load of composed darkness. She would be one witch, you wouldn't want to be in a duel with. Enceladus sweated even more, as Maddie seemed locked in conversation, unwilling to leave her sister.

The wizard gods eventually heard his silent prayers. Maddie gave Reina a hug and said something along the lines of, "When you come around, I'll keep you updated." and left towards the bar. On her way, she dug into her back pocket and retrieved a vial with clear liquid sloshing around inside. She clinked the glass with her finger and placed it back into her pocket. Enceladus raised an eyebrow, but did not bother to fret. Reina picked up a large book that was next to her and started to read. It was now or never. He paced himself, thinking hard on the first sentence he was going to say to her. But luckily again, she beat him to the punch.

"Hey Enceladus." Reina lifted her gleaming blue eyes from her book. For a split second, Enceladus felt like he was hypnotized.

"Oh, hey, what's up Reina"

Enceladus was trying to play it cool. Whatever that meant.

"What are you doing here? I don't imagine you to be the party type."

"I came with Sessabit and Gordan." He started playing with his fingers a bit. "How about you?"

"Oh you know, Maddie got a last-minute invite, and she didn't want to come alone. She just dragged me along. It's not really my scene either. I'm pretty much just sitting here watching over my sister so she won't do anything idiotic or life threatning. She's keen for mishaps."

Enceladus felt a sense of relief that Reina wasn't really enjoying the scenery as well.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Enceladus could never tell when she was kindly joking, or brutally being sarcastic.

"No, I was…-"

"Take a seat. It's not like I jinxed it."

Enceladus sat down gingerly with his hands placed upon his lap.

"So, what are you reading there?" Enceladus was shaking, trying to avoid eye contact when necessary.

"Special Wizarding Abilities through the Ages."

"What did you say!?" shouted Enceladus, trying to drown out the now raging sound of the students and the band.

"Wizarding Special Abilities through the Ages!"

"I'm sorry I can't…-"

"Oh, come on, follow me."

Reina slammed her book shut, grabbed Enceladus' arm and dragged him away from the sofa.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere more respectable and peaceful than this. Just follow me."

"What about your sister?"

Reina looked at her wrist watch softly.

"Don't worry she'll be fine."

Enceladus has never seen Reina act like this. In an instant, she turned delicate and sweet, to aggravated and assertive. Enceladus was still clueless about their destination. Reina led them into a hallway near the restroom.

"Okay, I want you to hold onto my arm as tight as you can and don't let go."

"Sure. What are you going to do?" He wrapped his arm, but he didn't feel confident about it.

"How did you feel when you traveled into the border trash bin?"

"Fine. I guess but-"

"Perfect. On the count of three. One..."

"Wait what?-"

"Three!"

Enceladus' head immediately obtained a headache, and his throat tightened up by the force of racing blackness that was surrounding him and Reina. His eyelids refused to open, as the pounding pressure of this mysterious plight forced them shut. Even his ears were popping as if they just surpassed any form of altitude. He continued to hold on tight, gripping both of his arms around Reina's one. But, just as Enceladus obtained his full hold, a light burst into his eyes and he plummeted onto the floor. His back cracked as he lethargically rose from the floor trying to make out his surroundings.

"Oh boy…" groaned Enceladus, rubbing his back in a crouched position. "Where...where am I?"

He swung his neck around to loosen the stiffness, and to his dazed amazement, he was greeted by a plethora of flowers. But, not the flowers he saw before. Instead, these didn't have funky colors, or funky physical properties. These were all the colors of autumn. Oranges, yellows, and reds blazed in nearly every corner of the room. The one flower that didn't change was the blue rose, still rotating in mid-air as blue bolts of lighting danced around it.

"Where am I?" Enceladus rubbed his head and fixed his outfit. "Oh, wait im back at your-"

"Flat, yes. Here, take a seat." Reina pulled up a woven chair, shaped like an egg with a yellow cushion placed inside.

"Thanks. Can I ask what that was? How did we get here like that?"

Enceladus slumped onto the chair, nearly tripping over a potted red cactus flower.

"It's called Apparition. Basically physical teleportation. Very hard skill, but very useful."

A light ball clicked in Enceladus' head.

"Is that how you get around so easily?"

"Maybe." Reina was resolute, sitting cross legged on a circular red rug, by a bundle of orange lilacs.

Enceladus couldn't believe he was back at Reina's flat. It was a cozy place specifically constructed to inhabit one person. By the lack of furniture, and her interior designing, she seemed content by the idea of solidarity, basking in the glory of individual expression, self-preservation, and a whole lot of flowers. She seemed very fond of her environment.

Enceladus saw her cat Evelyn playing with a toy and rolling on the ground with pure elation. But, it seemed her cat's fur changed from brown and silver, to brown and black. He blamed his astigmatism.

"Your cat is adorable. I actually saw her running around in the Forbidden Forest yesterday, jumping around near a trail made of books."

"Oh really? Mmm. Well, yes, when I'm studying by the lake, I let her run off. She must have ventured very far this time if she was by the Book Trail of Death."

Enceladus thought that name was very dramatic. He held in his laughter.

"Why is it even there?"

"No one really knows and nobody goes near it. People say the books are stories that end in death. And when you follow the trail, you don't return." She gave an appreciated smile to Evelyn. "I'm just glad she's smart enough to not go any further. Isn't that right?"

She picked up and kissed Evelyn on the top of her head.

Enceladus couldn't resist asking about the flowers next. It was too magnificent.

"Uh...so...the flowers?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Purpose?"

"I like flowers."

"But, how do you make them change colors? And why does that rose have lighting over it?"

"Magic. Duh."

Enceladus was baffled by such an obvious answer.

"Of course. But, why?"

"I ask that same question as well."

Reina hesitated.

"I'll tell. But, you promise not to tell anyone?"

Enceladus shook his head in agreement.

She exhaled deeply, and paused.

"Well, depending on how I feel depends on what flowers I create…If I let go."

"What do you mean?"

Reina closed her eyes and placed herself into a meditative position, focusing on her breaths. After a while of sustained breathing, the flowers around her started to change from autumn colors to pale turquoise. Mini flowers were even springing from her floor boards. This didn't last, as Reina quickly lost her concentration. The flowers went back to the warm autumn tones.

"You were calming yourself, right?"

Reina nodded yes.

"Well, what are you feeling now?"

Reina took another pause.

"I just feel…okay. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing."

Reina huddled near Evelyn. "Can we change the subject, please."

"Yeah...sure."

Reina has flower powers? Enceladus rubbed his eyes to check if he was dreaming or not. And, he was not. This was legitimate. He hoped one day in the near future she would elaborate, but for now he was happy to even lay witness to such a gift that Reina has created.

"Well, as I was saying before the apparition, I am reading Wizarding Special Abilities through the Ages." announced Reina, reopening her large bulky book.

"Why are you reading that book?"

"You of course."

"Me?!" Enceladus yelped so loud, he popped the bones in his spine and neck. He was blushing uneasily.

"Yup, I may have weird stupid powers, but yours cuts the cake. Ever since you told me about your special gift, I decided to go to the library and do some research on it. I was intrigued and I wanted to know if it was a hereditary wizarding gene or actually an once-in-a life-time ability only certain wizards obtain. Or, most importantly if it's learnable."

"And what did you find?"

"I found that they are both, which is very intriguing. The power is called Aspectu Caelum and apparently every 328 years, when all of the planets align, gravitational tugs will rearrange magical currents here on earth, and cause unbalanced frequencies on anything that possesses magical power, typically wizards and witches. 671 years ago a witch claimed that her seven-year old son would predict a shower of shooting stars seconds before they streaked across the sky, and on multiple occasions. Fifteen years ago, a boy who can analyze the whole universe with ease and clarity was born."

"And who's that?"

Reina paused, and gave him a glowering look.

"Apparently he was clueless as well."

"Oh...me...haha...that's right…"

He pulled his knees to his chest and huddled into a ball.

"So, I'm not the only one?"

"Apparently not. And learning it is quite difficult, but not totally impossible. It involves years of training the mind in lucid ways, maybe months, if you are willing to devote yourself."

A heavy silence blanketed the room in an instant. Reina popped out a chocolate frog and started munching on it.

"So, how are your observations?" Reina opened her thick roll of parchment, looking over notes.

"Saturn? I haven't really looked. Last I saw it was still relatively motionless. I've been looking at the Messier Star Cluster for a bit, trying to get some...uh...extra credit. I can't seem to make out its shape."

Enceladus felt a bit downtrodden for not observing.

"It's a heart."

"A heart? Really? I can't see that."

"I've been looking at that one for a while. The stars represent love."

"Oh...um well good to know...thanks." Enceladus' muscles clenched with tension, as he awkwardly clutched and rubbed his arm.

There was another awkward silence. Reina continued to rummage through her notes. He was running out of things to say.

"So, did you hear about Eleanor? Pretty wild."

Enceladus tried to not look like a fool. Fool's Fantasy might have done him wonders right about now.

"Yes, it was. She must have ran away somewhere. I went straight home when it all happened." Reina was erasing a sentence in her notes.

"People are saying it's the New Death Eaters, do you believe that? Isn't Hogwarts protected with spells and stuff?"

"Probably. Original Death Eaters used any means necessary to penetrate the defenses by Dumbledore, a headmaster long ago. The Ministry would even help. But, the Ministry has always had a bad reputation when it came to reliability, even after the Second Great War when they were overthrown by the Death Eaters. Their operations and departments are flawed, maybe even corrupted. Who knows right?" She paused and fidgeted with her quill. " If they were Death Eaters, I didn't want to stay and find out. I just hope Eleanor wasn't too spooked and she completely ran off somewhere. But, for not being a member of the WADA she was hanging pretty well at the auditions." Reina tacked another chomp out of her chocolate frog. Her tiny bites emulated a bunny. It was quite adorable.

Enceladus wanted to ask about the grueling looking ghost but figured she would have left the theatre by then. He realigned himself, as Evelyn pounced onto his lap, purring loudly like a running car engine. For some reason Evelyn was more loving and affectionate compared to the last time they met. She was less vocal and aloof, and more content with the company.

"How do you think you did?"

"Eh, okay, Professor Flurry plays favorites, and recycles flight moves, so I did what I could. Singing was fine. I still get jitters, but I pushed through. Professor Soap's toad is really adorable though and gave me a great starting note. And my monologue was fine. I practiced it a dozen times under the Tree of Creativity, but Shakespeare is not really my thing. I prefer other wizarding playwrights. Actually, not really, there is never a true sense of preference with me. My taste in theatre is highly arbitrary."

Enceladus would have never imagined Reina to present herself into this kind of light. She was ambitious, full of drive, and seemed untouchable. But despite her Slytherin status, she still had to cope with setbacks just like anyone else.

"How about you? You want the play or musical?"

"I thought I did fine as well. You know I'm still trying to transition into this new theatrical life. It's coming along. I like everything so far. Um, If I had to choose probably Wands and Wine. Can't beat dancing and casting a bunch of charms."

Enceladus' throat began to dry. "I must say though...you...are a fantastic dancer. Blunderful...ah! I mean...wonderful...yes, wonderful technique you have." A hot scarlet feeling overcame his cheeks.

She finally stopped looking at her notes and gave him a soft, yet penetrating look. Her blue eyes sparkled against the rustling fire from her candles.

"Thank you. I could say the same for you." As she said this, she levitated a Slow loris shaped watering pot over her flowers.

"Thanks. I haven't been doing it for too long but I absolutely love it."

"It's evident." She wasn't looking at him, but she was noticeably smiling her usual radiant smile.

Enceladus wasn't sure where the trajectory of this conversation was headed. He had no clue whether she enjoyed his company or simply accepted it. Maybe she just needed someone who she could talk to as well. Someone who wasn't jealous of her or trying to flirt with her. Enceladus was just glad he could be a part of her company and talk about something and anything to her. But, a stabbing sensation poked at his chest cavity and he all of a sudden felt sad and gloomy. He hummed the words of Agatha Sol's song as he studied Reina's ceiling.

"What are you humming?" She was now watering a tall red dandelion.

"Oh, It was that one song from the...uh, The Four Broom Sticks." He averted his gaze to a now curled up Evelyn.

"That's a pretty sad song."

"Yes it is."

"You like humming sad songs?"

"No no it's just…" An avalanche pummeled down inside, and Enceladus felt emotionally trapped. "It's just…I had a rough time, a sad time...with a relationship before I came here...not here of course, but the wizarding world. A muggle as you say."

"I figured." said Reina flatly, but with some sense of compassion.

"Right …"

"Well."

"Well?"

"What happened between you two?"

"You really want to hear?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

Enceladus hasn't talked about his relationship with Sammy Cloud since writing his poem bidding her adieu. Becoming a wizard was a high priority at the time, and even now. It was hard to think about his past dysfunctional affair, that at moments, he enjoyed, until the fateful collapse.

"Well, in short, towards the beginning of our affairs I thought I was dating a pretty cool girl. She was smart, pretty, funny and REALLY Catholic."

"Catholic. Catholicism. Yes, yes, that's a religion."

"Yes, yes it is."

"I am familiar with religion, but why is it a thing you muggles do so fervently?"

Enceladus was stumped.

"And the whispering to the sky. It seems useless."

"Yeah, well-"

"Also I've read some muggle accounts about persecutions from these Catholics. Doesn't that go against their beliefs?"

Reina was being very testy.

"Eh, sort of, but that is not the point in this story. The point is that being Catholic now is considered to be a good quality to have in the muggle world. Well, most of it."

Reina scoffed in a okay-whatever-you-say-way. Enceladus did not refute her inaudible remark and had his doubts about this custom as well.

"But, it wasn't the case. A month into the relationship she flipped, and turned quite nasty. She wasn't the same. I only wanted her to be happy, but guess I wasn't enough. She eventually called it off and that was that. Ever since, I've been trying to focus on my future and being a wizard, but sometimes I slip into this very down mood." Enceladus' face began to swell, and his words struggled to become coherent. " I...uh...I'm sorry...I'm not used to talking about this…" Enceladus buried his palms onto his teary face, and bended forward, trying to conceal himself.

Reina was still unsure on what to do. Evelyn jumped off and munched into her cat bowl, which was atop a scratch post that nearly reached the ceiling. Reina slowly drifted towards Enceladus and placed a hand above his shoulder. He lifted his head and gave Reina a weak smile. She gave him an encouraging smile.

For the next hour, Enceladus and Reina talked about everything and anything, spilling out the story of their lives. Enceladus talked about his upbringing In Holland Park, his school life, and his family dynamic. When he mentioned his grandparents, she automatically responded positively about their work and all of their achievements. He even talked about his father's death, where she seemed disquieted for the most part. Vice versa, Reina talked about her life as a witch. She talked about all of her wizard siblings (around ten, some of them already dead), her love for bangers and mash, her fondness of cats, and her father. She loved her father very much. Mr. Rose worked at the Ministry of Magic, in the office of Workforce and Labor Rehabilitation. He helped wizards in need, who actively want to seek work but have a hard time establishing themselves. Intelligence runs in the family. This carried on, until they both finished eating chocolate frogs together, meekly laughing at a picture of Reina in a funny dress with an elf holding onto a mop.

"So, don't you want to do some sightseeing tonight. Saturn might have moved." badgered Reina, now stretching her back on the floor like a sprawling cat. Evelyn quickly caught on to the gist and did the same thing right next to her. Synchronized sprawling at its finest.

"I'll probably pass, my brain is fried. Maybe another time. I was planning to save what little energy I had to finish my history homework. I have a couple free periods tomorrow since the WADA is practically nonexistent for two days, but I wanted to practice some magic by the Tree of Creativity." Enceladus stood up for the first time since he arrived, cracking his lower back very loudly. "I think we should go back to the party soon, I don't want Gordan and Sessabit to worry about me."

"Wait wait, you are planning to read your history book?" Reina burst to life with a new found energy to her words.

"Uh, is there another way to read a book?"

"Actually, there is. I can show you if you want? It won't take long. It's just a different method of studying that I developed over the years. But, it only works if the book has illustrations, or diagrams."

,

After their heartfelt counseling session, he gained a better idea of who Reina was, which gave him more closure about their relationship as friends, but there was always this underlying feeling of Reina being overly cunning and quite radically daring. Sleepiness snuck behind his eyes; yet he didn't mind having an easier method besides reading.

"Sure."

"Eh eh. There's one thing you have to do for me."

Reina was wearing a determined face; her piercing blue eyes peering slightly under her bangs.

"If this is how you do this, you have to promise to try and teach me Aspectu Caelum."

Enceladus didn't know how to react.

"Teach you? I don't even know how it fully works."

"Well, we'll figure it out together, and when in doubt Evelyn can help. What do you say? Me, you and the book every so often or so."

Enceladus shifted back and forth, shuffling his feet. He decided at this point, he would say yes to anything to learn this trick and get back to the party faster.

"Okay. Let's do it."

"Ah fantastic!" Reina snatched Evelyn involuntarily, giving her the biggest hug. "Okay, okay. So, what are you learning about right now?"

"Uh, international wizarding history. We are at the Salem Witch Trial unit." Enceladus reached into his nonexistent bookbag trying to grab his book.

Reina froze for a millisecond, then broke out of her stasis.

"Don't worry I have mine. Accio history book."

The book zipped from another room, and brandished into her palm. She opened the book to chapter two, whispered an incantation under her breath, and both she and Enceladus got sucked into the book.

The Rise of Taurus

Rain diagonally pelted the brown slushy ground, as the weak sun was engulfed by a parade of gray cumulonimbus clouds. A roadless village was afront, with tudor style buildings, and horse hitch posts scattered about. A smudged white church with a stoutly bell tower captured the eye's attention. People all wore modest pieces of headwear; men black hats, and women linen caps. The men wore neutral looking outfits, with wide lace collars and silky cuffs. The women wore very conservative smocks with self-effacing cuts. Just like their surroundings, the color of their outfits were various shades of black, gray, and brown. Whenever somebody passed by, it seemed that they would not notice Reina and Enceladus. Enceladus finally rose from the unsteady muck, and tried to wipe himself down. Reina was nowhere to be found. He surveyed the area and after turning 180 degrees from the spot he first faced, he saw Reina leaning on a wooden fence, staring at gallows that hung three women. He approached her tentatively.

"So, is any of this real?"

The rain was dripping off her bangs like the tip of a leaf.

"No, we are within the world of the text. Everything you see represents nothing. No laws of time will be tampered here. It is all for visual context." With a staunch detachment, Reina continued to stare at the dangling lifeless bodies hanging on ropes.

Something was bothering Reina. The dead bodies probably didn't help either. Regardless, Enceladus couldn't fathom the gruesome image presented in front of him. It overpowered any chance for recuperation.

"Wow, it's very powerful to actually witness this kind of stuff. I always thought the Salem Witch Trials were human...I mean, a muggle thing."

"Roughly. The witches you see here are murdered spies for The Magical Congress of the United States. They were the first witches to truly undergo an operation to spy and study the muggle lifestyle. Before them, muggles were considered freaks. Poised to stay away from the muggles and their mysterious practices, the wizarding world stayed within their realm limits. But a small group of witches were eventually appointed to Salem Massachusetts to extract any sort of intel due to centuries of curiosity. Some believe they were sent for slaughter by the Magical Congress; becoming guinea pigs to face such a daunting task, hoping to gain a survivor to relay any information. But as history tells, tragedy struck."

Enceladus knew she wasn't done, as she took a deep breath to start the next section of this unexpected history lesson.

"But, history isn't always accurate. Especially in these books that are specifically seen through the lenses of Hogwarts, specifically Bathilda Bagshot. In this book, these wizards were only regarded as the first wizarding spies, who failed at their mission, and met the cruel demise under the ruthless hands of the radical muggles. They are not credited for making the first ties with the muggle world. According to this book, about a couple hundred years into the future, the Ministry of Magic was credited for being the first. This is false. As much as I loathe America's Leader of Magic and his horrible handling of Magical Creatures, this is one thing that rings true. There is much more to the Salem Witch Trials than what this book presents."

Reina jumped over the fence and placed her hands into her back pockets, as she lifted her gaze to the woman hanging in the middle.

"This woman is a part of my family tree. No one knows her in history. She is forgotten, but she is for sure a part of the Rose lineage. Her name was Donny. She along with the other witches were all put on trial for being themselves. I was told muggle history exaggerates this tale as a "Witch Hunt". In fact, it was all a huge misunderstanding and an act of evil."

Goosebumps were growing on Enceladus' arms, but the odd thing was, he couldn't feel the rain on him nor the presumably chilly air. Reina was locked in, never losing sight of her story and her attention to the hanging women.

"Once all of the witches arrived, they disguised themselves to match the public image, separated, and settled in the attics of random households. Once they became acquainted, they started to make connections and receive muggle jobs. But, after a while two of the girls slightly abandoned the mission and got caught up with the muggle life and decided to start a family. They fell in love. One of them was Donny and the other was her best friend Marie, a writer. With no real deadline given by The Magical Congress of the United States, they settled nicely, and decided to take a different course of action, whether they cared or not. The other witches warned them that they would lose their positions at the Ministry and become exiled for not following direct orders, but they would quickly forget Donny and Marie in the long run."

The rain shot down harder, but Reina still stayed poised and focused.

"Despite years of mass fear from the wizarding world, Donny and Marie found the muggle world to be a beautiful place, especially in the town of Salem Massachusetts. The plants, the walks, the food and especially their newly acquired husbands complemented their new found tastes. Donny married a farmer muggle named Lawrence Paul and her best friend married a writer muggle named Wilfred Hodgins. Afraid of revealing their true natures, they laid low with their magical abilities and pretended to be muggles for years on. Eventually Donny broke this secrecy, and confessed to her husband. He still accepted and loved her whole-heartedly, yet they would only keep this between the two of them. Eventually they decided to have a child, and life seemed perfect between the two. But, the year 1692 rolled along and their lives would change forever."

"An extreme belief system arrived at Salem. I believe they were called Puritans? Yes, I believe so. Anyways, they were highly against witchcraft as if they knew witches existed in the first place."

"Yeah, they were very religious, devoting their lives to God. They resented things associated with evil or the Devil, including witchy things, which made them very strict."

Reina gave Enceladus a blank stare.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why they teach this in English public schools. You can continue."

"As I was saying, these ideals were glorified; spreading quickly throughout the village like Basilisk venom. Both Donny and Marie were petrified, fearing they would be caught and accused of being witches. Donny was more on the fence since she was the only one to reveal her powers, and use them domestically within her husband's and daughter's knowledge. Marie on the other hand struggled to conceal herself, fearing her husband would no longer love her. Marie's apprehensions especially grew, when her husband decided to become a...reverend, yes, a reverend. This is where it all fell apart. One stormy night, her husband took a walk down town square past the suggested curfew, and happened to run into Donny's household. Despite his wife being best friends with Donny, constantly visiting her house for boiled clam dinners and gossip, he always felt something peculiar with the family. Unfortunately, Donny and her husband forgot to close their window shades that night, and Wilfred caught Donny using the Wingardium Leviosa spell, cleaning used utensils in her sink. Fraught by shock and confusion, he ran home and questioned Marie rigorously. She simply denied experiencing, or witnessing any instance of magic whenever she visited the Paul family. She told him it must have been his imagination running wild from hard work and fatigue, and suggested for him to slumber it away. But, it wasn't that easy and he stood persistent in discovering the truth."

Enceladus lost all sense of sleep, as he was enraptured by this tale. He had trouble focusing at some points because of the swaying legs that would sometimes graze his shoulder. But, wow, Reina was superb at telling a story.

"He gathered a group of lethal anti-witch, pro-reformer-supporters to initiate a secret investigation on the family. He refused to believe his "Superior mind bestowed and operated by the grace of his God" would deceive him with visual lies. He was determined to find any slip of evidence to arrest them and have them tried. His group would spy and pay close attention to the family's everyday actions. Wilfred on the other hand, would sweetly pressure his wife, saying things such as "If what I saw was true, I would keep it a secret...I will try to help and understand...etcetera etcetera." Overtaken by this sudden wave of deceitful charm, her love and trust for her husband flourished, and she eventually confessed to her powers along with Marie's and her daughter's. Wilfred "seemed" understanding, and wanted to learn more about these powers. And that's what she did. Obsessed with pleasing him, she taught him everything she knew, which included the Dark Arts, and he practiced, learned, and studied like his life depended on it, rapt by this "divine" power from "his" God. Yes, it was always thought that muggles couldn't orchestrate or bear magical abilities, but if you are driven by madness, I presume anything is possible."

"No-"

Enceladus stopped himself short, trying not to interrupt again.

"Still compulsively entwined by his faith, he felt that the Devil robbed these mystic powers from the "holiness" of man, and stuffed them into the inherently "sinful" bodies of women. This angered him, along with years of his wife's silence and negation. All of this was considered a crime of life, and he knew there was only one thing left to do to rid the world of this evil mockery. He, himself, had to condemn Marie, Donny and her daughter into eternal punishment. He felt this to be a righteous act to bring order to man and the Puritan lifestyle. Yet, still aware of how people might perceive his learnings, he selfishly kept it to himself. He'd use this to his advantage; playing with the system to avoid committing homicide himself. This was just the tipping point. He also wanted to be praised for his discoveries; exposing their true natures and providing them the pleasure of public shame. From there he decided to savagely use what he had learned from his wife. He first used the Cruciatus curse on Marie with Marie's wand, blindsiding her as she was bathing."

Enceladus vaguely remembered reading a section of his Dark Arts book about Unforgivable curses. He decided not to ask her to elaborate. She continued.

"Since he was a muggle, and not very disciplined, his spell faltered a bit and wore off quicker. But, it did the job for the time he needed to pursue his plan. He proceeded to drag her naked withering body into his living place. He then got a knife and slashed her thigh just enough to gather some of her blood and write a message on his wall saying ...The Devil dwells within my soul...Once he completed that, he yelled out the window for the village authority to come to his house quickly. They arrived and fell into a panic. He told them that, "She became aggressively lustful, as she climaxed near their neighbor's house on a patch of grass. That she was rapidly speaking demon talk, with her eyes twitching with bursting veins, rolling behind her head. And that she constantly had the desire to inflict self-harm." He even addressed his own witnesses, which were his group. Still squirming on the floor in tortuous pain, he offered to detain her for the night since she was still his lawful wife, and knew how to tend to her in the time being. The authorities agreed, gave him information about a trial, and left. Until her trial, he kept her in their cellar."

Reina words started to lose their energetic umph, and dwindled slowly into sorrowful meditation.

"Donny heard of the incident and the rumors the next day. She confronted Wilfred. Wilfred explained what happened, but Donny had her skepticisms. She requested to see Marie for herself, but Wilfred denied her attempts saying that she was too ill to see anybody. Again, Donny sensed something out of place."

"That very day she kept a watchful eye out for anything suspicious as she browsed through the food market square. Eventually, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of Wilfred's men following her at an unreasonable pace. She pulled out her wand from her smock, pointed it towards the man, and whispered an incantation to pin him down. She nonchalantly walked over, pulled him behind a tall stack of squash away from the villagers, and interrogated him. He pleaded for her to not hurt him, as he was fretfully spitting invocations between his words. She ruthlessly asked, "What are you doing and who are you working for?" He simply said, with tears spilling from his eyes. "Wilfred. Your kind seeks extermination under the eyes of our savior. Rotting in the underworld is the only solution." Donny's mind began to race with infinite possibilities ricocheting off her skull. "Where is he?" she growled. He said the last time he saw Wilfred was by the village bank, pointing a stick at a little girl. At these words, she released the man and sprinted to the village bank."

"Once she reached the area, a crowd had formed and enclosed around the scene. Hoping it wasn't what she thought it was, she plowed through the bodies of villagers. But, to her shredding disbelief, she was too late. Wilfred was yelling out to the crowd in a very reverend like way, stating that the spazzing body below his feet, which was Donny's daughter Abigail, was "Possessed by a demon…that she's been bitten on the arm ravenously...and her tongues being drawn out involuntarily." Apparently, he used the Imperius curse on her while she was playing with her friends as Lawerence was watching over her. But, the peculiar thing was Lawrence was nowhere to be found. He disappeared, and to this day no one knows what happened. Donny, with blinded-barbed-rage, took out her wand and shouted Flipendo. Wilfred was shot back, and landed on his rump. Then an audible gasp was heard, by the crowd, as a ripple of "Witch!" was being heard. In the span of two seconds, a group of village men, and authorities raced towards her and restrained her to the ground. Someone proceeded to pick up her wand and smash it into two pieces. Donny was howling at the top of her lungs. She said, "If I'm a witch, he's definitely an evil wizard! Check his personnel for a wand." Half-hazardly, a village authority did so, and Wilfred allowed. He openly invited the public to search around his puffy cassock, and to Donny's surprise, there wasn't a wand. He then said something like, "She's a blatant liar and deceiving sorceress. For all we know she might be distracting us to employ an attack with her second instrument of death." Once he finished his sentence, they searched her personnel and to Donny's surprise again, a wand was crammed between the waistline of her skirt, and she knew it was Marie's wand. The villagers confiscated it, and gave it to Wilfred to "burn". She then swore that she would expose him for the fraud he truly was. That she will, even after death, achieve justice. He jailed her in a discreet location, fearing more will appear and try to save her. The daughter was held at another discreet location. The very next day the three of them were summoned to trial by the Puritan courts."

Reina broke her gaze for the first time, and stared at the ground, wrapping up her story.

"The other spy witches attended the trial, but stood silent, for their mission to their Congress was more important than their fellow wizard's lives. In a way, some felt she got what she deserved for abandoning the wizarding world completely. In short, Marie was charged with one account of offensive nudity, two accounts of demonistic vulgarity. Sadly, while she was still in a daze because of the Imperious curse, her supposed last words were, "Please, save me, my beloved husband." He stared sharply and replied. "No. You are not my wife. You are dead to me." Abigail was charged with one account of demonistic vulgarity, and Donny was charged with one account of black sorcery and one account of witch breeding. Like a bolt, the executioners kicked the stools from under their feet, and their necks snapped like twigs, hanging for all to witness. A couple hours later, we stand here face to face with the aftermath."

She took a painful pause and continued.

"Only good thing about this story is that Donny was right. She did expose him even after death. Before they took Marie's wand from her, she extracted her memory and placed it into a small bottled that she possessed, whispered a transportation incantation, and delivered the bottle to the local sewing cabin where some of her witch compatriots worked often, hoping one would find it, see it, and discover the truth. And one did, her name I believe was Sarah, and she made it her mission to expose and dismantle Wilfred's reign and power over his secret Puritan group. Many years later the Magical Congress of America closed the mission and allowed the witches to return to the wizarding world. Some survived and some didn't. Sarah did, and she explained and showed what happened at Salem. The Congress retaliated instantaneously, sent Aurors, which are wizard cops if you didn't know, and visited Salem unbiddenly. Against his will, they captured Wilfred and his lust for power, and tried him at the Magical Congress's courts. He was immediately proven guilty on various accounts and was executed for his heinous crimes. He was the first muggle brought over and tried in the wizarding world, anywhere. That marked the deliberate separation of muggles and wizards. Around the world, policies were being developed to prevent any muggles from learning, witnessing, or experiencing magic. Some of these policies were lifted here in Scotland, but they were reinforced by a notoriously bad professor called Umbridge. Then they were lifted again by your Grandparents, but quickly reinforced again."

Reina looked as if every ounce of her soul was drained.

"But, I guess the moral of all this, just in case you write an essay or something...just to give you an idea...is...is that …" She started to choke up. "Is that sometimes the sacrifices for change will always be harder when someone points the wrong finger."

Reina grabbed Donny's hand and squeezed it tightly. Enceladus was speechless.

"Of course all of this doesn't matter. You have to write about what's in the book...not any of my rubbish...I'm sorry."

Reina gave her inaudible goodbye to the three bodies and began to walk the opposite direction. Consumed by distraught, he followed closely behind not knowing what to expect next.

"Come on, Enceladus. I think our time is up here. Let's not keep your friends waiting." She grabbed her wand in her back pocket, and held it with a droopy limp.

Enceladus didn't expect Reina to tell this long hyper-detailed tale of what really happened. Was it true that Donny was related to her? If so, why did she care so much about her and what she did? Her information was extremely sound, and she didn't miss a beat expressing certain intonations about the subject matter.

Enceladus began to jog to Reina before it was too late. When he made it to her, he wrapped his arm around her once more, and like a jet plane, they broke the sound barrier and warped into the static of time. Before they fully exited the land of fake reality, Enceladus noticed a man walking, concealing a wand into his coat. His pulse grew at an unbearable pace, full of anger and discontent.

After reeling out of control through space, time and continuum, they plunked onto Reina's living room floor. When they were twirling out from the pages, Enceladus hit his head across a bright yellow object that was floating. After he regained his senses, and his whereabouts, he noticed that the yellow object that struck him against the side of his head was Reina's bookmark. Was Reina learning about this in class, or did she have it openly accessible for her; finding value and or leisure in such relatable content? Either way, the book was a first-year issue. So, why would she have it in the first place?

"Ready to go back to the party?" mumbled Reina, rigid and disturbed, sounding drowned out.

"Uh yeah, sure."

Enceladus grabbed onto Reina's arm again, apparating instantaneously when skin touched skin. The flowers were now all black and gray.

Falling straight onto the stage, Enceladus banged his head across a sitting stool. Trying to gain balance and fight his disorientation, he heard distorted screams of pure trepidation come from all directions. Now fully standing, he could see perfectly that the party had been ambushed, and was being attacked. Wizards and witches everywhere were either trying to escape or fight the menace intruding. There were shooting beams and sparks of red, green, and white, bouncing off of walls, hitting people, and destroying the interior property. To Enceladus' horror, the trespassers wore vanta black robes with skull masks of all different designs. Were these the New Death Eaters? There were at least two flanking the magical exit and others scattered about the room. Some of them were yelling, "Where's the wand? Who has the Tenacis Wand?!" Distracted by mayhem, a green beam suddenly came streaking at Enceladus' forehead, but he was quickly tackled by a sticky, furry wizard.

"Come on, we have to get ou' of here! Now! Ets the New Death Eaters! They're lookin' fer the Stingy Stick like you said. We have to get back to mi place!" yelped Sessabit, covering Enceladus with most of his bulky body.

"What if they track us-"

"They can't, if we apparate, Hogwarts charms en enchantments will protect us from there. Hopefully. But, we can't take any chances."

Sessabit was now rapidly shooting sparks out of the tip of his wand. Bodies were flying everywhere.

"Come on, we have to get pas' the exit, ter have eh chance!"

"What about Gordan-"

"He can take care o' himself, let's go!"

Sessabit dragged him by the arm as he was ducking and weaving through crossfire. One of the harpy players levitated and launched a table at two of the Death Eaters near the exit. They flew and crashed against the fish tank. The exit was clear. Sessabit darted towards it with all his might. Enceladus on the other hand, halted, looking for Reina to see if she was okay or if she escaped.

"I won't leave without Reina!"

The room was impossible to spot her. Colorful flashes and silhouettes were meandering with the darkness. He shuffled and ducked into the chaos a bit more and saw what he prayed he didn't wish to see. Reina was heavily restrained by two New Death Eaters, as they were about to get away. Reina was squirming and wrestling rigorously with no avail. Enceladus pounced his palm for his wand, but before he could even lay a finger on it, they disappeared.

"REINA!"

With sightless fury, Enceladus shouted random words and phrases shooting all kinds of shapes and colors in every direction. Sessabit managed to wrangle him up and fireman carry him all the way to the exit. At the final few yards Sessabit dove past a couple of students and New Death Eaters exchanging blows and deflects like a ping pong match. They apparated and zipped through the frosty current of blackness, landing on a fuzzy carpet in Sessabit's hut. Sessabit sprung up quickly, and ran to a floor board that was slightly sticking up from the floor. He pulled it up, grabbed a little treasure box from underneath, whispered Alohomora and began searching the contents like a ravaged animal.

"Are you serious?! Why did you do that Sessabit! Why did we just leave Reina like that! Huh?! Answer me!"

Enceladus' face turned tomato red, as tears of anger jerked out of his eyes.

"There was nothin' we could do! They already apparated before we even had eh chance ter do anythin'! We had to get back here to check if the wand es okay!" Sessabit was still rummaging into the treasure box like a mad person.

Enceladus began to stomp around in frustration and disbelief, groaning heavily under his breath. He immediately stopped, when he saw Sessabit fall back onto the floor with his rump with eyes of frozen horror.

"This...this is not the wand?-"

"Sessabit? Is tha' you? Wha' are yeh doin' here so early in the night?"

A giant white figure with shaggy hair and a long snowy beard, appeared behind Enceladus holding a tray of chocolate chip cookies. Enceladus lurched back in total shock, became dizzy, and fainted onto the floor.

The Season of Corvus: Part 2

Dear Enceladus,

Sorry this letter took so long to arrive. I finally figured out how Profugus works. He's very stubborn for an owl. I gave him food and everything, but he still refused to send the letter to you. Turns out the first letter I wrote you was too big for him. He kept on falling on the floor when trying to pick it up. I just thought he was being dramatic. So, I rewrote a shorter letter and snipped away the extra unwritten parchment. It seemed to work, considering he flew out the window in a jiffy. (Please try to train and dignify him better. He's very annoying at times.) Now, the investigation has been undermined lately by our helpers, so I've been taking things into my own hands these past few months. Things are looking very promising and we are very close to finding your father's killers. Sooner the better. Anyways, I can't wait to see you for Christmas. I'll be cooking up your favorites. Marinated turkey and bean casserole. I hope your hair is nice and you are eating.

Love, Mother

Enceladus crumpled up the parchment and tossed it aside. He sighed and stared out of his room window. The chill of winter now invaded the castle. Trees have shedded their leaves; crackling and crunching as they tumbled across the terrace. Critters scuttled across the snow, leaving trails of tiny paw prints. The stingy cold air howled wistful tunes through the Solace, accompanying the visual masterpiece of nature coated in glimmering white. It's a beautiful sight, but cannot be fully appreciated by Enceladus. Not since that night.

It's been three months since Reina's capture and much has changed. The school has been on complete lock down. Muggle military soldiers have been authorized to protect and secure the castle grounds from any imminent danger. This executive order was approved by the British Parliament, Parliament of the Pixies, and the Ministry of Magic. Ventril has been leading the operation; having full permission now to inquire anyone, at any time, if suspicion is suspected. Ventril has even proposed a plan to permanently instate muggle officials in everyday wizarding school life. Many parents of the students are in favor of this, hoping that this added-reinforcements will finally keep their children safe.

All of the WADA teachers have returned to work, except for Alio who has been on vacation. As an apologetic token for accusing him wrongly, the school and the Department of Magical Education have agreed to approve his leave of absence. Ironically, that didn't suit Enceladus. Enceladus disliked the substitute. Professor Zenzo. A liposuction, greasy banged woman, who inaugurated herself as a self-acclaimed goddess of acting every single day of her phony life. Yet, she failed miserably at the acting part. All she did was rant about her personal accolades, gossip about actors, yell at Mr. Filch, and slurped her tea like a sea lion passing gas under water. Since Alio has been gone, so has Enceladus' yearn to act.

Another person who has been absent has been Reina's sister. Rumor has it, after the incident, she left school and went to go search for her sister by herself. Enceladus, Sessabit, and Gordan would try to find Maddie on the weekends and assist her with her efforts, but there wasn't any trace of her.

For these past three months Enceladus, Sessabit, and Gordan have conducted their own search parties as well, trying to gather clues about Reina. Many plans were developed, yet many plans were flops. There weren't any solid leads or any sufficient evidence. Finding Reina, even Eleanor, was an arduous task the boys weren't ready to face.

On the bright side, Enceladus has been adapting well to his WADA lifestyle. The musical, Wands and Wine, has been an intriguing and fun process, considering how Professor Flurry can be the total opposite of fun. Enceladus has even mastered fairy dust and can now dance, sing, and act at the same time. Rehearsals helped. The number, The Ballad of the Non-Poisonous Grape, is a showstopper song where Enceladus transfigures himself into a giant floating grape who wishes to be turned into wine but can't because he is too pure to be fermented. He sings a song about this disappointment and dances a melancholy waltz by himself. It's all very outlandish, but Enceladus soon settled into the fact that theatre can be weirder. He only wished Reina was here to experience it with him.

In a way it felt like she was. He kept Reina's promise and has been teaching himself about his special ability, Aspectu Caelum, the ability to see the universe perfectly with his own two eyes. Basically a human telescope. And of course, Evelyn would join and read with him. Their bond has grown tremendously since Reina was taken. But, Evelyn was still a cat, and wouldn't stay very long for their sessions. She'd always have more important matters to attend to, like grooming her fur, or playfully exploring the Forbidden Forest. Oddly enough, Enceladus would occasionally see her carry food and one time a wand. Enceladus figured he was hallucinating and the forest was just playing tricks on him.

Like always though, when she would enter it, she would scurry near The Book Trail of Death. Enceladus tried to stay as far away from the trail. It would always give him the heebie jeebies .

In these sessions Enceladus found a few sources in the library about his special ability, but most of them weren't helpful. Or at least, the answers he expected. To sum it up, the sources stated that his ability didn't really uphold any historical significance and does not serve any true purpose in the wizarding world. Most of them said it was just a "unique birth effect." He often questioned the true purpose of a wizard, especially one so rare as himself. Are his powers all a big joke? Do the constellations mean anything deeper? Are the planetary movements supposed to be celestial signs of the future or hope? Or maybe, just maybe, the planets are simply for sightseeing, and can't provide any answers for life's issues. Enceladus felt like there had to be more to his powers. He convinced himself to talk to Professor Granger. Maybe she could help him find a book that would have more information on it. Until then, he would bask at the glorious sight of Saturn, sometimes listening to it with the spell Hermoine taught him. The rings were slightly reforming and that made Enceladus happy.

What's happier than Saturn's rings coming back, you say? Moving up to your proper grade of course. Neville Longbottom and Despis have been tracing Enceladus' school progress and agreed that after three months of training, skill development, and magical technique, Enceladus has surpassed many of his peers and deserved to have a spot in the roster as fifth year, instead of first year (Which he dreadfully hated). He made a few friends who were eleven year olds, but felt like it was time to quickly move on. He wasn't too fond of the bullying either. Yes, bullying. Eleven year olds are fiends of ugliness. It's in their blood to be tyrants. So, Enceladus worked his tush off to get out.

To finalize his new grade level, Enceladus had a meeting in Despis' office, which was at the top of The Tree of Creativity. Enceladus put on his yellow scarf, closed his creaky frosted window, and tucked his letter from his mother deep into his backpack. He also gave Profugus a fish snap for having to deal with his mother. He took a long moment just to breath. With all of the people missing in his life, he had trouble remembering to breathe at times.

The Tree of Creativity and the WADA were a very festive sight during the holiday season. Snow was magically installed with charms; trickling down from the ceiling onto the island throughout the day. The flower beds were replaced with bright red poinsettias, radish bushes, and holy plants. The burrow was frozen and students ice skated around the tree, giggling and laughing as they skated in friendly groups. Tiny snowmen walked about, as students enchanted them to life. Some fought each other, some skated with the students, and some swung peacefully on the icicle covered swings. "Peacefully." One student's fire toad was startled by one of the walking fat spheres of white, and spat chunks of flames at it. Unfortunately, not even the carrot survived.

The jarred fireflies hanging off the branches no longer glowed with palish cream, but now glowed the greeting colors of Christmas lights, as they punctuated with beauty in front of the old white tree. In the distance you heard Professor Soapy lead an acapella holiday choir group. The carol was a wizarding classic called The Little Wizard Boy. Many were off key and Professor Soapy was too loud with her ridiculing to not notice. Then of course we have our favorite Hogwarts sculpture, Aalto Barfoote, who vigorously chiseled an ice block with untethered emotion, and created a unicorn that glistened with twinkles of pink and light blue. The holiday was Enceladus' favorite time of the year. Mainly because of the hot coco and the ginger bread cookies.

Before he entered Despis office, he saw in the corner two students wrapped in blankets, studying, while drinking hot coco. One of the seats was Reina's favorite rocking chair. Little reminders of her were the worst.

He crossed the invincible bridge and approached The Tree of Creativity's hole, which was the entrance to Despis' office. The hole, like a chimney, was burning brightly with dancing flames. The hearth inside crackled and crunched about. When he looked closer into the flame, a yule log silhouetted in dark gray sporting three candles. Enceladus hasn't seen a yule log since his mom thought his house was haunted. Rumor has it, if you try to enter Despis' office without a formal invitation, even with the password, the hole will lead you to another tree near the castle, forcing you to walk all the way back. He stood face to face with the hole and guessed his password.

"Euripides."

The fires stopped and dissipated quickly. That was easier than he thought. Despis has a strong admiration for Euripides for some reason. The hole transformed into a doorway big enough for a wizard to walk through. The yule log hung prominently on nothing but air, still blazing steadily in the dark. Enceladus entered. Light slowly ascended from the ground, and Enceladus' jaw dropped.

Despis' office was ginormous. It was like a whole new world, stuffed into a tree. Nobody would have ever guessed. His office wasn't really an office. It was a never- ending library, with one singular shelf of books that wrapped around the towering walls like a cylinder. Various relics and furniture were floating in mid-air, slowly rotating like a globe. It looked as if his room was installed with zero gravity. Enceladus eventually looked up and saw that even the top of the tree (Ceiling) has a continuation of the book shelf, with books facing down, and not falling. Enceladus saw a white blur in the distance and heard a familiar high-pitched voice.

"Enceladus! So, great to see you! I'm right up here." screeched Despis from up above.

Enceladus was befuddled. How on earth was he supposed to get all the way up there without any steps.

"Oh don't worry! When you are here, you are capable of floating. Take a little leap and my office will take care of the rest."

Without hesitation, Enceladus propelled his body upwards and started to float. He bumped and almost shattered a vase with painted flamingos. Why Despis has a flamingo vase is beyond Enceladus' comprehension.

Enceladus eventually made it to the top, and saw Despis floating behind his very shiny desk.

"I would ask you to take a seat, but I prefer the lovely comfort of sitting on nothing." Despis, with childish humor, gestured beneath his bum suggestively. "I see you are in awe with my setup here. Every book you see here is collected from every year from the past four thousand years. Wizard and muggle books. I have Plato, Aristophanes, Miletus, Zosimos." Despis rambled with pride, as he poked every book he mentioned with exciting emphasis. "And of course, Eurpides...Oh how I miss him. You know we used to read books and plays together every night. He would always say. "A book is like a galaxy falling into my cupped hands and I drink all it's stars." He was always a cryptic man, but that's what made him so special. I would even say a man of beyond his time." Despis faded into a pause. "But, that's not what we are here for, we are here to give you your new schedule for next semester as a fifth-year student. How do you feel about that?"

"Prepared I guess? It's nice to be where I belong." Enceladus was unconfident about that statement.

"This is definitely where you belong. Your hard work and contributions to Hogwarts and the WADA hasn't gone unnoticed. Your work in your classes is impressive, your work in the musical is wonderful, and your work at displaying excellent congeniality towards fellow students and faculty is radiating. A true Puff you are. Neville and I only felt it was fair. And we don't typically agree on things very easily, so that's saying a lot." Suddenly, Despis burst into little twirls, saving a nearby book that was about to fall. He caught it, nudged it back in, and regained his spot across from Enceladus. "Has anyone told you that you have very reminiscent traits of your grandparents?"

Enceladus' eyebrow twitched with annoyance.

"Yes, maybe once or twice…"

Enceladus took a moment. Maybe Despis can help. He realized he could ask Despis about his grandparents. He's been so busy these last few months with school, his father's investigation, Eleanor, and Reina that he didn't realize that Despis could potentially reveal some vital information about them, and their personal lives here at Hogwarts.

"Hey Despis, you wouldn't happen to know anything about my grandparents would you? Like, know, know? I know they weren't WADA members but I figured-"

"Yes, yes I do know some things. But, someone who would know them even better would be Alio."

Enceladus' brain was trampled by a stampede of imaginary giraffes.

"Did...did you say Alio?"

"Yes, yes I did. Hard to believe isn't it."

"Very ..."

"Alio looked up to your grandparents when he was a student at Hogwarts. When they were part-time school board counselors, they supported Alio's love for theatre, even when he felt like his deafness got in the way."

"Deafness?! Wait he's deaf but how?"

"Used to. After your grandparents encouraged him to participate in the WADA, he endured trauma like never before trying to combine his deaf world with the rest of the world. He would go to classes and auditions and the students would always poke fun at him. He had great potential, but he wasn't the best of wizards to begin with, amplifying his struggles when he tried anything related to theatre. He was hurt and embarrassed and felt completely unworthy. He blamed your grandparents and left Hogwarts."

"So how did he-?"

"I'm getting to it. I'm getting to it. Now, where was I...Oh yes!...Once he left Hogwarts he joined the ranks of Voldemort. He did this because Voldemort had the

Tenacis Wand at the time." It amazed Enceladus that there was more than one Tenacis Wand. It would've really helped Sessabit, considering he's still getting pestered for losing it. "He wanted to get rid of his deafness for good and he knew Voldemort was the answer. Voldemort was aware of Alio's power and was willing to help. But, he had to pledge his allegiance first to Voldemort and that's what he did. From there Voldemort used the Tenacis Wand to vanquish his deafness. It partially worked, but for the most part Alio could hear. I remember all of this because it was in the Daily Prophet. They reviewed Alio and he said some harsh things about your grandparents and the WADA. I'm glad he's past those days."

Enceladus still had his doubts. Alio might be planning some innovative New Death Eater plan in Hawaii; sipping religiously on his scorching coffee under a palm tree for all Enceladus knew. But, out of everyone, Alio was the only person who didn't act blubbery, mindlessly infatuated over his grandparents. With what Despis was saying, it seemed like Alio despised them.

"I never personally conversed with your grandparents. What I heard were great things...for the most part…but, there would be a few who believed their ideologies might have been too forced upon, whether they had good intentions or not." Despis put his powdery white knees into his chest, and stared at his books emptily. "One thing was for sure; they did care and wanted to provide equality, diversity, and protection for all." He took a heavy pause again. "Something...I seem to be failing at."

"What do you mean?"

"Look around? I can't keep my students safe. There are curses here that cannot be broken. Defensively, my faculty isn't the most equipped. One of them had to be incarcerated for indecency among certain students. My moon jellies are always stinging people, and my theater is infested with Dementors."

"Dementors?" There was a peaked interest behind his voice.

"Did I say Dementors? I meant...uh...demonstrators...yes, those darn demonstrators of...theatre magic...can be very pesky at times...haha…"

Enceladus shot him a dubious glance.

"You're lying."

"Wait, how did you know?"

"I didn't, you just ratted yourself out."

Despis crossed his arms discontentedly.

"Fine. Fine but you can't tell anybody. Well, those ghosts that surrounded the theatre during the auditions were Dementors. They are heartless creatures who indulge in draining happiness from people and sucking out their souls. They've been condemned to the Bermuda Triangle ever since the Second Great War, and have been forbidden from the wizarding world. Ever since that night I've been trying to figure out why and how. Why my theater, and how did they enter Hogwarts, especially the WADA, without being detected by the charms. I do sense their presence still in the theatre, but they refuse to reveal themselves. I mean GL has been doing double duty. If you haven't noticed he is always at rehearsals. I think a couple of days ago he might have slipped and forgot..." It's odd because a couple days ago Enceladus did feel a tiny spurt of sadness. "The only logical conclusion about the Dementors is that someone must have released them and released them with a purpose. That night, I knew they were trying to get something, what it was I still have yet to find out."

Wasn't it obvious.

"Do you think the Dementors took Eleanor?"

"No, they can only capture souls, not physical bodies. They had to be a diversion for someone else to take her."

"It had to be the New Death Eaters then. There is no other explanation."

Enceladus was getting riled up. For some odd reason he felt responsible for the disappearance of Eleanor.

"If so, that is a very frightening thing. This castle hasn't been infiltrated since Harry Potter's time here. If they found a way in again, I don't know what I'll do about the WADA. Right now, I can only keep things under control with the Dementors. The reason why I don't want to tell anyone is because if they find out Dementors have returned and have been first reported in the WADA, Neville would receive major repercussions from the Ministry and the WADA would possibly shut down for good..." Despis' physical transparency was throbbing, from thick white to pale white. "Every day I'm constantly reminded about how the magical arts are dangerous, frowned upon, and seen as a useless profession, but I'd never forgive myself if it was stripped away from the wizards who love and believe in it so much. I owe everything to you students, for trusting in my dreams. Whether they were good or not. I just wanted to give you an alternative perspective in life. To show you that magic doesn't necessarily mean warding away evil, pursuing ideal jobs, or tending to daily inconveniences. I wanted to show that magic can be used for beauty, happiness, and freedom of expression..."

He swerved around his desk and looked out a small circular window to the WADA common area. The blue pollen was falling from the tree; inspiring the students to do what they love unconditionally. He started to sob, which Enceladus didn't think a ghost could do.

"Uh, you okay?"

Despis, sniffled a very sloppy sniffle.

"Yes...it's just...that Alto Barefoot boy is so in touch with his emotions."

Enceladus peeked out the window and saw Alto ripping through another block of ice with godly vehemence, making a sculpture of a Venus Fly trap. Enceladus had to admit, it was a neat looking sculpture.

"Now, Enceladus, I don't want you doing anything too reckless, but I know you've been venturing and searching around with your pals off school premises. I will not tell you to stop because I know you won't, but I will have your back if you need anything. If you find any sufficient evidence about the disappearances or about who might have brought these Dementors, maybe I could relay it back to Neville, or even Ventril."

Gordan still had his doubts about Ventril, but honestly in these past few months Ventril and his troops haven't really been bothersome or have caused any ruckus. For a moment Enceladus felt that muggle weaponry was safer than the millions of charms supposedly protecting the school. Then the other person that came to mind was Zelos. Who he still hated very much.

"Sure. That sounds good to me." replied Enceladus promptly.

"Perfect. I'm glad to hear." He looked at the time from his clock on his desk. "Oh look at the time, you better get going to your new classes today. Here is your schedule. I tried to make your core classes the same, but bumped up a couple of levels." He handed him a rolled-up parchment.

"Yes, well thank you again. I'll let you know if I find anything out."

Enceladus looked down at his dangling feet.

"Uh, how do you float back down?"

"Oh, much apologies, I forget how helpless the living can be at times. Here let me give you a push."

Despis grabbed a pillow hovering near his head and chunked it at Enceladus. When it hit him, he began to descend to the floor

" I will see you Enceladus! Have a wonderful day! Oh and I'm desperately sorry about Reina, I know how much she meant to you."

"Wait, how did you-?"

" 'm immortal. We know a thing or two. Cheers!"

When Enceladus reached the bottom of the tree, he took one final glance upwards. Despis, in a very melancholic position, perched near his window and started to sob again. Enceladus ignored it; trying to digest their conversation fully. He just couldn't believe the situation with Alio and his grandparents. It makes sense why Alio dislikes them so much. But, he needed Alio to return soon to tell him the rest of the tale.

Despite his recent ascension into a fresh new start at Hogwarts, Enceladus has been taking emotional tolls along the way, especially this week, which has been nothing but good. He hasn't been eating or sleeping right. Once he got the hang of being a wizard, he sailed past his first-year classes. Which allowed him to divert his energy into finding Reina or practicing the musical. But, since he has harder fifth year classes now, that energy was stilted. He had to do tons of work, find study time, finish projects, finish essays, research book reports, brew potions, tend to plants, etc. just in the last couple weeks. The crazy thing was, he didn't even start his new classes yet. In short, he was very exhausted and frustrated, and wanted to blast a hole in the roof. But, he couldn't do that. It was just the morning, and his day had just begun.

Clouds of Canopus

Enceladus walked across the invisible bridge to The Tree of Creativity sland. He scanned his surroundings and found what he was looking for. He briskly advanced towards a small tree with massive amounts of shade. When he got near it, he saw four students, with gloomy dispositions, rummaging through the pages of their books. One student, a girl with an alluring raspy voice, stood tall, commanding the crowd with polished self-assurance, and a controlled upper torso. Her name was Willow and she was a Slytherin talking about the play Waiting for Godot. Enceladus has joined the Blotters, and entered into his first meeting. A girl spoke.

"Now what is the significance of this play? What, as "wizards", can we take away from this?"

"Uh, Godot doesn't like anybody." groaned one of the students still sitting.

Nobody chuckled but Enceladus. He quickly caught himself, and started fidgeting with his hair.

"No, but with another remark like that, Mr. Godot and this play will certainly drive your moronic mind mad and drag you into a graveyard. I've seen it a couple of times."

A play that kills people. Wonderful.

"This play proves that not even magic will save us from our inevitable demise with destiny. Godot represents our aspirations, our order, our saving formula for a life of stability and content. But just like Godot, it will not come. No matter how long we ponder our magical significance in the universe, satisfaction will dissipate, and you will evidently become lost with the fact that being a wizard is not that special, nor fulfilling as life paints us to be. But, just like Estragon, and Vladimir, that shouldn't stop us from trying to make sense of it all. Trying to recreate absence into an indomitable presence."

Enceladus forgot his copy of his play upstairs, but he was very familiar with Waiting for Godot in the muggle world. But, since he was a wizard, the message (If there ever was one)of the play sat differently with his conscience.

"Before I continue with my rant, how is everyone doing? I know "dark magic" bleeds vigorously between the pages. So, for the sake of your unconditioned minds, I just wanted to make sure that nobody is feeble or feeling weak."

Enceladus had better days. All of this wizard existential business just made him five times more anxious about his life. But, in some strange way, he wanted to meet Estragon and Vladimir to see how they handled so much dread so effortlessly. Such clownish freedom would come into use.

The girl proceeded to point at Enceladus.

"You there, newbie, what are your thoughts about this play?"

The girl possessed that fearful elegance that would make anyone answer her inquiries lightning fast.

Enceladus froze, then quickly said something.

"Futility is always better with a...uh...with a friend."

She gave him a sour smile, and returned to her last spot.

"Sure...yes."

The girl's ruthless grace lost traction and derailed for a split second. She paused.

"Hello? Was I wrong?" Apprehension overcame Enceladus, as he was waiting for a response. It didn't come.

Considering his circumstances, revisiting the play might be a good thing. Or not, because a student began to cry incessantly.

"No need to fear, sometimes the work of Beckett can make people cry for long periods of time." The girl rose from her grounded state and placed her palm against the boy's forehead. Once her fingers grazed his head, he immediately stopped crying.

"We will close this meeting early today, so Finnegan can get some rest. We will jump into Kafka next week and see what we can discover."

Everyone gathered their belongings and separated into different paths towards their classes. Willow lingered, taking her time before her next class. Enceladus had to ask.

"So, how did you-"

"I'm a true no Mag. Impressed?" huffed the girl sarcastically.

"Sure..."

"Great. It's natural aptitude. Way better than magic."

She smiled sheepishly, finalized her gathering, and walked into a crowd of students near the piano spiraling staircase. All Enceladus could think of was how nonlinear this girl was. But this nonlinear girl had such a keen sense of discourse as well, which in her case, is a very liberating feeling if you believe in it. Maybe the Blotters are something Enceladus secretly needed to help recuperate. They were creatures of darkness, very low profile, and liked to sit under trees speaking about boldly radical theatre within the wizarding community. That was something Enceladus was willing to get used to.

His first official class of the day was history. Enceladus was not ready for it. The only thing he was ready for was a nap.

He entered Professor Binns class sluggishly, clonked onto his chair, and dropped his head down onto his desk to rest. Professor Binns, being the slow pruney shriveled up ghost he is, passed out everyone's essay. This was the essay he wrote three months ago on the Salem Witch Trials, when Reina took him book surfing. Apparently Professor Binns is an extremely slow grader.

He dropped Enceladus' essay onto the base of his skull, which spooked Enceladus up from his state of almost, but not quite slumber. He flipped the piece of parchment and saw that he got a P, which means poor. This was his first really bad grade at Hogwarts. At first he wanted to confront Binns, and consort a possible solution or even beg for extra credit. But, it was a useless battle, considering how Binns doesn't listen to anyone. He doesn't even listen to himself. Hence, why he is a ghost and he still thinks he's alive. You began to wonder if he's so miserably dull, is he even aware that he can't consume things nor use the loo. It was a conundrum, but one Professor Binns was unconsciously content with.

"Like I...uh...mentioned...yes mentioned...before? Mhm. Mhm. Yes, before. During World War uh...2…mud and half-bloods that secretly enlisted in the war efforts would create portkeys that were...uh...muggle friendly. Basically, they would, uh, turn them into common muggle items, you know to, to, to, to fit in accordingly with the surroundings. This helped them with stealth to magically cross behind enemy lines. Ever since the war, boots have become the popular choice for portkeys. Apparently muggles keep their distance from old, ratty boots..."

Enceladus thought Portkeys were interesting, but could care less at that moment. So, he ignored the lesson and continued with the rest of class trying to practice Reina's book surfing spell. Binns was too preoccupied with his boring voice to notice anyways.

Enceladus snuck out his wand, and first tried to jump into the Salem Witch Trial section of his history book, but his wand turned an apple green color instead and produced a very foul smell. It smelled like fresh skunk, and the Hufflepuff girl that was sitting next to him gave a glowering look. He whispered "Vannus" and a tiny gust of air shot out the tip of his wand from under his desk to take some of the stench away. It didn't work, and the girl moved to another desk.

At one point during the end of class, he eventually got Reina's spell to work. At least that's what he thought. He plunged into his copy of Waiting for Godot, and what he found was...nothing. He was encapsulated by a world of blinding white. Everywhere he walked, it was drenched with emptiness. It was like Heaven, but without definition and clarity. He began to wonder if he just missed the page where the play actually starts, and entered that random blank page every book has.

As Enceladus was trying to assess his situation, he heard an ominous voice say, "We always find something, eh Didi? That gives us the impression we exist? Yes, yes we are magicians." It repeatedly echoed about, while the blazing chasm of white around Enceladus quickly turned dark gray, with torrential rain developing, and lighting bolts crashing about. Enceladus was trying to think on his toes, and use a counter spell to get out of this place.

"Oh, boy, okay, think, think, think…"

Enceladus was being thrown in all directions, splashing in chunky puddles.

"Ouch...okay...how about...uh, Prior Liber!"

Enceladus shot his wand directly upwards. At this point Enceladus has been studying enough latin to just combine words for any possible dire situation. Sometimes the wizarding laws of nature allow this, sometimes it doesn't. Luckily it worked in his favor now.

Right before his eyes, everything folded. His surroundings overlapped and dangled, as if the fabric of reality was being torn off of a wall. All of it condensed and squeezed into a small space-like-vortex, carrying Enceladus along for the ride.

Enceladus plopped back into the classroom, wet as a dog, but unfortunately, he brought the bad weather with him. The storm raged on, as most of the students excused themselves from the rest of class. One student stayed, super soaked, yet still writing down notes on slushy parchment. Professor Binns of course didn't miss a beat, as he covered the board with thousands of facts about famous dark witches, who were a part of the Gunpowder plot. Enceladus decided it was time to leave as well.

Enceladus' curls glistened as he was trying to dry off the excess rain from his hair with a hot air spell. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to try to replicate a spell that someone, who was a prodigy, literally made up.

That quote kept ringing in his head as he bobbed and weaved through students walking to their next classes. As a muggle, Enceladus understood his existence and coped with this basic knowledge in a very sad way. Since being a wizard, it feels even worse for him. He thought being a wizard and having magic was supposed to make things a little better. Despite its highs and lows, Enceladus has been feeling confused.

Enceladus decided to do something he rarely did. Skip class. A couple at that. He felt like he needed some time to breathe and think. He snuck into the astronomy tower and sat at the ledge of the balcony. The constellations were a bit blurry tonight considering the heavy forecast and snow sprinkling out of the sky. The observatory's sliding hatch was surprisingly left open, and snow filled the room with a soft grace. Professor Aurora Blue would think nothing of it, and say something very deep and poetic about it. After the last couple weeks of classes Enceladus was convinced Aurora knew about his powers. But, Aurora being Aurora, would not say. Instead, she would assign Enceladus twice as much more work for "beneficial" reasons. Whatever that meant.

Enceladus continued to sit against the frosty rails of the balcony, trying to keep warm with his puffy yellow mittens. He began to wonder that if he got his own broom, he could possibly fly high into the sky and see the universe even better. He'd be so close, that each planet would be a touch away. He felt like that would be something Reina would like to.

Enceladus convinced himself that he would not dare skip Professor Granger's class. She would find no pity, and probably fail him for one absence, even if the reason for missing was excusable.

As he was about to pack up and leave, he heard crunches behind him. He sat up with haste, and saw a trail of large footprints leading to the lever that controls the sliding hatch. Before he blinked two times, the hatch above started to close. He had an idea who it was. Aurora would sometimes say the Bloody Baron would come open and close the hatch, since it would be quite difficult at times for Aurora to do. Maybe he's finally over Helena Ravenclaw, and he's found a new interest in Aurora. Hopefully he doesn't get his ghostly baron heart-broken again and stab Aurora to death. The blood stains of one lover seemed to be like a suitable atonement for his mistake. If he had the blood of two women on his being, imagine the indescribable torment and regret he must face for another eternity; fueled by untamable wrath. A wrath Enceladus wasn't sticking around for. Enceladus left right before the hatch completely sealed shut. To add to his gentleman-like-deeds, the Bloody Baron used his chains and shackles to sweep away the snow.

Enceladus tumbled down the tower and entered the grand staircase room, which was an exact replica of the painting Relativity. Enceladus knows this, because the British art museum was an amazing place with millions of amazing paintings. Many stolen, but still amazing.

Before turning to the upside down stairs that led to the third floor, (We don't question magical physics) he ran into Gordan, who now has class with him since Enceladus is now a certified fifth year student. Luckily, he was spared doing his N.E.W.T examinations for next year.

"Gordan!"

"Enceladus! What is up mate? Let me guess, heading to Professor Granger?"

"You bet."

"Splendid! This is going to be great. We got hot Hermione, we got the friend-o, we got some ace dark spells to learn and do. Oh, it's going to be fantastic!" Enceladus almost forgot that since he is a fifth year now, a more practical approach to the Dark Arts will be introduced to him. "I'm telling you, I'm so bored in that class. Sessabit has her 1st period now. This year is the first year we don't have DATDA together."

"DATDA?"

" t's an acronym for the class. Maybe you should have stayed a first year."

"Haha, very funny. So, what are you guys learning anyways? I kind of had a rough idea since she made me read like ten books to prepare for her class.

It was awful. I wanted to gouge my eyes out like Oedipus."

"Who?"

"Sorry, he's from an old play."

"Again, another reason to think you theatre folk are a little looney."

Oh poor Gordan. Enceladus has tried introducing theatre to him, yet he can't seem to come around to it. His "girlfriend" Cindy Cauliflower participates in WADA chocolate frog fundraisers, so maybe she and him will see Enceladus' musical together. There are still some speculations of this idea since Cindy Cauliflower is only doing the fundraiser to get all of the limited-edition wizard artist trading cards faster. Who knows, things are always bound to change. They continued down the sideway stairs.

"We are learning about some spell that repels attacks from dark creatures or something. Of course, it's supposed to be extremely difficult. She just started it at the end of last class."

One single droplet of sweat slid down his temples. He wasn't sure if he was ready for this. All he had to do was get through the class, ask Hermoine for a book on Aspectu Caelum, and he'll be on his way to survive this long uneventful day.

They were both about a hundred feet away from Hermione's classroom, until they were stopped short when Gordan accidentally bumped into a boy.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

The boy turned around, and it was Zelos, composed with his hair not in a tight bun, but down, skimming the back of his neck.

"Zelos?! Hah! Apparently you can't even see what's next to you. It was quite apparent when we thrashed you guys in Quidditch last week." Gordan puffed out his chest with a huge sense of confidence.

Gordan was always trying to pick a fight. But, Enceladus would be there to back him up even with all his pent up indignancy.

Zelos had dropped a couple of bottles of potions and picked them up quickly before he retorted.

"You might have been lucky last week with a broom. But, you won't be lucky with a duel. I dare not to partake in such measly squabbles, especially now, but if you want to keep your mouth running, I'd be delighted to finish you right here."

The power of privilege. No matter what Zelos did, he seemed to never get in trouble because of his mother. With his tone, he seemed like he wanted to risk it all with this fight. He quickly took off his robe, and unsheathed his wand. Gordan reacted the same exact way, ready to shed some blood.

"Gordan, just forget about it." persisted Enceladus trying to pull Gordan.

"No, this bloke is going down."

"Shall we Gordan? Or should I say garbage. I don't want to waste any more time."

Zelos, curtsied and assumed his attacking position. Gordan didn't wait and attacked first. Green and red sparks rapidly burst about. A crowd quickly formulated and became bystanders. Some were wildly cheering for Gordan and some were cheering for Zelos. Of course, the majority of Slytherin were all for Zelos. And with that, it seemed like every utterance and shout gave Zelos more power.

There was no way to break up the fight. The two boys collided with their magical attacks so often and so rigorously, that it would create shock waves that would push students back, shaking the castle floors. Zelos was very proficient with his wand, holding it skillfully in a stance that seemed very laid back, dainty and pedestrian as if he was barely flicking his wrist. Gordan on the other hand had a very wide stance, with an aggressive whip whenever he launched a spell at Zelos.

The fight was getting so out of hand that they both ended up in the grand staircase room. They would run and hop from each staircase shouting stun spells and jinxes like their lives depended on it. Some paintings hanging on the walls were hit and set ablaze. Basically, a whole home was destroyed. Some neighboring paintings cried.

This fight went on for a couple more seconds, until Zelos grazed Gordan's cheek. Gordan flinched and collapsed onto a stair step. He shot back up and pulled his arm way back to conjure another attack, but was immediately thwarted when Ventril and his militia arrived. Like a flash, every single student in the vicinity vanished except for Enceladus, Zelos and Gordan.

"All right, all right nothing to see here. Just move along." Ventril commanded with his optimistic tone. "So, I'm assuming some sort of disagreement occurred with you two. Am I correct?"

"He started it!" Gordan was heaving from the brief battle.

"A quarrel always has two aggressors, and they are both liable for their actions at the end of the day. But, not to worry, I can't reprimand you guys. It's not my official position here. I can only serve to be an envoy of sorts in the meantime. Yet, I won't even exercise that power either, for I will not disclose this incident to Neville; keeping you kids off the hook. How does that sound?"

They all looked at each other quizzically.

"Why?" asked Gordan.

"Because I know you two won't do it again. With everything going on with the New Death Eaters and such; causing ruckuses such as these are highly frowned upon for the pure fact that they incite unneeded restlessness, which could potentially show some wizard's true colors at this school. You know I'm not a fan of fighting, I'm a fan of stopping the fighting."

Ventril was collective. And as always, pacing about with a cool stride. Zelos made a tiny grunt, and asked permission to leave. Ventril allowed. Zelos grumbled past the gunned militia, fixing his robe and his pocket where the potion bottles fell out of.

"Goodbye Zelos. If your mother comes around, tell her I said hello." Ventril smiled. "And you better leave as well. You wouldn't want to be late for-"

The bell rang.

"Well oh my, there it goes. I'll see you boys later. And Gordan, please manage to behave yourself. It'll only do you good in the long run. Cheers!" As he was walking away Enceladus overheard Ventril say something about Gumdrop to one of his militia personnel.

Once they completely vanished, Gordan and Enceladus bolted to Hermione's classroom. As they left, multiple paintings were shaking their fist angrily at Gordan for destroying their portraits.

They took a sharp right, nearly trampled over each other, collected themselves, and rammed into the classroom. Hermoine instantaneously shut the door behind them. She did it while looking out her window; using her wand from behind her back. She was stunning as always, but something was off about her. She looked a tad restless, and in need of some caffeine. Meanwhile, the boys feared for their lives. Enceladus spoke first.

"Professor Granger we can explain-"

"No need, Mr. Vega. You and Gordan will meet me after class to discuss the matter. Until then, please go take your seats."

The boys obeyed her command, and shuffled quietly to some open desk. Hermoine seemed like she was about to erupt any second. But, she played it off well, for her presence was too paralleled to be shaken.

"We will continue our lessons from the other day. Who remembers what we started?"

Nobody seemed to recall. Many of the students were fantasizing about their winter break, which was in about a week.

"Anybody?"

Hermione vociferously grappled her wand and blared "Tenebris Orbis", right in the middle of the class. A dark purple beam burst out of her wand. A bubbling big black orb, molded and morphed into a perfect sleek sphere. The sphere rotated menacingly, acting as a giant eyeball. The class reeled far back into their seats to find some closure.

The bubbling orb eventually stopped rotating. After about three seconds of grueling floating, the orb discharged a black lightning bolt towards Hermoine and without any hesitation, Hermoine simply said, "Sphaera Portegio", andlike when the sun's rays reflect off a mirror, the lighting struck the invisible field that surrounded Hermione and shot back into the orb.

"Energy Shields. A special spell used for protection from non-wizarding dark users, such as objects, entities, forces, and of course, creatures. Creatures of all forms. I have developed a dark energy orb for practice. No worries, it won't truly harm you, since I have full control over it. After many years involved with the dark arts, you pick on skills you would have never imagined to be true. But, sometimes you have to accept and use what you have."

Her head slightly tilted down towards the ground.

"I will demonstrate a couple more times and then you will all take turns using this shield charm. You never know when you would have to use this."

Hermoine allowed the orb to shoot her, and she deflected every attack with ease, control, and style. Even though she was mainly brains, her wand work was very refined.

One by one, the students came out and tried to summon their shields. Enceladus had to get used to this new set of faces, since he barely knew anyone. It was definitely a huge relief not being around students who either farted every fifteen seconds, cried, or requested nap time. Fifth year was the real deal and every student who went up, executed the spell very well. For the most part. There was one Hufflepuff boy, who almost reflected the blast towards Hermoine's face. She re-reflected it out the window. Brown and white feathers appeared suddenly. It might have hit an owl.

Enceladus would always try to go last in anything he did because he was very much a spectator learner. Especially now, where these students are so seasoned with magical skill, he felt that it would always benefit him to lay low, sit back, and take some mental notes on how everyone approached a problem in class. After seeing a handful of students handle Hermoine's orb with decent efficiency, he was afraid that he was definitely going to make a fool of himself. Even Gordan did well, considering he was just battered pretty badly with his fight with Zelos.

Enceladus was about to take his turn, but fleeted back to his seat when a girl rose. This girl, who obviously custom made her robes, approached the orb with iron confidence. She had bulky black boots, her robe was cut, and proportioned nicely to her body. She had a half skirt with black shorts and black belt slumped at a diagonal from her hip bone to mid-thigh, which all connected to her fitted hood. Her whole aesthetic reminded Enceladus of a gothic gaucho. Sauve in her movement, and cool with her looks. Her witch's hat was covering her face in that tilty ambiguous way, so Enceladus couldn't make out who it was. But, when she turned around, he was surprised to see the head Blotter, Willow. She didn't have her wand.

"I swear she is such a show off." whispered Gordan sitting right next to Enceladus.

"She's my...um…"

"Enceladus, buddy, don't tell me you moved on from Reina already?"

"What? No, no, not at all. I was going to say that she is the head of a writing club I'm a part of."

"Well, all semester she's been showing off and not using her wand. She doesn't use her wand for anything. She never says why, but Hermoine always pesters her about it."

Willow approached the front of the room.

"So, no wand again I see Willow." said Hermoine, as if she wasn't surprised by that fact.

" Nope. My fingers work just fine thank you."

"Watch this Enceladus. She's scary good.".

The orb gurgled and charged up its next attack. Willow glinted with confidence and coldness behind her eyes. But that was just a precursor to her adroitness. She transcended onto a level very uncommon to the wizarding community. Once the orb blasted it's shot, not only did she produce a shield, she stopped the attack in mid-air, just by merely lifting her wrist and palm. The attack was fizzling, trapped by stagnancy. Enceladus seemed like the only one in class to really find this astonishing. Most of the students just yawned as if wandless magic was a thing of the past.

She manipulated the attack like a puppet, tied it into a knot, and repelled it back to the orb. She clapped her hands like windshield blades, as if her job was done for the day.

"Can I sit down now?"

Hermoine nodded in agreement.

"I swear. Those Slytherin girls are something else." said Gordan.

"How does she do that? Why isn't anyone freaking out about this?"

"She's considered a rebel of sorts to the wizarding community. Nobody really respects her. Which is kind of sad, I guess. Her parents force her to come to Hogwarts to become a "dignified" wizard. But, she feels there are much more possibilities to a person than just magic. She mastered wandless magic, well whatever she calls it. She claims she doesn't use magic, and that she relies on her natural gifts more than her "natural curses." I think that's what she says. I mean, she says a lot of things, and does a lot of non-wizard-like things too. She's kind of strange if you ask me."

Enceladus questioned if he wanted to go back to a second Blotters meeting. Absurd, rebellious, gothic, gaucho, Slytherin girl seems like someone you don't want to reckon with, yet at the same time, want to invite into your life to understand her a bit better.

The class bell rang, and all the students filed out talking about their plans for winter break. "For your homework don't forget to read, in your texts, the legend of Vlad the Impaler, and the secret vampire war…" Once she finished reciting, Enceladus and Gordan were stopped by Hermoine.

"You two will have detention with me on the last day before winter break. After all classes, please meet me here in my room."

It was such a peculiar date, and Enceladus and Gordan didn't know how to fully react. It was only one time they were late, (Well maybe not Gordan). But judging by her attitude in class, Hermoine wasn't really in the mood to have it any other way. The boys nodded that they will attend her detention. Before he forgot, Enceladus asked Hermoine about the book.

"Oh, um, Professor Granger. I was wondering if you had a book on Aspectu Caelum…I've been um...reading more...and yeah..."

Hermione gave him a taken back look.

"Aspectu Caelum?"

Enceladus nodded non-feverishly.

Hermoine levitated a book, and chucked it at Enceladus.

"Try this one. There is only one copy of this book, so if you lose it, that would be very catastrophic. At least for me."

"No, worries. I'll take good care of it. We'll see you later now Professor Granger." Enceladus headed towards the exit.

Hermoine gave the two boys one final glance, sighed, and organized the giant piles of books that would always live on her desk. Enceladus looked at the author of the book and left.

"Hodgins? Mmm, funny name." whispered Enceladus.

The two boys heard some grumbles in their tummies and decided to go to the Great Hall to get a quick snack. On the way, Enceladus couldn't fathom why Hermoine was acting like that.

"What was her problem?"

"I hear she's just dealing a lot with Neville, The Ministry, and the whole situation with Ventril. I think she's okay. Maybe it was her time of the month."

Enceladus stopped.

"Do witches…you know...do that?"

Gordan stopped.

"Why are you asking me? I know I'm pretty well off with the ladies, but I'm certainly not an expert about their magical parts." Gordan birthed another thought. " You know, Cindy cut her hand one time and she bled blue blood, so maybe…"

"Okay, okay, you can stop right there."

"Hey, I'm just trying to help. Maybe you should ask Miss Mutineer over there."

Gordan pointed towards a stone archway, decorated with green reefs, and garlands, and one single mistletoe. And there was Willow walking near a couple who were about to kiss under the mistletoe. As she walked past them, she transfigured the mistletoe into a bucket of gravy, and once the couple kissed, the bucket flipped and poured the gravy. Willow walked away chuckling as if nothing happened.

"I'll pass…"

Gordan shrugged his shoulders in a very don't-say-I-didn't-try- to-help-you-kind of way. "Speaking of passing. We should pass by Sessabit's and see what he's up to. Apparently he has something to tell us."

"I'm sorry, I can't, I have rehearsals."

"Rehearsals? It's almost winter break? What more do you have to rehearse? You're a blimey grape for crying out loud. One night off won't kill you or Professor Filly."

"It's Flurry."

"Same thing."

Maybe Gordan was right. He already skipped class today, might as well keep going. Enceladus didn't feel there wasn't any true harm being done. He's been practicing relentlessly on his grape song like no tomorrow. Maybe a little of Willow is rubbing off on him.

"Okay fine…"

"I knew you'd come around."

He patted Enceladus back like a true pal.

"We're still getting glow in the dark pie first, right?" asked Gordan excitedly.

"Oh, you bet."

"To the Great Hall!" Gordan shouted like a war admiral, and the two boys raced, pushing and shoving each other joyfully along the way.

At the table, Enceladus looked down at the book Hermoine gave him. The title read The One Who Sees. Hopefully he could get some more answers about his power in this book, and hopefully Evelyn would find this one enjoyable to read together.

Once the two boys finished chowing down on some decadent and scrumptious glow in the dark pies, they bundled up, and headed outside to go visit their good friend Sessabit. The snow picked up, and the sky blurred with frantic white specs.

Many kids have finished most of their final tests for the semester and are making the most of their free periods. Enceladus and Gordan trudged past many students jet sledding down the hill that led to the gray cracked Whomping Willow. Jet sledding is magical sledding, that involves competition, racing, and magical nitrous spewing from the rear ends of the wooden ironed sleds. It's a brutal yet enthralling sight nonetheless. Especially when the Whomping Willow hits a sled off course and they slide and crash. Comedy gold.

Enceladus and Gordan reached Sessabit's hut. It was quite different in the winter time. Little spruce trees were planted around the perimeter, with old worn pots at the tips representing the stars. The chimney fog was thick like a well puffed cigar, catering to the idea of warmth. It was shoveled very methodically. There was one clean trail that led to the Forbidden Forest, which split and led to a different portion of the Forest. If Enceladus remembered correctly, the split side trail led to Araneus' Village. He hoped he was okay and that Sessabit had been helping him. But, to top his Christmas decorations, he put ten iron-bended sculptures of Bewilderbeast dragons strung together by rope and a chariot made out of a giant pumpkin on the top of his roof. Enceladus wondered if reindeers are replaced with dragons in the wizarding world. If so, who replaces Santa Clause? Or does Santa Clause ride a bunch of dragons on Christmas eve? What a tale that would be.

Before they knocked on Sessabit's comma shaped door. Enceladus noticed flowers growing along the outside edges of the hut. Very vibrant and funny looking flowers that you would not normally see in winter. Or anywhere really. One thing came to mind. Reina. It had to be. But, how? The boys entered unannounced because the door wasn't latched, and very easy to open.

"Sessabit! How is it going mate?" Gordan lazily took a seat on the rocking chair. "Sessabit?"

Sessabit's hut is small, and Sessabit is big, so one would think it would be easy to find a giant. But, that wasn't the case.

"I wonder where he is?" Enceladus searched around the space.

Sessabit's hut has never failed to feel like home. It was always so serene, toasty and embossed with the perfect amount of coziness. His fireplace crackled like popcorn, and the stale air reeked of burnt wood, coal, and a couple of bottles of half-emptied fire whiskey. It's been a while since Enceladus has been in this place. He tried to refrain himself ever since that dreadful night. The night where a giant ghost scared the bageebees out of Enceladus and made him pass out. Sessabit kept on telling him that he was hallucinating madly due to the adrenaline of the situation, and must have made up a random apparition. Enceladus didn't refute Sessabits' claim, because he was on the verge of cracking that night. That was part of his memory he wished he could have erased altogether.

When they were about to call it quits and come back later, an abominable snowman entered the front door with authority. Large, fluffy, and wet, the snowman advanced heavily with floppy steps. Both of the boys shrieked

"Trust me! I really don't taste that good!" Gordan flipped over in the rocking chair.

Enceladus brandished his wand, and uttered Sphae-

"Wait, Wait!"

The abominable snowman spoke.

"It's meh."

The abominable snowman shook his fur furiously, and like a wet dog, the snow melted and splattered onto the floor. It was clear that this wasn't a tundra titan, but none other than Sessabit, who was wearing bear skin as a cape, a horn canteen strapped across his chest, tennis rackets on his feet, and carrying giant logs on both shoulders.

"Yeh know how et is, replenishment is key if I don' want to get frostbite on mi bum whenever I sleep. Warmth is sacred during these times. These muggle shoes sure do help." Sessabit tried to shake off the remaining snow glued to the loose ends of his long hair.

"Maybe you shouldn't go outside when you already have piles of logs." said Gordan pointing at the neatly stacked logs by the fireplace.

"Oh, pish posh, saves meh the trip. I like to see yah try to axe down some trees. Especially if they're singing ones. Oh, I swear by Merlin's beard they'll put yah in eh trance en sing yah to death. Luckily, I could decipher." Sessabit smiled now greeting his friends with big soaking hugs.

"You smell horrible," Gordan was trying to cover his nose.

"Ets the smell o' nature. The best cologne eh man can have. Eh prissy city boy like yeh wouldn't know."

"You're right. I prefer soap, shampoo and all of those things that actually make us smell you know...good?"

Sessabit whipped his wet hair at Gordan and chuckled happily. He then uttered "Siccum Corpus." His clothes dried up as if they weren't wet in the first place. Sessabit went to put his pile of logs down, and started to get comfy, by slipping off his tennis racket shoes and preparing a nice hot cup of tea.

"So, any leads about the Tenacis Wand?" asked Enceladus, sitting down by the fire to warm himself up.

"Are yah kidding meh? Nothing. Nevilles has been trying to visit the ministry as much as his time allows to see if he could gain any knowledge abou' the New Death Eaters, but apparently his sources, Harry and Ron, have to keep things extremely confidential, until things lighten up eh bit over there. Apparently there's been negotiations about the Departmen' o' Mysteries, en prosecuting undocumented wizards en the muggle world." Sessabit poured his hibiscus tea into his tin cup. "I don't know. Neville fears there might be another threat that the New Death Eaters are allying with."

"A new threat?"

Enceladus didn't like the sound of that.

"Mhm. Wild isn't et?"

"What more do they want? These New Death Eaters are basically trying to fulfill old deeds from the past, wanting to rule the world with a race of pure blood wizards. Which sucks for all of us, but whoopty doo for trying. Whoever these new prats are, they definitely don't want the same thing." interjected Gordan.

"What do you mean?"

"When two evils ally together, they "work" towards a common goal. At least one of them thinks that. But, once that goal is achieved, one will betray the other and fulfill their ultimate goal. Whatever that goal is, it's always scarier than the common one. So, if this new ally is more ruthless than the New Death Eaters, then we have way more to worry about than just the extinction of all non-pureblood wizards."

Enceladus was always surprised to witness the duality of Gordan's brain. One moment he'll be a blubbering fool, especially around women, then the other he'll sound like a prophet. There is no middle ground with this kid.

"Well, let's hope that's not the case. We have enough to deal with Zelos." Enceladus laid down on the floor with his hands propped behind his head. "Speaking of Zelos, how's it-"

"Zelos yes! Gather around mates, I have some juicy news about our favorite wizard to hate."

They sat crossed legged on the floor. A semicircle was formed, illuminating campfire-esque shadows across their teenage faces.

"So, I've been visiting Araneus regularly, and keeping a close watch on his village. I kind o' also have been trying to find him a new mate. One willing to sacrifice the decapitation phase of the relationship. It's harder than yeh think. Arachnid females are typically very dominant and want to end things on their own terms." Enceladus and Gordan both gave him looks of pure disgust and terror. "Too much? Sorry, being the matchmaker for eh giant spider isn't easy. Anywho, we were conducting stakeouts to see if Zelos and his hooded pals would come around again. Our hopes were low ever since that incident when we first saw them, but it was worth a try. Long and behold, the other day we saw him with Reina's cat, trotting alongside each other. We were both high up in the trees, and we heard him talking to himself. He said something about having to go to Reina's flat and getting some supplies tonight."

Zelos with Reina's cat? What was Evelyn doing with Zelos? Evelyn seemed like a smarter cat to not hangout with a sleeze ball like Zelos. And Reina's flat? Enceladus completely forgot that her flat was unoccupied and vacant, for these past three months. The boys never thought of going there and seeing if any clues would arise.

"Tonight? Are you sure he said tonight?"

"Yes. Even Araneus' legs hairs were sure of it. He's eh big boy, so he can pick up speech really well with those hairs."

Again, Gordan and Enceladus looked at each other alarmingly.

"If the hairs say so, I'm in for a spy night," said Gordan. "We just have to be careful about Ventril's stupid henchmen."

"No worries, they mainly guard inside and around the castle, but typically stay away from the forest. I think ets too dangerous for them. But, that's a good thing. If yeh leave the forest alone, et will leave you alone." declared Sessabit proudly. " I've been telling Puddin to meet me in the forest lately. So, we can saddle up on her and fly to Diagon Alley undetected. You remember where her place es right Enceladus?"

The only times Enceladus has been to Reina's place is when he randomly awoke with a mouth full of awful tasting healing potion, and when Reina blasted him through the Earth's sound barrier during the party. So, he never really saw what it looked like on the outside. Even when he left her place that first time, he didn't look back to notice her flat number. They would have to go early and just keep an eye on Zelos when he arrived.

"Perfect, ets a trip! We should go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes first and pick up some extendable ears. They might come in handy."

"The punching telescope might come in handy too, you know?" said Gordan, self-indulging in his lame humor.

"Maybe it'll knock some better jokes into your thick skull."

"Ouch, that one hurt, but I give you props mate. Your fast wit will someday be funny, but probably not anytime soon."

Enceladus always had a hard time trying to decipher how serious they were. Their sarcasm was so sharp and deep, that you never truly knew if they were about to battle or grab a Butterbeer together and laugh about it later. Enceladus shooed both out the door before anything more escalated. Thick oval shaped flakes of snow were blowing around in a delicate tantrum. The walk to Puddin was going to suck. At least Sessabit was prepared with his tennis rackets strapped to his feet.

After finding Puddin', they flew and arrived at a frosty Diagon Alley, browsing around the stores until sundown. Gordan and Sessabit mainly bought tons of candy and ice cream. (Gordan got the new invisible ice cream flavor at Florean Fortescue's. A surprise flavor with every purchase. Gordan said his tastes like bacon) and an extendable ear. Enceladus found a book about Saturn from Flourish and Blotts. If he remembered correctly from astronomy class, Saturn grants wizards most of their powers. Which just might have been Professor Blue and her pseudo-fantastical sayings. Regardless, it was another book to add to the long reading list of books he wants to read and books he unfortunately has to read for all his fifth-year classes. He needed any distraction he could find.

As the night continued to age, they leaned against the chalk shaped pillars of Gringotts, eating their treats with intense focus as if they were a gang ready to pounce at their foe. Eventually, after almost falling asleep, they saw Zelos, who was wearing a big black robe, trying to cover his face with his hood. They knew it was him because his hair bun protruded from his hood. Plus, Gordan said he could recognize his doltish walk from anywhere. At this point, Gordan just wanted to say any impolite thing about Zelos when he had the chance.

The boys used their robes as a disguise, and followed Zelos from behind at a decent pace. Not too close, yet not too far. Properly distanced. They had to pass through Nacturnalley, which Enceladus gave a poor dwarf some galleons. It was a rough place, and that dwarf was really young. Enceladus wondered if this wizarding thing didn't work out, he might as well become a philanthropist. You never know.

Zelos eventually made it to a tall rather bland three-story building, with the roof barely grazing the train track above. He slipped out a key from his pocket, inserted it, and slid into the doorway. Enceladus thought that was too easy.

"It has to be charmed right. For burglars and stuff?"

"Yes, but I don't think he relocked it."

The boys unsuspiciously approached the door. Gordan volunteered to turn the doorknob. When he did, the door clicked, and swung open. They silently cheered, and gave each other silent high fives.

They quickly stopped, and headed in. They didn't want to waste any time. Once they all entered, they saw Zelos climb up a flight of old wooden stairs to the third floor. The boys pursued behind with tippy toes, to prevent any loud creaks. Once they reached the top, Zelos had already entered Reina's flat. Her flat number was 13. The boys crouched down near the closed door.

"Alright, let's get these ears out."

Gordan pulled out the extendable ears, and placed it on Reina's door with the tiniest of thuds.

"What do you hear?"

"Shh. Stop talking." Gordan concentrated. "He's just rummaging around. I just hear some clanking and walking...oh now he's mumbling something about potions and...ingredients...and blood?...he seems like he can't find it...okay, more moving and more shuffling...oh, he said got it. I think he has what he needs. Wait, now I don't hear anything...total silence…"

All of the sudden the doorknob started to wiggle. The boys crawled back in fear and toppled over each other to get to the stairs. But before they reached the case, the wiggling stopped. With extreme caution, they crawled back and repositioned themselves like they were. Gordan continued to narrate.

"He must have forgotten something...okay now it sounds like...he just recited a spell...I don't know what he exactly said or did, but I definitely heard some latin word come out his mouth... and now he's mumbling something about...going to Hogsmeade...why Hogsmeade...wait, wait….do I hear food? I think...I think he's pouring Evelyn her food and refilling her water."

Enceladus should have known better. Evelyn might hang in the wild, but she's really not a wild cat. She's an indoor cat who still expects food to be delivered to her. Someone had to do it, and Enceladus was slightly infuriated that he didn't think of taking care of Reina's cat. Even though Zelos made his blood boil, that was something worth hating him a little less.

"Well, let's get to Hogsmeade firs' before he does, so he doesn' think we are trailing him."

The three boys nodded, ran out the flat as fast as they could, found Puddin, and headed towards Hogsmeade.

When they arrived, the village was dead. There wasn't any commotion. Only the chirps of crickets were prospering. The boys camped out on top of a building waiting for Zelos to make his next move. He arrived suddenly and swiftly, like a bat roaming in the night. He strolled into Ancentus Alley.

"O' course. What would you expect."

The boys sprang into action, slid down an angular pipe, and hid behind a wall near the alley. As always, the alley was spotless, abnormally clean, without a rat in sight. Zelos came face to face with the alley's red brick walls. He looked around constantly to make sure the coast was clear. Once he felt safe, he drew a symbol on the wall with his finger that looked like a snake. A couple seconds later, he walked past the wall, like a ghost.

"Did you see what-

"Yes, I'm on it."

Enceladus ran up to the wall and drew the exact same symbol with his finger, and he, just like Zelos, walked into the wall. Sessabit and Gordan held back, and awaited a response from Enceladus.

"Hey, you guys want to see this…"

Sessabit and Gordan gave each other worried looks, and simultaneously entered the wall. When they entered, they saw Enceladus in a small bare room holding a pen.

"A blimey pen? Es that all?"

"There has to be more to it. But, Zelos wouldn't talk about this lightly to anyone. If it is New Death Eater stuff, I'd imagine he'd be talking to his goonies." said Gordan looking at the pen attentively. "Why a pen though? That's a muggle object. This all hurts my brain."

"Well they would talk in private, and the best place would probably be the Slytherin dungeons. I swear yeh never hear anything come from that place." Sessabit paused to think, scratching his scruffy chin. "How bout et Enceladus, yur friends with some of those coo-coo heads, you think one of them would be willing to spy for us?"

Enceladus did have someone in mind, but it would be a long stretch. Yet, she might be their only hope to discover what Zelos is truly doing behind the wall.

When Triangulum Turns

Three succulents bathed blissfully in the light. They stood proudly, and soaked it all in, refusing to wilt. Their pines were very prickly, but out of harm's way, for the most part. These succulents were high up, living behind three round windows, on panes, collecting the sun's rays when they could. They liked to greet guests and flirtatiously wave at pansies outside. They're also watchers. Watchers of the room. They watched and mingled with other green life just like them. From strings of pearls growing out of the walls, or long ferns dangling from amongst the ceilings, to potted spider plants tucked nicely in corners, they cherished them all. In this round earthy room of botanical beauty, honey-colored tables were furnished finely, emphasizing the warm yellows of the decorations. And on one of those glossy oak tables, mountains of books that include astronomy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, theatre, and many more can be found littered across with the unappetizing addition of pungent food. The succulents didn't like this. They thought it made the room look messy. So, in retribution, they spat their pines at the culprit who's ruining their atmosphere with such rubbish. The culprit was sleeping; face planted into an open book, while holding a cheese sandwich. His snores sounded like he was on the verge of choking. A swoopy ivy plant decided it wanted to expedite the process. The plant, like a boa, wrapped its vines around the culprit's neck. Once it was secured it pulled tight, and refused to loosen its grip. The culprit awakened and flailed. Trying to pry himself loose, he tried to scream. It did not work. Then, with a clean slice, the culprit's hero slashed the ivy plant, ceasing all movement. The culprit was gasping uglily, drooling on unflattering parts of his face. When he rose to thank his savior, he paused. His ego deflated and then he sourly said "Oh...uh...thanks Evelyn…"

"I swear, this is why I don't really hang in the Hufflepuff common room. These plants are cr-"

He stopped himself, feeling the energy shift into confrontational.

"Ugh, never mind."

One of the succulents threw one last pine at Enceladus.

"Hey! You better quit it before I make you into cactus juice."

Enceladus was too tired to argue. He plopped down onto his chair, and surveyed his books with weighted eyes.

"Now, where were we Evelyn? Oh right, I was looking at History. I swear, there has to be more to what Reina was telling me about the Trials." He rubbed his temples with slight frustration. "What do you think? You're her owner. You have to know what's going on in her mind right?"

Evelyn, like any other cat, was licking herself in a sticky bath.

"Right. This all blows."

He dropped his head onto the table, ruffled by his life. Evelyn lurched into the air from the impact. When she collected herself, she decided to rub against his scalp and try to comfort him.

Enceladus' headspace was at zero capacity. Missing rehearsals yesterday was the unneeded topping on the cake. In ballet earlier, Professor Flurry exploded with words that shouldn't be repeated nor recited. Who knew such a tiny body can possess so much anger and fury. At the end of her spit fire rant, he released him from class early. Enceladus couldn't comprehend why this wizard musical was so important. She made it seem like he sinned. Guilt was too weak of a feeling. He felt exacerbated after that. Then in acting, Professor Zenzo, made the students do tactic exercises all class. All class students would practice monologues in front of mirrors, trying to create and persuade their imaginary scene partners. For an hour straight, Enceladus dreadfully heard the screeching of her nail trimmers, and her smushed mouth preaching to "Persuade harder. Persuade harder. How are you going to be a professional actor if you're not committing to your choices? If you can't see your scene partner in the mirror, you're not convincing anybody, are you? You're just being bad at that point." It was a song of torture. He sometimes wished Alio was back. Professor Soapy's music theory was ridiculously difficult. Who knew wizards cared so much about music. Combat was non-existent as usual, yet sometimes he felt the need to whack someone with a staff to release some unneeded tension. Astronomy was immutable, the objective still being the movement of Saturn. Saturn has passed the stage of Virgo, yet is still motionless up above. What can it mean? Does it even mean anything? Can Saturn just be a floating rock in space, and that's it. Is there any more significance to that? Then, of course Defense Against the Arts. Everyday Hermoine is shoving books at Enceladus to catch up. Enceladus' eyes have been badly abused by ink ever since his approval to become a fifth-year student, and his sleep routine is a mess. He wanted to set his brain on fire. But, before he did that, there was one more book he had to read with Evelyn. The book Hermoine gave him about his powers.

"Okay, we have to read this Evelyn, Reina's request, or should I say demand." Enceladus chuckled.

"You know what cat? It would be nice to hang out at her flat. But, she had to put a charm on it, didn't she?" Enceladus opened the book and Evelyn meowed at him unamused.

"Right, right it was all Zelos."

But, what if it was Zelos? Did he create a protection charm around her flat? If so, why? Then it clicked.

"The flower. It was still there."

After finding the pen at Ancentus Alley, Enceladus ditched Gordan and Sessabit and went back to Reina's flat complex. Luckily for him, the door was still unlocked. He scurried upstairs. Once he approached Reina's door, he peeked through the keyhole, and the only thing he saw was Reina's floating blue rose smothered by electricity. So that means Zelos would have been protecting it? Does he even know how to do that? If so, why? He had to shelve these questions for later, and get to reading before he cracked his skull against the table once again, snoring to his heart's content.

"I don't even know where to start Evelyn,"

Evelyn rippled her spine, stretched, and paraded towards the book. With her wet cheerio sized nose, she pointed at a chapter in the index.

"The Star Reader and How to Unlock Powers to the Unknown…I guess we should begin there."

He flipped through the pages, like he was about to deal a deck of cards. Once he arrived at the chapter, he scanned it with fretful anticipation.

"This is a lot."

Evelyn pawed and meowed at him loudly.

"I like to see you try and read all of this when you're on the brink of falling asleep. Maybe there's a summary at the end of the chapter." He flipped to the end of the chapter, and deflated. "Of course, nothing. Stupid ancient wizard books. Always have to make things more difficult. Well, let me try and pick out the important stuff."

Enceladus mustered every ounce of energy to dissect this book. Since the character style was very muddled and unclear, he had traced his finger along each sentence to make sure he didn't pass any vital information.

He did this for a while, and wrote down some notes, but he stopped once he reached certain sentences. He read.

"The One Who Sees, typically known as the messenger of the southern side of Heaven, foretells not the future through the wonders of the universe, but absorbs its vibrations and beauty to decipher the present. The answers of tomorrow are infallible , if not for the measures of today. In the hour of now, The One Who Sees is counseled by the planets, and comforted by the stars. But, if they seek more past the matters of time, black holes will emerge within their minds and this will ruin them. Once they witness a black hole, they are too ahead, too lost, and will lose sight of all the fires in their sky. All the constellations will betray them, hide in almanac riddles, and burn only to the naked eye. The One Who Sees will then be blinded if the unpredictable inspires the soul. The southern side of Heaven is not a chart for the undisclosed generations, but simply a mural for the heartbeat... "

"A mural for the heartbeat…?" mumbled Enceladus to himself. He placed his palm against his heart. "Heartbeat? I don't get it." He sat up and scooted over to the small circular window housing the succulents. He looked past the floppy pansies and saw Saturn, and saw the Messier star cluster. They both hang in the vacuum of space, unperturbed, bright, and mesmerizing. "I'm lost...what could it mean?" He dragged himself back to his seat, and folded his many pieces of parchment together very lazily. "These old wizarding books suck. Why does the writing have to be so fluffy, and ambiguous? And I thought the bible was bad. Well, what do you-"

He leaned his eyes just past his pile of books, and saw Evelyn curled up like a croissant at the end of the table with ribs rising up and down softly.

"All of those mediation spell exercises must have really gotten to you. Who knows maybe Reina wasn't too crazy. You'd make a great The One Who Sees."

He stroked her fury head with his thumb, and smiled. Cats sleeping are always such a peaceful sight to Enceladus.

Before he stacked his books and lugged them away for his next stop, he paused. He wasn't in a rush. All he had to do next was meet Sessabit and Gordan in the Great Hall to discuss their discoveries at Ancentus Alley and how to infiltrate Zelos for some answers. Whatever infiltration encompassed; he didn't know. But, what he did know was that a nap didn't sound bad at all. So, that's what he did. He slipped a book from under his colossal tower, and used it as a pillow. The instant he closed his eyes, one of the succulents opened the window and began to dance wildly with the pansies. It was a plant party.

After about twenty minutes being pressurized against the dry hard book cover, Enceladus awoke with a big red mark against his medallion brown skin. Evelyn had disappeared. It was nice while it lasted, he thought. Hopefully Sessabit and Gordan are still in the Great Hall. That worry quickly diminished because when are they not eating food? They have the appetites of a blue whale. Enceladus stood up, went to drop off his books at his room and headed downstairs.

He entered the hall, which was extravagantly dazzled by festive candles floating above the tables like waxed stars, ordained pine trees, and garnished fruit cake and pineapple glazed meats, searching for his friends. Even the swing dancing ghosts were back, with their Christmas attire, dancing jubilantly above for a "special performance." At least they didn't try to kill each other and throw each other out the window this time.

Enceladus knew the Devil of glitter, Professor Flurry herself, was nearby. He didn't want to run into her at all. So, he slipped his hood over his head, and shuffled carefully in between the tables. After a couple of peeks, he spotted Sessabit and Gordan magically arm wrestling two gauntlets at the Gryffindor table. A smile hung off his cheeks, as he approached his friends.

"Ah, Hah! Gotcha!" cheered Sessabit, slamming down Gordan's gauntlet with a sweet punctuation. "That's three out o' three buddy. Maybe yeh should cough up the goodies now."

Gordan grumbled unhappily; digging into his pockets and grabbing a hefty handful of butterscotch colored candy canes. He shoved them across to Sessabit's side of the table. Sessabit collected them with one swoop of his large carriage, licking his lips like a lion. "Oh, sorry, this one is my wand. In Cho Chang's class we were learning about duplication spells, and I was trying to use it on my Butterbeer Cane, and I accidentally hit my spell on a mirror, it hit my wand, and transfigured it into a...well...Butterbeer Cane...I'm having trouble reversing it. Hey, at least it still works. Watch this." He demonstrated. "Accio, some fruit cake." The Butterbeer Cane glowed generously at its tip, and he pointed it at a table with, conveniently, lot's of fruit cake. Many fruit cakes shot over the heads and tables, and landed near Gordan's resting elbow. Gordan was content. "Hey, at least it's not- "

"What's up with the pee sticks?" approached Enceladus, releasing his hood.

"Not pee sticks. Buttterbeer Canes. A far less sticky mess yet still the same same amount of fun. You know?"

"No, it still looks like pee sticks." reaffirmed Enceladus using some light humor.

"Hah, hah, hah, very funny, now back to important matters that don't shat on my wand. Any word on Wonky Willow? That's who we are planning to use still, right?"

"Yes, last time I saw her she was at the Tree of Creativity reading."

"Do you really think it will work?"

"Well if we don't try then we won't find anything out about Zelos, Reina or Eleanor."

"So, what do you have en mind?"

"We simply ask her to spy for us."

"Simply? Come on, you know how this is going to be. You could have asked any Slytherin and you asked her."

"Yes, I think she is our best chance to find Zelos down there, and hopefully catch him talking to someone about something important."

"He's not dumb Enceladus."

"He's not that bright either. Think about it, Hogwarts dungeons are huge. You don't know what little hiding places could be used for secret meetings or conversations. Doesn't hurt until we try it. Who knows, maybe fate is on our side."

Sessabit and Gordan tossed each other looks.

"Okay, fine, but don't say we didn't warn you about her mate. So, lead us the way. Lead us to the WADA for our suicide mission now." teased Gordan, sitting up now. "Oop, I can't forget my new undercover pee stick." He grabbed his Butterbeer Cane wand from the table and slipped it into his back pocket. "I might just keep it like this. No one will ever know what hit them."

"Who knows? Maybe your pee stick will come in handy." Enceladus held his urge to laugh more.

"My pee stick always comes in handy." smirked Gordan, slipping Cindy Cauliflower another parchment drawing of a tree trump. What a romantic boy.

Once Gordan had accomplished his foolishness, the boys dispersed with a pep and went back to the WADA's common area.

WADA was still filled with cheer and holiday grandeur. The air smelled roasted marshmallows, as the Tree of Creativity flickered with greens and reds from the buds of the bottled fireflies. The boys waddled in and searched for their objective. Gordan and Sessabit momentarily got distracted and joined a magical snowball fight. There was a teenage cacophony of the incantation "Nigra Nix!", as everyone was trying to pummel each other.

The Slytherins were always very reticent and distanced during snowball fights, often sidelining themselves and letting their enemies do their dirty work, slaughtering each other like pigs. Ravenclaws usually came up with the strategies and gameplans, finding flaws in their opponents' snow fortifications. Gryffindors were either fleeting or miraculously successful in their sometimes clumsy, not well-thought-out attacks, and of course Hufflepuffs usually rolled around and acted silly, until it was time to attack. And when Hufflepuff attacks, they come in deadly swarms. They sometimes would help other teams out. Gordan was usually a lone soldier, proudly using his Butterbeer Cane wand.

"Okay guys let's stop messing with the Hufflepuffs. They have enough to deal with." blared Enceladus looking around for Willow.

As the boys regrouped near the invisible bridge, Enceladus saw Willow reading a book near the tree trunk, not with students, but with enchanted snowmen. She had a mug of hot cocoa and sipped very peacefully, just like a deer visiting a pond. They approached like a timid pack of puppies. The snowmen heard the soft stamps of their shoes and twisted their heads 180 degrees, and gave them snarling dispositions.

"It's okay guys, they're acquaintances." said Willow, closing her book as if this interruption gravely fettered her soul.

"Acquaintances?"

"Don't get used to it. It's just something to say so they won't tear your limbs off. Enchanted snowmen tend to be very protective over the person that gave them life." The snowmen growled. "Now, what do you guys want? Our next Blotter meeting isn't until next week Enceladus."

"I know. It's something else. I have a favor to ask."

"A favor huh? What do I look like, an Elf?" She fixed her pointy hat, and slanted it over her eyes. "I'm just Willow." She snapped, and out of thin air she conjured a Butterbeer Cane and licked it with elated mischief. "See. Willow."

"You don't even know what it is." Enceladus might regret this retort.

"Do I have to know to make a decision?"

"Okay...no...but, I do need a Slytherin for what I'm about to ask."

"Ooo, I'm so honored by your consideration. But, I regretfully have to say why me? There are hundreds of meek Slytherins to choose from."

"Well, those other Slytherins are not as strong as you."

She paused.

"I must admit. You are a very flattering boy. But, if I may say, it sounds like you want to use me as some sort of bait. Am I wrong?"

The boys paused.

"No. Just listen will you."

"Trust me. I am. Enlighten me." She sipped her hot cocoa again.

"Well...we were...we were wondering if you could spy on Zelos for us. We think, uh, we think he might know something or be a part of the...uh... New Death Eaters.

She paused again. The boys looked at each other hoping she agreed.

"Sure." she responded calmly

The boys dropped their jaws.

"Sure?" Enceladus had a surprised quiver in his voice.

"Yes, sure. Take it before I change my mind. I may benefit more than you may think." A tantalizing glimmer sparkled in her eyes. A smile creeped. "I hate Zelos. He would always try to get with me, and "allure" me with his trashy personality. I put a stop to his childish games very quickly. But, my main concern is with the Death Eaters. They are cowards, and how they use their dark magic for tyranny is a waste of wizard life, and life in general. True darkness isn't accomplished through acts of unclever terror, no no, true darkness burns with brilliance, it is unmovable, and serves a functional purpose. That purpose is to outwit, out charm, and seduce the petty desires it is associated with. Lust for power, greed and killing people is pathetic. It's mindless and showcases no real value to oneself." Willow slid her back down the tree trunk and sat down again. "Maybe if they read some banned books, they'll know what I'm talking about." She reached out her hand for a hand shake. "So, sure. I'll do your little task."

The boy's fist bumped and jeered, but stopped when Willow rose and took away her offer.

"Under one condition. Enceladus comes with me, and I get to join the next expedition if we find something out."

"Woah, woah who do you think you are?" rumbled Gordan.

"Someone who just took your pants."

Gordan retreated his advance, and peered below his waist. To his dismay, his fuchsia Quidditch undergarments were out and on full display. Gordan ran away, and bolted into the nearest restroom.

"What do you think Sessabit?"

He stroked his long wavy hair in contemplation.

"Well, she may be our only chance to figure out this stupid...what do yeh call em again?"

"Pen."

"Yes, this stupid pen." Sessabit pulled out the pen from Ancentus Alley and analyzed it like an exotic specimen.

"Wait...did you say pen?" Willow possessed heavy curiosity.

"Yes, we did, why?"

She analyzed it.

"That's not a pen. That's a Portkey."

"A wha-"

"A PORTKEY!"

"Will you shut up you big buffoon?"

"What's that?" asked Enceladus.

"Instantaneous transmission, but to farther or harder places to get to. All Portkeys were prohibited after the Third Great War. Apparently they are too much power for wizards, especially traveling such great distances unaccounted for."

Enceladus vaguely remembered he learned about them in Binn's class. Oops.

"Why would Zelos need one?"

"Well, we have to find out. Unlike traditional Portkey's, this one has a password. That's what we have to find."

"Wait, wait how do yeh know all this?" interrupted Sessabit, who's keeping a close eye on the snowmen who still have twisted heads; looking very daunting.

"I heard Zelos when he was passing in the dungeons one day with another Slytherin. Sometimes his big mouth isn't as effective as he thinks."

"We were hoping you knew where Zelos and his pals hung out in the dungeons," said Enceladus.

"Possibly. Even though the dungeons are vast and are the literal spawns of the underworld, things are exceptionally clear when something or someone is out of place. I know when everyone is asleep, Zelos and his minions relocate themselves into a secret area in the dungeon. Sometimes when I roam the common room at night, I see them appear in one corridor and disappear into another."

"All these secret places are goin' to kill meh. They never make things easy do they?"

"It only adds to the fun?" Willow was very indiscriminate. "So, we will begin our stakeout around ten in the Slytherin common room. We get the password, hopefully, and see where this little beauty takes us." She snatched the pen from Sessabit and looked at it. "Meet me at the entrance hall door, I'll give you one of my robes as a disguise and we'll go in and see what we can fish out. Sounds good?"

Enceladus was still. He refused to flinch and answer.

"Yeah, it does, but how do we know if we could trust you?"

She laughed condescendingly.

"Now, I wouldn't back stab my favorite Blotter member, would I?" whispered Willow with a big smile, as she poked Enceladus' nose with her index finger.

Enceladus skinned wrinkled from the coldness of her words. He desperately hoped this was true.

"Alright boys, your time is up, until next time." She waved her hand in a circular motion and the snowmen turned into water. "I'll see you tonight Celly." Willow packed her belongings, gave the boys one final glance, and strutted away fiercely.

"Celly?! Hah!"

"I don't know Sessabit. She's...she's a funny one. Come on, we better find Gordan some pants-"

"DUCK!" screamed a handful of voices nearby.

A shower of sharp icicles sliced through the air, and clanked off the walls and the tree.

"We better do et before sum twat says you-know-who's name again. Come on." gestured Sessabit, crunching the icicles beneath his behemoth feet.

The next few hours were devoted to back up plans in the Hufflepuff common room. The boys agreed that Sessabit and Gordan would keep lookouts outside the Slytherin entrance hall, just in case Enceladus needed reinforcements. And, if Willow decided to betray them, then...well, that plan wasn't fully developed. She's a special case of planning.

Once ten rolled around, they left the Hufflepuff common room, weaved throughout the castle's shadows, and headed towards the dungeons. Filch and Mrs. Norris haven't been as efficient with nightly guard duties lately. Filch is on the brink of death and only really craves sleep. Mrs. Norris is on the brink of death and only craves a nice flat window mantle to wither her life away. But, the boys still tiptoed their ways through the corridors, guided by a full moon and the rodents hugging the ledges of the walls. Sessabit picked one up for company while he waited for Enceladus and Willow.

The boys arrived and crept down the stairs that snaked to the lower levels. It was hollow, yet entrapped with a sheet of coldness. The echoes of their steps would periodically shake their bones; afraid that they have been caught or are being followed. The pipes behind the walls would squeak and creak, and occasionally seep water through the stones. Enceladus led the way with his blue lit wand, but was on the verge of turning back and forgetting the whole ordeal. It was all very risky and nerve racking. But, Reina kept interfering with his consciousness. Reina and everyone else. He had to do this, and discover what was going on at all cost. The Slytherin graffiti on the walls didn't help and was very intimidating, but Enceladus kept his cool and kept trudging along the swiveling path into more darkness and more coldness.

The boys eventually confronted a bare stretch of stone wall. It looked like a dead end. Not knowing what the entrance looked like, they were relying on pure whim and Willow, who they didn't not see.

"She ditched us. What a freaking blighter. I told you we shouldn't have…-"

Before Gordan finished his sentence, Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris were creeping around the corner, walking with their usual authoritative swanks towards the boys. The boys tried to escape but knew they were goners, they tensed in fear awaiting their raspy verbal punishment from Filch.

"I know you rotten kids are here. Oh, just you wait, I've been polishing my paddle and giving it some extra stick for some extra sting. I'm going to bring discipline back into this school. Kids need to learn, and the best way is my way. Isn't that right Mrs. Norris? Maybe I'll let you take a scratch as well, would you like that? Does that sound like fun?"

Mrs. Norris responded with a deep rumbly meow, and sounded like something not of this earth. Sweating bullets, the boys saw the two menaces turn up the stairs. Expecting to be wrung at their necks and tossed around like some rag dolls, the boys witnessed a strange miracle. The two, in a very snoozy unconconscious way, marched right past the boys and trotted up the stairs. Breathing heavily, the boys couldn't believe their eyes.

"What? Did...did yeh guys see that?"

"Certainly. Because I am the one who did it. You losers can thank me later."

"Enceladus, when did your voice sound like eh tiny ladies?"

"Uh, that wasn't me Sessabit …"

The boys turned around and saw Willow, in combat boots, a black dress, and her signature black witch hat, leaning on the bare stone wall in a very fashionable, exuberant, and tenaciously assured manner. She flicked her hat to get a better view of the boys, and smirked in delight, "Shall we?"

"Uh, how did you-"

"I'll explain later. Meaning never." She faced the wall, and whispered "Pure-blood." The wall cracked to life and slid open. Far into the distance of the entrance, illuminated a dark emerald green.

"We love subtle bigotry, especially in a school setting," said Gordan.

"Salazar was really into displaying dominance. Even with something as small as an unchangeable password curse. Now, will you two stay out here and watch out if Filch and his fur creature come down again."

"Yeah, cause I so desperately want to get in a rumble with walking dust and his crippled pussy." Gordan crossed his arms with punctuation.

"You seem smart. Create diversions, pretty boy."

"No worries Gordan, we have the rats to protect us. Come on now."

Sessabit simultaneously patted his pocket and wrapped his club of an arm around Gordan's neck, acknowledging that they will watch their post. Which, they did.

"Put this on, we don't want any taddles tonight. Slytherins can be trivial like that."

Enceladus snagged the extra Slytherin robe that she bought him, and tossed it over his shoulders, sliding it down his angular body.

"Hurry up, we might miss him."

Once the robe sat well on his frame, he put his hood up. The two then proceeded to pace evenly side by side into the pit of green darkness, entering the common room.

The closer they got, the more goosebumps Enceladus received. When they fully entered, it was a glamorous, yet sinister sight. The room felt like an elaborate torture chamber, without the torture instruments. Even that was debatable considering the grand scheme of the room. The fireplace looked like a fine flaming gateway into Hell. The Victorian styled umbrella lamps glowed softly, emitting shades of green as if the students breathed poison. Then, the sleek baroque leather lounge chairs didn't disguise their true natures well. They looked like they would most likely shock you to death, rather than cater to your comfort. But, worst of all was the glass wall that looked into the depths of the lake. It was an opaque panel of horror. The murky mist from the absence of light, made it menacing and terrifyingly unpredictable. Millions of sea creatures squirm freely and can introduce themselves easily, making their presence known. The ball in Enceladus' throat itched, and wouldn't swallow. The room was empty, with no one in sight. Bedtime was in full swing.

Willow frolicked with a negligent skip, and plopped into a seat.

"Come sit. It's time to wait."

"What?"

"What did you think was going to happen? He arrives when we arrive? Now that would be magical."

"I expected we would search around and stuff…"

"Nope. He will come to us. Trust me." She grabbed a china kettle of tea that was placed on a table in front of her. "Care for some Kuding tea?"

"Uh, I'm not a fan of cold tea…"

She grabbed the kettle, scooped her hands underneath it's base, took a small breath, and closed her eyes in concentration. Her palms pulsed an orange light, and like a mini train pipe, steam shot from the top.

"Better?"

Enceladus was speechless. What was Willow?

"Yeah…"

She passed him a tea cup, and saucer, and poured him a drink. He accepted and took a seat at the other end of the table.

To conceal themselves from the main walkway, they decided to turn their seats around so nobody walking by would notice them. For the next hour, they sat in silence. Willow opened her book, Kafka's Metamorphosis and didn't take her eyes off of it. Enceladus cringed because that was one book he would hate to be sucked into. He didn't have the greatest history with giant bugs as it was.

So, he just sat, taking in the weight of the anticipation. And it was heavy. He wondered if Gordan and Sessabit got caught. He also wondered about general school work. At this point, his abundance of make-up work just numbed him. Solving the mysteries of evil and the Christmas season made him feel something at least. Whether that something was good or bad was still yet to be determined.

"You idiot." shot a voice behind Enceladus and Willow.

"Stay down." whispered Willow.

The two knew who it was. That snarky warbly voice was too distinctive. It was too prevalent in snarl and bite. But, who was he talking to?

"You know this is only an exit."

"Oh, sorry. The initiation wasn't really clear…"

"Well, maybe you should have been paying attention." Zelos slightly raised his voice.

Willow and Enceladus were compressed into little balls, hiding behind their chairs. Not the best position, yet it would suffice. But, not for long. Enceladus ended up slipping, roughly rubbing his forearms against the arm rail which made that leathery-creak sound.

"What was that? I thought I told you not to bring anyone."

"What? No, I...I...I didn't…"

"Shut up and move."

Zelos, with careful steps, approached the common room area, prepping to unsheathe his wand. Enceladus tried to keep composure, burrowing into his chair for protection. Next to him, Willow was whispering something.

"Come out whoever you are. As a prefect, I demand you to make your presence known in this instance." Zelos approached Enceladus' chair. "Mmm, these chairs never move." With a crooked, confident sway of his arms, he grabbed the top of the chair and spun it around. Nothing was on it. "I swear I heard-"

"Probably hearing thing's Z, you know-"

"Don't call me Z. And don't try to explain what I heard."

"Sorry…"

"Whatever." He surveyed the entirety of the room once more, double checking his inclinations. He noticed that there were four tea mugs sitting on a table. Two had tea in it, and the other two didn't. "Peculiar. Well, I guess I'm just hearing things." He returned back to the Slytherin boy. "Well, anyways, take this. This is what you need for the entrance. But, there isn't anything going on tonight for you. You are relieved until next time."

Zelos handed him a piece of paper. Small beat.

"When is next-"

"Leave now!"

The student ran away upstairs to his room. Zelos sighed, pivoted away from the glass wall, and exited the common room.

When Zelos left, the room became more silent and eerie, like an empty church. But seconds later, those two empty tea cups he saw rattled and skipped against the table top, projecting a frizz of bright colors. Before you know it, the tea cups fully transformed and Enceladus and Willow fell to the floor. Enceladus immediately patted down his body for empirical closure, making sure he was still fleshy and intact.

"Did you transfigure me into a tea cup?"

"I like to say metamorphosis."

"Right...okay...well let's not do that again."

"Well let's not be so loud and obnoxiously uncoordinated, then we wouldn't have been in this predicament to begin with."

Enceladus didn't have a comeback. His shoulders slumped in defeat. Willow, just smirked widely in that told-you-so manner.

"So, what did Zelos give that kid?"

"Don't worry about it. I got it."

"Huh?"

"I got it. It was a password. Probably for the pen. Where did you guys find it again?"

"Ancentus Alley."

"Let's go. This might be our golden ticket."

Enceladus stopped questioning Willow and her uncanny ability to do anything really.

"Okay let's quickly get out of here and get...oh no...what if they ran into Zelos?"

"Well, we can't stay here and find out. Come on."

Right as the two galloped out the common room, the giant octopus ripped through the murky water and plunged towards the glass, suction cupping against it, and squirming hideously. Enceladus jumped back, but Willow didn't flinch a muscle. Before they left, the octopus waved one purple luminescent tentacle saying his goodnites.

They eventually reached the entrance, and found an empty scene.

"Where did they go?" asked Enceladus, looking around for his friends in desperation.

"Probably hid."

"Eximo Magnes" was heard up above. Sessabit and Gordan plummeted from the ceiling and barreled onto the floor.

"I need to get better at that spell," said Sessabit, rubbing his bum.

"It's okay, I don't think wizards are supposed to be magnets anyways." Gordan fixed his hair and stretched out his lengthy body.

"Is Puddin here?"

"Yes sir," said Sessabit proudly.

"Cool. Well, let's go. We have the password for the pen."

They all nodded in agreement, left the school, found Puddin and all flew to Ancentus Alley.

Once they arrived at the top of a building, they were met with muggle night patrols, making their rounds around the village on the ground level. Sessabit gave Puddin some Deception Dust and ordered her to hide. Willow and the boys snuck past a few patrols and made their way into Ancentus Alley. Enceladus found the spot Zelos was last time, traced the symbol with his finger, and opened the passage. The rest followed closely behind. The room was bare still, but hopefully not for long. Sessabit got out the pen, and Enceladus gave her the clear.

"Okay Willow. Your go."

Willow grabbed the pen, and uttered, "Revolt."

Nothing happened.

"Uh, you sure you got the password, or did your powers decide to go haywire?" Gordan wasn't helping. Per usual.

"Trust me. It is the password."

"Maybe it's like a voice command Portkey? Maybe?"

"Maybe it only responds to boys." Again, Gordan was not helping.

"Don't be ridiculous. Zelos can be blatantly egotistical, but he's not always predictable. That's too easy." Willow gave Gordan a cold shoulder.

"Maybe, eh, yeh have to say it with uh, you know, emotion. Give it some sting."

"Emotion?" asked Willow, in a low whisper to herself.

"Yeah." Sessabit smiled, secretly encouraging her.

"We are wasting time, the only emotion she knows-"

"No, I got it." Willow tipped her hat confidently.

She took a deep breath, and yelled "Revolt!"

Still nothing.

"I don't understand…" withered Willow.

"That was eh good start, but eh let give et a wack."

Sessabit grabbed the pen, grounded himself, and ripped out a throaty bellow, shouting "Revolt!"

Next thing they knew, the whole room became fuzzy. It was losing its dimensions and framework; oozing pixelated atoms from the ceiling down. Then once there was nothing left but empty space, the four of them were slurped into a funnel of nothing, racing down into a thick blackness. After this funky trip, they eventually regurgitated into another room that had them all left in shock.

Black Vela

Enceladus fluttered his eyelids, trying to regain consciousness. Oddly enough, a potent smell of rusty iron was kick starting his senses.

"Uh...why does it smell like…-"

"Shh." commanded a voice, covering Enceladus' mouth.

"Gordan?"

"Yes, now you will keep quiet, and follow us."

Enceladus saw Sessabit and Willow, crawling under a nearby table that was covered with a long drape. Gordan encouraged Enceladus to follow and he did.

"Where are we?" whispered Enceladus, trying to scrunch under a table with three other people. One being half-giant.

"Well, let's find out,"

The four periodically took turns poking their heads out from underneath. At first, it looked like they were sent straight back to the Slytherin Dungeons. But, unlike the dungeons, this room was completely surrounded by the water, making it a circular aquarium. Everywhere you looked, green water illuminated the room. So, did they return to Hogwarts or were they somewhere else?

The room itself looked like a mad man's lab, but a mad man who was obsessed with wizarding potion making equipment. There were dozens of small tables scattered about with vials, beakers, graduated cylinders, and alcohol burners. Clinks and clanks filled the air as equipment was being traded, poured, tossed away or reused in an unconscious rhythmic pattern. Near the small tables were six cauldrons, spewing out vapors of blood orange and cherry red. The bubbling molten within the cauldron, gurgled loudly with blustering goops. Then near the cauldrons were six rolling shelves of jars, with a red gooey substance inside. There was little to no slosh, since most of them were filled to the brim.

The orchestrators of these activities were all wearing black robes, and skull masks.

"New Death-"

Willow covered Enceladus' mouth and shook her head "yes".

It was true. It was groups of them, everywhere, whispering incantations, mixing potions, and stirring the smoke trickled cauldrons with strong swiveling strokes.

"What is going on here?" whispered Sessabit.

"Just keep watching," urged Willow.

After a minute of adjusting body positions under the table, they eventually saw a figure walking to the middle of the room. As he journeyed, he slammed down some ingredients onto a table. They knew where those ingredients came from. They were the exact ingredients Zelos took from Reina's flat. This was it. The truth was right there before all of their eyes. Zelos was a New Death Eater. It was irrefutable. They all gasped silently, but composed themselves quickly before anyone could catch them. Zelos let down his hood and began to speak. His hair was no longer in a bun, but down, and very curly.

"I believe this may be our last batch. Once it is fully completed, our numbers will have grown, and then we'll stand a chance. At least for this round." preached Zelos.

"What are they…-"

"Keep watching. Keep listening."

"We shall strike at midnight. So hurry, we need to make this last batch before we run out of time. We need the night to last."

All the other Death Eaters jeered with approval.

"Now, once we make it to the Gumball's muggle estate, we acquire him and leave as soon as possible." announced Zelos.

Zelos monitored around some more, rubbing his hands and temples roughly.

"Does everyone have their passports?" Everyone dug into their robes and revealed blue pamphlets." Wonderful. Now whoever is a student at Hogwarts or underage, do you have your Polyjuice Potions ready?"

A selected amount shook their heads up and down in agreement.

"They're planning to steal Gumdrop. We have to stop them…" muttered Enceladus.

"And those jars are…-"

"Dragons Blood." confirmed Sessabit. "It looks like they're making more blood so they can create fake passports." His face tensed with fear. "Instead o' duplicating Galleons, they're duplicating passports. Passports that can sneak dark wizards into the muggle world." He paused and itched his arm nervously. "This es bad…"

"Why didn't they just slaughter more dragons? Why create more blood?"

"They had to get blood from at least one dragon to even do what they are doin."

"It would probably cause too much public attention. They're smarter than that. Surprisingly." added Willow.

"Hey guys, you should come look at this…"

Gordan lifted the drape again and they sneakily peered under it. They saw a New Death Eater stirring a cauldron with a wand. Not just a wand, but the Tenacis Wand; being swung in mid-air with elegance and grace.

"It's my wand!" Sessabit almost jutted out from under the table. "I just knew one of those twats took it. We need to get that back."

Enceladus was oddly entranced by the wand, as if it reminded him of something that he's seen before. Maybe because that person was very short for a New Death Eater.

"Maybe we should come up with a plan to get out of here alive first boys." sneered Willow.

"Easy. Whenever they are ready to leave, we attack the last four stragglers, take their robes, passports, and Polyjuice, then follow them all the way to Gumdrop's estate."

Willow gave Gordan an unsure glance.

"Sounds disastrous, but it may be our only chance."

"Yeah, en I could get mi wand back. Freakin' cumwalds." Sessabit aggressively blew a kiss at the New Death Eaters.

Concern was engrossed across Enceladus's face.

"Uh, why did you do that?"

"Is that not proper use o' profanity en the muggle world? I see the muggles use it, all the time en the city."

"No. It's actually a nice thing to do. Depending on the context of the situation."

"Really? That's disgusting. It looks like en insult to mi."

Enceladus couldn't help but laugh.

"I've failed you." Gordan let out a small laugh, and Willow...well...Willow didn't find any of it amusing.

As the night raced forwards, the New Death Eaters began to pack up and disperse the room. A couple of times Willow and the boys were almost caught because they would accidentally hit and move the drape sometimes. Luckily, the New Death Eaters didn't find it too compelling to bend down and check it out.

Finalizing their preparations for their operation, the New Death Eaters wrangled up certain gadgets, secured their passports and all single filedly marched out of a small wavy portal, infused with the circular glass walls. Whenever someone exited this portal, the currents from the magic matter would ripple like a flimsy sheet of metal.

There was a small army of New Death Eaters, so leaving took a very long time for them. But, the boys and Willow were patient, and waited for the last few suckers to leave the aqua dungeon.

The last four finally arrived and made it to the edge of the portal. The boys and Willow didn't waste time. They all rolled from under the drape on the count of three. Finding their stance positions, they all used stun spells to neutralize them. Willow had to compensate for Enceladus since his magic was still not that advanced. The bodies fell to the floor with a loud clump. They hurried and stripped their robes and masks, and began suiting themselves up. They recognized two people.

"Cast and Pollux," said Enceladus under his breath.

"So, young and yet so stupid." Gordan slipped into a robe. "Should we wear masks too?"

Willow was astonished that Gordan made it pass his grade level after a question like that.

"And you call them stupid. Now, why would they go through Hogwarts with a Death Eater mask? You think they want to parade around, showing off their shoddy masks and lopsided dark marks all willy nilly? Just put on their robes and hoody. It makes them look like students at least."

"It was just a question, geeze."

"How about Polyjuice thingy? When should we take that?" asked Enceladus.

"Let's worry about getting out of here first." Willow slipped on a robe as well.

The four of them finished putting on their new get ups. The feeling of putting on something that's been worn by terrorists felt so bad. Enceladus felt like his skin was tingling from all of the darkness ingrained within the fibers of the fabric. It all felt wrong.

The octopus made its appearance again before the four entered the portal. It crashed, and sprawled all of its tentacles against the glass again, making that ploppy suction cup sound with every movement. The octopus started to camouflage against its environment, looking for some attention.

"Darla! Et's me Sessabit. How es going girl? Lookin' good as always I see."

"Can one of you two get your blubbering friend before he gets us all killed?"

With the way Willow talked and how she held her posture, it wouldn't be wrong to assume that she strongly resembled a New Death Eater. With accruing frustration, she left without the boys. Enceladus and Gordan tried to restrain Sessabit away from his octopus friend.

"Hey, what are you doing'? She was trying to tell me somethin'."

"It's not the right time, we have to go before anyone catches us." huffed Gordan.

They continued to grab him by the arm and proceeded to throw him into the portal. Enceladus was next, ending with Gordan waving goodbye to the giant octopus, who started changing colors rapidly.

Once they all went into the portal, they were terribly surprised, mostly Sessabit and Gordan. They ended up back in the Slytherin Common room. The New Death Eaters had access to Hogwarts. This explained so much.

"We're...we're in the Slytherin common room...but how?" Gordan was mildly intrigued, and mildly disturbed at the same time.

"Yeah, when when Zel-"

Sessabit ran over to Enceladus and covered his mouth with his palm before he delivered any more words. Sessabit pantomimed to be quiet and searched around attentively.

"Looks like they left for the border already. But, where's-"

An older man sat up carefully from one of the lounge chairs near the fireplace.

"Oh, perfect, excuse me sir, you wouldn't happen to know-...wait a minute-"

"Shh. It's me guys."

They all stared at her wide eyed.

"Willow?" asked Enceladus.

"Yes, I took the potion in the loo, and it turned me into this vile man. This Death Eater could care less about their disguise and what they turned themselves into. Apparently weak old men are at the top of their list." Willow loathed every second of this stinky bearded man. "I think the New Death Eaters all went to the border. You guys should hurry and drink your potions so we don't miss them."

"I'm definitely skipping school tomorrow." Gordan just wanted an excuse to not do homework at this point.

Now, the idea sounded wonderful. But, something bad was always bound to happen.

"Since, Puddin' es all willy nilly somewhere, we should get off of Hogwarts property and aparate there."

"Perfect. You guys do your thing in the bathroom. I'll get a head start and surf through the school to see if any of them did anything shifty or left behind any clues. Once I do that, I'll change clothes, and meet you guys at Sessabit's hut, okay?"

They all nodded in agreement, and went their separate ways.

In the Slytherin loo, they drank their Polyjuices, which tasted like fruity piss, and transformed into their new bodies. Enceladus and Sessabit turned into middle aged men, and Gordan turned into a middle-aged woman.

"Oh, wow, I have breasts. Two bouncy breasts. I have a bouncy bosom! Oh yes, I should coin that." Gordan went on a mini touching spree, poking at the pair with a joyful curiosity.

"Well come on breast boy, we have a minister to save." said Enceladus, pushing Gordan along. "Now don't get all weird when we change clothes now."

"Why do you associate me as this carnal sicko?"

"Cause yeh are some carnal sicko!" Sessabit pounced and jokingly put Gordan in a headlock. All Enceladus could do is shake his head and smile.

The boys eventually left the castle without being caught, and met Willow by Sessabit's. They left Hogwarts property and apparated like streaking darts to Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley was quaint, quiet, and still. Winter gently laid on the little area, with snow glazed atop infrastructures in a beautiful manner; cold air, crisp and smooth, and not overbearingly frigid, and the wind fast asleep, not provoking goosebumps. The four of them ended up under the pier of Gringotts bank.

"Cool and collective. Cool and collective guys. Okay?" said Gordan, still admiring his bosom.

"Does everyone have their passports?" Double checking is good, and Enceladus knew this needed to be a perfect execution.

The crew all patted their pockets indicating "yes." Enceladus pulled out his and took a gander at his information. The passport was initially blank, but after touching it, it read the man's history and instantaneously displayed his information and photo. His name was Harold and his eyes looked very sad, his hair was balding, and his nose looked like a tiny potato. He was forty-five years old, and Enceladus felt it right away. It felt like he was carrying a wet blanket around. His movement was heavy and rugged with every step. Let's hope he could make it in time to the border without breaking into pieces.

"Let's hurry. We don't want to lose their trail."

"Hah, with a walk like that we are bound to miss it."

Willow was still discovering how to impersonate a man's physical qualities, like walking.

"Do you want me to take your pants again?"

Gordan melted, and pantomimed zipping his mouth.

As they continued to walk, Enceladus became confused about the Alley's lack of security. One would think Ventril would have units surveying the area overnight, but that wasn't the case. Diagon Alley was empty, and motionless, as if it were frozen in time. The only sense of life was the crackling ice that clung onto the bricks and metals of the buildings.

They trudged down the powdery white bath towards the Leaky Cauldron. A couple buildings down was Reina's flat. And if you focused your sight, silhouetted up above, you could see the blue rose, twirling slowly behind her curtains. This wasn't the right time to get distracted. He had to maintain as much energy and focus with this broken body.

They finally made it to the border and saw the line of New Death Eaters. They knew they were Death Eaters because some of them forgot to take their robes off. Not a big mistake, but potentially costly.

Their numbers were depleted though. There weren't as many as before. They might have split themselves into smaller groups to reduce any chance of suspiciousness. It was perfect timing too. This group was really small and they easily blended right in.

Everyone in the line was calm and collective. And at the end, near the trash bin of banishment, was the guard with his blue glowing pistol, keeping tabs and checking information as the wizards went. At this time of night, he was probably very cold, and very grumpy. So, any minor mistake would prove to be potentially disastrous.

The line moved relatively quickly. So that was a good sign. For the most part. Sessabit entered with ease. So, did Gordan and Willow. But, Willow did receive a funny look because of her walk. Surprisingly, Gordan was very good at embodying a women's strut. He was very luscious. He may not be the best at socializing with them but he sure knew how to endow their traits. Enceladus held back his laughs, and tried to stay composed.

It was Enceladus' turn once again. He always hated this part. It always felt like life or death. His heart banged hard against his chest like drums. He gave the guard his passport. Cold sweat was developing, and his body was warm from the racing blood. The guard, with his leather gloves and crinkled face, analyzed the card.

"Ah, Mr. Harold, sporting the bald look now are you," said the guard.

"Uh...yes….yes I am?"

"It's funny how your passport did not update your photo."

"Yeah...haha...very very funny…"

The guard paused. He gave Enceladus' bald head a closer look.

"I know who you are."

"Really? Are you sure? Because I'm really a nobody, you know? Just a simple man with-..."

"No, no, no I understand. It happens to us all. You are just a man who can't let go. And I see that. I see you must have tampered with your passport to keep your old photo. Which I admit, you have a nice set of hair going for you." This was surreal. "So, how did you do it? Did you visit the downtown bureau or did you visit the ministry's bureau? I might just do this to myself."

Enceladus reeled back in confusion.

"Uh...both. Yeah both. You know, two is better than one and all...uh...can I just go in now?" Enceladus was biting the inside of his cheeks anxiously.

"Of course Mr. Harold you are all set. If you are getting away from your wife tonight, and trying to get some, you know, human loving, I best suggest the Crow's Nest two streets away from Gumball's estate. It's a high-class place. Great performances I tell you…-"

"Perfect. Goodbye now!"

Enceladus front flipped into the bin, and surfed along the waves to the other side. Typically he would be screaming, but he shuddered in silence over the fact that his father used to visit that place for his "nightly getaways". Tainted innocence is the worst.

Once he was regurgitated from the air, he landed shoulder first, on the flat tickly grass of Russell Square. It was very dark and people were walking their dogs outside. Enceladus had to find Willow, Sessabit, and Gordan quickly before the New Death Eaters left for the mansion. Enceladus prospered speedily, and found his friends ordering a sandwich at a late-night kiosk. He jogged over with his faltered body.

"Yeah, can, I get some mustard with that please…-"

"Guys, what are you doing? We got to go."

"Well we know that, so we went to go ask for directions. This fine sandwich seller gave us the locations and very fine service." Gordan took a big munch out of his sandwich. The sandwich seller gave a thumbs up.

They were right, where on earth did Gumdrop live?

"So, where do we go?" Enceladus spectated his surroundings carefully.

"Beaufort Gardens." said Willow, showing apparent signs of discomfort in her male body.

Beaufort Gardens. The place reeked of luxury. Of course the minister would live there. Yet, Enceladus wondered how he bribed the muggle real estate agent, since Gumdrop was so keen on business, and easy satisfaction.

"They're heading there now." Sessabit was barely paying attention to what he said because he, as well, ordered a sandwich.

"That's a long trip. How do we get there since we are technically under age wizards…"

"Follow me boys, I have an idea."

Willow started power walking out the park with stumbling grace.

All the boys looked at each other, shook their heads, and followed right behind her, admiring all the beautiful dogs along the way.

Once they bumbled down a couple long slippery streets, Willow finally stopped at the corner of a bakery shop near a couple of pay meters.

"Here we are."

They boys waddled close to Willow, trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"Uh, what are we supposed to look at?" asked Sessabit, finishing up his sandwich with a charming sloppiness.

"Isn't it obvious?"

It wasn't. Or maybe the boys were very absentminded chaps.

"The car."

"You want us to steal a car?" asked Enceladus.

Willow reached into her pocket, hoping she finds what she thinks is stuffed deep down. After rummaging her palm around, she struck gold. A jingly noise rattled, as she pulled out a key chain full of silver and bronze keys. She unlocked the car, and stepped in.

"Are you ready to ride or what?"

The boys shrugged their shoulders, and crouched in one by one. Willow turned the ignition on, and the car hummed to life. She revved the engine like a racer, turned the lights on, and bolted out of the parking spot.

"Uh, is there something I'm missing here?" asked Gordan, trying to put his seatbelt on.

"This is my car guys. Well, should I say Mr. Mose's car? They must've used enhanced ingredients on their batches of Polyjuice, so enhanced that we can even remember our person's own history. That's what happened to me. I remembered I had a car. I even remembered how to drive it."

Of course they would use muggle hair as their base ingredient. If you are disguised as someone else, why not ruin their lives while you're at it.

"Good, we love not dying in car crashes. Wait, did you get a sense of direction? I know you probably never been-

"I'm not a hermit Gordan. I know London with my own mind and body. Thank you very much."

"Hey, guys…'

"Can you please pay attention to the road, "no power no problem," girl.

"Hey guys…"

"No, I think I rather commit genocide right here right now. What do you think?"

"Hey, guys!"

"WHAT?!"

"I think Sessabit is getting sick. He's not the best with cars."

"He must have had normal Polyjuice. Which still grants him his own feelings, and not his host." said Willow over the screeched tires, as she took a sharp wide turn.

"Okay Sessabit, if you're going to throw up just do it out the window."

Gordan lowered the window for him, and the rest was history. Sessabit hurled half his body out the window and spewed chunks of green and red all over the roads of London. He accidentally puked on a random woman walking too. Her words after were more sour than the stench. Sessabit was in obvious pain.

Once they got closer to the mansion, Sessabit finished his boxing match with his bodily insides. He sprawled his limbs across the back seat of the car, and huffed heavily to catch his break.

"I hate being eh muggle. They are as weak as a baby niffler." He sunk lower into the cushions of the car, calming himself and steadying his queasiness. "And they stink like rotten Elwood sap."

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Enceladus, hoping they don't get ambushed. Now wasn't the time.

"O' course I will. I'm not a periwinkle pansy like these dreadful muggles." Sessabit was falling into a deep sleep. Willow encouraged it.

"Keep him asleep. We are almost there. A ten-minute nap might help in the long run."

Nobody touched Sessabit, as they ventured into an obscure territory that led to Beaufort Gardens. Willow was a horrible driver, but the reward of not dying felt nice. The reckless driving paid off.

They drove up to this mammoth house, in a neighborhood where most buildings had lavish pillars, stylized balconies, and clean paint, without any scuffs or blemishes. Unlike the other houses, this one was isolated and planted in the middle of a large open plain. A tall black gate guarded the property, and a curvy driveway snaked to the front door.

Willow gradually drove along the street where lamp poles showered the sidewalks with pools of yellow light. They all wondered where the New Death Eaters went.

"Where do you think they went?" asked Enceladus.

"My guess is not the front." said Willow, parking the car horribly on the curb.

"Wait, look!"

Two men with long brown trench coats, who they recognized from the dungeon, turned into a nearby alley that led to the rear of the mansion.

"Alright let's go guys." Enceladus was preparing his wand for the worse.

They left the vehicle and headed a block down. But, they soon realized they were missing someone. Sessabit was still sleeping in the car. Gordan rushed back, and woke him up by slapping his furry cheeks. When he awoke, he thought it was time for school, and tried to use magic to brush his teeth. Before he could utter an incantation, Gordan covered his mouth with his palm. They were already on the brink of major trouble. They didn't need the ministry hounding them down in the middle of the night.

Once Gordan and Sessabit regrouped with Willow and Enceladus, they found themselves faced with a very lightless path. They all held hands hoping they're combined stability would aid them. Overnight garbage swarmed their senses, and the musk harassed their eyes. Their feet also made frequent visits into large puddles. But, after pushing through the alley obstacles, they all saw a glimmer of light fifty meters down. Shadows were bobbing in and out with dress hats, and they knew that's where they needed to be. They all, except Willow, prepped and gripped their wands in anticipation for a possible rumble.

They approached the large crowd that was gathered behind a gray garage. A slight drizzle developed, but everyone seemed unmoved and focused with the task. Enceladus noticed that when a droplet fell onto the garage, it pulsed with little white rings. A gaunt, shabby man with sapphire-colored eyes separated himself from the group, and approached the garage doors with a displaced confidence, skimming his wrinkled knuckles along the door. The white wrings pulsed even brighter, spreading across the titanium surface more and more.

"Alright listen up. This may be our only chance to get him. Beyond this shield might hold guards or not. We'll see, but be ready for a fight. The Superiors might join the party too." The man slipped out his cherry wood wand and stabbed it into the garage door. "She said he's been in the cellar, so we'll take all our units low. Are you all ready?"

Everyone grunted silently and removed the Polyjuice effects. The amalgamation of bodies withered and shook violently, bubbling and morphing back to their rightful states. Once everyone shedded the last few spasms of transformation, they all surrounded the one wand, and piled their hands on top of it. Willow and the boys didn't have a choice but to stay concealed. They proceeded to join hands as well, without showing their faces. One of the New Death Eaters looked over.

"You know you can turn back to normal now?" said the random New Death Eater to Enceladus.

"You know I actually prefer not being me…"

"Why?"

"Because...I'm ugly. I can't take it anymore."

Enceladus was an actor, but his improvisational skills were horrid. The random New Death eater paused.

"You know what, it's okay chap, I'm ugly too. It's natural for people like us. Unlike you, I got over it like years ago…-"

"Well I didn't, so please be a little more considerate. Now, what are we doing?"

"You are a very funny man. Witness and behold friend. Witness and behold."

The man who was speaking earlier turned into Zelos, and led the charge with eviction.

"On three!...One...two...three!"

As a raging symphony, the crowd all shouted, "Magicae Transfodio!". In an instant, the invisible force that surrounded the garage and even the mansion cracked like an egg and shattered into speckles of energy, raining down like rainbow colored snow, then dissolving in mid-air. It even blew a hole straight through the garage. Once the smoke cleared and the heat of the spell cooled along the rim of the opening, they all charged without any regard for stealth. The initial garage room was relatively empty, holding only wooden wheelbarrows. It also had a large cement ramp with brownish, yellowish stains covering the floor, which stretched deep into the earth. They all scurried down it and squeezed into a small corridor. Willow and the boys followed at the tail end of the surging crowd.

"Uh, when es the part that we stop them?"

Nobody really knew the answer. They were severely outnumbered,

"Should one of else go to the Ministry and -"

"No." said Gordan firmly. "We can't trust the Ministry. Not now. We need to get to Gumball first before they do. That's our only hope."

"Well come on, let's get to the front and see if we can take an alternate route." Willow led the way.

The crew lurched and clawed their way to the front of the frenzy. They allowed a handful of New Death Eaters to stay fully in front, so it didn't look too suspicious.

Once they all entered the next room, they were automatically engulfed with darkness. There was only one bright light shining down in the middle of the room. Willow grabbed a hold of the boys, and pushed them aside to the opposite direction.

As they were feeling their surroundings out, vision became clearer when they were closer to the light. Hugging the walls, they noticed boxes and barrels stacked on top of each other, almost reaching the ceiling, which was twenty-five feet from the ground. On the other side of the stack was the light source, creeping through the cracks of the uneven shelving.

"Come guys, this will give us a better view to find an exit around here."

Enceladus now led the way, and like amateur mountain climbers, they all hurled themselves over all the boxes and barrels. Some were very slick, and sticky, making their trip more difficult than it was.

"Hey, guys, this sticky stuff tastes awfully like Butterbeer." whispered Sessabit, licking his fingers along the way.

"Butterbeer? What is this-"

"Take a look."

Gordan guided their eyes below. At first, it was too bright to tell what was down there. But, near the pool of light were the New Death Eaters, bordering the outskirts of it. Zelos rose a hand strongly.

"Wait, don't go yet."

Zelos gestured, made some shapes with his fingers and pointed into his group. After a few seconds, the short hooded New Death Eater with the Tenacis Wand submerged. They scanned the perimeter, gliding their gaze gently.

"BSL?" said Enceladus incredulously. Zelos continued.

"Anything?"

The short hooded New Death Eater waved their head "no".

They then slid the Tenacis Wand out of their sleeve, and hovered it in front of their face. It was fizzing red, ready to produce a spell. They then let down their hood and Sessabit almost gave away their position.

"That's-"

Willow quickly shoved him to be quiet. They all looked at each other with expressions of pure confusion and horror. It was Eleanor. Sessabit continued his frazzled babbling.

"How did...why?...I-"

"She must be under a spell. But, why? Why are they using her like this?"

Eleanor, with her sign language, recited an incantation. Her wand was twitching and growing with fizzy intensity as she rapidly maneuvered her fingers. A couple seconds later, all the lights turned on.

"It's the Butterbeer cellar, Gumdrop's famous factory cellar that makes and stores all the Butterbeer in the wizarding world. Look there's even a worker operating the giant mixer." said Gordan, completely baffled. "Wow, it's true…"

"But, look it's-"

"Professor Alio." Everyone's jaws dropped.

Professor Alio was tied up, unconscious on a chair where the big pool of light hit. He was badly beaten, covered in bruises and dry blood.

"Are they saving him?" asked Willow, studying the scene.

They waited for further actions to be made. Zelos and Eleanor approached Alio hesitantly.

"This is not right. It's too easy…"

Boom! Out of nowhere a giant barrel was hurled towards the New Death Eaters. It hit one of them and Butterbeer exploded everywhere; showering anyone who was in radius. Then, like groundhogs popping their heads out, more New Death Eaters revealed themselves.

"It's an ambush!" screamed Zelos. "Secure Alio, and let's go!"

It was New Death Eaters against New Death Eaters. But, the ones who just popped up were all wearing skull masks. Willow and the boys had to intervene.

"Who do we help?!" Sessabit kept repeating this, as he tumbled and slipped down the boxes and barrels.

"The one with Eleanor!" said Willow.

"Are you sure?!"

"Yes! Now come on!"

Willow and the boys dropped down from the boxes and sprang into action.

Hundreds of Butterbeer barrels were destroyed left and right. Magic beams were streaking wildly, like fireworks. Wizards and witches were flailing and slipping everywhere. One wizard slipped so far that he slid right into the calves of his compatriots, dropping them all like bowling pins. Dodging didn't help anyone either. The spritz and the gushes from the barrels were too massive and propellant. But, that didn't slow the fight. Shards of broken planks were used as weapons, as they too were being rocketed through the air. Willow made a shield made out of Butterbeer which reflected the attacks and knocked people over. Gordan was back-to-back with a random Zelos' New Death Eater, rotating around and firing stun charms like a turret system. Sessabit had his mouth open, collecting any splash of Butterbeer he could get, while gurgling war cries and displaying fine wandmanship. And Enceladus was focused on getting Alio and leaving immediately.

Enceladus ducked, rolled, and belly slid towards Alio. He was drenched in the stench of butterscotch. The fizz from the suds was overwhelming as well, and dreadfully tickled inside his ear drums. Instead of a blood bath, it was all a butter bath. He just wanted to slow down time, because the weight of his soaked clothes made him slower and more prone to being hit.

He eventually made it to Alio. Gratefully unharmed. Still in another person's body, he felt the fatigue of old age kicking in.

"Stupid old heart." Enceladus was simultaneously cursing at his dysfunctional heart all while trying to untie Alio.

But, something was wrong. Even his fingers were not working well. Why weren't they working? Of course. It made sense. He had arthritis. Just his luck. How was he supposed to untighten these ropes? He didn't know a spell yet for that. But, he has been practicing latin words just in case of an emergency. He dug deep into his memory. Only one that sprung to mind was "release." It was worth a shot. He aimed his wand and said,

"Libero!"

It worked. The rope uncoiled from around Alio's wrist and ankles. Now for the very challenging part, carrying a full-grown man with dead weight on his back. He needed some assistance.

"Hey ugly guy! You got Alio, good job!" said the man Enceladus spoke to in the alley.

"Shut up and help me carry him." shouted Enceladus, struggling to lift one side of his body.

The battle was becoming increasingly brutal. The masked New Death Eaters were advancing, and causing cataclysmic casualties. Many of Zelos' people were lifeless, stationed, face first in red and yellow puddles. They were closing in fast and escaping seemed impossible.

As the Enceladus and the man hauled Alio, the man was hit with an "Avada Kedavra" straight to his head. With eyes rolling behind his skull, the man buckled at the knees, and crashed to the floor. Enceladus fell as well, as he was stabbed in the leg with a sharp piece of wood. He groaned in agony.

"Ahhhhh!"

This was it, he thought. This was the end. Dying in a rich wizard's mansion, bleeding out in a mess of Butterbeer, was the grand finale all along. He tried desperately to cover Alio with his body, hoping for a miracle. But, the screams were too violent. The violence was too overpowering. A miracle was long gone. His eyes felt weak and his vision was fading. He only saw the scampering of boots, jumping in and out of frame, moving at frantic speeds, leaving trails of black blurriness. But, it didn't last long. All sound ceased. All movement froze. After about a few seconds of a lingering void, a boisterous metallic scrape was heard. It progressively worsened, until a huge burst replaced it. After the huge burst, slosh and swash replaced it. It sounded like a raging river. And it was getting louder and louder. The screams returned.

Enceladus tried to turn around and see the commotion, but he was swiftly scooped, along with Alio, into the arms of a very hairy man. It was Sessabit.

"We gotta get out o'here! Someone hit the mixer and it's going to flood this whole place!

The Butterbeer had already risen to knee level. Fortunately, Sessabit was very athletic and powered his way through, taking long strides.

From the corner of his eye, Enceladus saw Willow and Gordan in the distance run through the hall, up the ramp and escape the garage. Zelos was at the garage door escorting people out, waving his hand rapidly.

"Hurry up! I have to seal the door so they won't chase us down!"

The Butterbeer passed the stage of shallowness, and was now at swimming height. It surged through the hall and stopped at the bottom of the ramp. Sessabit was now swimming with two disabled bodies on his shoulders. A handful of masked New Death Eaters were swimming after him, desperate to catch up. Sessabit was too athletic for them. With heaving breaths, he managed to one arm stroke through the hall, before it completely flooded, leaving his pursuers behind. But, time was still against him. The Butterbeer was filling the ramp fast and would eventually fill the whole room.

Once he survived the hall, he was past the point of exhaustion. With all his might, he tossed Enceladus and Alio up the ramp at the garage door. His muscles felt like gelatin, as stumbled trying to stand and gain his balance. Zelos was assisting the other two out the hole.

"Hurry up! We have to go now!" barked Zelos.

Sessabit had trouble moving, as he was engulfed periodically by the force of the mini waves. Butterbeer was flowing into his mouth, as he was gasping for breath, failing at his efforts to drag himself up the ramp. At any second, he would drown.

Zelos looked back, deciding whether he should just leave him or save himself. Sessabit saw his face, and relaxed, knowing that Zelos wouldn't risk it. Tears ran down Sessabit's face as he was pulled underneath the ocean of butterscotch. Yellow air bubbles danced below, as Sessabit closed his eyes preparing for his fate.

Below was peaceful. The gentle echo of liquid stuffing the body's entrances was calming. His heart lost its pings very slowly. His organs burned a pleasant burn. This was the way to go, as his body descended like an anchor to the bottom of the room.

But, that peace broke. A bellowing plop was heard from above. Sessabit opened his eyes, and felt something latched onto his wrist. The dark abyss of yellow was becoming clearer. He was being pulled up. He was pushing through the Butterbeer. He felt lighter and lighter until all heaviness vanished. A tingly sensation wrapped around his skin. A rush and coldness followed. Then air next. Air hit his lungs like a ton of bricks, as Butterbeer was coughed out of his mouth. Sessabit couldn't believe it. Zelos saved him.

"Come on, we need everyone."

Zelos, with his wet bangs, helped Sessabit out the hole. He jumped out after and sealed up the hole in the garage with a repairing charm. Sessabit wanted to know where his friends were.

"Where...where-"

A car horn repeatedly honks. It was Willow, Gordan, Enceladus and Alio.

"Go with them. They are going to Miller's estate. I'll try to stall any reinforcements. When things are clear, meet us in the dungeons tomorrow." Zelos guided Sessabit to the car. "Cheers." He sprinted in the opposite direction, and disappeared into the shadows.

Once he entered the car, Enceladus, and Gordan gave him huge hugs.

"Oh my gosh, we thought you were done for-"

"Yeah, you saved my life…-"

"Hello! We still have a problem here. We can't go to the Miller's estate because our Polyjuice is bound to run out. We have to find another place."

Willow was right, but as Enceladus looked around, Sessabit had already turned back into himself. Did Zelos know that? Did Zelos save Sessabit's life?

Out of nowhere, shots were fired at the vehicle. They did have reinforcements, and they were now chasing them in black cars, shooting spells out their windows.

Willow stomped her foot on the pedal, and raced down the alley. The three cars were gaining at an alarming speed, toppling over garbage cans and trying to ram her bumper. She furiously would turn corners to try and shake them, but it was no good.

"So, where are we going?!' pleaded Willow, now maneuvering her best through the streets of London.

"My place…"

"Who's?" she yelled, avoiding more magical shots.

"Mine."

It was Alio. He was awake, but very faintly.

"Alio? How...how do we get there?!" Enceladus wasn't the best at multitasking. Shooting his wand out the window and talking was not his thing.

"Wizarding world…" he grumbled.

"Well that's just great, because the border is really going to let us pass right now," Willow ran over a bench. "Sorry, back there."

"I know how to get there. We need to fin' the neares' tube station." Sessabit was struggling with his breath. It was very stagnant.

Enceladus stood halfway out the window, protecting his friends with the measly attack spells he knew.

"Piccadilly station is the closest one!"

"Piccadilly? That's the opposite way!"

"I know a shortcut, turn here into the park!"

Willow took a violent turn into St. James Park, a quaint park with obscure statues, tons of birds, and the typical midnight lovers snogging under a lamp. The masked New Death Eaters skidded and almost missed the turn. One car crashed into a store, but the other two kept going. After acquiring some decent tread, the last two cars zoomed into the entrance. Willow revved through the grass, tearing it up, and avoided all incoming trees. The other cars followed closely behind until one flipped upside down after driving up a tiny hill. Willow was clutching the steering wheel so hard that her fingers were turning purple. The boys kept on looking back if they shook the last one, but that wasn't the case. The headlights glowed like a menacing monster, looming nearby.

"Here's the exit!"

At the exit, there was an ederly lady walking her dog. She didn't see the car.

"She's not going to move in time…"

"We have to lift the car," said Gordan.

"I don't care how you do it, just do it!"

Willow was fifty yards away before smashing the old lady. She beeped and honked like a madwoman, but the old lady didn't move.

"We have to say the charm together. The car is too big." Gordan pointed his wand down at the car. "Grab on."

Sessabit, Enceladus and Gordan grabbed a hold of the wand and spewed out the incantation "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The car hydraulic system released, as the tires disengaged from the floor. Next thing you know, the car floated into the air.

The car tailing them screeched to a sideways halt, before they made contact with the old lady. The masked New Death Eater exited the vehicle and stared emptily at the floating car getting away.

They couldn't sustain the spell for a long period of time, so they drove the rest of the way to Piccadilly Circus station. Once they arrived, they left the car at a paying meter, and assisted Alio out of the seat. Enceladus knew where Sessabit was leading them too.

They all ran down the escalators, and turned into the South Station. Sessabit looked at the time monitor. He noticed there was one last tube running at this time. Suddenly, a piercing shrill noise shook the station floors.

"We have to go! Come on!"

Speedily, Sessabit, Gordan, and Enceladus assisted Alio off the edge of the train platform and onto the tracks. They then laid down on the rails. All except Willow.

"What is this? Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"Trus'us. It'll be fine. Now, come on."

The shrill was amplified. The metal monster was approaching at death defying speeds. Willow's feet were teetering back and forth. She barely knew them, how could she fully trust them? Sessabit reached out a hand, offering a sense of safety and mindfulness for her.

"Trust?" Willow was stuck in her racing thoughts.

"Yes, that's what friends do, now take my hand!"

She grabbed his hand and quickly laid down onto the tracks; feet away from her death. The roaring tube raced above them. Sparks bounced. Tires scraping the rails pounded the ears, and pounded the brain. Willow was holding onto herself for dear life, burrowing as low as she could get.

Screeching to a halt, the tube prepared to stop. The rats squeaked, scurrying and leaping onto the hanging pipes. The engine hummed slowly into a slumber. The smell of used oil and coal visited the nostrils. Everything seemed normal. As normal as normal can be. Especially for Willow's sake. Which meant, she didn't die.

After repositioning themselves, they army crawled from underneath to the caboose, and to Willow's surprise, they were at Hogsmeade station. They all hopped onto the ledge and sat on an iron bench. Unlike the first day of school, the area was bare, and lifeless, and the night ruled the skies.

"Wow, how did…?-"

"Let's just say Neville es a really cool guy." Sessabit formed a weak smile.

They all were exhausted and wilted their heads low.

"So what next?" asked Enceladus.

"Follow me."

Alio gingerly rose and hobbled towards a set of stone stairs that lead outside the station.

Cepheus the Concealed

A window shutter tapped eerily against the bricks, back and forth like a drinking bobbing bird. The Coriolis effect was in full morning swing, visiting the room with a lasting coolness. The sun poked its bald yellow head and blinded the earth with streaky irradiations through the smudgy, scratched up window. Worn out rugs, a squeaky gold bed frame, and random wooden knick knacks filled the room that felt, for the most part, spiritually empty. But, most importantly, the quilt Enceladus had, was everything he ever dreamt of.

As he rolled around, he adjusted his pillow with every turn of the shoulder. His feet were warm, his palms toasty, and his snores more monstrous than ever. A waft of savory foods eventually tickled his nose, wrinkling it like a bunny. He groaned, tossing and turning very childlike, because he simply did not want to get out of bed. The savory smell increased and turned into a mouthwatering potency. The sleepy Enceladus sniffed like a hound on a trace, as he wrestled out of his bombardment of thick sheets, plastered on top of him.

Once he freed himself, the clanking of pots, and the sizzle of crackling flames became more transparent. At that point, his hunger superseded any questions that he might have had about his situation. He barely remembered what happened last night. He did have a bandage on his leg, yet all he really cared about was curbing his empty stomach.

He rubbed his eye craters away and blinked a couple hundred times to fully awake, but once he took his first couple steps away from his rickety bent bed, he saw Willow, crouched in her normal crossed-legged-hunched-gargoyle sitting pose, face planted into Brecht's Mother Courage. She would mumble away and towards the book as if she was reciting something. She eventually sprang up and began pacing, as if she had a hard time figuring out something.

"Hey Willow...uh...how's it going?" Enceladus was tentative and avoided direct eye contact from her.

"Ah! You're awake." Willow flinched. She actually flinched. "Sorry for forcing you to sleep last night."

"You what?"

"Nevermind."

Awkward pause.

"Okay. Uh, did I interrupt something?"

"No. Uh, no, not at all."

She didn't have that stinging sharpness to her words like Enceladus was used to. She continued.

"How...uh...how did you sleep...friend?"

This was weird.

"Okay. I guess. I was really warm."

"Yeah, you looked very cold last night so I gave you a blanket."

"Oh, thanks."

Pause. Willow looked like she didn't sleep all night.

"Did you sleep last night?"

"Of course."

Did he dare test her and ask again.

"Willow. Did you sleep last night?"

Her sternness faded, and she gave in.

"No."

"Why?"

"Don't worry about it!"

Enceladus respected her wish. For now.

"Okay, where's Sessabit and Gordan?"

"Where do you think?"

"In the kitchen. In Alio's kitchen. Oh, perfect. I think I'm going to pay them a visit downstairs, you in?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Why? Because we are basically entrapped, entrapped in Alio's manor…-"

"So your point?"

"My point is that I would rather stay up here. That's all."

Willow's sharpness returned, but it was less controlled, filled with more emotion and less killer intelect.

"Well okay, miss grump-asaurus, more scrambled fairy eggs for me. I'll make sure to tell them down stairs that you said hello from the other side."

"Just leave me alone."

Enceladus scooted out as quickly as possible before Willow did something worse to him. But he didn't leave just yet. He crouched and stood behind the room listening to what Willow was doing. She was practicing for something, saying things like.

"I just want to say...uh." Hi guys, friends, comrades, buddies, haha too much? Oh, sorry. Okay I'll stop." She started again. "Hey, hi, how's it going? I'm so...uh thankful...well yes...it's new to me...different. But, yeah."

Enceladus oddly felt bad for what she was trying to do, because her whole life seemed like an effortless task of unlimited confidence. Now, this imaginary conversation was destroying her right before Enceladus' eyes. He decided to let her be.

Enceladus bumbled down the stairs. Every step had a loose board, as he almost tripped a couple of times. Which he was accustomed to because of his robes constantly catching under his heels. He managed to survive.

Alio's house resembled a cozy grandmother's house. Lots of pictures, lots of odd figurines, and that familiar, yet funky, old people smell that would linger in the air. He highly doubted if this house can protect them from anything.

Enceladus eventually found his destination; the kitchen. There was a large walnut table, covered in nicks and scratches. Very worn, yet very well-used. The sink was a stone bowl, connected by a circuit of twisting pipes that protruded from the floor. Then tiny square fabrics, that looked like knitted quilts, would hang and cover the two windows right above the sink. Very reminiscent of old domestic living out in the rural mountains. Then, the most noticeable aspect of the kitchen was the myriad of medieval armor, and weaponry mounted onto the wall, specifically a long silver sword with a red jewel on its pummel. Sessabit would gaze over from time to time, admiring it's burnished excellence, but he was also preparing breakfast at the same time. It was all an unusual sight. Sessabit was cooking, Gordan was reading The Daily Prophet, and Alio was calmly drinking coffee, methodically cherishing every sip. It was very unexpected.

"Good morning."

"Enceladus! Good morning mate! How was sleeping wiff Willow?" said Sessabit, leaving the stove to hug his best friend.

"Sleeping with Willow?"

"Yes, yeh slept en the same room together last night."

"Oh, geeze, you sounded like I- wait"

Enceladus noticed something. The room suddenly possessed a faint green hue glow. "Uh, why am I seeing…?"

Sessabit grabbed Enceladus and huddled near his ear. In a whisper...

"I know what yur goin' to say. Willow es a little on the fence about all this and Alio, so she spent all night developing a detector charm that only we can see. So, when ets green like this, nothin' evil or malicious es impendin', but when et's red or turnin' red, then some bad things may be lurkin' around the corner. I told her not to worry, et's been green the whole time. Alio has been very good with hospitality, as yah see."

Sessabit pointed and smiled at the fried fairy eggs he was whipping up on the stove.

Of course Willow would do such a thing. But, it might be for the best. Because just because Alio saved them, doesn't mean he gets a free pass to trust. Better safe than sorry.

"Sessabit, you're going to want to look at this." Gordan unfolded his newspaper to point at a headline.

Enceladus was still trying to compute everything. Alio didn't flinch, sustaining his coffee position, seemingly detached from reality.

"What's up pal?

"I guess Willow was right. Check this out."

Gumdrop Inc. Takes A Dive Into A

Sticky Situation

Gumdrop Inc. took a hard-hit last night. Around 12:52 AM, an obscure break in, that led to New Death Eaters battling against themselves, left the renowned Butterbeer factory flooded and destroyed. Muggle authorities, including the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, investigated the scene post-damages. Security lenses have shown that the intruders were fighting over a hostage, who was unidentified. But, the security lenses did catch an unsuspected culprit, who has been identified by the local wizarding community as Sessabit Hagrid, a student at Hogwarts and the son of Rubeus Hagrid, former gatekeeper at Hogwarts. Muggle footage has shown him leaping out of Gumdrop's garage and scampering into a getaway vehicle speculated to be stolen. Gumdrop reportedly woke up this morning in a fitful rage, and has called for an immediate executive order to stop all legal cases and all current operations, and use every task force available, British officials, and Aurors, on a massive New Death Eater hunt. To the press he exclaimed that, "...This atrocity will be avenged and this terror will be vanquished. My Butterbeer is the sacred beverage of our ancestors, and I will not let this tragedy ruin it's legacy." With this order in place, Hogwarts is soon-to-be subjected for a sweep of the castle and its grounds, then additionally if events escalate with the New Death Eaters, Ventril, top commander of London's enforcements, and favored ally for the Ministry, would have to conduct the next steps with Neville Longbottom for the safety and fate of Hogwarts going forward. If you or anyone has seen Sessabit Hagrid, please report him to the Ministry about his whereabouts. Read a couple lines down to see the raised Butterbeer prices at taverns, markets, and bars due to the shortage.

"Three Galleons for a Butterbeer!? Gumdrop is out of his mind. I get he has his precious business to save, but that's a little much. I would rather just go into the country lands, and get some homemade Butterbeer than whatever manufactured rubbish he has here." Gordan flipped his arms up in frustration.

"Who cares about that, Sessabit is now a wanted man," said Enceladus.

Sessabit returned to cooking his fairy eggs, with his head hanging low.

"I didn't drink enough Polyjuice. That's why they saw me."

In a way, Sessabit felt like he just confessed a heinous crime. But to Sessabit, endangering and jeopardizing his friends was something he took to heart.

"Hey, you're okay. The important thing is that we all made it out safe. You might have to stay here-"

"Yes you do."

Alio finally spoke. Enceladus almost had forgotten Alio was still there, toying around in his corner. He was the one to lead the boys and Willow back to refuge here. He was the one the New Death Eaters wanted. He was the reason for all of this mess. The questions already lived in Enceladus' head.

"Welcome back Alio from coffee paradise, care to join us in this convo? You said once Enceladus was up, you'll tell us everything we want to know. Gordan was applying the pressure.

He paused. He adjusted in his seat and took another sip of his coffee. His wrinkled, drained face was glowing under the shine of the morning sun.

"Of course. What do you want to know?"

Enceladus didn't hold back.

"Everything. We want to know why you were there last night, why did the New Death Eaters want you, whoever they truly are. Why Eleanor was with Zelos, if we can trust you, everything. Okay?"

Alio sensed the severity in Enceladus' trembling, semi-assertive voice. His grim chiseled face loosened, as he scooted his chair out, grabbed a plate, scooped some scrambled fairy eggs, returned to his seat, and started eating.

"Okay, but why should we do it on an empty stomach. Our dear friend Sessabit prepared such a fine breakfast, let's not waste it."

They all looked at each other for a second, agreed, and gathered around Alios' well polished dining room table with Sessabit's dish.

"The key es to crack them three times exactly, et helps-"

"Thanks Sessabit, these are better than the schools." Enceladus ate up and Gordan was keeping a close eye on Alio, in case this awkward stalling was some trap.

"So, are you going to talk now?"

Alio was clearly satisfied, and wiped his mouth with his table handkerchief. "I'm very sorry, I haven't eaten for weeks, the meal felt really nice. I was just trying to savor what I could."

A string within was broken between the three boys, as regret immediately entered their bodies. Alio seemed very thankful for his food. Alio, the mean sour acting teacher at Hogwarts.

"And before I say anything, I just want to thank Willow for tending to my wounds. Her powers are surely limitless, but the poor girl is too clouded with intellect and intuition. She's quite supercilious, using it to her defensive advantage when she reasons with anything. It is how she defies oppositional viewpoints. Yet, she equates this defiance with freedom, which is very partial. Freedom is not only rebellion, but also acceptance and many other things. It is multi-dimensional, stacked with complex and intricate layers. And it must be treated as such to understand what it means to be truly liberated. I hope one day she may see it this way." Alio took a hearty pause. "Anywho, I'm rambling. I'm just glad I look slightly less ugly than before." Alio chuckled, rubbing a scar on his cheek where he was gashed badly the night before. "I understand her feelings, like I understand how you boys must feel. If it wasn't for you guys, I probably wouldn't have been able to enjoy your company and my house's comfort."

Either Alio was beyond grateful, or a really good actor. Either way, Enceladus knew some sort of distraught was embedded within his voice.

"One more thing before we begin."

Alio pulled out and lit a cigarette, inhaling his first puff like his life depended on

it.

"That's much better. One thing muggles did right." He teetered his seat at an angle and took a healthy pause. "Now, the New Death Eaters are not who you think they are."

The boys softly shuttered.

"Excuse me? They killed my father, and the killer is still out there!"

"I'm not saying they are not responsible for the misconduct they conspire. That may still hold true, but I do know they are not the only ones we should worry about." Alio, folded his hands onto the table. "There is a secret muggle group called the Superiors, who have been lurking around England incognito, staging disorder. Their sole purpose is to annihilate wizards and other magical beings, but executing it in a way where the finger points at anyone, but them. Only few know of their whereabouts, and that's what they prefer; to stay hidden and out of news coverage."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"A Superiors are the ones who captured me. They captured me because Zelos and the New Death Eaters needed my help to put a stop to them. The New Death Eaters have put aside their old rendezvous, and have focused their efforts on dismantling, and exposing the Superiors."

"What about Reina and Eleanor then?!" Enceladus banged the table, feeling a darting sensation behind his temples because he partially felt responsible for both of their disappearances.

"All a misunderstanding." he said straight-forwardly. "What I know, Eleanor is in safe hands. After investigations were collected with the WADA teachers, I was the only one accused with the abduction of Eleanor and was put to trial immediately for this. This was because of my history with Voldemort, and the courts, specifically Shelly Prattle, a half-blood muggle glorifier, who was the first half-blood appointed at the Ministry's Courts as one of their head counselors. She and others held high suspicions and demanded a hearing. Of course evidence was non-existent; they couldn't find me guilty. Because when the incident of Eleanor occurred, I was informed Dementors had just infiltrated the theatre."

"Wait, wait, so you didn't know the Dementors were there when it happened?"

"Not at first. When the lights went off, I thought Despis was acting outlandish and fixing the lights. It wasn't until afterwards he told me what happened."

"So, you didn't hear anybody's screams?...wait because…-"

"Yes, yes, because I'm partially deaf. My hearing spell is behavioral, which can eliminate all noise at times. Unfortunately it was a bad time. Now, after speaking to Zelos shortly about his plans to exploit the Superiors, then seeing Eleanor with him at Gumball's estate, I am convinced that the night of her disappearance was actually a rescue from what was truly trying to get her."

"You mean, a New Death Eater rescued Eleanor?" Gordan really tried to twist his brain around that idea.

"Yes, whomever was at that audition, potentially saved her life."

Enceladus knew it had to be Pollux. He was the only known New Death Eater and WADA student he could think of.

"And summoning the Dementors couldn't have been me. The Ministry has allowed only special, advanced personnel to summon and control the presence of Dementors. And I am not one of them. There is a reason they have been banished for so long."

"So, theoretically, if this was the doing of the Superiors, what would they want with Eleanor?" asked Enceladus.

Alio paused, closing his eyes as if he was trying to recollect something deep within his mind. "The Tenacis Wand. The wand holds powers that are sometimes unfathomable to wizard knowledge, and if it chooses you, the possibilities are endless, and you are practically invincible. When I saw her fight at Gumdrop's estate, I knew that's what they wanted. And I'm confident it is the Superiors behind all of this mess."

That puny wand was causing so much trouble. But, Enceladus found some piece of closure knowing it was in the hands of Eleanor.

"So, I'm assuming the Superiors pretended to be the New Death Eaters and captured Reina? But, what would they want with her?"

"That I do not know. Maybe Zelos can assist you on that matter. But I can say the Superiors have been posing as New Death Eaters to tarnish their bad reputation even more than it is. They are scapegoat masters. That's why they used me as bait at the Gumball estate. They knew that the New Death Eaters would come for me, and cause ruckus, and they knew there was a possibility someone had the wand. Whether they saw Eleanor with it, is another story."

Alio concentrated, glazing over his kitchen as if trying to absorb its peace and tranquility. Enceladus was trying to steady the throb in his head from all of this information. What if Reina was dead? What if they killed her? Enceladus couldn't handle another death. Especially from the girl he really liked. He clutched his head with both arms and planted face first into the table, trying to relieve himself.

"So, where do we go from here? What do we have to do?" asked Gordan.

Alio paused, trying to devise words.

"First and foremost you have to trust me, for what may occur at Hogwarts in these coming months may prove to be...shall I say...not pleasant, at all. Do I have your trust?"

The boys exchanged looks, unsure on how to answer.

"He did save our lives, mates...we owe him eh tandem to save the wizard race. Am I righ'?"

Gordan and Enceladus laughed on the spot. Alio still awaited with a solid countenance.

The boys looked at each other one final time, then looked around in the room. There was still a glow of hue green in the air. They nodded in agreement.

"We do."

"And Willow?"

"She may take longer to come around to it, but I think she'll manage what she can for now." said Gordan, looking upstairs where Willow was.

Now that Enceladus knew that the Superiors are behind most of these incidents, he was ready to embark on another crazy journey to find Reina, and bring justice to his father. Since Winter break was nearing, school was the last thing on his mind.

"So, what's the plan?'

Alio rose from his chair like sprouting molasses, and paced about, holding his hands behind his lower back.

"Well, it's too dangerous for Sessabit to go back to school. Ventril and his men will hound him down for questioning and may do something even worse. It's best that you stay here in the meantime with me. My home is off grid, and protected with homemade charms, so they cannot be tampered with. It's too risky, even for me. If the Superiors are lurking about Hogwarts, our best defense is to stay here. For how long, I do not know, but I assure you Sessabit your stay will be accommodated with whatever you need. This house may be big and old, but it still holds many wonderful little nuances." Alio began to twist his faucet a particular way, which instead of water, fire whiskey poured out. "But, of course it is entirely up to you. I only warn you that if you decline this offer, protecting yourself will be difficult. This hunt Minister Gumball has created will not treat you or any New Death Eater lightly. It seems they are past the point of prosecution, only wanting extermination."

Enceladus knew that Sessabit was thinking long and hard about his father, but of what Sessabit says about him, Hagrid would want his son safe at all cost.

"I'll stay. You lads just promise to look over the hut for mi, will yah?"

"We will Sessabit . I promise." said Enceladus.

Sessabit hugged his friends, and mimed to the group that he was going to go get some sleep. He shuffled up the creaky stairs.

"Now, you and Gordan must get back to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Professor Granger awaits you two."

Enceladus raised an eyebrow high for he hadn't the clue what Alio was talking about. Then it clicked. Gordan and Enceladus both spoke simultaneously.

"Detention!"

"Oh, it will be much more than detention."

"Oh, I hope so. Professor Granger can do anything she wants with me." Gordan rubbed his hands in an inappropriate way. Enceladus punched him on the shoulder.

"Not the time Gordan. Now, how did you know we had detention with Hermoine?"

"Hermoine and many other teachers are aware of the horrors that may arise, and have been in constant communication, preparing for what's to come."

Enceladus hated that sentence.

"Well, we better get going, I better call for-"

"No need, I heard everything." said Willow, very coldly. "These walls aren't the thickest." She walked over, and snagged a fairy egg to eat. "Nice Artaud collection you have in your library. It explains a lot about you." She smirked shortly, as she trotted outside with her belongings. "I'm ready when you girls are ready."

Enceladus was convinced that Willow was not from this planet. But he sure hoped she was feeling better from her episode from upstairs.

"Aren't you going to say thank you Miss Mutineer?"

Willow paused. She gave Alio a hard look.

"No, why would I thank anyone for being in this place. Now, come on. Let's get out of here. We got what we needed." Willow headed towards the door, then stopped herself. "Don't worry Sessabit, you'll be fine."

Sessabit didn't know how to digest that statement.

"So, how do we get out of here?" Gordan began to pack his belongings.

Alio smiled.

"Do you guys know how to ride dragons?"

Auriga Meets Ashes

Gordan and Enceladus were ecstatic about riding a dragon. Willow was ecstatic as well, but she reserved the right to show it. Alio owned two, a Romanian Longhorn and a Peurvian Vipertooth dragon. He told them that in this part of rural Scotland dragons are adored and allowed, as long as you have proper licensing.

They chose to ride the Romanian Longhorn, since the other one was a little less trusting (Gordan was burned in the bum). Alio supplied them with Deception Dust, so the dragon would stay undetected near Hogwarts. The giant winged lizard loved it. When Alio tossed the dust, the tiny particles smoothly wafted onto the dragon scales like a fresh shower.

Before they all departed, Enceladus wanted to ask about his grandparents and their history with Alio. Alio, without hesitation, told him that "In another time we will talk." It was worth a try. Alio led the kids to the dragon, fed the dragon a giant squash, and gave it its flight instructions.

The ride back to Hogwarts was really bumpy. The Romanian Longhorn, who's name was Pip, was an infant and was still learning how to fly. Enceladus and Gordan were really struggling, but Willow was unphased, as if she's been riding dragons her whole life. One point in their journey she called them both "Flowers", and not in a good way. Willow barely flinched the whole ride, as she was reading a stolen copy of The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria by Fernando Arrabal, a famous half-werewolf who went completely insane during his time locked in Azkaban.

Once they landed in the Forbidden Forest, they patted Pip with warm thanks and gave him another scrumptious squash to scarf down on his journey back home. Pip rubbed his head against the three of them and launched high into the sky, like a cricket ball crashing against a bat.

The three of them decided to see how Araneus the Acromantula was doing. Luckily, for them it was the weekend and no classes were ensuing. Seemed like forever since Enceladus actually learned something.

After trudging through the thick forestation and mushy snow-covered ground, they approached his frozen swamp and found no signs of the hairy large spider. Must have gone out hunting, they thought. They shrugged and pursued to find an exit back to Hogwarts. On their way out, they saw Evelyn jump from book to book on the Trail of Death. If Enceladus wasn't mistaken, it almost looked like she was jumping out of them. Enceladus figured it was just the long last few days wearing off on him.

Once they found a generous opening to the terrace, as promised, Enceladus went to go check on the hut. The Christmas decorations were still there and still outrageously fantastic to witness. This made Enceladus' heart a little tender, for he would help decorate his house with his father during the holidays. Even the flowers that were planted by Sessabit along the bed, were still vibrant and colorful as ever. Just like Reina's flowers.

The three separated and snuck into their rooms. Ventril's defenses were typically light on the weekends, so entering Hogwarts wasn't much of a task.

Once Enceladus entered, he wanted to study more about Aspectu Caulem, but there was one person he needed to see before his detention with Hermoine.

As Enceladus was roaming the halls, he overheard gossip about last night's events. Students, like Gordan, were mainly disappointed about the raised price of Butterbeer. But, most of the conversations from students derived from a state of pure astonishment. Many, mainly Slytherins, were even fearful about the hunt. They believed whoever's parents were a part of the old or new regime of Death Eaters would be persecuted, or ultimately killed. The tension was high, and Enceladus wanted to escape it all.

He eventually ended up where he wanted to be. In Despis' office. He knew he could trust Despis, so he told him what he could. From the Superiors, to Alio, he told him mostly everything. Only thing he left out was that he was the one to sneak into Gumball's Estate and cause even more disorder and mayhem than there already was. Despite holding back details, Despis didn't know what Enceladus was talking about. Despis, as it was, never was the person at Hogwarts to retrieve any news. As the WADA director he was an outcast, and never was given a chance to express his thoughts and ideas. With that, Enceladus had to explain certain topics extra thoroughly. But, now knowing who might have sent the Dementors, Despis buckled down even more searching for suspicious characters and obscure activity. Enceladus felt accomplished after his talk, knowing Despis actually knew what was going on outside his beloved academy.

Detention on the weekend seemed absolutely cruel to Enceladus. Like professors must be so bored and empty, that torturing kids on their days off was the holy solution to cure their depravities. But, Enceladus knew that Hermoine had something else planned up her sleeve.

On his way to the third floor, the scene around the castle was festively morose.

The corridor was bare and became a stone shaft for cold breezes shooting through.

Reefs and garland wilted off the walls, barely hanging on with funky angles. Students were either hibernating in their dormitories, or playing in the snow, freezing their nips off on this dreadfully frigid day. Even the dissonant pings of bells hanging near hollys sounded anything but jolly. If this were a horror Christmas film, Enceladus would be walking to his merry death, whether that be a killer gingerbread man foaming at the mouth with a sharpened candy cane knife, or Santa himself, decrypted and overtook by the evil spirits of Hogwarts. Then what made it worse, was the occasional soldier, marching stiffly, clanking their bulky boots against the stone floor with each hearty step, holding a rifle with a stale face and unblinkable eyes, sniffing for any sign of foe, that came anywhere near Enceladus' space. Now soldiers weren't the only thing parading around. Aurors have also joined them, and are assisting in this mad hunt. He thought he would never say this, but he hoped Zelos was doing okay, along with the rest of the New Death Eaters who are trying to stop all this mess.

As he was nearing the Defense against the Darks Arts classroom, he spotted Gordan, leaning against the wall near the entrance drawing a picture. He looked miserable.

"Why did you look so...uh...ugly." said Enceladus.

"Because I don't want to be here! I could be using my time for other things."

"Like?"

"Like, practicing for Qudditch."

"There are no more games until next semester."

"Hey, I like being the best, and the best always needs to practice."

"I think Ravenclaw is in the lead with house points, but okay."

"Well, I need to spend time with Cindy."

"Your relationship is imaginary, but okay go on." Enceladus was sporting a slight teasing smirk.

"Hey, our love is out of this world."

"Have you ever taken her out on a date? Like an actual date with lots of snogging and possibly a night out to the cinema? Because trying to show her your painting participation trophies from elementary doesn't count."

Gordan gives him a sour frown.

"Hey, hey, we are working on it. Our chemistry is cooking slowly. Step by step my friend."

"Alright, so it proves you have nothing going in your life."

"Yes!"

With great confidence comes great-

"Wait no-!"

"Care to come in? Preferably now would be an ideal time to start our session."

A gentle, yet assertive voice introduced itself into Enceladus' and Gordan's back and forth debate. When the boys averted their gaze to the door, Hermoine stood charmingly affront. Her exquisite aura radiated once more, looking more alive and brighter than before, even when fatigue seemed to take over her whole being. The boys collected themselves, physically and emotionally, and headed into the classroom. Hermione locked the door and whispered, "Colloportus."

When they entered, the classroom had changed. Desks and learning items were moved along the sides of the room. Windows were covered with gigantic wavy curtains, and two mysterious men in all black attire were chatting up a storm by a table with large amounts of loose parchment. One man had bright fiery red hair and the other had round black rimmed glasses. Once Gordan snagged a good look at both men, he fainted on the spot.

"Gordan, are you okay?" asked Enceladus.

Gordan had difficulty finding his breath. After Enceladus lifted his torso so he could sit upright, Gordan started to formulate a sentence.

"That's...that's…"

"Hello, I'm Harry Potter."

"And I'm Ron Weasley. Is your friend mental or something?"

Enceladus was even flabbergasted.

"Uh...no, no he's just a really big fan that's all." Enceladus was still trying to wake Gordan up. Gordan's dead weight felt like a hippo.

"Well don't mind us. We are just discussing some official Auror business." said Harry, adjusting his glasses.

"You won't even notice we're here. My beautiful wife here is really good at ignoring me. I think it's because I gained a few pounds. I can't help it if food and I have a better relationship." said Ron, rubbing his stomach.

Hermoine pinched her nose in frustration. She then grabbed her wand and conjured a cloud over Ron's head. It started to snow.

"Don't worry. This is our love language. One day you two will be blessed with a girl like Hermoine." Ron cheesed and snickered, continuing his work with Harry, who was also grinning happily at the two.

Hermione scoffed and diverted her attention to the boys.

"So, I imagine you two know why you're really here?" asked Hermoine.

"Barely," said Enceladus.

"Well we've, which includes most of Hogwarts faculty, Harry, Ron and Neville, are preparing for what may occur in the upcoming months."

"And that is exactly?" asked Gordan.

"We are asking the same question Gordan." replied Hermoine, taking a moment to gaze over to Harry and Ron."A handful of you have been selected to partake in this operation."

"What's in it for us?" Gordan began to be shifty and defensive.

"Do you want this world, especially your world, to be decimated?" Hermoine was wearing a thick sheet of aggravation with that sentence.

"I do love being a wizard."

Gordan. Shut up. Luckily, Hermoine didn't think anything of it.

"Good. Now shall we begin? Time is very crucial. Do you two remember everything on the energy shield unit."

Gordan shook his head up and down wildly, yet Enceladus was pensive and unresponsive.

"Well, we're going to expand on this lesson, and dig deeper into it. This forthcoming power has been said to be effective on non-wizard creatures, but we'll see when that point actually happens. So far with all the information we've collected, it's looking in our favor."

So, Gordan and Enceladus were chosen to train with Hermoine for a potential war that's about to break out. Wonderful. Enceladus started to wonder who the other selected students were, and how they were selected. Maybe one of them is Willow, since she technically has a different Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Enceladus felt extremely unworthy, but they saw something in him that Enceladus himself didn't see.

"We will try to proceed with more of these training sessions going into the near future, hopefully with more students in attendance. Of course, we'll also be under high surveillance so we don't cause any trouble with Ventril and his men. It's already lopsided and hostile around here, we do not need to add to it. For now."

She paused, rolled up her sleeves, and obtained her wand. "Let's train."

The boys did the same, but Gordan's wand was still his Butterbeer flavored candy cane.

"Is that a Butterbeer candy cane you have?" asked Hermoine.

"Yeah it's actually...my wand. It's a long story."

Hermoine silently dismissed herself from conversation and summoned the energy orb once again for practice. The orb oozed and gooed to life, as if it was a melted blob of floating black cheese. The boys went to work immediately.

Hermoine would yell out verbal instructions and feedback throughout their exercises. From hand placement, wrist orientation, incantation specificity, stance, etc. Hermoine was very particular in establishing proper form. As they progressed and became more comfortable with the exercises, Hermoine would increase the intensity of the orbs' attacks by frequency and power. The boys' hands were cramping and exhaustion was setting in. A workout was something they both did not have in mind. But, it was beneficial because they were learning. They learned different shields for different attacks and even learned how to deflect and redirect attacks with their shields. At one point, Harry and Ron joined for fun, and showcased all of their well-seasoned wizarding moves and tricks. Gordan nearly fainted again.

A little later, Enceladus took a short break and sat down on the floor near Ron and Harry, who were back at their table discussing. As Gordan was warding away attacks and producing counter-spells still, Enceladus transferred his attention to what Ron and Harry were saying. He didn't want to sit too close, but close enough to understand. Trying not to be obvious with his slight lean in, he overheard them saying something about the Department of Mysteries. He's heard of this place before. The Unspeakables are the ones who operate the department and only allow certain personnel to enter. At least that's what Sessabit told him one time. Either way, this place has been brought up frequently and Enceladus wondered if the Superiors had anything to do about it.

As night trickled in with its blinking bulbs up above, the boys were dwindling with exhaustion. Their last few days have been rough and very draining.

"Great job. I am very pleased with the progress you two have made today. Next session we will hopefully have more students, but until then keep this very confidential. "Hermoine, rolled her sleeves back down. "We can't afford to lose this."

Enceladus was eager to find out more.

"So what is this exactly? What is the real plan here? What do you already know about the Superiors?"

Everyone paused. Only a faint winter howl was heard beyond the walls.

"Yes, and no." Hermoine peered down the floor melancholically. "Trust is a very tricky thing, and right now, our cause isn't trustworthy to certain people. But, that doesn't make it any less righteous. Fear is our number one culprit, and if that fear spreads, our chances of stopping this true evil lowers. So, as of right now, our plans are to prepare, as we continue to find efficient ways to put a stop to all this."

Enceladus still felt like Hermoine was beating around the bush. There had to be more to what she was telling him.

"You didn't answer my question about the Superiors? What do you know about them?"

"Let's just say they have a better support system than we do."

"And that support system is unfortunately us." chimed in Ron. "Well, not us, but the Ministry."

Enceladus and Gordan shared a perplexed look.

"The Superiors are protected, by the very thing that should be putting them out," said Harry. "But, the Ministry hasn't been the same since Gumball's arrival."

"Let's leave it at that for now. We'll explain more when the time is right and we receive more information. It's getting late. Oh, before we wrap up, how is Alio doing?"

"What how did-"

"He wrote to me anonymously, with a wild owl. I know everything." said Hermoine.

"He's okay. He's with -"

"Yes, we are fully aware of that as well. We have sent our Aurors to that area to provide extra protection, just in case. Oh and if Zelos has any friends whose parents are in need of protection from the hunt, again our Aurors will, at a healthy distance, keep an eye on them. Harry, Ron and a few other members of the Ministry are our only safety nets to parade around undercover like this. Hopefully this will give us more supporters, even if they are Death Eaters."

Whoever these Superiors were, they knew how to play the system. But, how could Enceladus decipher if any of it is true?

"Well, how could we trust you guys, and this potential plan you have for us with this potential big battle coming soon?"

Hermoine walked over and grabbed Ron's hands. "We three have been through a lot together. Years ago Voldemort was our biggest threat, and we fortunately defeated him. One of the main contributing factors was trusting each other, even in the darkest and most unsure times. It was our only choice."

Hermoine squeezed Ron's hand even tighter. "We only hope that is the choice you two will make as we navigate through these dark times."

A comforting shudder jolted Enceladus as Hermoine's words echoed in his head. Like always, he took a self-reflective pause, released a small pocket of air, and turned his head towards Gordan and nodded with approval. In this moment, Enceladus felt like no matter what happened, they were all now in this together.

As they were cleaning up, and getting ready to leave, a pounding knock was heard at the door. Hermione's alertness exponentially rose.

"Leave now!"

The knocks continued with rapid force and intensity. A voice was heard.

"Miss Granger? Are you in there? Hello?"

The voice was indistinct, but surprisingly pleasant. Ron and Harry immediately called for their brooms out the window. The brooms whistled and pierced through the night sky, swirling with grace in the moonlight. Once the brooms parked at the window ledge they leapt on, mounted securely, and darted far away from the castle. Gordan called for his broom as well, but the knocks kept on growing ferociously.

"Miss Granger? I know you're in there. I could see your torches flickering."

Once, Gordan's broomed arrived, he waved to Enceladus to jump and join him. But, it was too late. The door was opening and Gordan freaked out and launched himself away from the window. Enceladus was left for dead, but Hermoine quickly pulled out a cloak from one of her drawers and rainbow lobbed it to Enceladus. He snatched it and looked at it skeptically.

"Put it on and hide in the corner."

"But, what does it do?"-

"Just do it and don't talk."

There was no other choice. Enceladus wrapped his body with this mysterious cloak and huddled into a snugged corner in the back of the room. He was unprepared for what was about to happen next. He didn't know how a cloak was supposed to really hide him. He just desperately hoped, whoever was coming through that door, that they wouldn't look at the back of the room. His heart was screaming from anxiety, wishing this would all be over with soon.

Hermoine whipped her wand in an oval-like-pattern and in a second, the whole room returned back to its normal setup. She brushed back loose bangs and wiped down her skirt with her hands.

Seconds later, Ventril entered with his cheeky, and curious stride. He dissected the room in silence and smiled broadly at Hermione.

"Isn't it a bit late for Miss Granger to be working?"

"Just grading some final project parchments, that's all."

"A little behind huh? End of semester apprehension kicking in?" Ventril circumnavigated the room with soft pep to his step, and bright focused determination. He noticed the open windows. "It's a tad cold to have the windows open, Miss Granger."

Enceladus was about to urinate his pants.

"My body temperature is irregular. I mostly get hot very easily." Hermoine was stoned faced. Very unflinching.

"Really? My, my, you wizards and your anatomical intricacies fascinate me more and more every day. Honestly, it's the truth, you guys and your magic really make us, what do you call, muggles? Yes muggles, look ineffectual and, oh I don't know, very excluded."

Enceladus was completely astonished that he was able to see past this cloak, but it made his legs buckle a bit whenever he saw Ventril nearly pass him.

"Do you know who controls the border?" Hermoine was exhibiting flawless deportment.

"Yes, yes but that doesn't really count. The point is you are gifted by God with extraordinary abilities, incomprehensible to the normal man. We can only witness it, modify it even, yet never fully understand what it's like to wield such sacred talents. And that right there is beautiful, yet terrifying to us. But, unfortunately, due to some unprecedented dangers lately, it's more terrifying than beautiful. And that's why I do what I do. To preserve and protect the beautiful side of it. No matter how strict or resolute we muggles can be."

Hermoine looked as if she was about to levitate and toss a table at Ventril. Enceladus was glad he didn't because he probably would have broken his cover.

"Late night patrolling Ventril?" Hermoine kept a close eye on Enceladus, who's cloak was periodically flapping whenever a spurt of wind swept through the room.

"You know it. I try to do double rounds, so I don't potentially miss out on anything exciting that might spring up ." smiled Ventril, still surfing around the room." But, the reason why I knocked on your door is because I heard some voices in here, but I then thought my mind was playing tricks on me because when I looked towards your door, no light was emitting from underneath, but the voices kept persisting."

"My apologies, I was working on a new spell that phonates the words from books-"

"You wizards are always learning new tricks. But, that was just a small portion of my concerns, because we now see when I entered your classroom, all the candles burned brightly. Like magic in that instant. Was that one of your tricks? Or were you trying to hide the fact that nobody was in this room to begin with? If so, you should have done one of those silencing charms or something. I think it would help with your illusion. If all, of course, is true."

Ventril went off to the corner Enceladus was positioned at and he looked at the hanging candles with grounded admiration.

"So, do you know anything about the boy?"

Enceladus desperately tried to concentrate on his breathing. His heart needed to shut up and stay quiet. Hermoine, still firm in stance and looks, was an immovable force.

"The boy?"

"You know, that Sessabit boy. You wouldn't happen to know where he might be? I hear he really enjoys your class, and I thought, for the fun of it all, to give you an ask."

Hermoine took a gripping pause.

"No, no I don't. His whereabouts are unknown to me."

"Maybe, maybe I could speak to his parents would you-"

"No."

"But, he lives in that mangled old hut, doesn't he?"

"I don't have permission to say-"

"You are on off hours Miss Granger." He strode over to the open floppy window, and sniffed one great sniff into the night. "But, it's okay I think I tortured you enough with my physical intrusions and disturbances. I'll let you work on your phonating charms. But, if you do find out any information about Sessabit, let me know. Because these New Death Eaters are not stopping anytime soon, and if he is a member, and is near Hogwarts grounds, it is my duty to put a stop to it. Plain and simple. Goodnight Miss Granger."

As he was about to exit, Enceladus let out a little sneeze. Ventril froze and looked back to Hermoine.

"Sorry, I guess I'm allergic to cold things as well." Hermoine combatively stared into Ventril's eyes without hesitation. He did the same.

"Of course you are. Well, off to the library next. You try and get some sleep, Miss Granger." Ventril exited the doors completely, never hesitating to look back.

Hermoine whispered "Colloportus." Click! The doors locked. She walked over, looked through the splintered cracks of the door, and made sure the coast was clear.

"He's gone."

Enceladus slipped off the cloak and fixed his hair, rapidly brushing his fingers back and forth on his head. He tried to catch his breath. Cloaks can be quite asphyxiating.

"Geeze, it was hard to breathe under there." He gave the cloak back to Hermoine. "What is it anyway?"

"It's called the invisibility cloak. It was Harry's growing up and he, and sometimes Ron and I, would use it during our adventures."

"The three of you fit under this thing?! Wow."

"Harry gave it to me, just in case I needed to run around in the corridors after hours." Hermoine smiled, laughing a bit under her words. "Anyways, I'm glad it still wards off detection, even if it is all lucky."

"Well, that was a close call. I didn't know how bad they were cracking down on this hunt."

"I sense this is only the beginning. This might escalate really quickly, whether it's the hunt or the Superiors. Our meetings might have to be held at a different location. The school is too risky right now." Hermoine stroked her chin curiously as she looked at the door. She paused.

"Miss Granger?"

"I don't understand…"

Enceladus carefully analyzed her.

"Ventril said he heard our voices, but before our session I did cast silencing charms on the room. So how would he have possibly heard anything?"

"Maybe coincidence?"

"Coincidence doesn't justify that he heard noises. His actions were too deliberate. Something provided him the inclination to knock on my door."

The only other option Enceladus could think of was Hermoine must have slipped and messed up her charms. But then he thought again, and quickly eliminated that possibility from his brain. Hermoine would never. She was too punctilious.

"Well you better leave now, I don't want to take any more chances tonight." She looked down at her hands, and studied the cloak. "You should take this as well. I'm pretty sure Harry won't mind, and it might benefit you in the near future."

She handed him the cloak and Enceladus didn't know how to express his gratitude.

"Wow...um...thanks…" He said, grabbing it and taking one more big look. "This is great, thank you."

"Of course. Now, you enjoy your winter vacation. I'll try and organize more sessions for when we return from our brief holiday recess. Until then, if you need anything from me, Harry, or Ron, just send me a letter and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Just be careful with Hogwarts mailing. Owls might be intercepted and infiltrated because of everything going on." She was about to close up shop until... " Oh, I almost forgot, how is the book treating you?"

"The book? Oh yes, the book! Well, I'm...uh learning a lot from it...I think."

Enceladus felt like a dutz, he needed to read that book more and find out more information about his powers. He promised Reina.

"Good. Now what interested you in Aspectu Caelum?It's such an ancient and dying power amongst wizards."

"Uh, project for Aurora Blue. Plus…I like space."

Hermoine gave him a wary look.

"Right."

Enceladus smiled as best as he could without looking stupid.

"Well, let me escort you out. Just put on the cloak and you should be fine going back up to your dorm. Just remember to crotch very low, Harry's knobby ankles would show at times if he wasn't too careful."

Enceladus nodded his head "yes." He again tossed the cloak over his curly fro, and made sure none of his body parts were exposed. Hermoine gave him the confirmation that he was all set, and she led him out to the corridor. As he exited, and walked down to the WADA, he wondered if Gordan made it back to his room. But as Enceladus turned the corner, he noticed a small black bead buzzing outside on the Quidditch pitch. When he looked closer, he realized it was Gordan practicing Quidditch before the semester ended. Enceladus couldn't help but feel proud for Gordan. If you ever want to get better at something, don't quit and keep on doing it and doing it until it becomes second nature. That was Gordan, and Enceladus admired that.

Enceladus wanted, yet refused to go to bed. His wrist felt tight and crackly. His elbows felt locked and stiff from the training, but he was determined to stay awake and let his thoughts roam. He lugged himself into his room, tossed the cloak on his clothes chest, locked the door, and changed into his pajamas to get cozy. The darkness was very still, as leafy shadows of his terrariums tattooed the walls. He tried to get his wand out and light the candles himself but before he did that he tripped over a furry lump below his feet.

"Ouch. What the blimey was that? "Incendio"!"

The little wicks of his candles spiral to life, as the wavering warm glow of the fire settles into his room. He looked around, and finally saw his books stacked in a randomized order on top of his bed. Then next to the books was Eveyln, stretching and cleaning her paws.

"Evelyn, how did you get into my room?"

He looked over and saw his window wide open.

"Don't tell me, you scaled this castle you crazy cat."

She meowed and wrinkled her whiskers rapidly.

"How did you get all my books on the bed? You must be really strong."

She meowed louder, and assumed a very defensive position as if she was about to spring off her hind legs.

"Yield yield tiger, It's a little too late for all of this." Enceladus tried to place his books back on his shelf or in his backpack. Evelyn headbutted her tiny head into his left pelvis, shoving him with all of his might."

"Evelyn come on, I should be researching , but -"

She did a cat backflip, and growled at him with very actively charged and pointy ears.

"Okay, okay fine. Well, what did you find for me? This southern side of Heaven stuff is still stumping me up. Mural of the heartbeat...Mural of the heartbeat...Mural of the heartbeat...what in the bloody hell does that mean?"

Enceladus ran his finger through his hair, and hunched his neck forward in aggravation.

Evelyn bit into a book that was already open, and dragged it over to him

"Who's book is this?"

He flipped and maneuvered the book around in his palms to see if there was a name written inside the cover.

"Reina Rose." He looked again at the title of the book. "The Lost History of Salem and Other Major Wizarding Events in History."

The book was very old, and smelled like a used book store. It was a history book, a history book that seemed one hundred times more reliable with its information.

" his book must be a more accurate depiction of wizard history than what Hogwarts assigned to us. I wonder where she got it. "Enceladus flipped through the pages. " Private domain and property of Ilvermorny's grand library….mmm sounds legit to me, wherever that place is at."

Evelyn meowed and circled herself in place in a slinky manner.

"Well, thanks Evelyn, I appreciate your ability to somehow annoy and inspire me at the same time. Who knows, maybe there might be something in here that could possibly help me. I just have to start digging and see."

Evelyn repeatedly slapped her paw across his face like a fly swatter.

"Hey, what was that for you hairy demon?!"

Evelyn paused and stared at him dead in the eyes. Then, without thought, she flung her tiny frame into the book. Enceladus gasped and tried to grab her before she entered.

"Evelyn!"

A few seconds later she jumped right out.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!? How did you do that?" Enceladus was trying to gain his composure. The last thing he wanted was for Evelyn to die. Evelyn, as if galloping through books is an every-day-act, sat elegantly, awaiting a response from Enceladus.

"Reina must have charmed the book for you to act all willy-nilly. For being so sad about her other cat, she really gives you all the freedom to do whatever you want doesn't she now?" Enceladus leaned into her with his hands laying on his quads, as if he was politely scolding her.

"So let me guess, you want me to follow you in-"

Evelyn jumped right back in like a giant leggy flea. Enceladus didn't even have the chance to blink.

"I guess that's a yes."

Enceladus swiped the book into his hands, and took a moment to collect himself. The last time he did this, tragedy ensued and Reina was taken away. But, the circumstances are different. He is in his safe room, with no commotion or outside influences to potentially cause any incidents. History would not repeat itself.

"Well, there has to be something here, I guess I just have to find it. And heck, I might see what Reina was talking about during her big history lesson."

Before he prepared his dive, he snatched a glance at the title of the unit. It read "The Imposter Who Discovered the Mighty Secrets from Above."

"Well, this should be interesting."

Enceladus stepped away from the book, bent his legs, and lurched into the book like a professional diver. The booked funneled, the pages, words and pictures smushed and mixed together, smearing with colorful swirls and curls. It felt like the pages turned into paint, and he was submerged into a wavy pool of stick and goo. Opening his mouth during his grimy journey through the pages didn't help.

He landed right on his bum. Soil ascended from the ground, spreading the dirt around like a mini whirling tornado. Enceladus coughed and tried to wave away the harmful specs from entering his eyes and his mouth, but some were bound to sneak in as water streamed down from his eyes. Eventually the flying soil fiasco subsided and Enceladus was finally able to make out his surroundings. He was in a field. A nice open field, with tall flowy blades of grass, critters scurrying around underneath his knees, and topped with a bright cream-colored full moon staring and lighting up the whole area. Enceladus quickly looked for Evelyn. After slipping and bobbing around a couple times in this corn-maze-esque field of towering plants, he saw her sitting by a small opening in the thick bushels of grass and weeds.

"There you are. Where are you taking me?"

From a distance he saw light flickering, with the tops of roofs barely sticking out over the tops of the vegetation. If this was the Salem village from last time, then this would be the outskirts. Even that absent scented smell lingered in the air, because the actual smell was not permissible inside the visual context of the book. Regardless, the big thing was, why was he all the way over here? Where was Evelyn going to lead him?

"Well, show me the way. You already pulled me in here."

Evelyn shrieked like a little warrior, swiveled her tail around, and advanced down the opening and the path. What was there to lose Enceladus thought.

The night life began to become more audible. The creatures of the dark became louder and louder. Clicks, chirps, and ribbits circumnavigated around each other, creating a cacophony of wild noises. Enceladus figured that they might have been nearing a lake, pond, or some body of water. He got too distracted at one point during the concert of nature, and almost lost Evelyn as her dark fur would blend perfectly with the natural earth tones. Luckily her little paw prints in the mud paved the way.

Evelyn stopped on a soft short patch of grass and licked her paw. Enceladus was right. They were by a lake, overrun by cattails and lily pads. Enceladus thought that he saw an alligator too. But, it's all fake, and Enceladus was 100 percent glad that it was.

Before they advanced, Enceladus noticed a man with a black

cotton robe, looking straight into the sky's very soul. Enceladus and Evelyn were crouched low, watching from afar, to see what this mysterious figure will do next.

"Is this where you wanted to take me?"

Evelyn meowed with her wide sharp-toothed mouth and flipped her tail up and down like a floppy rope.

"Alrighty, well let's see what this guy is about."

The guy had his hands clamped together high and was praying. With cunning little steps, Enceladus maneuvered around the perimeter to catch a better look at the man. He has seen this man before.

"Hey, that's the guy from Reina's story! Hodgins I believe?"

Evelyn didn't listen. She was still a cat, and was very distracted by the field mice at that moment. Her inner hunter comes first. Have to love animal survival instincts.

"God, please show me a sign. I have learned these powers to connect with you oh holy savior. I could see clearly your kingdom shining brightly above me. Heaven and all of your celestial treasures are so beautiful, so enrapturing, and moving, but I need you to give me the answers to put a stop to this evil. I am teaching myself the ways of this dark magic to compete against them. If they lay siege and overrun our village, I want to be ready. But, I can't do it alone. I can't fight and represent your divinity by myself. I need aid and assistance. I need you to give me a roadmap, with stars, moons, suns, anything that gives the instructions to eradicate these witches from your blessed temple on Earth. I will be your willing servant, ready to put an end to this hellish reality before mankind."

He paused, and kept searching above. Nothing happened. He unsheathed a wand and made it sparkle.

"Ugh, you vile woman! How dare you teach me such useless power. I wanted to talk to my King, not become a half-dazed puppet to his amazing spectacle. I swear once my plan is complete Lord, however you conduct it, I will take her out for good, for she and that other vile woman brought shame, and degradation among our people."

The man fell to his knees, still holding onto his sparkly wand. "There has to be some way. Some way."

His knees began to sink into the mushy ground. His eyes captivated by the mysteries above.

"These giant spheres of yours God, what do they mean? What can I do with them? Are these the signs I've been looking for?"

He paused, and squinted his eyes deeper into space.

"The ringed sphere is still. No movement whatsoever. What does that mean lord?" said Hodgins, stroking his cheek roughly.

Enceladus looked up and saw what he was saying. It was Saturn and its rotational axis had stopped completely. Was this the year of Saturn as well? The season of retrograde space madness? Has its transitional progression stopped as well by some unknown force in the universe?

Pause. Nothing happened again.

"Well, I'll just continue honing these skills then to kill the night away."

As he was about to conjure a spell, he froze as nothing produced out of the wand.

"What?! It didn't work! Why isn't it working! I've been training day in and day out to perfect these skills. They can't all of a sudden vanish like that!"

Enceladus had no clue about what was going on. Was his "magic" not working because he's not actually a real wizard, or is it all just luck that his practiced powers just turned off.

"Wait a minute...is...is this your sign father? Is this the thing you're telling me? It has to be it. Is it the truth, father? Is it true that that ringed sphere stopping has something to do with this. Huh? Is this all I've been waiting for?"

He tried to use his powers again, but again, nothing happened. Everything he learned just…stopped working.

First and foremost, Enceladus couldn't believe that Hodgins had Aspectu Caelum, since he is a muggle. He had to have learned it from someone or something else. He remembered Reina telling him that this power doesn't necessarily have to be hereditary, if it can also be taught. So his mentor must have been nearby.

"I must return to Marie and address her about this matter. She gave me false instructions about this measly excuse for power."

The man gathered his belongings, snuck a quick look back at Saturn, and marched back to his house in the village.

"Evelyn come on, we have to follow him!"

Enceladus scooped up Evelyn and placed her onto his shoulder, as they ripped through the thick walls of grass, traveling to the other side of the field. Hodgins didn't leisurely stroll either, he had a spicy pep to his step, as he navigated himself through the village and to his home. Enceladus maintained a healthy distance as he ducked and weaved behind walls and buildings, as Hodgins would trot on the dirt paths.

Once he reached his home, which was a perfectly square infrastructure, with clay and reed walls, The man approached a woman, and immediately voiced his concerns. Enceladus found a window on the side of the house that showed the living room area. Enceladus and Evelyn crouched as low as they could, peering their eyes over the pane to snatch and possibly hear a good portion of their conversation.

"Marie! Marie! Where are you?! Approach me this instant." barked Hodgins.

Marie sat on a stool by a wooden table, and was writing with a quill on some parchment. She was focused and was swiveling her manuscript movement effortlessly, as if writing is all she does.

"Marie?! What did I tell you about writing? It's considered unnatural for women, even married, to do so, especially one of your kind." He slapped the quil away from her palm.

"Fiery tonight, aren't you my dear William." Marie cleaned up all of her papers from the table, and filed them according to her own personal taste. "How was the training tonight? Did you get bit with any bugs? I swear those mosquitos down at the lake are the size of Dragonflies. If you did, all of our oats are gone, so I can't -"

"Shhh woman. You lead me astray."

"Excuse me?"

"You know."

"I honestly don't. I will just teach you everything I know. That was our deal."

"Aspectu Caelum." He neared her.

"What about it?"

"It doesn't have any functional purpose. You promised me communication with the Great Almighty one. But, all you gave me were false promises!"

"Well, I didn't teach it to you for nothing."

"It seems that was the intention to begin with."

"Far from it-"

"Well, how do you use these powers then!?"

"Use? Hah, simply, I don't, they just are. I have told you millions of times, Aspecto Caelum is a rare gift used to enjoy the visual pleasures of our celestial frontiers. It is the twinkle of tomorrow and the mural of the heartbeat. Like I said, if you really hoan this power, the galaxy will soon be yours to gaze upon forever."

"Mural of the heartbeat?! Did you hear that Evelyn? He has the same problem as I do. She must have quoted it from the book." Enceladus was still trying to get a good look at them, without trying to invite himself into their household.

"It's a power used only for the appreciation of beauty that lies above. And like you and I, we are the only ones who have access to take a glimpse of God's rarefied kingdom of flashes. Isn't that exciting enough my love?"

"No, absolutely not. Why did you teach me? Why would I want to learn something, so weak and impractical for the general laws of magic?"

"Why not? Powers are not always meant to be purposeful. They don't have to follow and inhabit the traditions of folklore which paints magical beings as combative, evil, and full of fanciful tricks," She finalized her organizing.

"But-"

"You know dear, I'm writing a book about these powers."

"I knew it! She wrote this book!" Enceladus jumped with a childish triumph. Evelyn gave him a stone-cold-sour look of "Why is this human so unreasonably excessive right now?".

"What, why are you looking at me like that, huh?"

Evelyn continued to ignore his comments and realigned her perching position on his shoulder to get a better view inside. Marie continued to speak.

"I want future users, if they are blessed with this gift, to know how to handle certain setbacks. I want to provide certain ways to understand how to appreciate it, even its galactic overbearingness at times. There is really nothing more to it. Sitting back, and looking at these God manufactured spheres up above is the whole point. To witness, indulge and become a common spectator of what the everyday can't witness. It's certainly, and truly an immense joy. There is always something about getting ready to sleep at night, and all of a sudden, the sun bursts onto the scene before my very eyes. In a way, that image of astronomical duality makes me feel complete. Oh my, listen to me, a couple years with you, and the word "God" is spilling out of my mouth like a mad woman. I'll say, you muggles and your "God" are so fanatical."

"You don't say?" snarled William.

"I do, I do. I think the whole book is coming along just finely. I know you told me, in the muggle world women are banished from publication as well, is that correct?"

"It is, unless I do it for you."

"Silly man, I don't plan on publishing it here. I might see if I can get a pardon back into the wizarding world and see if either Flourish or Blotts can look it over and hopefully publish it."

"Yes, yes, hopefully they can."

Marie smiled at William, and was about to walk upstairs for bed.

"Wait, wait before you go, tell me this. Just now I saw those spheres up above floating in darkness, and then right under my eye I noticed that the one with rings had stopped its rotational spinning, and disabled most of my other learned powers. Do you know why and or what's going on?"

She paused and leaned on the staircase.

"I have noticed that as well. It's been happening more recently I've been noticing. Usually every decade that I've been alive I've seen this occurrence, and every single time that it has happened, my powers were no more. I couldn't produce any magic. The first time I thought it was a far-fetched idea, but I tested my theory the next decade, and when the sphere stopped, my powers went away again. And this was the case for many wizards in the wizarding world. Power was stripped away and or severely affected to some capacity. Ever since then I came to the conclusion that the ring sphere is what's causing this. I haven't told anybody because I didn't want any evil doers taking advantage of a world full of defenseless wizards. So, it's mine, and now our little secret. Okay?"

Hodgins squinted his eyes heavily, thinking about the next question burning inside of him.

"So, why did I lose my power?"

"Well, you don't have powers dear, the power resides in your wand, but if you really concentrate, maybe you can be an exceptional case. Maybe the ring sphere can spare muggles. It's highly plausible."

William advanced to her, with a slight lilt in his reverend stride.

"And how...how long does this occurrence last?"

"Typically a couple days, then it starts spinning again just like the other spheres."

William stroked his tangly beard, and unexpectedly offered his hand to Marie for a dance. She blushed.

"Right now, but it's so late."

"I just want to display how much I love and appreciate you, that's all. You deserve everything that you see and...maybe even more. God will find a pleasant spot up there for you. You will be another star to his vast collection, and I can't wait until it happens."

Enceladus knew what was about to happen next, and tried desperately to lock himself into place, and not spring into the window and stop this menace. But, nothing that he was witnessing was real, he was constantly fooled by his urge to be a good person. So unbearably, he had to endure the rest of the conversation.

"Come you should get some rest dear, you've been working so hard tonight on your book. Let's give you some sleep." William held her neatly into his unimpressive arms.

"Wow, this change of mood, you certainly have a lovely spark in you tonight, I confess you are right. My eyes are lilting badly and dreams are calling for me desperately. Additionally, I have a full day tomorrow with Donny at the village market extravaganza." She untwined from his arms, and shifted her directions upstairs. "Will you accompany me upstairs?"

"Of course my love, anything you wish, anything you wish."

She headed upstairs first. Soon after, William swiped his wand frantically behind his back, and the blue spark emitted to life again, bluer and brighter than ever. William smiled, as he ascended slowly up the stairs, massaging each step with the sole of his shoes, making tiny thuds under the wood.

Enceladus was sick to his stomach. Everything that he just saw and heard, got his heart and brain tied into yoyo knots. So, Marie had Aspectu Caelum, taught William how to use it, he uses it, and he claims it's not the kind of power he is looking for. And, was he right? Enceladus has been blessed and cursed with the gift, and the one woman who studied it the most and wrote about it basically said there was no purpose to the power. Its only use was...looking. Enceladus found it hard to believe because he felt unique and different, and that these powers would, one day, in the future, potentially save the day. Constellations bombarded his mind since the day he was born, and yet they still couldn't explain his future and how it would turn out to be. The only difference this revelation would make is if Reina was able to learn it as well. Then at least he could have felt accomplished by helping her acquire something that she wasn't really able to acquire. Plus, they could have gone on cute universe-watching dates. But, as of right now, that idea was far-fetched and not plausible. On a good note, Enceladus now knows why Saturn is acting up, so far. It kind of made him feel better about his progress and growth as a wizard. Throughout his tenure so far at Hogwarts, his magical abilities have been extremely elementary, unstable, and quite accident prone. Now, he can at least blame Saturn for all of his magical mishaps. Well, not all, but most.

Before he could even turn his neck Evelyn lurched off his shoulder and leaped away, twisted around a building, and bounced back into the field. Enceladus quickly sprang to two feet, and sprinted behind, trying to follow her little mud prints that she left behind.

As she ran into the fields again, Enceladus shifted into another gear, running now as fast as he could so he wouldn't lose her. But, right when he entered the field again, he fell into a black hole and began free falling.

Next thing he knew he felt flat onto the ground. Everything was engulfed in black except for...planets? All nine planets, floating around him, all the size of elephants. Was he in space? Was this in his head? Was he knocked out, or was he dead? Enceladus didn't know, and didn't know where Evelyn went off too.

Enceladus went right and left and in circles for a couple minutes, but no matter how far he traveled away from the planets it didn't look as if they were getting smaller. Everything around him was unidentifiable. There wasn't a ceiling, walls, doors, or even really a floor. Everything was just black and there.

Then moments later, a group of hooded figures entered from, what seemed like thin air, and hovered over to Saturn. They were in a single file line, and evenly spaced out from each other like an eerie militaristic march. Enceladus scurried over to Pluto, since it was the closest one to him, and looked around its craters to see what these hooded figures were all about.

"So, are the rumors true?" said one, in a low-monotone voice.

"Indeed. Our observations have been accurate." said another.

"How do we stop it?"

"A wand."

"Really?"

"Yes, if we wish to achieve a state of permanency, we will need something stronger. Strong like a Tenacis Wand."

"If we wish to destabilize our outdoor friends of the world, we must work in strategic intervals. Make them question, and tumble over their own sanities. That is the key." He approached Saturn and touched its surface." Who would have known, such a room as this, and such a planet as you would possess so much power to guide us for our future rendezvous. Shall we do a test run?"

Why would they need the Tenacis Wand? What makes it so different, besides its strength? Either way, Enceladus gripped the tips of his fingers into Pluto's side, awaiting their next moves.

Another one entered from thin air again, marching in with that same exact gliding quality. He had a plush purple pillow with a wand laying neatly on top of it. The person handed the wand to the figure who's been speaking the most so far. The figure coiled his long fingers around the wands woody stick frame

"Here we go." he said wielding the wand now. "This is going to alter the course of history. Do we have someone to record this event?"

They all nodded "Yes."

"Well, let's stop our celestial friend here, and see the results."

In the blink of an eye, he said Progibere, and the giant-sized Saturn elephant stopped the exact way a carousel would stop; a gradual decline in speed. The rotation of Saturn reached a point of stillness, and all the hooded figures began to smirk.

"Wonderful display, but do we know it worked?"

"Well, let's find out. How do you feel?" said the main speaker again, as he pointed to another hooded figure, who was obviously a wizard. He was considered the outsider, and the odd one out. If that was the deal, who exactly were these secretive, and culty men in black.

"I don't feel any different." replied the wizard.

"Oh, is that true? Produce a spell."

"Yes sir," he tried to produce a bubble spell, but nothing happened.

"Are you stumped?" said the main speaker, circling him like a shark.

"I'm afraid so, I think it worked. I feel so...so…-"

"Powerless?"

"Uh, yeah…"

The main speaker, still gripping the Tenacis Wand fondly, stepped back a few yards from the wizard .

"That's not a good enough test." said the main speaker toying with the space around him. "We are better thinkers and problem solvers than this, we can't rely on our first answers. We have to keep experimenting and produce more trial runs so we can reach a definite answer."

He stepped away further from the wizard, and showed his back and shoulder blade definition through his black robe as he lifted his arm.

"Goodbye."

From out of the deep blue, the main speaker shouted "Avada Kedavra!" The wizard dropped to the floor like fallen weights. The whole room fell silent.

"Well, I guess he was right. It really did work."

All of the hooded figures became tense and did not know how to fully comprehend what just happened.

"Do you plan to stop it for good sir?" said one of the hooded figures.

"Completely stop it? No, no, no I am not evil. I know how much the wizarding world relies on powers, for economic, social, cultural, and political prosperity. But, what I will do is keep this little secret in our archives for future uses. If any wizards happen to get out of line, we have something that they wouldn't expect. Who knew, this room was constructed by our ancestors, and with the help of a little magic, we can control the galaxy, with a flick of the wrist."

The main speaker looked at the lifeless body, smiled, and exited the space chamber. The other hooded figures sauntered over the dead body, levitated him up and, as if he was in an invisible casket, carried him away vertically above their heads. It was the strangest, and most unsettling funeral march Enceladus has ever encountered.

He was soon left alone in this artificial model of the galaxy. Evelyn was nowhere in sight and Enceladus needed to get out of this book, so he could compute all of this interesting history he just witnessed.

Moments later, as he hung off of Uranus's rings, suffering, and waiting for something or someone one to get him out, he almost fell asleep. But, after almost somersaulting forward off of Uranus's rings, Evelyn, like a miniature stallion, raced out of the shadowy corners of the dark universe. As she submerged from the depths of nothing, she started jumping, leaping and flipping off of other planets. She front flipped onto Mercury, then dove onto Mars, meowed in front of Jupiter, and accidentally scratched Venus. The planet survived but sadly her claw chipped a bit. Enceladus tried to get her attention.

"Get me out of here, please!"

Next thing he knew, she reached the sun, and she plunged herself head first into it and disappeared, or...disintegrated. They both would have been acceptable.

"You have to be kidding me? I swear this cat is going to kill me."

Enceladus tried to emulate the travel pattern just for fun, but failed miserably.

"Okay, plan B, just walk into the sun."

Enceladus has seen the sun up close many times but nothing to this magnitude, even if it was all fake. Big balls of solar energy were always very intimidating to him.

"Here goes nothing." Enceladus clenched his eyelids, and approached the big shiny ball.

Once he inserted one foot into the yellow giant, he was automatically sucked into a space of grabble and psychedelic mish mosh. He eventually was spat out right into his room. He held his head because it smashed right onto his Hufflepuff silk rug.

"I prefer trash travel over book travel any day," moaned Enceladus in slight pain. "Uh, thank you Evelyn for that journey. It was certainly productive, and I...I learned a lot."

Enceladus found the history book, and looked back at the chapter he was just in and saw a short excerpt.

"As muggles fall on nuclear fission, the Unspeakables fall on the galaxy..."

"The Unspeakables, huh? They sure spoke a lot when I saw them." He continued to read.

"The Unspeakables have complete control of the Space Room at the Department of Mysteries. But, they did promise wizards that they would not abuse their power and enforce a bipartisan rule that would givewizards some peace of mind. The Unspeakables agreed to set the rules, and refused to partake in galactic sessions in the room, unless it's a special emergency. In return, the Unspeakables demanded protection from the wizards, and zero-to-no interference policy however long it prevailed."

"Mmm, I wonder why nobody knows that this place exists? Did they keep it hush-hush in the courts? It must have! It had to be part of the deal. But now...is...is someone tampering with it now? Is someone messing with Saturn? What do you-"

He went to talk to Evelyn and she was nowhere in sight. After today, Enceladus thought he should sleep everything off, and like always, worry about it later.

As he was spiffing up his room for bedtime, he whispered to himself,

"Saturn makes you lose powers?...muggles not affected...department of Mysteries can control the whole galaxy...and Marie, she discovered this power, and analyzed it, and even wrote a book pertaining-

He stopped himself, as he was setting up his pillows for bed.

"Her book!"

He ravaged around to find her book. While on his chaffed rocky knees, he waved his hand around under his bed and he felt the old fresh book right below his palm as he dragged it from underneath. Once, he dusted off the leftover cobwebs from under the bed, he looked on the inside of the book in disbelief.

"Author, William Hodgins. He did it. He published it right after he murdered her. What a filthy stupid monster! He manipulated that poor girl."

In aggravation he tossed the book aside, blew out his handles, and crawled into bed like a toddler, fighting to stay awake but eventually giving up. As he fell asleep, Evelyn popped from a destination unknown and slept soundly right at the end of the bed.

Perseus on the Prowl

Thin clouds dressed the winter moon with ripples and ruffles, bathing Hogwarts with slits of light and shadows. Icicles were splitting off of the bronze and gray glass stained windows, crunching and falling far down to the snow powdery ground. Inside, past these windows, little noises whirred and clicked, sounding like a little factory of mechanisms and gears. Mapped spheres on top of spindles were tastefully placed around this circular room, as they would spin on command. All the past Headmasters of Hogwarts were sleeping soundly in their portraits as well, sharing the walls while snoozing and snoring like congested whistles. This included Dumbledore, Hogwarts last Headmaster, who tragically sacrificed his life. Then in the midst of all the noises, and decor, a fat toad, on the verge of cardiac arrest, flops around on the floor, either trying find his sense of purpose, or actually trying to commit suicide. Both are hard to tell, considering when he stops and rests, his body barely indicates that he is breathing.

But the toad's heart soon sparked back to life, as a man entered this room almost kicking the toad into oblivion. Luckily, that wasn't the case, as he nonchalantly walked over the dark green little blob. The toad was relieved, not ready to visit the amphibian Heaven just yet.

Another being who was relieved was his owner, who was extensively reading parchments on his desk, which was covered with thick epidermis skinned vines. The source of these vines was from the owner's pet plant, which was a full-grown cactus, called the Mimbulus Mimbletonia.

The person who just walked in took a seat, and slid himself as close as possible to the desk, melting into a sitting position of questioning.

"Nice Frog, Neville."

"It's a toad Ventril." replied Neville, not breaking eye contact from his work.

"A creature of no importance perhaps? Mmm?"

"What do you want Ventril, I'm very busy."

"Me? I was just in the neighborhood, and I just wanted to say hello. That's all."

"Sure. Let me guess. More security measures, more magical policies bended so you and your men can keep our establishment as safe as possible? Am I correct."

"Always, always Neville, and I love you for that." Ventril leaned back in his seat, finding his comfort zone. "But, not necessarily tonight. Tonight I wanted to give you a friendly reminder."

"Reminder?" Neville looked up for the first time since they had spoken.

"Mhm. A reminder to tell you that you only have one more chance." Ventril suddenly encompassed a serious tone in his voice.

"What do you mean "one more chance"? I wasn't even aware that I had chances to begin with, because even as a member of multiple organizations that revolve around the inner workings of the Ministry, I am still the burden of no notifications."

Ventril got up and started walking his typical peppy walk, but with more stride and conviction after every step. "My dear friend, I was given special permission by the Ministry, that if you mess up one more time, considering the looming threat of the New Death Eaters, a new order will be enacted."

"Like?"

"Like evacuating the school completely while my men and I continue with the hunt and use this place as…I don't know...a decoy...a fort…an opportunity to make things right again, even if it means students are gone. The Ministry and I have talked and talked and talked about the greatness of this school, and all we want to do is prove that we can preserve and protect a legacy here to our fellow wizard colleges. Forward action and forward thinking my friend."

"You can't do that."

"No worries, I understand the importance of wizard education. We are prepared, dear Neville."

"How so?"

"If we were to fall through with all of this, I have introduced the idea of homeschooling."

Neville wasn't fond of this, but he couldn't completely dismiss the fact that Ventril had a good idea.

"Why didn't anyone run this by, me, don't they know I am apart of -"

"Not anymore."

"Excuse me…" Neville gave his full attention to Ventril, flaring his nostrils with peaked interest.

"Last week, any committee that you've been on or a part of has kicked you out and or replaced you. Benedict Gumdrop organized most of the meetings, and overruled any objection you had. And I'm pretty sure you know why."

"That's foul play!"

"Neville, use that wondrous brain of yours and think about the kids. You've already lost two, three technically if you count Sessabit. Let's not make any more costly mistakes. But, like I said, they are giving you one more chance to devise a plan and make things right. We are here and we're helping, but our machinery can't always do the trick. Sometimes we need a little more help from your magic and then we'll have this place operating smoothly, without the apprehensions from fears, or the possibility of death."

Neville took a deep pause, swooped up his toad, and patted it gently across its rough green back.

"No worries, I have people working on things. Trust me."

"I do trust you." Ventril smiled as he was playing with a globe.

"Can you not touch that please, that was Dumbledore's."

"Dumbledore?! Oh, the lying maniac who "sacrificed" so much for this school by putting a clueless child in the wild fire to fight, and die, against a dark lord. How admirable. I see now how you followed in his footsteps."

"You didn't know him like I did." professed Neville, still composed.

"Of course I didn't. But, history says otherwise. Now, speaking of kids, do you know anything about him?"

"Him?"

"Uh, uh, uh, you know who I'm talking about."

"I honestly-"

"Sessabit."

"Oh yes."

"So?"

"No."

"No?"

"Yes, no, I do not know anything about him."

"You do know he is a wanted criminal now, after video surveillance footage...uh...you do know what that means right?"

"I do." huffed Neville.

"Perfect, just double checking. Now you do know if you don't disclose or reveal any valuable information about any criminals, you are subject for arrest."

"Well, that is splendid because I do not know anything. If you don't trust me, you can give me Truth Syrium."

Ventril gave Neville a dismayingly yet charming glare.

"It's okay, I believe you. But, if you catch him or find additional information about his whereabouts, you know who to call. He might be a big link to guide us to the source of the New Death Eaters. Right now, he's a hot target during this hunt."

"He's just a kid, though. Maybe some magical therapeutics, or counseling for recuperation can serve him well, instead of being hounded down by the whole United Kingdom."

"And this is why you only have one more chance to prove yourself. Ideas like this make this world deadly."

"Fighting, physical reprimands, and death doesn't always have to be the answer to lost souls such as him."

"Too nice Neville, don't you know anything about the New Death Eaters? They are lethal and dangerous. Did you see what happened at the Gumdrop Estate? That didn't seem like a lost soul to me."

"I do."

Ventril paced around the room once more, gravitating around the windows.

"So, he lives in that hut, correct?"

Neville stood up quiet as a mouse, refusing to say anything,

"That is his father's place."

"And his father is-"

"Yes, that is correct, but he is required to live there for special purposes."

Ventril peered out the window more attentively, and saw that jagged spec of a home, steadily chugging out smoke from the chimney.

"And does he like to live there?"

"I don't know."

"I see."

"And don't get any ideas. That house is technically private property and even under very special circumstances, it cannot be trespassed in and or on. Even if you do have a magically approved entry form. Or what you muggles call warrants."

Ventril swung his body and glanced back at Neville, and gave him a reassuring smile.

"No need. I want to protect it from all costs."

"Protect it?"

"Mhm. Have you heard of the Superiors? If you didn't, they are another radical group on our radar."

Neville didn't speak.

"If they find that video of Sessabit, they will do anything to commit acts of destruction, to instill fear in the wizarding community. And compared to the castle, they might find a way to achieve that goal with his house. Because they know, he will give in and seek out revenge. Which is exactly what they want. Trust me, we know. They haven't received much coverage, but we will soon bring them to the light one way or another. This world is upside down Neville, and we have to take it with our hands and rotate it back into place."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"I gave you your warnings. The ball is now in your court. This is your precious school. Find a way, or the British Parliament and the Ministry have to do it for you. I just follow, and relay orders, offering a guiding hand if need be. I know you are not a fan of this intervention, but we have to be there for each other, at all cost, in these trying times. That's all."

Neville stared at the portrait of Dumbledore, who was sleeping soundly, seeking some sort of answer from him even though he knows very well, he will never get one, even if he was up and talking.

"Thank you Ventril. Truly. I don't know how I could ever repay you and your men for all you have done." Neville was still looking at Dumbledore.

"Well, it's certainly my pleasure. Us wizards and muggles have to stick together, even if we had rocky upbringings in the last decade. There is always time to make things right."

"Correct."

"Well, I'll better let you be, and finish my rounds.-"

"Stay."

"Excuse me?"

"Stay for a bit, and have some tea. It's the least I can do."

"Tea at this time of night?"

"Why not? It will be a nice treat before we race back to our work to save the world." Neville chuckled half-heartedly, taking a seat and preparing a kettle with tea and water he had near his desk.

Ventril lollygagged around the idea of leaving, but swiftly shifted his body away from the door, and joined Neville at his desk once more to drink tea.

"I guess you are right. Why not."

As Nevilled heated up the tea with his magic, the two men sat in silence while it prepared. Only the overheating whistle of the tin kettle was heard, sounding as if the tea altogether was going to explode at any moment. Ventril interrupted the silence once more and said,

"One more thing, you wouldn't happen to know where Reina Rose stays mmm?"

Harpocrates Visits Silence

The kitchen smelled like old country cooking. The sounds of boiling bubbles popped from the pots. The thick, domineering scents of ancient spices and herbs became air itself. A mixture of cassia and ginger were some of the few being achelmized. The heat of the stove was prominent, but oddly comfortable. And of course, the periodic clank of tin pots and pans, moving to the rhythm of the recipe, was like some sort of secret folk song. A folk song only the cook knew how to create. And the cook was Alio. He was making some sort of stew. And Sessabit was sitting at the table, organizing jars of coffee beans. The long silver sword mounted on the wall with the red jeweled pummel still oversaw the kitchen, shining steadily and sharply. Like before, Sessabit was very drawn to it. He eventually broke away, and focused on the coffee beans again.

"Guatemala Cobán? Sumatra? Tanzania?! I didn' know we imported these coffees."

"Hah, we don't. I visited the places they are from."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Are they magical?"

" Kind of. The wizards who sold me these said that you wouldn't need to sleep for twenty-four hours if you drink a cup."

"Es that true?"

"Very. I once drank five cups one day. Not the best idea. Because what they don't tell you is that you will sleep the amount you stayed up."

"Oh, so you-"

"Yup. Ol' Neville was worried about me that whole week. He thought I died. It was okay though, to avoid the mess of having to catch up with school work, I decided to use my vacation days right afterwards." Alio was stirring the pot, with wandless magic. It looked like a merry-go-round. "If you have the chance, take a trip to Alaska in North America. The native wizards are experts at exploring nature, and all of its wonderful, resourceful properties."

"I heard o' Alaska. Mi Papa always wanted to go there with mi. He always tells meh the Busch people are nice en have eh unique way o' using magic. He also tells meh that if I misbehaved, he would take meh to the Qallupilluit."

"The Alaskan Dementors?"

"Yup. The ones that live below glaciers en sheets o' ice."

"Interesting how their folklore reached all the way over here."

"Well, papa es eh very explorative man. He likes knowing things like that."

Alio leaned against a countertop and studied Sessabit's expression. Alio decided to not extend this conversation, and averted his attention to other things in the kitchen.

"Uh, I'm guessing this one is not?" Sesssabit raised a jar full of lavender leaves.

Alio immediately dropped his ladle when he saw the jar.

"Oops, my apologies. No, that is not coffee. It's actually a secret ingredient for this stew. Very flavorful stuff."

"How so?"

Alio picked up and wiped the ladle with his apron.

"It just is."

"Okay."

Sessabit put the lavender jar aside and continued with his sorting. Close to finishing the coffee, he noticed a pile of letters on the edge of the table. At the right angle, he could see that they were from Neville.

"You have lots o' letters from Neville. Es everything okay over there?"

` Alio took the tiniest of sips from his stew.

"Yes, yes everything is okay." He took another tiny sip." He's just making sure you are okay, you know?"

"Understandable. Understandable."

When Alio took his last sip, something changed in the air. Sessabit couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, but something did change. He ignored it.

"So...you like theatre?"

"I am an acting teacher."

"Right…" Sessabit was really good at blabbing his mouth to friends, but teachers, not so well. "Enceladus always told meh the trouble you would give him in acting class."

"Trouble? More like reminders to not waste my time and do better with the material."

"That was-"

"Mean? No no, it is not mean." He took a small breath. "Acting is not a serious craft. It's playing pretend, pulling out pieces of your inner child and imagination. But, that doesn't mean the virtue of honing it and mastering it doesn't exist. Enceladus lacks focus at times. He's bright, full of potential, but clumsy in execution. And even with playing pretend and being yourself, a little more dedication and focus is needed to make the magic work. If you don't have that, we get people who deem theatre folk as posers to the real world, professionally unequipped, with wasted, impractical skills. I don't want that for him, or anyone who wants to pursue theatre. Art has been undervalued and unaccounted for long enough. Yes, it may seem useless and elementary to some, but it can be life changing for others. And that's why I give him trouble in class. Because he has the ability to do special things."

Alio wiped his eyebrow, swiping up a drop of sweat with his finger, unexpecting this little rant.

"Sorry. Anywho, enough about that...what do you like to do?"

"Me? Uh, well, I love Quidditch, but I also love cookin' as well." Sessabit's shoulders began to sink. "Quidditch has always been somethin', I've naturally been good at. I'm a husky athletic giant-wizard, so beating those bludgers is like a walk in the park. I wanted to pursue et professionally but I think I only wanted to do that so I could travel en see the world...like you. I've been cooped up en Hogwarts mi whole life, listening to mi fathers wishes and obeying his authority. He wants mi to take over as gatekeeper one day en hopefully reignite COMC class, which es fine, I get it. At the end o' the day, he means well, but he doesn't understand I don't really want that, and don't have the gut to tell him mi feelings. I get why I stood en continue to stay. I have to take care of mi papa, he's getting older and those giant bones are not holdin' up as they use to. It's just a double edge sword, yah know? A bargain I'm not to sure I'm ready to take." He rubbed his arm unconfidently. "But, one thing that I do love is cookin' for sure. I'm glad mi papa showed me that. Want me to whip up somethin'? I can make a mean Neep and Tatties?"

"No, it's fine. I do want to ask though, what do you want to do? Like, really want to do."

"In life?"

"Yes."

"Cook en tend to dragons around the world."

Alio smiled, but a smile that looked defeated and deflated.

"Well, Sessabit, when the day comes, I know no matter what, your papa will be proud of you." He took a pause, pouring the stew in a bowl. "Ready for some stew?"

"Yeah...mmm...speaking of papa. I wonder how he's doing…"

Alio, spilled a little stew broth on the floor. "Yes, yes me too."

Alio gave Sessabit the bowl of stew. Sessabit accepted gratefully. He then headed into the living area, while Alio was sorting dishes in the sink.

"Do you mind if I charm your ancient TeeVee box thingy? Enceladus has a really nice one en Holland park. I know those big metal things in the sky don' really work in the wizarding world, but I can give it a shot to make et work. I just need some distraction right now."

Alio was too preoccupied, humming to the noise of the running faucet.

"I guess that's eh yes."

Sessabit charmed the television to turn it on, and was completely destroyed by what he saw on the screen. It was the news channel, and everything on the screen was flickering orange and red.

"What? No…no."

"Sessabit, would you like some more...oh no...turn that off. Turn that off right now!"

Sessabit twisted his shoulders around, and saw Alio emerging from the kitchen under a hue of red. Willow's detection charm was no longer green.

"What is this?! What is goin' on! I trusted you en you lied to me!"

"Sessabit, listen to me. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I was going to tell you eventually. But not like this."

Sessabit lurched the stew from his hands, and rushed to the door.

"Duratus!"

Alio swiftly snuck his wand out and restrained Sessabit with a motionless spell.

"You can't leave. It's too risky for you, and everyone on this operation. I'm sorry, but you have to take this stew, to calm you down. It's for your own good!"

Sessabit with all his might tried to rip away from the spell. He was wailing his lungs into oblivion, desperately trying to gain freedom.

Alio was struggling because Sessabit was now unstoppably formidable, driven by rage and anger. Alio tried levitating the stew from the puddle on the floor, but it proved to be too much for him to handle. As he tried once more to force feed Sessabit the stew, Sessabit broke out of the spell, flinging the stringy bodied Alio against the wall. Sessabit, with tears rushing down his eyes, fled out the manor. The television was still flickering orange and red. But, the red hue in the air immediately turned to green.

"I'm sorry Sessabit. I wish there was another way."

Hercules Introduces Hell

The semester has finally come to an end. Enceladus was drained and relieved. But before he went home for his much anticipated break from the last four-crazy- months, he had to finish all of his new fifth year finals, which were simultaneously difficult and simple. At least he was spared from his N.E. and O. until next year.

For the WADA, no exam was written. They were practical assessments. "Cool. Wonderful", thought Enceladus considering his skills as an acting wizard has improved substantially. But, magical acting was a whole different monster when it came to discipline and execution. More mental energy is required, which means more practicing, which means less sleep. It was worth it, because he passed all of his WADA finals, miraculously, without passing out on the floor.

For combat, they didn't do anything. Still no teacher. Will there ever be one considering Professor Pero's scandal? Probably not. All Enceladus had to do was show up to the classroom, state his name to Despis who was counting attendance, and walk away. It was an easy O.

For Professor Soapy's final, Enceladus had to do either Canadian or South African throat singing. He chose Canadian. Apparently, Wendigo, Canada's wizarding school of magic, has a thirty-foot sasquatch in their dark forest that lets students jump on his big belly. Enceladus thought that was cool.

If done correctly, one of the keys to magical throat singing is to vibrate the earth with a slight rocking sensation or soothe it with a breeze. For the wizards, they wanted to use their voices to simulate nature's pulse and sway of everyday life, but exaggerated where certain vibrations and sounds might feel like the hooves of horses, the slosh of a raging river, or the chirp of crickets, rattling their legs into the night. The other key was to invite birds, of all kinds, and provide a personal concert for them. If they tweet along, then you have done the throat song correctly. This wasn't the case for many students.

One Ravenclaw boy strained his neck so badly that an unpleasant donkey blurb uttered out of his mouth. Then his mouth ceased, and his nose became adenoidal. Birds came through the castle's window and attended, but they quickly started pecking at the boy for ruining their day with such ugly music.

A Hufflepuff girl's throat clamored so loud that it caused the castle to shake violently, which made everyone fumble out of their desks, desperately heaving to save their books and supplies from falling. Moments later, a tiny river suddenly developed at the back of the room, pouring from the cracks of the wall, wetting peoples shoes as it spilled across the floor. Professor Soapy applauded her for her tenacious passion, but decided to cut her off before she caused any more damage.

Enceladus didn't pass with an O. When he sang, the stone bricks underneath the class's feet swayed and separated slightly, representing a wave. It was gentle, and felt like a lazy river, going up and down. Then birds of all kinds; owls, sparrows, and hawks came and joined Enceladus, enjoying Enceladus' guttural voice. But, on a hard transition he flubbed a phrase, and the birds immediately flew out the window and the stone bricks came to a flat stop, returning back to their normal state. Like a champ, Enceladus pushed through, hoping his anxiety wouldn't overcome his determination to finish. It all worked out and Professor Soapy clapped in the most enthusiastic yet non-enthusiastic way possible. Even with her massive amount of peppy quirk, she was ready for a break as well.

Acting was still terrible but it was manageable. Another sub named Stilt Paddock, from the wizard acting community came in after the last sub was let go for verbally abusing her students and making them feel less of themselves. He was a gangly old man with polar bear white hair, wearing very dingy crooked glasses. And he was very quiet, very selective and economical on what word to spit between his teeth. Considering Enceladus's wild last weeks of fights, chases, and explosions, it was a nice change of pace.

The final was actually pretty normal. Well, muggle normal. All Enceladus had to do was perform a scene with a fellow peer. His partner was a girl named Bonnet Lollyfoote, who was notoriously known for not trying in the WADA. It was an acquired hobby for her where she just simply refused to participate. It shows you how desperate the WADA was in recruiting artist wizards. But, Despis always found the potential in anyone with theatre, whether they wanted to pursue that potential or not.

Unfortunately for Enceladus, she didn't remember her lines for their scene, which was a simple date scene at the Three Broomsticks. Enceladus shouldn't have expected anything less. Before it was their turn to present, he went up to her and said,

"Follow my lead."

"Sure."

Bonnet was surprisingly very interested in the whole ordeal.

"Enceladus and Bonnet, you may now present." said Stilt, excitedly appreciating this opportunity to see the new age of upcoming wizarding artists in action.

They both walked up to the front of the room, and slated. Well, just Enceladus.

"Hello, my name is Enceladus Vega."

Bonnet didn't speak, as she looked un-amusingly at her Gryffindor red nails.

"Uh, and this is Bonnet Lollyfoote."

Another awkward pause.

"And...uh...this is our scene from Jinx! You Owe Me a Butterbeer."

Another awkward pause. Someone coughed in the back of the room.

"Hey, I knew I'd find you here." said Enceladus, starting the scene.

Bonnet looked at him, just like a sloth; with mellow eyes and no action.

"Maybe, we should get a drink. Maybe BUTTER. BEER. your favorite...huh….huh?...BUTTER. BEER your faveeeeeeeeooooooooorittteeeeeee. huh?"

Bonnet yawned. Enceladus had to act quick to save this scene. So he, in the smoothest way possible, drew his wand from under his robe, pointed it at Bonnet so fast, that his swift movement looked a part of the scene. When he did it, he whispered, "Temere Dispatu," and Bonnet began to speak, but a little too much.

"Maybe we should get a drink? Maybe-"

"That would be lovely, oh, I loveeeeee that drink soooo much, I swear I can gulp an ocean full in one sitting if I tried, now I'm not fat, but I can secretly expand my stomach limitlessly, it's a birth defect and St. Mungo's thought I should be executed on the spot for having such unnatural insides, they thought I wouldn't make it but here I am, ready to socialize in a tavern full of tavern people who do tavern things because tavern things are freaking fantastic, gosh, thank you, thank you so much, for always thinking about me in my times of need, especially now, with the whole Blast Ended Skrewt incident last Friday, my heart enlargement on Sunday, and then me accidentality using the bathroom inside a Portkey, it's been such a ferris wheel, no merry-go-round, no, rollercoaster! Yes, rollercoaster! and and and and I think I came to the conclusion that I think marriage is not for us, I'm actually in love with Carl Coddlego… "

Carl Coddlego blushed, and hid under his books.

"But I know time is the final decider of my love, and for that I demand we rent a room, and play chess in the nude until my heart finds that true raw tenderness it so desperately yearns for…"

The class room was silent.

"So, do you want a Butterbeer?"

"Yes! Butter/beer"

"BUTTERBEER!" screamed Enceladus.

More silence.

"Haha Jinx! You owe me a Butterbeer...haha…"

The spell wore off on Bonnet and she collapsed onto the floor. Enceladus bowed awkwardly indicating the scene was finished. The class, including Stilt, gingerly clapped.

"Alright, any class comments?" asked Stilt, still trying to process what he just saw.

One student raised their hand. Stilt picked on the boy.

"Uh, who was the playwright of this play? Just want to write their name down for future reference."

Enceladus sighed heavily and went back to his seat.

Finally there was dance. The last unit of the semester was tap. The final: make fire spit out of your tap shoes. Magical tap shoes are made from a rare sun metal from space. But, it is extremely difficult to activate it. When it is activated, your tap shoes look like sparklers, which creates an astounding effect visually and audibly. Enceladus had this one in the bag, for when he performed his choreography, each step ignited with a fast flurry of flares. Orange and reds fired from his heel and toes, as he stomped, and clapped in his own little space of inferno percussion; spiraling and bouncing off of the walls. Enceladus was so good, Professor Flurry didn't flinch when a spark pierced one of her wings. She stood firm, very proud and actually complimented Enceladus when he finished. That wasn't the case for their final rehearsals.

Enceladus hasn't practiced much on the WADA's musical, Wizards and Wine. Since he has a major role, Professor Flurry has been barking about attendance and if he ruined this opportunity for her, he'd presumably be in a world of trouble.

Even though he's missed about a week of rehearsals, Enceladus was always

acute when it came to blocking, and the retention of materials. He prided himself on memorization and practice. So, he wasn't really worried about the rehearsal dilemma. But, lucky for him, on the last rehearsal before break, everyone was sick and wasted from the night before, partying and celebrating in their dorms that finals were over. Professor Flurry canceled it and immediately created a written schedule of rehearsals and French scenes for next year. Enceladus did not mind at all. He was ready to go home.

During winter break, Enceladus spent most of his time hanging out with his mother. All they did together was watch TV, go out to eat from time to time, and just talk to each other. Even Gordan and Willow (Huge surprise) visited at times. Sessabit, for obvious reasons, couldn't make it, because he was stuck at Alios, but Enceladus still kept his end of the bargain and would sneak back into the wizarding world, and check up on his hut. It was still there and looking shaggy as ever. From time to time, Enceladus would tilt his gaze up and see Puddin soaring and circling the sky like an eagle. Enceladus would smile gingerly, hoping Puddin wasn't getting himself into unnecessary danger.

Being back home was a much-needed refreshment, considering most of his daily activities consisted of reading about Apectu Caelum and or sleeping on his very plush twin size bed, which he absolutely loved. It was all wonderful. But, the looming tension of his father's investigation interjected on whatever peace he wanted to achieve. And, his mother didn't help either.

His mother, Laze, kept on telling Enceladus that the "Search is almost complete…" , "We are going to find out your father's killers, isn't that great!"

Yes, the idea of discovering who killed Enceladus' father, appealed to Enceladus, but to a certain magnitude. In the back of his mind, he knows his mother wanted to enact cruel revenge. Since his killer was most likely a wizard, her hate for wizards amplified. This always troubled Enceladus, because he was a wizard. In the back of her mind, Enceladus believed her choice of allowing him to attend Hogwarts was ingenuine, and only agreed so she would feel safe in her trying times of grief and loss. It's so bad that she requested Enceladus to not speak of anything wizard or magic in the household. Enceladus, like the respectful son, obeyed, and kept everything to himself. He didn't want to bother her any more than what she had already endured for these past four months, despite her oddly positive behavior about finding the killer. Enceladus let her be.

Once his break was nearing an end, and he filled his stomach with sub-par cooking from his mother's sub-par cooking skills, Enceladus had a huge and wildly bright idea. Sessabit would've killed him for it, but Sessabit couldn't know as well. Enceladus wanted to visit Sessabit's father at St. Mungos.

He still has never met his father officially. Enceladus thought it would be a treat to visit him, cheer him up, and just talk about wizard things. Enceladus planted a wide smile just thinking about all the cool and wonderful things they would possibly talk about. And who knows, maybe he would be able to help him in his efforts in fighting the Superiors and the New Death Eaters.

Profugus, Enceladus' Pygmy Owl, ruffled his feathers in approval, giving Enceladus confidence to conquer his worries about his father's death. And who knows, maybe some sort of healing and guidance will be extracted by his visit. Maybe talking to Sessabit's dad will give Enceladus a new sight of how to survive and really live in the wizarding world, no matter how confusing or scary it is. Right now, he just wanted someone to simply listen, and who better than Hogwarts famous friendly giant, Hagrid? And to his heart's leaping approval, that's what Enceladus did, right before his second semester of school. He ventured off by himself, on a brisky, cold induced, half-snow-half-rain falling day to ride his bike to border patrol, and enter the wizarding world. Every time he enters the trash bin of headaches, his insides would churn even more, right before he heaved into the swirling pit. But, this was an exception since he was distracted about the idea of wanting to surprise Hagrid with company, considering he probably doesn't get many visitors. Profugus tagged along as well wanting to join the action and be near Enceladus for this new adventure.

Enceladus made it. The building was smaller than an apartment store, and there was virtually no indication that this place was a hospital. It just looked like any-oh-building. But, when he saw some wizard healers in green robes rolling in a wizard on a gurney with an abnormally boulder sized head, and giving magical CPR to a wizard with gills, Enceladus knew this was his place. He approached the double glass doors and entered the building, with Profugus sitting on his shoulders, happy to tag along.

Enceladus approached the receptionist desk counter. The lady behind it, who had untrimmed eyebrows, poofy black hair, and a prominent mole, was very uninterested and very staunch.

"Hi my name is-"

"If you are here for an emergency, no-can-do-kid. First floor has a werewolf problem, so it's temporarily impeded. The second floor is overrun by Dragon Pox, so all intensive care units are filled, and heavily quarantined to reduce the spread of the infection. Third floor is currently a hazard zone because of cross contamination from treating potions and Centaur gas. Please, don't ask about the Centaur gas, because it's a long and crippling story that I really don't want to tell. And the fourth floor is being renovated."

"Oh, um, okay, well I just wanted to visit a patient. Is that possible?"

"Depends what floor they are on. What is the patient's name?

"Rubeus. Rubeus Hagrid."

The lady instinctively leaned into her files in her drawer, but abruptly stopped when she fully processed the name.

"Did you say Rubeus Hagrid?"

"Yeah, why?"

The lady took another brief pause.

"He's not here."

"What do you mean?" replied Enceladus with urgency.

"He's not here. He hasn't been with us since he-"

"Since what? My friend said he-"

"Since he passed away."

The planets, stars and the whole galaxy shattered inside of Enceladus.

"What…?"

"Yes, this past summer he was brutally attacked by a wizard. We tried to tend and operate on his wounds as quickly as possible, but after a few days under magical life support, he passed away next to his son-"

"Sessabit."

"Yes, that's the kids name. Do you know him?"

A tear streamed down from Enceladus' cheek. Profugus tried to nestle his beak into Enceladus' face to comfort him.

"Yes, Yes I do…" muttered Enceladus, looking towards the ground. "Do...do you know what exactly happened to him?"

"Well, when we took an autopsy of his injuries, we came to the conclusion he was hit with a Blasting Curse straight to the abdomen area. But it wasn't just any Blasting Curse, it was a Blasting Curse from a Tenacis Wand. Double the impact and damage, and the big fella couldn't hang after that."

Enceladus' head felt like a rattle. Sessabit's father was dead, but Sessabit acted like he was alive this whole time. Why would he lie to him? And then on top of that he died from a Tenacis Wand, so the wizard Sessabit took the wand away from that night Neville sent him on that mission to undo the shield on Enceladus's house, which must have been the killer. Now, if Sessabit knew that was his father's killer, did he easily take the Tenacis Wand away from the wizard as easily as he said, or did he battle him, trying to avenge his father.

"Hey kid, you okay, your eyes are shaking and stuff?"

"Uh, yeah I got to go. Thank you for everything."

Enceladus sprinted out of the building, hopped on his bicycle and rode to platform 9 3/4 as fast as possible. Profugus had trouble staying on his shoulder, and reverted to flying instead.

Enceladus managed to snag a train back to Hogwarts so he could find Puddin' to go back to Alio's place. He was the only one on the train, as it pushed through the darkness, bouncing the cabin every few seconds. His stomach was feeling low, and fuzzy as if it was displaced, lodged, and transplanted from its original spot. He looked out the window and saw the horizon, pulsing with a subtle auburn intensity. Enceladus lounged back in his seat, staring emptily at this sight. But, when he finished his powers acted up and he saw the sun opposite the pale orange horizon, burning it's normal burns across its surface. And when he looked at his watch it was nowhere near the morning. So, this light was an impostor. But, what was it Enceladus thought?

When the train stopped, Enceladus didn't think twice, and bolted out of the train and to the lake. The pulse was getting stronger, wider and brighter. And screams, tons of screams were heard across the lake. As Enceladus ran and fought through the sinking mushy ground, everything around him was amplifying. The scream, the pulse, the temperature. At the corner of his eyes, he saw the white glowing dots again, fluttering fiercely deep inside the forest as if they were trying to tell him something important, he ignored it and continued on his pursuit towards Hogwarts. When he finally escaped the concealment of the trees and vegetation, his eyes did not blink, as pure terror reflected from his cornea.

Sessabit's house was on fire. The flames towered to the turrets of Hogwarts, turned the razor blue night sky into factory-pollution-gray, and created shadows of bodies combating back and forth on the slope of the hills, and the walls of the castle. There was no way Enceladus could take a boat. He needed to get across the lake faster, but he was stumped with ideas, hoping one would smack him against the head very soon. But, as he was furiously pacing in the muck, trying desperately to think of a mode of transportation, he was immediately smacked against the head by something slimy and soft. He cradled his head, massaging his blow, as he climbed back up to his feet, but right when he did, he noticed his attacker; it was the Lake's giant octopus. The giant octopus flopped one of his floppy tentacles onto the ground, as if he was offering Enceladus a lift. Enceladus recognized this gesture right away and knew the octopus wanted to take him to Hogwarts. He decided not to think twice about it, and let the massive cephalopod wrap his suctions around his waist and escort him to the castle.

When the octopus dropped him off by the ports, Enceladus immediately thanked the octopus for her congeniality and rushed to the scene. But, he was quickly snagged by the ankle. The octopus latched a tentacle around it. Enceladus turned around and saw the octopus was in distress, groaning with sadness. Enceladus figured out it was Darla, who was concerned with Sessabit, since they both were close friends.

"He's okay, I promise. Okay? But I have to make sure everyone else is fine too."

Darla paused in frozen apprehension. Eventually and reluctantly, she let go of her grip, trusting Enceladus' words, and sliding back into the water for safety. Enceladus hoped he was right about what he said.

Enceladus was facing the likes of Hell. The flames from Sessabit's hut were so monstrous and ferocious, disparaging any source of air, as if you were eating heat itself with every inhalation. Then, like a war movie, wizards in black were crossing fires and charging into each other with brute force and no remorse. He saw Zelos fighting, a wizard with a mask, showing off his lofty and unorthodox fighting style. He saw Eleanor, with the Tenacis Wand, whipping, and throwing wizards with ease, as she took on groups of ten at a time. Then, when Enceladus looked into the distance of the castle he saw the Hogwarts faculty, led by Hermoine and Neville, lined up in fighting stances, barricading their bodies against the entrance, ready for any intruder to make their way over. Hogwarts still had students housing over break, and the teachers were ready to risk their lives protecting them.

Before Enceladus knew it, a wizard was thrown into him. It was a New Death Eater, but he knew this was not one of Zelo's members. He pushed him off his body and joined the action. Near Sessabit's hut, which is now black sticks of melted gooey ash falling to the earth, he saw Zelo's again trying to give out orders while simultaneously shooting a barrage of stun spells from his wand. He noticed Enceladus.

"Enceladus! It's the Superiors! They did this! We need your help to push them out of here!"

Never in a million years would Enceladus hear that sentence, but he knew to trust Zelos and help out the real New Death Eaters. He vigorously, with pain and fueled frustration, snatched his wand and began to battle. Side by side he and Zelos were shooting spells like there was no tomorrow while the arena of flames marched around the perimeter, engulfing them in nothing but scorch and toxins.

"Where are they coming from?!" roared Enceladus, trying to defend and attack his targets.

"I don't know, but we have to at least push them away from Hogwarts and into the forest! We have an advantage there!"

Right when Zelos finished his sentence, from the smokey heavens above, hundreds of Dementors streaked and descended, flying at death defying speeds, with their lifeless mouths stretched open, ready to devour souls.

"Death Eaters!?"

Thinking on her toes, Eleanor signed "Expecto Patronum!" with her fingers and wand,transmitting a white translucent porcupine. It launched into the air, shredding the clouds of smoke into pieces. The Dementors immediately congregated around the porcupine, and when they did, the porcupine exploded with light, disintegrating the Dementors into nothing. But, it wasn't enough. Hundreds more kept on coming from all outlets of the sky.

Enceladus wanted to quickly copy and modify that spell from Eleanor, since he had never learned it, but right as he was about to try, he was hit over the head with something rigid and shapely. He immediately locked, and fell straight down to the steaming ember covered grass. Sideways and from a far, he saw and heard Despis.

He was flying onto the terrace, as if nothing was happening, screaming-

"I know who did it! I know who sent the Dementors! I know who did it!"

He soon faded away from Enceladus' focus. A sharp pinging noise from his head blow was invading his ears, disrupting his other senses. But, he fought, and tried to regain his awareness.

When he finally was able to refocus, and steady his senses just enough, he saw a Superior with a mask, grab and strangle a cat until it dangled like a rag in their palm. It looked like Evelyn. After that effort, his senses failed, his body became numb, his hearing completely vanished, and everything went black.

Fornax and it's Double

Light. Something that wasn't the sun, nor the quality of Heaven, engulfed everything and nothing. It wasn't blinding, yet it was blundering, stagnant, and woefully inviting. You can hear the light, as if mute could sing one long note, never running out of breath nor losing the roundness of the tone. In essence, the light was an ocean of bulldozed stars, unable to fully scream from the terror they just endured.

Yet, at the corner of this vast ocean, was a withering black bubbling dot, swirling weakly, and moping in pain. Next to it was Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, playing a lamenting song on the violin next to the withering disfigurement of black.

"Destruction...destruction...destruction…" whispered, the black dot, pleading for the sustenance of suffering.

Europa, still leaning on the violins base, passionately played its forlorn piece, under the black dot.

Out of the unknown depths of the light, a woman, with lengthy strides, and intimate and calculated struts, appeared into existence, covered by her long hair.

Nothing bothered her, and her focus was straight at the black dot, whom, whenever she got near, it would salivate, wetting its appetite as it bubbled and swirled more vigorously.

"Destruction! Destruction Destruction!" roared the black dot, gaining a new found burst of life, growing in size and in menacing bearing.

Europa, with elevating intensity, stroked the strings on their violin even more furiously, turning the lamenting song into a maddening version IV. Allegro Con Brio, Europa was turning red from this passion. The girl steadily kept on her route, gaining in ground, and standing tall.

On the other hand, the black dot was like a ravishing ape now, thrusting its entity in all directions, grossly in craving heat, ready to devour its incoming victim.

"DESTRUCTION! DESTRUCTION!"

As the girl neared the black dot, the black dot grew larger and larger, captivating the light with each step. The girl was immovable, and did not flinch. Europa's fingers were bleeding heavily, as they were shredding the strings on the violin, exerting insurmountable amounts of energy.

The light around, slowly diminished into various shades of black. The black dot was now a monstrous funnel, spinning sporadically, and devouring any inch of light there was. Europa, with climatic eviction, ascended into a state of prodigious musical levels, executing the outro of their song with refined wonder, perfecting it better than every outro in every masterful song in the history of time. Right at that instant when they finished the final note, Europa was sucked into the funnel of no return.

The girl, willingly, kept on walking, as her hair still covered her face, frozen in time. She was yards away from this tumultuous, ferocious, funnel, who was eating light easier than a child eating candy.

"DESTRUCTION! DESTRUCTION!"

The black funnel wanted nothing more, but…

"DESTRUCTION!"

Nothing more. And the girl was going to give herself to it.

Like a gangly-featureless-glowing-black-matter-of-nothing, the funnel bellowed over the girl, about to suck her in. The girl stopped, looked up at the black funnel, and accepted her fate. She was then sucked in as well.

"Destruction…" said the funnel, once more, satisfied with its impending meal.

The girl floated, chest plate first, into the funnel, as if she was being abducted into a black Heaven of horror. Once she was fully submerged, the funnel stopped, and everything became silent.

Then…

Boom!

Light and darkness exploded into pieces, floating like dust particles in a realm that was neither space, Hell or Heaven, but some place only God could visit. The divided pieces of darkness and light, looked like battered stars, dim, and without any shine. Then, like the spinning ballerina in a snow globe, the girl was twirling in the middle of it all, showered in sparkling debris. She looked like an angel, unaware if she was alive or dead.

Despite the explosion, despite the chaos, her hair was still covered, as she was ambiguously centered in this cosmic mess. But, she wasn't quiet for long, as she whispered, "No pious...no pious...no pious...no pious...only power...no pious, no pious, only power for one, and power for none, piety is no more, pious is no more, pious….us….us...celadus...celadus...celadus...Enceladus, Enceladus...are you okay?

Enceladus."

Enceladus heard his name, but that was it. Every other word was faint, and virtually incoherent. He had trouble opening his eyes, feeling a hot sensation between his lids, as if they were welded together with a torch. His body ached, as if he just ran a marathon, while simultaneously getting pelted with rocks. Everything around him smelled like burnt wood. This ignited his senses. Things began to clear up. A soft blue green glow came into view as Enceladus started to regain his sense of reality. Once things became clearer, he saw faces of students he recognized from school including Zelos and Eleanor. Enceladus jumped right up from the floor, and wiped himself off.

"Ahhh!"

"Bad dream, huh?"

It was a familiar voice.

"Yeah…oh.. it's the fish bowl again." Enceladus reeled back from the mass of faces he just noticed. Zelos was the nearest to him.

"So, you've been here?" Zelos had some curious concerns.

"Uh, kind of. Anyways, what's going on? Why am I here...wait...Sessabit's house, I have to go, I have to save Sessabit's house-

Enceladus tried to lurch to the exit but…

"No...the house is gone." Zelos dropped his head in defeat.

"Well, why are we here then? We have to go back put there and-"

"No we had to retreat, there wasn't any way to push back the Superiors, we have to hide out here until things...hopefully clear up."

"What do you mean?"

"Right now, the professors are holding things down. My men were getting slaughtered and I needed to save you."

Enceladus paused

"Save me?"

"Yes, you were hit across the head with a stun spell and immediately fell onto the floor. We escaped by using the secret underground Whomping Willow slide navigation system."

Enceladus unsteadily walked over to the room's glass walls, and looked blankly into the murky Lake.

"They killed Evelyn."

The room gasped in confusion not knowing who Evelyn was. Zelos raised his hand into the air very deliberately and settled down the commotion.

"I know. It's really going to be tough on Reina."

"So, where is she?"

"Who Reina? We don't know. All we know is she is a heavy target for the Superiors."

"Out of everyone you should know! Ugh, this is all stupid!" Enceladus struck the glass wall, denting it with a small scuff. He tried to calm himself down.

The underground layer of the New Death Eaters still looked the same as before. Cauldrons and potion bottles everywhere you looked, bubbling and or glistening from the reflection of the moving water in the lake. Then he saw Eleanor stand near Zelos, sweet innocent Eleanor, sporting a black robe, looking at Enceladus with mild worry. He wondered how she felt about all this.

"So, what's the plan?"

Enceladus forfeited his mini tantrum. For now.

"Well, we are developing two plans so far to put an end to all this. But first, we have to receive more intelligence and proper coordinates to engage in these actions. One involves storming the Superiors hidden base in downtown London, another is to Storm the Department of Mystery. We've been in close contact with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and they've been sending us blue prints to scrape by security from the main entrances. Once we clear that first wave of enforcement we will meet them in an inconspicuous room, and they will lead us to the Department."

"What's going on in the Department of Mystery?"

"As of right now, we don't have specifics just yet. Once our spy, who you should meet really soon, is officially done with her private investigations, more info should be available to us. We just know that it's something big that the Superiors are planning, and we are trying to get two for one. The hard part is trying to get Parliament and the Ministry on our side even if we expose them. Since we are public enemy number one, anything we do will automatically be condemned and we will look like the threat." Zelos stopped again and looked around to his colleagues. "It's been tough for us. This hunt, this rash hunt by Gumdrop, who we were trying to protect along with the rest of the wizarding world has taken its toll on us. The Order of Phoenix has been helping, but it's been difficult to protect our loved ones and families associated with us. Most Slytherins at the school who have no affiliation are still being harassed by Ventril's men, asking them questions about their family ties and blood lines. We are tired of running and constantly being accused. This whole ordeal is just an attempt to overthrow and exterminate us. These extreme muggles need to be stopped or the wizarding world is going to be under complete control. And it infuriates me because the Ministry is so blind to these actions. As long as Gumdrop is in control, he will do anything to barter and have great relations with England, but he, along with other misguided officials, are puppets that the Superiors control."

Enceladus looked around at all the red filled potion bottles.

"Artificial dragon's blood. We needed it to make more fake passports so a good majority of us could make it over the border."

"Right, duplication charms?"

"Yes, but we have to finesse the magical process in other ways. Regardless it works, and that's all that matters."

"Right."

Silence.

"So, do you know who's the leader behind the Superiors?"

"It has to be Ventril. There is no other answer."

"How are you so sure? Everyone is very suspicious of him, but what has he actually done? It seems he just wants to protect us from, well... you guys and the Superiors."

"Of course, that's what he wants us to think. He wants to change the narrative as much as possible to make it seem like he is and the muggles are always good. No matter what they do, they are the ones that are "right." Yes, history is not in our favor because of our selfish ways to obtain bipartisanship, mainly Gumdrop. Yes, it was ugly, and not the right way to intervene with muggle affairs and general way of life. But, ever since the war, a morally acceptable agreement was never fully executed between the two worlds. It seemed that way, but it wasn't. We were prisoners and still are. The muggles took it to the next level, slowly stripping us from our liberties and transforming our world into their own political playground. And that's what Ventril's been assisting with. He's been the architect behind all these manipulation tactics to use our codes and laws in his favor to use against us, and gain power. And, unfortunately, it's really hard to disclose his true intentions without making us seem like the culprit."

"And, it's tough because of your reputation-"

"True, but our ways, our culture is slowly changing. Yes, when Voldemort ruled, a pure race of wizards was our goal, something we advocated mercilessly. But, ever since the age of the muggle dominion, our ideals have altered, to save our brethren wizard from the tyranny of any muggle opponent., which brings us something that we have to tell you."

Enceladus didn't know what to think of that statement, as he looked around at all the New Death Eaters looking down in a somber way.

"Which is?"

Zelos paused, trying to find the right words.

"There is no easy way of saying this, but there was another well-known leader as well for the Superiors."

"Okay…"

Another deep silence.

"It was your father."

Enceladus' eyes grew wider, as he clenched his fist.

"What?!" Enceladus gritted his teeth mercilessly.

"I was told to not tell you, but you had to know sooner or later. I'm sorry, but your father has actually been high on our suspect list, when he was alive."

Zelos looked sympathetic, animating his edgy face with subtle frowns.

"No, no, why would he be?!-"

Enceladus stopped himself and thought for a moment. Maybe. Just maybe it was painstakingly true. He tried to compose himself.

"How...how do you know this? How!"

"He was too well-known and every New Death Eater knew of your father and his cruel tendencies of hate. You certainly can't deny he loathed wizards?"

Enceladus couldn't deny this. He experienced wizard discrimination from his father almost every day, and that was indeed one thing his father loathed. Wizards.

Enceladus sat down, taking in a breath, trying to decompress this crushing revelation.

"We also have a Pensieve if you would like to review some memories from our encounters with him."

Reina taught him about the Pensieve before, but he refused to see his father's association with something so vile. All he could think of was his mother. Would she support this truth? Did she know? He had to get to her. But, that also brings up another question.

"So, do you guys know who killed him then?"

Silence from the room again.

"Here, you should read this if you are asking that question. Your owl delivered this to us. It's a letter from your mother. "

Enceladus snatched the parchment as quickly as possible, not really giving Zelos the chance to extend his arm and give it to him. He opened it and started to read.

Dear Enceladus,

I saw what happened at the school! I hope you are protected. I heard on the news that Ventril and his law enforcement did a great job cleaning up the mess and pushing the New Death Eaters away. I swear that school is just getting more dangerous! Anywho, I have more important news. My investigators have your father's killer. They are bringing them to our house today so we could just talk to them, and know what really happened on that dreadful night. So, if the coast is clear, and you feel it's safe enough, come over right away. We have to do this together. I hope you are eating and your hair is appropriate for this occasion.

Love, Mother.

Enceladus blinked twice, crumpled up the parchment and headed for the exit.

"How do I get out of here?"

"Through the water portal."

Just like when he was with Willow, Sessabit, and Gordan, the water portal that lived on the glass walls was spinning in shades of blues and greens, sounding like the slosh of the shore gently crashing against rocks. It was ready for a body to enter it.

"Once you get through, I'll show you a shortcut to Diagon Alley to cross the border. School hasn't officially started so your passport should still be active."

Enceladus nodded his head, and stiffly dismissed himself from the crowd of New Death Eaters, still watching him in a funky state of gloom and concern.

Before he entered the portal Zelos hand grasped his collarbone and pulled him back.

"You'll need this before you go."

Zelos offered him the Tenacis Wand.

"The Tenacis Wand? Why?"

Enceladus looked over to Eleanor, who silently nodded her head in encouragement, suggesting for Enceladus to take it.

"You'll need it, trust me,"

Zelos blue eyes were as darting and stern as ever.

"But, I don't know how to-"

"Just take it! Listen to me you twit. You are going to need this."

Enceladus shakily grabbed the black wand, and carefully inserted it into his back pocket. Zelos stood tall and approved. "I wish there was another way, but it has to be like this for now. You'll be in good hands."

Enceladus didn't know what to think of Zelos' vague farewell, but he didn't have the patience to find out. He had to get to his mother.

"Okay, now lead me the way."

"Follow me. Oh, and be expecting a ride."

"Huh?"

"You'll see. Come on."

The two stepped into the portal, disappearing in an instant, leaving the rest of the New Death Eaters alone to ponder, and recuperate from their casualties from the battle above.

Once Enceladus exited the trash bin portal to get into the muggle world, he sprinted down the alley next to Big Ben and automatically engaged his muscles to dash home, but luckily, with the most gracious of conveniences a cab rolls up next to the slippery curve. Enceladus didn't think twice and took the cab. There wasn't any time to lose.

"Holland Park please?" told Enceladus to the cab driver. The cab driver tipped his gray flannel flat cap and drove away. Enceladus was unconsciously holding onto the Tenacis Wand as if it were delicate glass.

Right when they reached the front of Enceladus' house, Enceladus didn't think twice about money, and ran out of the cab without paying him.

"Hey! That'll be twenty-seven pounds you squirt! You better come back with my money! I'll wait right here, in this very spot, until you do, you vigilante!"

The cab driver, with the squishiest of faces, crossed his arms begrudgingly and leaned grumpily on the driver side of his cab.

"You better hurry up! I can't be here all day."

Enceladus' burst through the door like a determined firefighter, ripping the hinges from the doorframe, as he flopped his body onto the floor from the impact of solid wood against an unprotected shoulder, which he did break before.

"Ooouuuccccchhhh!...ughhh…I really shouldn't have done that"

Enceladus, wobbly and migraine ridden, rose from the pile of chipped door pieces. One piece did stick him in the bum, but he pricked it out before it could have induced any real damage.

Once his body was fully erected from the floor, he noticed that his home...was quiet. With a mother like Enceladus', some sort of ruckus was bound to be made. But, that wasn't the case.

"Mum! Mum! Are you here?"

He entered the kitchen area, and looked for any signs, but nothing. He decided then to go upstairs. Right when he took a step up, his mother cried out.

"Is that my Celly!? Celly your back home! Oh, my gosh I'm so glad you made it back. Are you okay? Any scratches on you? It's been all over the news, and I wasn't sure if Profugus was going to make it to you in time, and-"

"Mum, it's okay, I'm okay, and Profugus is fine. Now, where is…?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, they should be here any minute."

A minute passes and a loud thud is heard on the door. Or should we say thuds. Thuds that struck in funky rhythms.

"THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD...THUD!...THUD-THUDTHUD….THUD!, THUD, THUD!"

"Oop, it should be them. Are you ready?"

Laze tidied up her appearance before these incoming people entered her home.

"Seems like you weren't fully prepared with that wild mop on your head, mmm? Couldn't you just put some fancy wizard gel in your hair? Something, anything, that would make it look less barren and tangled."

"Alright mom, now is not the time for this, this right here is more important than whatever hair I have."

"Fine. But afterwards-"

"THUD...THUD….THUDTHUD….THUD, THUD THUD, THHUDTHUDTHUD."

"I...I got it."

Enceladus was about to see his father's killer. To Enceladus' surprise his mother has been calm and cool, desensitizing herself from the harsh facts of reality. But, Enceladus on the other hand, was on the verge of a mental breakdown, trying to determine if he wanted to kill this person right when they stepped through the door, or handle this cordially. Whatever the case was, he felt in the pit of his gurgling tummy that this wasn't going to end well. Some way. Somehow.

When Enceladus' mother approached the door, she took a massive breath, and brushed away the few droplets of sweat smearing down her prominent forehead. Enceladus gave his mother the "Okay", and allowed her to open the door.

Enceladus shouldn't have been surprised at all. The first face he saw was a familiar smiling face, stretching his lips so wide, that his pearly white teeth produced a sparkling reflection back at Enceladus. He leaned over a solid thirty degrees from his torso, looking like a person who was looking down at a kid. His body oozed brio and excitement, and his pants were Sahara-desert-khaki.

"Ahhh Enceladus, it's such an enlightening sight to see you, not running around Hogwarts causing disruptive scenes with your friends in the hallways," said the man.

Enceladus did not respond. Laze gave Enceladus a look of disapproval.

"Just kidding! Your son is actually one I don't get reprimands from. Typically!"

Enceladus was still silent.

"Be respectful to Mr. Ventril. Say hello."

Nothing.

"Now, where are your manners that I taught you? This man has extensively helped us with this investigation." Laze was losing her aura of etiquette. "Sorry he can ge a little-"

"No worries, understandable. This is a crucial moment in his little life right here. One that, may perhaps, be more crucial than he may like." Ventril leaned up with a calm sense of vibrancy. "May we enter?"

"Mom, why didn't you tell me your private investigator was Ventril?" whispered Enceladus, pushing his mother aside.

"Because I didn't want you to bug him at school, he's a very busy man, with very important and busy deeds for London. He offered me help, and knew he, a human, would take this seriously. I didn't trust the Order. I appreciated them, but they were not going to stand in my way, trying to justify their kind, trying to prove who ever killed him innocence because that's what you-"

"What?! Mom no, the Order doesn't work like that, they-"

"Shhhh, that's enough." Her composure was on the brink of collapse. "My apologies, he can be a handful sometimes please, please come in...and...uh...do whatever you need to do...to uh...set things up."

"Of course, of course, thank you. Come come."

Ventril flicked his fingers to his men to enter.

A group of women and men, with big black overcoats entered. They were escorting a person, who had a bag over their head and a straitjacket. Two of Ventril's crew held the person's shoulders tightly, restraining them on each side. They stood in the middle of the living room. The temperature of the room increased and lamps and lights started to flicker, as if they were about to go out any second.

"Now, our conquest wasn't easy. Nettlesome to say the least. But, we achieved what we needed to do, and we believe that we may have brought justice to this household. Also justice, in other forms, haha."

Ventril gave a sly look towards Laze. Laze dismissed his comment, focusing on the matter at hand.

"Now, they are perfectly restrained and will not harm any of you. If some minor scurry were to occur, no worries, my crew has specialized guns approved by the Ministry ready for combative skirmishes, and neutralization. But, the victim is aware of their duties at this hour, and agrees to comply with any questions you wish to ask them."

Ventril was ready to unmask the killer.

Enceladus was on edge, not fully comfortable with anything Ventril was saying. His hand was readily gripped around the Tenacis Wand.

"Now the person in here will surprise you a bit, but you have to bear with the truth, and complete what you two need to complete. Okay?"

They both nodded their heads. The lamps flickered more intensely and the temperature was making Enceladus' pits sweat, staining his shirt with those oval gray blotches. Ventril walked over to the killer, and prepped his hand to unmask.

"Stand by."

The men and women who were not holding the killer, unsheathed their glowing blue guns, and locked in on their potential target.

"One...two ...three…"

When he unveiled the bag from the killer's head, Enceladus, for some strange reason, wasn't expecting to see long locks of flowy black hair unfurl. It was a girl. But, her hair was all mangled and messy from the bag, which covered a huge portion of her face. She had her neck craned, looking down onto the floor and letting her black hair drape from the crown of her skull. Ventril's men assumed an attacking position, raising their guns at point.

"You may lift your hair and take a seat if you'd like. Take your time." offered Ventril, who was the only one not in a fighting stance, tranquilly unruffled as usual. Enceladus could feel his mother's heart pumping just as loud as his. The girl took a pause, in this contorted pose where her legs were bent in L shaped angles, breathing softly like an exhausted creature, absorbing her surroundings.

"Are they okay?" asked Laze, gripping her shirt with apprehensive anticipation.

"Yes, they should be. Let's just say it's been a wild couple of months." Ventril, without breaking his honed demeanor, ventured over to the killer." Taking your time again? Well, time is certainly not an ally now, so your best choice would be to actually use your words, polite ones, and acknowledge this very hurt, very forlorn family that you have bestowed unimaginable grief upon. So please, don't be stubborn and rob them of the truth in any-"

The girl twitched her elbow. Ventril's crew raised their weapons in haste. But, after she twitched, the girl dragged herself towards the couch. They all watched, eyes hyper-focused, massaging the trigger with unsteady avidness. The girl looked as if she hadn't walked for months, struggling with every step forward. She paused inches from the couch.

"Do you need assistance?" asked Ventril.

She ignored him for another long moment. Then, right when she was about to squat and sit down, she flipped her hair, busted out of the straight jacket and said,

"Enceladus duck!"

The girl ripped out a wand from her back pocket, and shot a thick green beam straight towards Ventril and his crew. Everybody ducked, including Laze. The girl then proceeded to kick down the dining room table for cover and produced an energy shield from her wand to split the living room in half for more cover. Enceladus, Laze and the girl were on one side and others were on the other.

"WHAT IS THIS!? OPEN FIRE!"

Ventril pointed at the shield with vicious authority.

Ventril and his crew, without hesitation, started raining blue bullets at the shield.

The power from their shots were so strong, the bullets would protrude out from the other side of the shield, not fully penetrating, but stretching as far as possible like elastic. Some of Ventril's crew ceased fire because some of the bullets were ricocheting back and harming them. But, some kept the close proximity barrage going. The house was being torn to pieces, with fabric and wood darting in all directions. From the curtains, the couch, the window, it was all wrecked, the whole house was simply a destructive battlefield. And the noise of the guns made it worse, battering the ear drums with a sickening clamor.

"ENCELADUS WHAT'S GOING ON!?" screamed Laze covering her ears and head on the floor in a small ball.

Enceladus looked over to his right on the couch, trying to block the deafening booming sound of the bullets, and gasped at the girl. It was Maddie, Reina's sister.

"Enceladus, you have to listen to me. You have to use the Tenacis Wand to get us out of here. Including your mom. Everywhere you go from now on, you are in danger. It's not safe. We have to go back to Alio's place. We have traveling arrangements waiting outside for us. The rest will make sense later."

Enceladus didn't know what to believe right now. But, he couldn't hang in this state of awe, he had to save himself. He had to save his mother.

"Okay, what do you need me to do?"

"Don't know, you are the one with the master wand, think of a spell! And can you hurry it up, I can't hold this shield for much longer."

Maddie's face was cringing from the amount of force she was holding with the shield. Enceladus had to think quickly. He had to be creative. His brain neurons were exploding frantically trying to devise some miraculous plan.

"I got it! I have no clue if-"

"Just do it!"

Maddie was holding onto her spell for dear life, as their world around them resembled the chaos of war. With his last resort, Enceladus shouted...

"Tempus...uhh stop!"

Enceladus pointed the wand at the shield, hoping whatever he just blurted out remotely worked. Something did happen and with a billowing sonic crash, everything ceased, besides himself, Laze and Maddie.

Everyone was frozen, posed in their final position they enacted when time was normal. Even the bullets froze in mid-air, fuzzing in a static torpid.

"I don't know how long this will last." Enceladus admitted unconfidently.

"No time, we have to go. Grab your mother and run." Maddie quickly recollected herself, and prepared to leave.

"Enceladus?! We can't leave my house. This is my-"

"I'm sorry mum, but we have to leave. We have to get out of here!"

Enceladus grabbed his mother and dragged her to escape the house. They all weaved through the motionless bodies, sprinting to the front door. Even though he stopped time, it felt like forever.

When they finally made it to the door, Enceladus escorted his mother out first, followed closely by Maddie. But, right when they officially fled the scene, the time stopping spell wore off and like an arrow violently flinging off a bow staff, Ventril swung into view a wand of his own, and blew a spray of red beams at Enceladus' face. Enceladus, by the slight signal of his brain, processed the attack, and let his gut reaction take over. He, with the swiftest sleight of hand, conjured an energy shield himself that he learned from Hermoine's lessons. The blast barely grazed the tiny hairs on his nose, as Enceladus held Ventril's attack in mid air, only to repel it back to his face.

Slash!

The attack pierced Ventril's face, and knocked his whole body backwards, slamming and puncturing through a plastered wall. A banana flipped from Laze's hanging banana basket into the air and also bonked him across the head to add to his series of rough casualties.

Once his crew snapped out of their short-lived-session-of-amnesia, piecing together reality, they quickly went to his aid. By the time they scampered on over to their wounded leader, Enceladus made his escape and followed Maddie for their next step.

He exited the house, and saw Maddie and his mother sitting in the cab he came in from. As he ran to the cab car, a clink sound was heard behind him, but he chose to ignore it and keep on going.

"Come kid! Hurry up." said the cab driver, beeping his horn.

Enceladus approached the cab driver with great confusion.

"Wait what, your our-"

"I know, I know. You'll find out more later. But first, we can't let Bessy wait any longer."

"Bessy?"

Enceladus stepped aside, and saw who Bessy really was. The cab driver's car effortlessly burst into a cloud of glitter smoke and turned into a dragon. The dragon was a Herbriden Black dragon, ruffling its scales under the English sun. All three passengers were on her back.

"Hold on if you know what's good for yah!"

Laze was having a panic attack, and Maddie was on the verge of having a heart attack. Enceladus was used to this by now, and prepared to mount the soaring lizard. As he positioned his hands onto the dragon's side ribs, an excruciating jolt of scorch shot right below his knee.

"Flageum Ignis!"

"AHHHHH!"

Enceladus tried to clutch his ankle, but the searing pain was too much, as he looked down and saw a spiraling ring of fire latched around his ankles. It felt like the sun was gnawing into his flesh.

Ventril conjured a fire whip spell, lashing Enceladus, and pulling him easily off of the dragons back. Enceladus was trying to grab anything to stop Ventril from reeling him in.

"You think you can play me like this? You think you can play my system like this? I don't think so."

Ventril grinded his teeth in rage, hanging onto the door frame of the house with one hand, and fishing Enceladus in with the other.

"Tell your dragon to launch me." demanded Maddie, ready to dismount Bessy.

"What?"

"Just do it!"

"Bessy you heard the girl, do your thing!"

The dragon popped its spine, which shot up and positioned Maddie onto Bessy's tail. Bessy then hovered ten feet off the ground, flew around herself three times, gaining momentum, and flicked her tail with whipping velocity, launching Maddie like a torpedo, straight at Ventril.

"Stupefy!"

She aimed her wand above her head, resembling a superhero in flight.

The spell struck Ventril right in the chest, and he collapsed to the floor, releasing his spell. Maddie descended for the throw and combat rolled onto the front lawn. She continued to shoot stupefy spells at the door frame, in case Ventril's crew were coming out.

Enceladus, with his injured ankle, hopped all the way to the street, climbed on top of Bessy, and latched his arms around the dragon's spinal horns, holding onto it as if he were on the last stages of life.

Without taking her eyes off the door frame, Maddie persisted with her attacks, backing up slowly until she reached Bessy.

Bessy, with her dexterous paws, decided to expedite her journey. She scooped Maddie up and tossed her onto her back. Bessy, with everyone on her back, shot into the blue sky, leaving Holland Park, and The Vega house, in sheer shambles.

A tiny trail of smoke seeped from the little house below, contaminating the area around. Enceladus couldn't feel his ankle, nor wanted to look at the damage.

"They have to be...they have to be...after us...the dragon…-"

"Don't worry boy. Good ol' Deception Dust Bessy has. Courtesy of Sessabit." The cab driver smiled. "You know where to go girl, carry on, we have to get this boy some medical attention ASAP!"

Bessy was a more elegant flier than Pudding, accelerating with ease, as if she were swimming majestically in the sky.

Maddie was sitting on Bessy's tail looking away from everyone else. Laze had her eyes closed, and refrained from moving and talking, and the cab driver was relaxing, laying on the nape of Bessy's neck, tilting his flat cap down for a nap. Enceladus had a motley of emotions, all incommunicable. He didn't know what to decipher, and wanted to approach Maddie right away. But it was best to conserve energy from this bungled fiasco. He decided to calmly fight the pain, and take a nap.

Hyponos has no Pillow

"Redirect. Again." said a voice, muffling about.

A rumble rippled.

"Redirect. Again."

Another rumble rippled.

This echoing mantra continued, as Enceladus woke up in a room that he was already acquainted with. He could never forget the worn out rugs, squeaky gold bed frame, and very creepy wooden figurines...and Willow. But two things were different. One, a magenta perennial was in his covers, and, two, instead of Willow sitting cross legged on the floor, there was only a reassuring litter of open books scattered about. Those books were very unkempt, laid so carelessly. Willow would never.

Enceladus kept on hearing "Redirect. Again" and a rumble afterwards. Considering he was at Alio's manor, any room could have been producing those sounds. It was time to find out.

Enceladus tried to get up from the bed, but the brisk coldness clung the blanket to his frigid frame. With his white cracking hands, he managed to peel the stiff hard blanket off of him. The cold was one thing, but when he stepped off of the bed, he fell straight to the floor.

"Ooooouuccch."

Enceladus gripped his ankle.

He looked down at his ankle, and noticed that it was taped, and probably treated with a healing potion of some sort, since it was stinging like he was pricked with a thousand tiny blades.

He fought the pain, and muscled himself up to stand. He then heard voices coming from downstairs. He opened the door, and a friend hopped into the room, and pecked at Enceladus' feet. It was Profugus. Enceladus smiled and scooped his snowball sized friend up and placed him onto his shoulder.

"It's okay buddy, I'm okay. Come let's go say hi...to whoever is downstairs."

Enceladus' journey down Alio's stairs was nimble and very uncomfortable. He didn't want to take any more chances. He was tired of hurting himself.

With each soft, cautionary step, the voices below became more transparent, and they swelled and multiplied into incomprehensible chatter.

Once he cleared the shadowy path of the stairs, Alio's living room came into view. It was no longer under Willow's detection charm, which meant some portion of distrust was dismantled. There was a huge group of people sitting around, drinking cocoa like everything in the world was...okay.

"Enceladus. Rise and shine, I'm glad to see you are okay. Please, come. Come take a seat and join us all." said Alio, who looked more alive than Enceladus has ever seen him in his life. Alio guided him to an emerald green chair, which looked like a miniature throne. Then with wandless magic, Alio gave him a hot mug of cocoa.

"There you go. Straight from the trees of the gods. Gordan made it himself, so who knows how it will be." Alio laughed at his own humor.

But, not even the rich aroma of melted chocolate could distract him from what was happening around him. And everything was happening.

Alio's living room looked like a huge social event. Everyone was there. Gordan, Cindy Cauliflower and Willow were by the fireplace playing wizard chess. Ron, and Harry were talking in a corner next to a taxidermy human sized orge with a club covered with spikes. Zelos, Cast, Pollux, and even Eleanor were sitting in a circle drinking hot cocoa and discussing something that seemed important. Aurora Blue had a small station set up for herself on the floor, as she was sitting down on a purple silk pillow with bronze tassels hanging on the sides, surrounded by candles and incense, levitating and juggling marbles in a circle as she meditated deeply. Some New Death Eaters, The Order of the Phoenix, Slytherins, some Ravenclaws, etc. were also a part of this colossal picture of humans interacting. Even Neville was present, looking out a window, petting his pet toad in contemplation. Next to Neville was Maddie looking at her wand, crouched on the floor, leaning her legs into her chest as she reclined the base of her skull against the wall. The cab driver was a few feet next to him, reading a newspaper. Enceladus held his drink still and didn't dare to take a sip.

"Where is my mother?!" asked Enceladus, with a slightly formidable quiver in his voice.

The room stopped their activities, and looked over at him.

"I don't want to keep repeating myself, where is my mother?!" He slammed his mug of hot cocoa.

"Does anyone want more hot cocoa?" asked Laze, bursting from the kitchen with a tray of delicious hot drinks.

"Mom? You okay?"

" So, your mother was very stressed by all of this so I gave her a potion which blocks the mind from any outside disturbances, and makes her feel nothing but...uh serotonin." exclaimed Alio. " It won't damage her in any way, but it was a quick way to settle her down."

Enceladus gave his mother a weak smile, then detracted from this gesture.

"Okay, okay. Can someone please explain why is everyone here? Can someone just explain to me what happened in the last twenty-four hours?"

"Well, take a listen here son." said the cab driver, who coughed and lubricated his mouth with fresh saliva to speak.

HOGWARTS LOCKED DOWN, READY FOR EXTERMINATION PERIOD

Yesterday marked a dark moment in Hogwarts', already risky history. The school, for the fourth time, was under siege by New Death Eaters and a new extremist group called the Superiors, who broke through magical defenses and burned the former gatekeeper's hut, Rubeus Hagrid. Hogwarts staff accompanied by Ventril's task force stood their ground, and managed to make both groups retreat. But, the damage was still excruciating. The terrace was completely scorched, with no signs of possible vegetation regeneration. The castle was unblemished, but some students who scurried unbeknownst into battle did receive bodily casualties and have been aided to St. Mungos for intensive care. Many families are stirred because of these events, and are considering homeschooling their children for the rest of the year. One mother of a Ravenclaw student stated, that "This was the last straw, if my daughter has to worry about her life more than her education, then I'm withdrawing her. Simple as that." Many parents have supported this complaint, and are receiving resources from the Department of Magical Education to transfer and adapt schooling into a home setting, since, for the first time since its structural conception, Hogwarts will be locked down and monitored by the British Army. Neville Longbottom, the school's headmaster, has been temporarily suspended from his duties after a myriad of warnings to exercise better judgment on magical fortification for the castle. Ventril, the high commander who's been overseeing muggle security at the school for the last year, has been placed in charge to exterminate all of the dangers that lie within, and the surrounding premises of the castle. This includes the hostile tribes and otious creatures who reside within the Forbidden Forest. In an emergency meeting held at Westminster Palace, Ventril has declared yesterday's attack as, "...a national crisis for both human and wizards..." and that we must ," ...act swiftly to target the root of these hazards, then contact highly trained wizards of self-defense from distant lands to help construct new magical strategies to repel potential invaders…" The Ministry projects regular schooling to resume around spring time, until then, all legal entry ways to platform 9 3⁄4 will be closed. On page ten read about Gumdrop's new business plan to revive his Butterbeer factory, and double its exports into the muggle world for the next fiscal year.

"What? No. No, this is all wrong! This isn't happening?! How did we-"

"It is and it's my fault…" chimed Neville, still looking out into the barren, empty land of snow. "I should have known this attack was coming, but I was fooled, and now look at the repercussions. He has turned everybody against us. And who knows where his end goals may lie, but we have to work fast here and find out." Neville took another moment to recollect his thoughts and emotions. "If you didn't know, some students have denied their parents' viewpoints, fully becoming aware of Ventril's ways. They refused to go back home after the battle, so we gave them asylum here. It's the safest place in all of England. Hermoine is in the next room training them in Defence against the Dark Arts."

A pound against the wall was heard, and "again" was shouted. Her training was always rigorous and finely regimented.

"Yeah, the training is good for whatever big mission we have going on later, but what about this extermination now?!' How was this even approved?!"

"Well with Ventril's influence, he has convinced the The Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures that all Creatures who dwell in the Great Lake and the Forbidden Forest are classified as wizard killers. That's quintillet level, which is the highest level of dangerousness. We tried to quell meetings and reject proposals but Ventril was too convincing in his case, saying "It's either the children or creatures. Hogwarts can't have both." said Harry strolling over into the sphere of the conversation.

"Yeah, but before our big hoorah for when we storm the old-magical-sewer-building, we have to sneak into Hogwarts and warn our forest friends as soon as possible about this messed up attack. But, we need two dragons. One for a decoy, since they might have those shooting metal birds things in the sky. We only have one because little Hagrid stormed off and took one-"

Harry hit Ron on the shoulder to make him stop talking.

"What in the bloody hell was that for?"

Harry gave Ron a look of "Don't you remember?"

Enceladus' pupils narrowed, and his blood slowed down. He forgot about Sessabit. He wasn't in the room.

"Where is Sessabit? Why isn't he here?"

"Hey, mate, we tried stopping him-"

"No. You should have stopped him, where did he go?!"

A feeble roar was heard in the distance, followed by an earth shaking thud that shook the whole Manor. Everyone stumbled, and fell to the ground. Enceladus sprang back up, and darted out the house, and into Alio's back yard. The sight was something he never wished to see.

"Sessabit!" Enceladus ran and baseball slid to his friend.

Sessabit was badly injured, holding onto his side which had a puddle of blood gushing out. Sessabit was covered by a cloth to stop the bleeding, but the cloth was so soaked that it felt like a brick. Puddin, his dragon, was also severely injured, with scales chipped, wings punctured, and blood smeared around his body.

"Buddy, where did you go?"

"He killed...he killed mi papa…"

"Who? Who did?"

Enceladus never met Hagrid, but in some odd, strange, spiritual way, he always felt that he considered Enceladus a part of the family. How Sessabit talked highly about his father, with so much love, manifested onto his own being, showing Enceladus the true nature and bond of a father-son relationship. Enceladus picked up his dear friend and carried him into the Manor. Alio and Zelos went to tend to Puddin.

Enceladus brought his friend to one of the couches, and lowered him gently onto the cushions. Enceladus then requested for everyone to leave, even Willow once she extracted the bullets from his lungs and healed his wounds with her powers. The bullets oozed out with long strings of taffy-like-blood dripping off. Sessabit laid in a stiff position, trying not to move. Enceladus sat next to him, watching over his friend.

"He's gone, Enceladus. He's gone…" Sessabit was losing color from his face with every breath. " 'm sorry...I...lost it...I had tah avenge mi…" he coughed again, as if his heart was about to cannonball out of his throat.

"Why...why wasn't Hagrid at St. Mungos? I tried to visit him, but the front desk concierge said he passed away months ago? Are you saying that he was still alive? What is going on?"

Sessabit froze, looking at the ceiling for answers.

"He...died twice…but he es forever gone now…" Sessabit sat up as much as he could. "I'm sorry, Enceladus, for bein' en dishonest frien'. Mi papa was never at St. Mungos. Et's true he did die on the mission trying to reverse the spell on ur house, which left meh to finish the mission, but he didn' completely go. Neville, with all his fancy secrets, helped mi. He was demoralized about mi papa's death, en felt like it was his fault. So, he negotiated with the forces of death at the The Department of Mystery, en came to eh compromise. He managed to resurrect mi father as eh spirit, but the only way he would stay eh spirit es if he was condemned to our home, which wasn't really a condemnation for the big fello' since he loved it so much haha...but...uh...if our home was ever not a home, physically or metaphorically, he would o' disappeared forever…this included me, since he considered meh, "home." So, if I left or moved out he would o'...yeh know...be gone. But, he was always willin' to sacrifice his life, for mi to achieve mi dreams. But, et was something I wasn't willin' to give up yet. I needed mi papa." Sessabit stopped, closed his eyes in pain, and cried. "I still do…"

Enceladus could sense that his friend was falling apart before his eyes. Enceladus tried to play everything cool, and collective, even though he felt slightly betrayed.

"Why didn't you tell me this in the first place?"

"I didn' want yeh to feel bad, yeh know? Ur papa just died, en I didn' want the presence o' mi papa to be a reminder of your papa...especially since mi papa can be over the top sometimes...I...I was just watching yur back, I didn' want yeh to resent anything...I'm sorry. I just made thins' worse."

"You're…" Enceladus was struggling coming to terms with all of this, but knew Sessabit always had his heart in the right place. "You're alright. You were looking after me, and considering my feelings, and, as a friend, that's all I could have asked for." Enceladus gave his friend a hug. Sessabit flinched, and unleashed a tiny shriek of discomfort.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry."

"So, you're not mad at meh?"

"No, you twit. I'm just….well... sad."

"Sad?"

"Yeah, sad that I never really got to meet him. He seemed like a great father."

"Besides you, he was mi best friend. Hopefully he's en a...better place now."

Sessabit choked up again, straining to get up.

"Sit down you buffoon, you already took a beating. You need to rest now."

"Yur right, I just want all this to be over. Just back to normal."

"You're telling me. I never asked for any of this. I didn't even know I was supposed to be a wizard, and when I do finally find out, I'm four years late. And now I'm about to fight a potential war. Bollocks mate, freaking bollocks."

"Maybe, it's all meant to be. Like written in the stars en space."

That's all Enceladus ever wanted was answers from up above, but even with Aspectu Caelum, nothing has occured to make him believe that every solution he sought was embedded in the cosmos. But maybe Sessabit was right, maybe it's all still up there for grabs.

"We'll see, we'll see." Enceldadus paused trying to shift the conversation to something lighter and easier to be digested. "So, you are telling me that every time Gordan and I went to your hut, your father was there the whole time?"

"Yup, pretty much."

"Did Gordan know?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Of course. I'll kill him later."

They both laughed, relieving the burden of the travesty that has torn their spirits into twos. Laughing through the sorrow was better than talking through it. And it was very evident considering both boys were on the verge of breakdowns. But, their friendship, and support for each other has momentarily strayed them away from their unstable mental and emotional states.

"Speaking of kill. Looks like you have unfinished business to attend to. Don't worry about meh, I'm going to rest eh bit en keep an eye on Puddin, make sure he's not too lonely." said Sessabit, pointing to the entryway.

Enceladus peered over his shoulder, and saw Maddie, leaning against the doorframe in a posture that resembled a very tired human being.

"Uh, can we talk in the kitchen?" asked Maddie, not fully confident about what was about to happen next.

"Sure. Will everyone else be there?"

"Yes, I have to explain a lot to everyone, including you. So...is it a yes?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

Sessabit closed his eyes,and fell into a deep snore in the matter of seconds. Enceladus followed Maddie to the dining room area, clutching his nails into his pockets for what's to come

When he walked down the small hall before the kitchen, he overheard Harry and Ron talking about Centaurs, and Blast Ended Skrewts. They were packing up and heading to the Forbidden Forest to warn and protect the creatures. Enceladus couldn't help but think about poor Araneus and his family. Enceladus hoped he found more survivors.

Enceladus entered the kitchen and mostly everyone who left earlier was in attendance. There was Alio, Neville, Zelos, Willow, Gordan, Laze, Hermoine and Aurora Blue. Maddie sat on the table, swinging her legs as she premeditated her thoughts. Enceladus found an open chair, and sat down.

"Uh, I'll take the potion out of your mothers bloodstream so she can hear this with a clear conscious mind." murmored Alio, grabbing his wand out of his pocket, with his long gangly arms.

"De Fillio!" shouted Alio, striking a firm pose towards Laze.

In seconds, the red potion slid out of her mouth, and he tossed the liquid into a nearby bucket.

"Oh...my head...where...where am I at?" Laze quickly noticed where she was.

"No you freaks! Get away from me. Get away from me right now!"

"Mum, it's fine, sit down, don't you remember what happened? We were saved."

"Eh, no problem, it was my pleasure." said the cab driver, poking his head in from the other room. Everyone gave him a stern look to leave. "Oh, yes yes, serious meeting got it, got it, I'll scaddaddle."

"Yes, I remember, but I also remember that woman is your father's murderer!-"

"I am not." replied Maddie without hesitation.

With the events that happened yesterday, he had a gut feeling that Maddie wasn't truly the killer, it was all terribly surprising, yes, and for a split second, he believed that she was the one who committed it. But, considering all that has happened, Enceladus has slowly learned that there is always more than meets the eye.

"Let me explain. And please Zelos chime in if you must."

Zelos with his usual laidback, brooding demur nodded his head as he interlaced his fingers together, awaiting his turn to possibly speak.

Enceladus grabbed his mothers hands, and led her to the seat next to him, giving her the signal that it's time to be there for each other and listen. Laze did not refute and accepted his gesture.

"Everything was set up. I was held captive by Ventril instead of your fathers killer. I was undercover for months, trying to gain secret intelligence for Zelos and the New Death Eaters about all of his plans, to put it simply, to eradicate all us wizards."

"What does that have to do-"

"Mum, be quiet."

"Honestly, if it wasn't for your killer. I wouldn't be here right now." Maddie took a moment. "This...this is all very hard to explain…"

"Do you remember being attacked in Diagon Alley before school started?" said Zelos, standing up with firm bravado.

"Not really...Reina said that I just got in a bad tussle, and she saved me."

"Well kind of. I attacked you, because of reasons I shouldn't express right now." Zelos awkwardly tried to hold in his embarrassment. He managed. "But, once I did, Cast, Pollux, Erso, and...um...others used you to find your father the day he was killed. As you know, he was a highly ranked Superior, and our number one target considering all the crimes he committed."

"Crimes?! My husband would never-"

"Mum! Stop interrupting."

"I won't go into detail with that, but yes when we attacked you, we identified that you were his son." Zelos was carefully selecting his words.

"And how did you do that?" asked Enceladus.

"Your muggle card. Had your last name on it."

"Enceladus' dad didn't have a cool evil pseudonym?" asked Gordan, sitting down on a high stool.

"Uncleverly not, which made him easier to track. Sometimes these Superiors felt too invincible, and doubted if they would ever be stopped. But, that was soon proven wrong because of you. We put a sleep-walk-memory spell on you to take us to him. It worked to our advantage because you took us straight to-"

"The pub…" Things were aligning with Enceladus'.

" Bingo. And once we entered the pub, our mission was not to incite violence, but to detain him as civilily as possible. But, in the heat of the moment, we all had our disagreements and some fuzzy choices were made. This led us to the accident, which none of us didn't mean for it to happen. And no one, well nobody in this room, can say they were an active participant in this accident…"

A grueling gnarly pause encapsulated the room.

" he accident which-"

"Yes."

One of the New Death Eaters Killed Enceladus' father, but who?

A thud was heard near the front door. Everyone halted, averting their gazes to the kitchen doorway to see who was walking through. Everyone softly tensed, and assumed a loose attack position. Dripplets of melted snow pelted the floor, sounding as if the potential intruder was drying themselves off. The floorboards creaked, and like a wave, black lillies burst through the wooden cracks creating a trail into the room. A few seconds later, clumpy steps were heard, heading towards the kitchen.

"Who's there?!" asked Alio.

The figure walked through the door, disheveled, with layers of black cloth wrapped around her frame like a blanket, black muddy boots, smudgy face and hands, and hair in a loose ponytail, with greasy bedraggled bangs. It was Reina.

"It's me Alio...wha...oh...hello...I forgot...I forgot everyone was here…"

Everyone besides Alio, Maddie, and Zelos gasped at the sight of Reina. Enceladus was so stunted, it felt as if his insides were being attacked by millions of hornets.

"Uh...Reina...would you like to explain to Enceladus and Laze, what happened to...you-know-who…?" Zelos was timid, and couldn't bear to witness this incoming eruption of high tension. Judging by the intonation of his voice, he knew that Enceladus knew.

"No, no no no…"

Enceladus stormed out of the house, without gracing Reina with another glance.

"Enceladus! Please, just let me talk to you!" Reina chased after him.

Enceladus paid no attention to her words, as he disappeared into the outdoors.

"Willow, Zelos, Gordan, go help chase him down. He can't interfere with the barriers, if he steps past a certain boundary in the fields, it can expose us and break our protective illusion." Despite his stern command, Alio was trying to keep his composure in check.

They agreed with a simultaneous head nod and ran out the door.

"Who was that? She was a pretty girl. Was that my Celly's secret girlfriend?!"

"Uh, if I may say Miss Laze, in the kindest of ways, that girl you just saw barge into my home was...uh...your husband's killer."

Laze uttered a small chuckle, paused as if someone flicked off her life switch, and fainted onto the floor. Aurora, who has been dwelling in a meditative state on the outskirts of conversations, finally spoke up.

"Our celestial friends, who mumble in secrecy, are not well. The season of retrograde is not going well."

Alio gave her a gravely worried stare, while he picked Laze and set her onto a seat.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not too sure. But, I presume we'll find out soon enough."

Fate: Virgo and Pisces

All the planets were frolicking in their normal orbital state, but one. Saturn. Ever since Saturn professed its melancholic disposition to Enceladus, mainly due to its ring disappearance, it has been steadily stagnant, not veering in reverse or committing to its usual course. Its angular momentum did not play a factor, nor did its natural inertia. It seemed that some invisible external force was latching a giant rope over the planet to keep it permanently in place. Enceladus sighed, wishing he were in space rather than Earth.

The sky was perfect tonight, besides Saturn's odd behavior. But, perfect would not be enough. For the last hour, Enceladus has been sitting on Alio's slippery slushy rooftop, right next to the chimney that surprisingly smelled like roasted coffee. It didn't matter the stench, because it kept Enceladus warm. As he curled his knees close, and leaned his upper back onto the crown of the chimney, he heard tints of crunching. He looked around the stout of the chimney gap and saw patches of blazing white orchids peek out from the soot-stained snow, growing larger the more Enceladus stared at it. He eventually huffed under his breath, crossed his arms grumpily, and continued to look up at the sky. Moments later, a cat revealed itself to Enceladus. The cat rubbed her head on Enceladus' arm.

"I know it's you."

The cat stopped rubbing, and instantaneously transformed into a girl. It was Reina. She sat at a healthy distance from Enceladus.

"How did you know?"

Small pause.

"I saw Evelyn die when Sessabit's hut burned down."

Another pause intervened. Reina was deeply hurt.

"Oh…yeah...I actually just finished burying her." Reina looked at the smeared mud on her small palms.

"Where?"

"A place I'm way too familiar with."

Another grueling pause suffocated communication.

"So, it was you the whole time."

Reina didn't want to admit it, but there was no turning back now.

"Yes...yes I'm an Animagus. I could transform into a cat."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"Cause...I couldn't..."

"Why? What things are you hiding from me and what happened to my father? I want answers please. I'm tired of these charades. You were supposed to be kidnapped, and we, Sessabit, Gordan and I, risked our lives. Every. Single. Day. To try and find you and your sister, and it was a hopeless cause. But, now I see why it was so hopeless."

Reina took a deep breath and said,

"Fine, if the truth is what you want, then I shall give it to you. You deserve it. But, you must promise you won't retaliate with force. I don't want this to get ugly here, and accidentally burn this house too."

She stuck out her hand, offering it to him.

Enceladus was hesitant, considering Reina was about to reveal information that might provoke insensible rage, but if he wanted to get the whole story, he had to comply and control himself, if not, Reina was correct, things might not get pretty.

"Okay."

Enceladus stuck his arm out. They shook on it.

"Well, it's a lot. I'm going to start from the beginning so it all makes sense, okay?'

Enceladus nodded his head in agreement.

"So, as you probably figured out, I am part of the New Death Eaters. I've been a member ever since their resurgence of a new moral and belief system. They wanted to reconstruct their tainted image, and use children from the Old Voldemort regime to turn the tide and fight against muggle tyranny. Zelos' wanted that to be the group's main objective; instead of focusing on eliminating Half-bloods, and Mudbloods. He wanted justice and knew that wouldn't be achieved by being submissive, and ruminative, like the cash-grab-blinded cast of officials currently at the Ministry that abide only to wealth and illegal commerce practices. I swear it's all disarray if you ask me." Reina composed herself. "Anyways, Zelos recruited me my third year, and felt like my ...uh...brain would be put to good use for the cause. He explained everything and I couldn't agree more with what he said. Muggles weren't treating us as their equal. No, we were simply inferior and disposable to them. Since then, we slowly became crusaders for all wizards at that point, and we wanted to put an end to all of the oppression. Now, fast forward to the present day, where we have the Superiors to worry about. And can you guess who was the main organizer of this clandestine group of cowards?"

Enceladus sported a perplexed complexion.

"Your father, Sam Vega. But, we didn't know where they were hiding. There was little to no trace on where to locate their headquarters, until we met you, on that sunny day in Diagon Alley. It was a strange fate but a sign nonetheless. And...and Zelos and I took advantage of you, whether you knew about it or not." A shot of sympathy rattled her thought process, but she continued. "Zelos informed me while I was shopping with my parents that he found Sam Vegas' son. I ran to the alley they dragged you into and was surprised to find your face smothered on top of the pavement. Zelos said something that you had a crush on me and he got mad and-

"Wait what?!" Enceladus jumped out of his spot, almost slipping off the icy roof.

"But that was obviously not true. He probably was just over-exaggerating as usual and got unnecessarily jealous."

"Yeah...not true." Enceladus quietly sat down again into an aggravated ball position.

"It's all flattering nonetheless."

Enceladus wasn't sure if she was talking about Zelos' attempt to seem like a sweet boy who desperately compliments girls he thinks he claims, or the possible idea of Enceladus actually having a crush on her. Either way, all past feelings may change in the next couple minutes.

"I then suggested we use advanced magic on you to help us locate where your father might be. And luckily it worked in our favor. Once I produced the spell, and controlled your...well...vegetative body, your memories lead us to a pub in downtown London-"

"You took over my body without my consent?!"

"Yes, now let me finish." Reina was doing well reflecting Enceladus' pent up quips of frustration.

"Zelos, Maddie and I and a couple of other New Death Eaters joined us on this unprompted mission. We only had a limited number of fake passports back then. Thankfully you were considered a dependent due to your current state, so getting you in was relatively easy. When we arrived, we let you stay outside to wait for us. We then went inside and discovered what we wanted. A huge gang of Superiors were drinking their lives away, rotting their spleens and souls so casually, right when we walked in. This comradery of brotherhood did not last because a fight quickly ensued, and we were severely outnumbered and outmatched. They were highly skilled in wand magic, and used it heavily to their advantage. Eventually the moment came, when...when your father used the Cruciatus Curse and held everyone but me in a torturing energy field. At that moment, I was torn between potentially saving my friends with a not-very-effective stun attack, hoping he'd let go or a very effective attack that will severely harm him but save my friends for sure. But, time was running out and...and they were dying..." Tears started to develop in Reina's eyes. " ...and I had to take the moral initiative to do something I wholeheartedly condemn. I had to use everything I had to save my friend's life. And I did. My emotions predicated immediate guilt, before I shot my shot. But, it didn't stop me. After hearing a huge blast, noise dissipated into a silence. I opened my eyes and saw your father dead on the ground. With no recollection of feelings at that moment, I quickly obliviated the Superiors before they could react and rallied Zelos, Maddie and the others. We escaped before the spell wore off and went our separate ways. That's when I took you back to my apartment to heal you from your tussle with Zelos and to wear off the spell. It all happened so quickly, and I desperately wished it could have gone another way. But, I had no choice, I couldn't let him murder my friends. It felt like boulders were lodged into my heart afterwards, and I couldn't have been sorrier for the actions I committed. And...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry Enceladus."

A tear also raced down Enceladus' cheek, tracing his frigid skin.

"You killed my father…"

"Enceladus, I never intended to, we wanted to detain him for questioning, but it just didn't work-

"You killed my father!"

Enceladus ripped his wand from his pocket and aggressively aimed it at Reina. He was heaving from the exhilaration of grief and pain.

"Stand down Enceladus."

Reina warned him, not flinching a muscle.

Enceladus held his ground, yet shook unsteadily.

"I said stand down, now!"

Enceladus refused to listen, quivering intensely.

Right when it seemed Enceladus was about to charge up for an attack, Reina summoned hundreds of garnet-colored Dracunculus Vulgaris, Dracula's Flowers, from the gaps of the ceramic roofing, and coiled them around Enceladus' body, encapsulating every inch of it besides his head. He was floating in mid-air, looking like a cocoon of flowers.

"You made a promise you wouldn't retaliate."

She was focusing her powers to restrain him.

Enceladus was squirming in the entanglement of flower petals and stems, grimacing with clenched teeth from the tight force of the squeeze.

"How can I not retaliate when you murdered my father!"

"Was he even a father to begin with?!"

Enceladus abruptly stopped.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I don't consider shunning your son of his kind, entrapping him in a barrier that kills anything Hogwarts related, and being part of a group whose sole purpose is to exterminate wizards very fatherly."

"Wha...no...no...you didn't know my father."

"Apparently you didn't either."

Reina had enough.

"Now the last thing I want to do is criticize anyone's loved ones, especially a father, but I have been blessed with a wonderful father, and I will firmly stand by my belief that yours was not." Reina probed into the distance. "What is support, if the basic requirement of parental duties outweighs the duty to truly love and bond with your child?"

Reina's words emphatically buzzed into his ears. He never thought about it that way. He never realized that his presence, or lack of, was proof that he was nothing more than just a father.

"Now, you will listen to the rest of what I have to say."

Very demoralized, Enceladus nodded his head, sinking his chin into a ruffle of petals.

"Good. Now, this is where things get complicated, so bear with me. When you arrived at the school there were rumors going around about the Tenacis Wand, and how it was wielded by someone at the school. Naturally we didn't know who it was, but as you would have guessed the New Death Eaters were on high alert. But when that rumor started, that's when Ventril started making his appearance known around the school. It was too early to assume his intentions, but we still kept a close eye on his whereabouts. Then things made sense at the auditions. When the lights went off in the theatre and the Dementors stormed the stage, they weren't just there to wreak havoc. No, they had specific orders to come after me and strangely Eleanor. I noticed this right away and quickly evaded those soulless leeches, grabbed Eleanor and left the scene. We escaped to the Slytherin dungeons."

"Wait, so Eleanor was never captured?"

"No, rescued. Come to find out, Eleanor was the one chosen by the Tenacis Wand. The Dementors were commanded to take that wand and harm me."

"Why did the wand choose her?"

"I don't know. Legend says the wand chooses a bearer that needs it most. And Eleanor never explained why the wand needed her."

Enceladus couldn't help but think about the story Sessabit told him in his hut about Eleanor's and his exchange early last semester. And how, Eleanor never gave back the wand. She still had it the whole time.

"And it's crazy to think that the Ministry suspected Alio and the whole WADA did this. They took them all in for questioning. Poor Despis was freaking out."

"I know I know."

Enceladus forgot Eleanor gave him the Tenacis Wand to use for when he went back home, but it wasn't in his pocket. He must've left it in his other pants.

Reina went back to the topic of Eleanor.

"Anyways, with the wand in Eleanor's possession, it was too risky to have her back as a student. So, we kept her safe in our secret lake room, and adhered to her needs. Considering her condition, we adapted, and made her feel right at home. Hey, some of us even learned some BSL. She really appreciated that."

Enceladus wondered if Eleanor reconvened with Patrice. It was a stretch because she is still hanging with the New Death Eaters.

"While Eleanor was accommodating into her new space in the dungeon, me and the rest of the New Death Eaters came to a conclusion that these Dementors were sent by muggles. We couldn't decipher exactly who yet, but we knew that much because the muggles have control over Azkaban, and the Dementors were permanently allocated there unless given a specific order otherwise. So, we knew something was up, and paid close attention to the whereabouts of Ventril. And that's what I did. In my free time I would transform into a cat and roam the Forbidden Forest and halls and kind of monitor his actions. It paid off."

"So, that was you the whole time? I always thought that was Evelyn."

"Well, yes and no, sometimes we would just play with each other in the forest. Like, cat tag." Reina lifted her tone into a soft whisper.

Enceladus gave her a questioning look.

"Cat tag?"

"Yes, but never mind that. The point is I caught him in the act of malice. I was there at the forest when he and his sleeze balls committed genocide on Araneus' family. But, it was at the very end, so there was nothing I could have done for him at that point."

The glowing blue sticks. That's what the giant spider kept telling Enceladus in the forest. That the glowing blue sticks killed his family. The wands the Superiors use almost always glowed blue. It all made sense.

"I kept a healthy distance from him, and weaved through the roots and shrubs to see if he was heading to Zelos on the hill. Because he was receiving his last shipment of Dragon's blood to make more passports, and it would have been messy if he had been caught. Luckily, he went the other way towards Hogwarts, and that's when I saw you guys running as well. But, along the way he picked up a parchment, which was an invitation to the yearly Ancentus Alley party."

Gordan. You frickin noodle.

"I was close enough to hear what he said afterwards, and I caught the words. "Shall we make a visit?" and from there I knew, in some way or fashion, he was going to crash the party."

"And that's what he did…"

"Yup, his Superiors disguised themselves as the New Death Eaters so he could frame and blame us for atrocities we didn't even perform. And let me tell you, the Daily Prophet ate it up. Because that's what he really wants. He wants us to turn on our own kind, and slowly insert the idea to the wizarding community that muggles can offer better protection against these "evils", which will give them more power in the long run."

"This...this is…-"

"Messed up, I know, but we are not done. Once I relayed back to the New Death Eaters, we connected the dots and suspected Ventril summoned those Dementors. So that would mean that in hopes of crashing this party, he's either hoping to capture me there, or Eleanor with the Tenacis Wand. Well, he didn't get either. He got-"

"Your sister...but how?"

"Well, we organized a plan that would purposely get me captured, so we could see what they were up to, but that plan was flawed, because we didn't know when I would be let go or who would look after me, if something did go extremely awry. So, my sister volunteered as a tribute, to pretend to be me, and took Polyjuice at the party. So, when the Superiors arrived, they took her instead of taking me. And I transformed into a cat to follow her to her destination."

Enceladus' head was hurting.

"So, as a cat, I discovered the Superior's secret base, and kept tabs on her. I gave her food and extra Polyjuice through a small window by her holding cell, which was in a basement of some sorts. I did this periodically, and even supplied her with a wand for safety. We kept this routine going, giving Maddie time to tell us everything she would hear. And we discovered three things. One, your mother hired Ventril to capture me, which was really my sister. Understandable. This explains your whole ordeal the other day. And the other two involve the Department of Mystery, specifically the space room, and exterminating all deadly creatures from Hogwarts. So, it's just a matter of time until he is going to enact these. Maddie heard something around Mid-Spring these events will occur. So, everyone in this house is preparing for the start of Spring to full-on storm the Ministry and their base to expose them and put an end to all of this."

Everything hurted. He didn't know exactly how to comprehend all of this.

"Can I let you down?"

Enceladus didn't respond.

"I said, can I let you down? Answer me."

Reina was still holding her cone of flowers. Enceladus eventually nodded his head yes. She released her grasp and all the flowers, like confetti rained down his torso, and withered into the snow. Enceladus took a seat back by the chimney stout.

"So...uh...yeah...that is that...what's going through your head?"

"A blackhole…"

"Can you be more specific? I know that was a ludicrous amount of info to take in, but I just want to help anyway possible now that you know the truth."

A big pause filled the space. The tall grass in the field was now swaying to a slight gust of wind. Enceladus turned to face her. Her eyes were sparkling, because the moon reflected the snow which reflected into her eyes, and he finally admitted to his conscious, that his Hogwarts crush was a killer. But, a very empathetic one, where he felt her sorrow bleed into existence. Enceladus was holding everything in his power to do something he would deeply regret, but he couldn't enact. Enceladus couldn't refute her sincerity, since he knows she's just as hurt as he was.

"Why didn't you tell me all this from the get go?"

"How could I? I barely knew you, and...I didn't know how."

"Well, you could've at least warned me that you are a cat on this secret mission. I fought off New Zealand centaurs and ate mud looking for you."

"Enceladus I couldn't. I couldn't risk doing any magic at Hogwarts. Ventril would have found out."

"You could of wrote me a note, or got someone else-"

"No. All of that was too risky."

"How long were you planning on not telling me anything then?"

"I don't know, but I did try one thing. The history book."

"The history book? Wasn't that magic?"

"Yeah, your magic."

"Oh right…"

"I tried drawing parallels to the Salem Witch trials, because everything that is happening now is very similar to what those chapters are talking about. The craving for power from the muggles, a possible reason why Saturn is not moving, the influence of the Tenacis Wand, the betrayal, the hatred, the cruelty, all of it."

"Did you not trust me or something? I thought we were pretty good friends at least. You could of-"

"Enceladus, no, for the final time. I did trust you, and worried for you and cared for you. I wouldn't have jeopardized my life roaming around the castle, with men armed ready to kill me on the spot. I wanted to make sure you were okay too. I know all of this is crummy and excruciatingly hard to endure, but I wanted to alleviate that as much as I could...uh...as a cat. Yet, to know that you, out of everyone that didn't know what was going on, threw your life into peril for me, is something I cannot thank you enough for. And that's why I stood by your side. Because you cared for me, when everyone else lost hope."

Enceladus switched his feet back and forth, trying to conceal a blush.

"I did, didn't I?" He chuckled under his breath.

"Alright, don't get all lemony on me now."

"Sorry."

Enceladus had to confess. No matter how muddled the situation may have been. Reina always found a way to make him smile. Along with his whimpered smile, more tears rushed down his cheeks, and onto his upper lip. Reina gave him a hug.

"I don't really know how to completely access these feelings right now, with my father, and all of this, but I do want to acknowledge your bravery, and courage these last few months, with everything. I know all of it must have been horrible, but I thank you for staying near me, and eventually telling me the truth...in...a less than ideal circumstance." He laughed as if he thought he made a joke, but tears kept trickling down.

"Excuse me? Brave? Courageous? Are you comparing me to a Griffyndor? More than anything I was very cunning and ambitious through all of this." said Reina playfully.

How so?"

"The fact I fooled everyone, found the Superiors hideout, and oh, see that a shooting star is going to pass in three seconds."

They both looked up at the sky. Three seconds passed, and a fiery white streak rippled near the moon, and faded instantaneously.

"You learned-"

"Yup."

"How?'

"Cause I'm a Slytherin, and we always figure things out. And, I had a pretty good teacher as well."

They both smiled and laughed at each other. Then it began to snow.

"Maybe we should go inside." suggested Enceladus.

"No it's okay. I like it. I haven't had time to really enjoy anything. This is something I need."

She closed her eyes, letting the snow land on her face.

"So, what did I miss at rehearsals?"

"Want...want me to demonstrate?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Okay."

Enceladus approached her and grabbed her hands and arms, and placed them into a ballroom position. Reina blushed.

"Oh, sorry. It's a duet. Our duet. The purple grape and the green grape."

Reina smiled infectiously and accepted this offer. The both began to sway and as Enceladus instructed her on what to do.

"Shooting star!" they both yelled. Another shooting star blasted into view and left.

"Nice. You're getting the hang of it." Enceladus unnoticeably held her closer.

"Thanks. I try."

As they danced the night away under the universe, which they can now explore and witness together, the snow abruptly stopped and it began to rain down pink roses.

"Oops, I'm sorry…"

"No, it's okay. It's wonderful."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." Enceladus caught one, and wore it on his ear and struck a dinky poise. They both giggled in amusement. "So, your lightning blue rose, tell me about it, why lightning?"

"Well, let's just say that one is very special to me and I really like it when it's alive."

"Fair enough."

As Reina continued to produce pink roses from the sky, the less demonstrative Enceladus became. After a while, they simply held each other peacefully, swaying to the beat of winter, shooting stars, and raining flowers.

The Last of Leo

It turned out Enceladus lost the Tenacis Wand. It must have happened when they escaped Ventril and his men. Enceladus was devastated about the whole ordeal, but everyone assured him that it was okay, since the wand would be dormant if Ventril tried to use it. It still didn't make him feel that better, especially since a potential war may be waging soon.

In preparations for this potential war, the early months of the new year have filled Alio's manor with much activity. It has been a training site, leading wizards into the Spring to fight Ventril's new reign. Hermoine has been constantly teaching wand combat and defensive classes for everyone in a big open room, near Ventril's kitchen. Even some of the Harpies, Blotters, WADA students have joined in this mission ever since they were all thrown out of Hogwarts for the Great Extermination. Some students were not known as fighters, and struggled to catch on. Willy, the Harpies lead Harpist was one of them, but his radiant charisma and never-give-up mentality really rallied the troop's confidence.

"Hey, we got this in the bag mates! Just like with art, it never stops persevering and evolving, and that's what we will do!"

He was so eccentric at times, he would accidentally wack Enceladus' face with a couple of flying magical notes from his Harp. A Superior would despise fighting him.

There were even times where Reina, Maddie and Willow would outperform everyone, and challenge each other to highly rigorous outpours of "friendly" matches. The three of them would train hours and hours on end, trying to perfect moves, spells, defenses etc. Willow, for the most part, had an unfair advantage because she mastered magic without a wand. But, Reina would always find flaws, even in Willow's masterful execution of magic. Reina was outmatched, but she was never outsmarted.

"Temporalis Caesus!"

Reina swiftly landed a spell, which blinded Willow temporarily, and threw her off her game. Next thing she knew, Willow was on her back looking up at Reina in disbelief, defeated.

"Good session, friend."

Reina offered Willow a hand. She denied.

"Get one thing straight. I am not your friend."

Willow left with boiling disappointment and Reina just shrugged her shoulders.

Only time Willow was brutally outmaneuvered physically and mentally, was when she trained with Hermoine. Hermoine embarrassed all of them, including Reina. Hermoine was still the brightest witch of her time.

Sessabit, and Gordan helped wrangle a couple more dragons with the cab driver, Miles Zap, from Sessabit's rescue ranch in Scandinavia for the fight in Spring. The three of them helped take care and prepared them for their mission as well. Puddin and Bessy enjoyed the company they received.

Sessabit on the other hand was healing finely, but the pain of his father still lingered as he took care of the dragons in Alio's big back yard.

Even Profugus had a role. He would send back reports from the Forbidden Forest. Ron and Harry have gathered the colony of centaurs and nearby tribes and feasted with them for weeks, explaining what dangers were bound to come. The centaurs agreed to assist and help preserve their home from, "outsiders who deserve not an inch of entry onto our sacred lands." replied one centaur at a meeting. Ron and Harry also have been working closely with Araneus and wild fairies as well, trying to devise a plan as well for the Great Extermination. Every creature complied with their message, and vowed to fight to the very end to save their home. The wild fairies were so serious, they crafted tiny magical bows and spears, covered their wings with rotten raspberries for warpaint, and created blood red pixie dust to emulate, "Our blood thirst, to ravenously tear the enemy limb by limb." said one of the clan leaders. The Forbidden Forest was armed and ready to defend.

Then the two most experienced wizards, Neville and Alio, would spend most of their time sitting in a den, with various amounts of accolades hanging on walls from Alio's teaching career and his time as a director in the wizarding community. They would just sit at a large chestnut table, smoking and drinking coffee, talking quietly amongst themselves as they looked out Alio's large window that showed the vast prairies. During a meeting at the manor, they both came to the conclusion that they would handle the Ministry and the Department of Mysteries themselves. Considering they are not huge fighters, they felt their fates lied with the place that had abandoned their allegiance with most wizards. They took it personally.

While the manor seemed extreme at times, training, arranging and tending to so many bodies. Lighthearted and fun moments were not forgotten as well.

Willow continued with her Blotter meetings, using books as an inspiration to ignite wandless powers. Willow still believed she wasn't a wizard, but she still felt like the evil misuse of "individual gifts" was cowardly and a portrayal of weakness. So, she wanted to do everything in her power to prove her standpoint correct and stop what she would call, "Pathetic twinkles of the wand."

Enceladus started learning Harp, which he always wanted to do. Willy was a great teacher. Gordan would teach people to paint and write poetry. Sessabit would share some of his father's greatest recipes and teach them as well. Reina and Willow started a little book club, and discussed the greatest wizarding and non-wizarding books out there. Eleanor taught some BSL. And Enceladus taught people how to fire tap, which was extremely difficult. Just for laughs as well, Enceladus and Reina lead some acting exercises with the help of Alio. Alio rarely smiles, but such rare occasions call for extraordinary feelings. With these exercises, Enceladus founded a new respect for Alio and his talents.

"Well, done Enceladus. Your monologue work has come a long way this past year. Putting in practice despite my absence I see."

"Yeah, sure, whenever I have a chance really." Enceladus looked directly at the person in the mirror that wasn't him. "I have to ask. None of your replacements used this mirror for class. Why do I keep seeing a person?"

"Hah, well what you see is who you are talking to."

"I don't get it."

"This is the Mirror of Persuasion. It helps us visualize our scene partner with a monologue. The more you persuade your scene partner, the more they will appear in the mirror, according to exactly how they look in the text. This is a more visually tangible approach than using your imagination, in which you essentially talk into blank space."

"Oh, well, I've been seeing them quite frequently, does that mean…"

Alio gave him an, what-do-you-think smirk.

"Twere the mirror up to nature, Enceladus."

Enceladus bit his lower lip questionably.

"But, this mirror isn't showing my reflection?"

"But without you, this reflection would have never existed in the first place."

And there was the punctuation to his philosophy. Enceladus didn't have a reply. But, he still appreciated the unorthodox wisdom that Alio possessed. Alio covered the mirror, left, and grabbed a cup of coffee.

During this time, everyone learned valuable skills from one another. Some students who were not in the WADA appreciated the art of theatre and wanted to be enrolled. Even Zelos and Maddie, the two most closed off and stubborn souls in the room, basked in the comradery of all the art being presented. Enceladus felt full knowing that even in these hard times, art can heal and bring people together. It was cathartic, a nice release of anxiety before all of their lives would change forever.

Ventril on the other hand was just getting started. Ever since Neville's disposal from Headmaster, Ventril has taken full control of operations at Hogwarts. He brought in hundreds of specialized army personnel to scour the castle, escorting students out of the school due to the closure. Ventril even received assistance from the Ministry, to expedite his ploys. The night before the attacks on the secret base, and the ministry, Gordan read a very horrific summary of Ventril's acts in the last couple months.

The Pixie is Being Dusted.

In the last two months, Ventril, the leader of the British Army, has done more for Hogwarts than any of its predecessors in command. After the school's closure back in January, he has been working diligently with the Department of Magical Education, continuing to provide supplemental learning in a home setting. Ventril says, "It has been an uphill battle, trying to accommodate to new challenges, but we all have been working hard to make this didactic transition easy for everyone." In the midst of this major overturn, many New Death Eaters, who were current students at the school, have disclosed their allegiance to the group, and have been detained, under the Order of The Hunt. Many have tried to escape for refuge along the mountain ranges of Betsoms, but have failed. They will all be held on trial at a later date.

Yet, the biggest accomplishment regarding safety, which has been Hogwarts' achilles heel for centuries, has been operating The Great Extermination. Every curse, unwarranted creature, trap, apparition, ect. has been dispelled thanks to Ventril and his specialized clean up group. Hidden dungeons, dangerous tunnels, and even the Chamber of Secrets have been obstructed as well. Many teachers and Hogwarts loyalists have condemned these happenings, rioting outside the urinal stalls of the Ministry, claiming that Hogwarts shouldn't be tampered with, and that its history and functionality should be preserved. But, their outcries were of no use. The Ministry countered their verbal onslaughts with a simple phrase, "The kids come first, not the castle." It wasn't enough, as Multiple incidents of violence lashed out last week between the two sides. DMLE tried to maintain order, but unfortunately many wizards and witches have lost their lives during the riots. Ventril states that his next steps are to, " ...clear that Forbidden Forest once and for good."

The Queen of England and Benedict Gumdrop have recognized and praised Ventril's efforts despite public discrepancies. Gumdrop has stated, "This is going to be a new age of muggle and wizard relationships, working together to defeat ancient obstacles from both sides, and achieve a union, where past indifferences would have never dared to face."

Union was clouded, and pushed away from one professor at Hogwarts who refused to leave his department. WADA founder and artistic director, Despis, has trapped himself within the WADA, preventing any access for Ventril or his team. Under a subcategory entailing the specified instructions on how to enact on the The Great Extermination, Despis was considered an unjustified apparition, despite his role as an educator. Ever since Ventril's arrival, Despis has sealed off his beloved academy, and hasn't made an appearance since. If you, or anyone you know anything about apparition magic, please contact the office of Removal of Curses, Jinxes and Hexes via owl immediately.

"Rubbish. Absolute rubbish." said Gordan, crumbling and tossing the newspaper aside.

"Poor Despis, I hope he's doing okay." said Cindy Cauliflower, polishing her wand in preparation for the battle.

"He's fine. Knowing him for years, he loves that academy way too much to give it up easily." uttered Alio, who is looking stronger from his previous wounds, sporting a sleek dark cloak and oil black gloves.

On the other hand, in these waning fall months, Enceladus was disheveled. He didn't shave. His face was covered with prickly black teenage hair. Shaving was the last thing on his mind. His hair grew a couple inches, as well. His hair was the second to last thing on his mind. He, for the last couple months, couldn't focus on anything else but this day, heavily straining about what was going to happen. So, to ease his thoughts, he reverted to his reliable friend. The sky.

Reina and Enceladus would study, and read about Apectu Caelum in Marie's book to see if they could discover any practical use from their powers. But, no matter how many long nights Reina spent reading about it, dissecting it, and absorbing anything she could, they couldn't find anything to potentially help them on their mission.

Enceladus, like always, stood up near a window, staring hard outside. Reina approached him from behind.

"Enceladus. I think it's going to be fine."

"I sure hope so. I just can't stop but wonder. It's slowing more and more…do you feel a difference?"

"No. I think this is all in your head. How do you feel?"

"I don't know. My training hasn't been as crisp."

"Again, you're looking too into this. Even Neville or Alio hasn't noticed anything. It's either that or you just suck." She laughed at her own joke. "Even if that historical myth about Saturn is real, Ventril can't do anything because the Tenacis Wand won't work for him."

"Right. How about your place? Are you sure your spell can hold up?"

"My flower and my apartment are fine. Zelos and I worked hard to create that charm. It's so powerful that the Tenacis Wand shouldn't even break it."

"Shouldn't?"

"Yeah." Reina was very definite. "Are you going to shave before you go into battle?"

"Don't I look scruffy and scary?"

"Sure," she smiled.

Maybe Reina was right. Maybe it was all in his head. There was no going back, no more reassurance from his galactic neighborhood up above. It was time to save his school, his academy, and his people.

"Come on, today is the day, Zelos and I are about to assign jobs and talk about our objectives." She yanked Enceladus from the window. Per usual, the sky bared no answers.

Enceladus and Reina went into the training room, a room that was almost as big as the manor itself, where everyone was prepared for an all-out war. Zelos and Enceladus one day salvaged some bullet proof vests from a couple of police stations in downtown London. It was Hermoine's request, because the Superiors have fire power that magic can't always protect fully against. By themselves in their original form, the vest are worthless, but Hermoine and Neville worked feverishly to enchant them, and give them that enhancement.

Despite the months of training, the energy of the room was suppressed with skittishness, wondering how all of this was going to be accomplished. Throughout the week, Aurora's gatherings from her planet watching have been foggy and filled with mixed signals. " Much is covered in mystery. I cannot foresee what the cosmos wants to say." she would say. It was difficult to find a spark in such dark times, especially for all of the students from Hogwarts who ran away from their family to seek refuge at the manor.

Zelos whistled sharply and obtained everyone's attention. Hermoine, Neville, Alio, Aurora, and Miles stood clumped in a group talking amongst themselves, and the rest were the student soldiers sprawled out on the floor, that included Willow, Maddie, Willy, Gordan, Zelos' gang, and Cindy Cauliflower. Sessabit was present as well, but still very injured to fight. Frustrated by this decision from the elder wizards, Sessabit leaned grumpily on the wall awaiting the instructions he wasn't allowed to enact on.

"Alright listen up. The time has finally come. We trained ferociously to get to this point. It all wasn't ideal, but we had no other choice. We as wizards, no matter your race, are not about to let muggles tear down our kind, and abuse us to a submissive complacency. Unfortunately, some of our brethren have fallen under the rug of manipulation, but it's not too late to turn the tide and show how cruel Ventril and the whole parliament really is. To the wizarding community they are being held as heroes for acts of terrorism and destruction to our own world. No, Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest are not a problem. The fact they are now treated so foul by our own is the problem. Today, we end this maddening charade, and reclaim our sovereignty!" Zelos thrust his wand into the air. Everyone followed with galvanizing enthusiasm. "Now, Reina will break you guys into squadrons and explain the plan of action."

"Alright, we are about to break up into three groups. Gordan, Zelos, and Enceladus and you five will go across the border and ambush the Superior base. Neville, and Alio-"

Eleanor from deep within the crowd raised her hand high, suggesting she will join them.

"She will join us." Alio gestured to Eleanor to join their group.

"You sure?" asked Reina.

"Yes, she will do us many good things."

Reina confirmed with a firm nod and continued.

"Okay, so you three will infiltrate the Department of Mystery. Harry has assigned multiple members from the Order to allocate and escort you guys through all security measures."

The three nodded in agreement, flipping their hoods over their heads.

"Then lastly, the rest will come with me at Hogwarts to defend the Forest if things get nasty. I just received correspondence from Harry and Ron that the native forces within are ready to stand their grounds, if our main plan rescuing Despis and the other students doesn't go well ."

In the correspondence, Harry said Ron has never seen so many centaurs at once. He fainted a couple times, and all Hermoine did when she heard this was shake her head in loving embarrassment.

"Is everyone okay with their locations?"

Everyone, again shook their heads with definitive gestures.

"Alright now if something goes awry, for faster communication and distress calls, Enceladus has also given us these...uh…what are these again?" Reina dangled the object by its antenna.

"Walkie talkies." said Enceladus, holding in a laugh.

"Falkie dalkies." She was confident she had it right. "Again, they were all enchanted to work in the wizarding world, so they should function fine unless something tampers with the...uh…"

"Frequency."

Gordan started to laugh, but was quickly neutralized by Enceladus' knuckles. Gordan rubbed it in pain.

"We all have them equipped on our personnel, correct?"

For the final time, everyone agreed.

"Alright, well let's head out before the sun sets. They won't know what will hit them. May Merlin's luck be on your side."

And that's what everyone did. Without any blurb or moment of pause, they filed out the manor, zipping up vests, harnessing walkie talkies on belt loops, stowing wands in pockets, and the occasional arm wrap around a colleague, whispering words of encouragement. Once everyone left, and the front door was shut, the manor was silent, only housing Sessabit and-

"Where did everyone go?" asked Laze, rumbling downstairs, disoriented from a heavy sleep.

"To save the world..." muttered Sessabit, looking at the living room floor empty.

"That's nice. I hope they all ate. I'm going to go back to sleep now."

Laze went right back upstairs to do just that. Sessabit slouched on the mermaid scaled couch and looked over at the giant sword on the wall again, long and hard, ruminating about everything.

The Last of Leo Part 2

Bzzz!

"Can..can you...-"

Bzzzz!

"Read me…?"

Crackle! Bzzz! Crackle!

"They knew… all along…"

Bzzzzzz!

"Do you copy? Does any one copy?"

"Oh we do…" said a trembling voice.

"We are heading to your location. Stand your ground against any surprise-"

Crash!

"Ahhhhhhh!"

The signal died, as the walkie talkie was shot out of Reina's hand. She cringed, as blood poured out from her palm. Willow quickly tended to her wounds, and healed it enough for the daunting task that they were about to face.

Reina, with her hair waving in the wind, stood tall before the great stone steps of Hogwarts, rallied by her brigade and her friends. Clumped behind her standing tall and valiant under the dusky pink skies of Spring was Willow, Cindy, Willy, other Hogwarts students, Aurora, Hermoine, Harry, Ron, centaurs, wild fairies, wolf tribes, the dragons and Araneus, accompanied by another spider whom was a survivor of Ventril's massacre earlier in the year. It was personal for him and he wanted vengeance.

Past their eyes laid an infested castle, decorated with the filth of hate, exploitation, and remorselessness. In every turret, embrasure, crevice and look-out, a Superior soldier was posted with blue glowing wands, maskless, showing their true, deadpan, neglected faces of men and women who feel like their crimes were justified. The castle was treated as an operation for power, not justice and everyone in London was blind to this.

Reina, and the others felt their heart drops, knowing that the magic of such a sacred ground was executed and no more. They felt off.

What was even worse was the sight at the flying bore's gate. A couple hundred yards from Reina and the others was a line of people. Wizards, who were middle aged, sporting faces of uncompromising timidness.

"Mom?!" cried out Cindy Cauliflower.

The line was composed of the parents from the students at Hogwarts.

"Willow! Why are you doing this...doing this with those New Death Eater thugs and monsters?!"

It was Willow's mother.

"These are not thugs and monsters mom! These are your people. This is your world. Those poor excuses of life you are defending are the monsters, and like real monsters, they are using you guys as pigs to tear us apart!"

"Oooh community, togetherness, so you finally admit that you are a wizard now, huh?" Her mother didn't back down. "If you're such a big wizard now, how about you stop these shenanigans and let these people help us. The muggles only want to help-"

"No! I am not a wizard, but I will acknowledge that I am different, just like these beings behind me, just like you, but different is not what the muggles want. They want equivalence, they want colonization, they want complete control, and you all are falling for their pathetic ploys!" Willow glowed red, fueled with increasing anger. "Just look at you guys, you are lined up, in a defensive position, risking your lives over clouded ideals, over a false sense of security, with people who made you believe that stripping away magical freedoms is okay. It's pitiful." Willow, slowly separating herself from the group, neared the parents. They all shuffled in fear.

"The New Death Eaters are polluting your mind with garbage!" shouted a parent.

"Yes, yes the New Death Eaters are indeed polluting their minds with garbage. It's so clear, a blind man can see it." A roaring voice was heard high above.

It was Ventril, standing on the edges of Astronomy tower with a megaphone in hand, speaking to masses below him on the terrace.

"Who are you going to believe? Look, parents. Look at what they did to your poor children. They've been lassoed by lies, helping terrorists that have only sought to bring destruction to your world. This nonsense has to stop. This is why Hogwarts needed to be...revamped...reconstructed into something that demanded more order and discipline to these young wizards. They were plagued by chaos. Tempted by inappropriate and vicious classes, unfitting for your dear children. Gaslighted by unqualified professors. They have been taught to go against us, who in their lowest of times, have only lent a helping hand."

Many of the parents swiveled in place with indecisiveness.

"I mean look. They are siding with the savages."

Araneus had the urge to spring up and rip his head off right there but it was too risky. He would have died in an instant. Reina was calming him down, as much as you could calm down a raging giant spider.

"Savages, who I learned in your history, have only been disrupting forces. There is not an agreement or an official treaty within the Ministry that states any allyship with savages such as those. And there is a reason why this is. Negotiate if you must parents, but we must save your children and bring them to their senses. We can't let them rebel for what is only good and gracious, because if they continue their silly rendezvous, consequences will be met, because now, they will be considered an enemy. Do what you must as parents to save your sweet delusional children, and make them capitulate for what is right. Let's not stain the wizarding legacy anymore, and let's make Hogwarts great once more."

Ventril finished his spiel, looked down to ground, with his typical easy-going-posture and demure.

"Please, come to your senses, we beg you, we only care about you!" cried out Cindy Cauliflower's mother.

"If you love your children, you will listen to what they have to say, look at yourself ready to battle your own flesh and blood. Think about what these muggles have done to us!" The voice was coming from the lake. It was Gordan's mother and father. Mrs. Aster and Mr. Aster. They were followed by other parents as well, using the boats to get across the lake. They all marched up to the scene to defend their children.

"I don't always agree with my son, but he warned me about this. He warned me about the muggles and their true intentions. And I'm not speaking about all muggles. Most of us are caring and want to coexist with wizards, but others, as you see, only want to ruin us. Yes, wizards were wrong to intrude uninvitingly into their world years ago, and yes a war was inevitable after that. But, I was a firm believer of coexistence, and believed we could make a partnership to live in harmonic terms. I still believe that, but this, this is not the way. Our brave children have brought the whole wizarding world community to fight for their beliefs, to show there is a bigger purpose in magical life, than what fear mongering, and toxic stigmas narrate them as. Ventril and his army have been steering our boat of togetherness right off a cliff, and we need to support our children and prevent it from happening." Mrs. Alster was stern, punching out each word.

More parents, including Reina's and Maddie's parents, rallied behind the Aster's and their message.

Ventril slowly clapped.

"Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous words from the old renegades! Not just renegades, renegades to your own kind, cuddling with the finest pillow of anarchy I have ever seen. Oh dear, I have tears in my eyes because it's all so beautifully depressing to see such a heart wrenching division between such a wonderful group of people." The pink skies up above turned into a deep purple, as the sun descended into the horizon. Ventril, as naturally calm as possible, smiled. "Do your bidding."

After those words the parents in the line, thought about Mrs. Aster's words and decided to join them One by one, the parents by the flying bore's gate separated and succumbed to the pressure to protect their children at all cost. That was their battle to begin with, and they knew with their aid, that was their battle to end with, by the side of their children, supporting them no matter what.

But there was one parent who did not budge an inch. And it was Zelo's mother. Her loyalty to the law of the ministry was at play.

Moments later, Zelos, Gordan, and Enceladus apparated back to Hogwarts from the Superior's base, which was empty. They grouped together near Reina.

"Mother?!" Zelos' voice broke in shock.

"I'm sorry son. But the law is the law. I can't break my oath."

Bang! A deafening crash was heard across the mountains. Turning around from the corner of the castles with rumbling force was a pod of army tanks. Then right before all of their eyes, hundreds of Superior soldiers stormed out the front doors of Hogwarts and rushed down the steps, assuming an attack position with their wands and guns. Zelos' mother was in the middle of it all.

"You give me no choice. Have fun trying to stop justice." Ventril rotated his body, and walked back into the Astronomy tower.

"What are those!?" shrieked a handful of students.

"Tanks."

Enceladus was not fully comprehending what he was seeing.

Reina began to scream out orders, as everyone jittered into fighting positions.

"Araneus and centaurs take out those metal blocks, Zelos and Enceladus once we break through the first line, you go for Ventril in the castle…"

Enceladus wondered why they couldn't take a secret passageway to the Astronomy tower. But he remembered that Ventril probably has every inch of the castle guarded. They had to fight their way in.

"Harry and Ron, take care of the parents. And Hermoine, Willow and Maddie with me to lead the front lines. Everyone else don't separate! Stay a unit. We will surge through with close quarter combat and get into the castle to rescue Despis and the others. Now, let's go!"

Trailing off her last words, Araneus bended all eight of his prickly tingly limbs, and blasted off from the ground; hurling his round exoskeleton into the air. Dust shot up, and spiraled in all directions. Araneus was so high in the sky, that it looked like he was a black airplane skimming the clouds. But before you knew it, like falling space debris, he rocketed back to earth and smashed belly first into a tank. The tank folded like a paper mache. Araneus continued his tank onslaught by spitting out glimmering white threads of web from his pinching jaws. He aimed his attack right into the tank's cannon barrels, making some implode into a bursting wall of flames.

The centaurs followed closely behind, galloping with fierce grace, while swinging their stoned carved throwing axes with mighty velocity. Their throws were so deadly that the axes would pierce right through the tank's barrels, disabling them to fire. Many of them refused archery and wanted to take on the tanks face to face. So, they gathered a group of three and used their speed, strength, and agility, to circumnavigate the tanks, and tip them over upside down. From just the tanks alone, it felt as if earthquakes were a part of the battle.

Even the giant octopus, Darla, joined in, submerging wildy from the murky lake, coiling its large tentacles around the tanks and dragging them under water. Then working together, the octopus grabbed a tank, twirled it in circles, and hurled it into the sky. Araneus didn't waste the opportunity, as he shot his spinning web onto the flying tank, spun it around in the air a few more times, and redirected it towards the mountains where it exploded into a thick gray smoke near the snow top.

Ron gave Hermione a kiss, before he and Harry escorted the parents back to the lake. Some wanted to fight alongside their children, and Harry allowed. So, they took the parents who would only hold the battle back. Ron and Harry didn't completely let their guard down because at any moment, a Superior could pop up."Unfortunately, just like old times." said Harry looking at his friend.

"I swear, this all better be the end. Hermoine has trust in that Reina girl, so hopefully she can lead us to victory."

As Hermoine assembled her trained students, the first crack of a spell was heard, as it ricocheted off of Cindy Cauliflowers, life-saving shield charm.

"Now or never!" Zelos charged at the sea of men and women in black armor.

Right in the middle of the terrace, wands, magic and guns clashed. A myriad of razor bright colors sparkled and popped in a forensic madness. Hermoine's trainings paid off tremendously, as many of her trained students knew the Superiors moves verbatim. They understood the nature of bullets, muggle operated magic, muggle defense, hand to hand. Many worked in tandem to create bonded energy shields to propel attacks even more effectively. Cindy Cauliflower and Willy did this side by side, and picked off a handful of Superiors, lurching right into the Whomping Willow.

As most of the Hogwarts students were ducking, dodging, and assisting with stun spells, The girls, Maddie, Reina, Hermoine, and Willow went to work.

Willow learned telekinesis from the book Carrie, and began to fling bodies ubiquitously. She would wring them by their collars, lift them high in the sky, and fling them either into the lake or near Araneus, who gladly accepted the offer. Another Superior in solo pursuit tried to attack her from behind but her newly acquired sixth sense helped her dictate her emerging future. (Only a couple seconds. Not deep into the future) and she tripped the Superior with one neuron jolt of the mind.

"Seriously? Who trained you guys?"

Willow then scoffed, as she continued to hurl bodies through the thickness and heat of the battle smoke.

Maddie was considered the best pure wand user at Hogwarts, who knew every spell in the book. Maddie was so good she was able to transfigure a whole group of rampaging Superiors into Nifflers, who then proceeded to scurry into the castle to seek something shiny. But, she had more tricks up her sleeves. "Circulo Surrepo!" she screamed, conjuring a giant translucent bubble from her wand with its bottom still attached to the point, waiting to be unlatched. Like a bowling ball, she cocked her shoulders back, bent her legs low to the ground, and executed a three-step advancement to release her bubble. It rolled through the screams, pings, and colors of the battle, and entrapped a handful of Superiors. They then floated into the sky, disappearing into the pinkish waves of the sunset. She continued with this charm until the sky was filled with what looked like translucent hot air balloons.

Despite others, Reina heavily relied on her flower powers. From the hardened soil of Hogwarts sloped grounds, Reina produced an army of Venus Fly Traps. Red ones, since she was charged with emotion. The wild fairies and her worked well together when it came to fully utilizing the Venus Fly Traps. The wild fairies threw drowsy bombs, (blueberries filled with sandman dust) which made them sleep. Once the sleep fully kicked in, the wild fairies would grab and drag the bodies of the Superiors into the wet slimy jaws of the Venus Traps. When swallowed, most Venus Traps looked as if they developed Adam's Apples in their stems.

Even in hand-to-hand combat, Reina would turn her flowers into extra appendages. She'd gathered thousands of them from the Earth and threw jabs and haymakers with the petals of roses and daffodils. With each stinging strike, Superior's faces would end up in red streaks, from all the thorns. One Superior fought back well and continued to pressure Reina with her wand movements, countering all of her moves, but evidently lost, when Reina pistol whipped the Superior's face with the vines from violets.

But a nearby group of Superiors seized their opportunity, and rushed in to finish the job. Reina was still recovering from her previous bout, and did not sense that nearby threat targeting her. Luckily, others did.

"Look out!"

Sprinting near the edges of Forbidden Forest, Willow and Maddie charged up for a bonded attack. Willow placed her hand in front of Maddie's wand, and together, created a cerulean colored spell to shoot at the approaching attackers.

"Reina duck!" shouted Maddie.

"Huh?"

" Duck, your head stupid!"

Reina without any time to spare, lowered her head, and combat rolled away from her incoming assailants.

Maddie and Willow released their churning spell, and catapulted it straight at their abdominals. The impact was so strong, the Superior's stomachs caved in, crushing their ribs as they smashed alongside the stones of the castle. They slid down the castle like limp slugs.

"Thanks, that was a close call,"

Crack!

A tank ignited the battlefield with booming balls of fire, steam rolling with metallic prowess through centaurs and wolves, crushing their bodies like glow sticks. The enormous tank shot an artillery shell straight towards Maddie and Willow from fifty yards away.

"Look out!"

Reina ascended from the earth a colossal wall of magical flowers. They interweaved at a speedy rate, knitting closely together as they reached a size big enough to withstand the impact to shield Willow and Maddie.

Crash!

The artillery shell exploded off of the flowers, bursting them into magical multi-colored flames. Ashes of crispy petals descended, accentuating a perfumy burnt fragrance, while Willow and Maddie huddled near the ground, clutching themselves in case of another shell fire. Reina didn't let that happen.

Instantly Reina, rose another efflux of flowers right under the belly of that tank who shot at them. The erupting flowers looked like a volcano spewing lava straight into the air, or a geyser gushing recklessly. A few seconds later, the tank elevated into the stratosphere like a soaring bird, being spectacularly carried away by the magical force of Reina's flowers. Her flowers, pushing at the metal gut of the tank, kept taking it higher.

Eventually Bessy, Mile Zap's dragon, snatched the tank in mid-air with her sharp mouth. Since Bessie is a young dragon, she probably thought it was a toy and wanted to play. She smashed the tank in half. She wrapped one side around her serpent like tale, swung it around in circles and released it, sending it far into the distance. Two parachutes were eventually deployed, decorating the horizon.

"Thanks." said Willow and Maddie simultaneously, while Reina helped them up from the floor.

As the battle raged on the New Death Eaters and others were gaining combative territory. The Superior's waves of defenses were diminishing, making it clearer for Zelos and Encenladus to enter the castle.

Enceladus surprisingly worked well with Zelos. Like classical swordsmen, they fought back-to-back, cuing each other on threats, directing each other on footwork, and on where to dodge or parry with the wand. It was the most unexpected tandem. Enceladus never thought this would happen, but here he was, kicking some arse with his school nemesis.

"We are almost near the gate! We just have to wait for Reina's signal." Enceladus grunted under his teeth as he moved through spell casting body stances.

"It looks like she got that covered." Zelos looked towards the gate with out-of-breath admiration.

Near the flying bores gate were multiple formed lines of Superiors awaiting their chance to defend against anyone who dared to enter. But, their wait didn't last long when Reina produced a small field of dark blue Valerian flowers. They sprouted near the feet of the soldiers. The soldiers with their pale, surd faces jittered with confusion, as the Valerian flowers sprayed a blue mist around their ankles. The frothy scent of the bitter floral wiggled up the legs and into the nostrils of the Superiors, burning deep within the cavity; shooting straight to the back of their skulls, and behind their eyes. Their eye lids were indecisive blinders, struggling to stay open or closed. Eventually the scent journeyed through their body systems, making them numb. Their knees bobbled as if all bones were to never exist. After a while, like a collective array of sandman assassinations, the Superiors fell down to the dewy war splattered grass, and slept, snoring to their heart's content.

"You are welcome, boys. Now go get Depis, and go take out Ventril! We'll hold it down. I believe in you two." Reina had serenity vibrating in her voice. Both Zelos and Enceladus paused, cherishing her words, but quickly broke this trance, and started to head into the castle.

"Oh, no you don't, I think it's time we put an end to all of these games." whispered a voice. "Commence with Operation Deadlock."

The Last of Leo Part 3

"Level Nine."

The gears and gadgets have screeched to a stop. A square bird-cage-like elevator magically swung open as Neville, Alio, and Eleanor exited it. They were chaperoned by an undercover Phoenix member, who used to be a part of the Unspeakables.

"Didn't know security was like that," Alio surveyed his surroundings.

"Only recently," said the member.

"Of course. And you said this is...?"

"The back way. Please, come follow me."

The three followed the member through a black hall, which displayed evenly placed candelabras against each wall. They all emitted a nitrous blue fire, simmering off of the slick, very polished black marble flooring. Eleanor was getting the heebie jeebies, as she signed to Alio. She told Alio that this place was, "Spooky." Alio signed back, "I couldn't agree more."

Neville on the other hand was unperturbed, suppressing any ounce of emotion. He walked with his head high and his hands folded together behind his lower back. The state of his school was on the line, and much more. There wasn't any room for error.

The four of them approached a knobless door at the end of the hall.

"The Department walls rotate. We have to wait until we have the right entrance, or we might face our doom sooner than we may like."

"How do you know when?" Alio has never been in this department.

"You listen."

Whenever the knobless door switched to another one, the member pressed his ear softly against the door hearing what was on the other side. After a while, he found the door they needed.

"Here is the door. Once you enter, go straight across, past the giant archway, and go through that door. You have to do it in a timely manner because if you don't the room will rotate and your chances of finding the room from there are slim. If you need to exit, just yell exit after opening another correct door and your exit door will rotate and open, leading you back to the rest of the Ministry. I will leave you here, I cannot continue on with your efforts. Thank you for all of your bravery."

The member pushed the door open, and gestured inside.

"Hurry now!"

The three rushed inside of the massive circular room, with an erected archway of whispers and spirits, planted in the middle of the room. Tiny echoes bounced off of the walls.

Similarly, the nitrous blue candelabras were hanging, accompanied with a marbled floor that sparkled like water, catching Eleanor off guard.

"It's okay, that's just how the floor is." No errors, thought Neville, not even wasted time. "Now come on, we don't have much time."

The three sprinted over to the other side of the room, swiveling around the towering archway. But, the walls began to grind against stone, preparing itself to rotate. The three of them were twenty feet away.

"Grab my hand." suggested Neville.

The three did just that, as they all linked up and held each other's hands.

"Hold on tight! "

Neville, managed to apparate in an instant through the door, bringing along Alio and Eleanor. It was a risky move, since Neviile has never seen the inside of the Department of Space before. But, he concentrated enough where he was able to make it through the door with it sliding into a new position. The three landed on their bums, thumping the vanta black floor with abrasive force.

"Is everyone okay?" Neville could barely see his own fingers in this faint, glittered darkness.

Eleanor and Alio tugged at each other's arms, including Neville indicating that they were okay. A warm glowing buzz was circulating around their heads.

"So this is…?"

"Yes, it is. Welcome to thousands of years of classified work. We were informed that you all would find a way in."

The ominous voice sounded like it was near, and far at the same time. They all looked around until they noticed a shadowy group of people underneath Saturn, which was very still. It was the Unspeakables.

"What are you guys up to? We know you have been working for Ventril." Alio was prepping to withdraw his wand at any moment.

"We wouldn't say work. Our relations to any outsiders are strictly along the lines of friendly exploitation. Collaboration involves trust, which we do not believe in." The head Unspeakable held a glass cube with strands of a blue energy source that was bouncing inside of it. "But, I would like to ask you the same question. What are you up to? You seasoned wizards know better than to break rules and enter the Department of Mystery."

"When it involves the fate of the wizarding world, there are exceptions. But, you all wouldn't know since you forbid any trace of our race." Neville was extremely upright and poised.

"How cute. Have you forgotten that we are wizards as well. We just choose to ostracize ourselves for the betterment of all. And right now, the betterment of all is to eliminate small-minded, selfish, chaotic wizards and muggles. And with Ventril's aid, I'm afraid to tell you that you all are too late."

"What are you talking about!?"

The head Unspeakable paced with calculated, yet menacing strides around the solar system.

"You know our celestial friends possess powers far greater than we can comprehend. We have even suggested that they are Gods in spherical hibernation, ready to awaken at any moment to reclaim their black Heaven. We have devoted thousands of years studying these God's and their cosmic kingdom, producing thousands of discoveries. But, our greatest discovery is our most popular. Some very inquisitive locals and conspiracy lunatics have latched onto our ways and creatively publicized and exaggerated this discovery. You may possibly know it as...a legend or a myth...but it's far from that, it's more than real." The head Unspeakable vigorously gnashed his words, smirking underneath his hood.

"No, there is no way that legend is true!" Neville quickly veered away from his easing demeanor. "I have paid close attention to this planetary activity yearly, and there hasn't been an instant where our powers diminished and or departed completely."

"And we know that. But, that doesn't mean the possibility wasn't there all along. The head Unspeakable kept on pacing, stroking the box with the blue energy strands. ''Saturn, whether we achieve objectivity on its nature or not, is bonded to us wizards. When Saturn is in normal transit, we thrive, when it's in retrograde or stalemate, we don't. We may not notice it, but small magical mishaps, agitations, feuds, fumbles, fatigue and strains end up sneaking into your daily lives."

Alio, Eleanor and Neville all recollected this past year with Saturn in retrograde. It was swift and minute, but the imbalance of magic was present, peering slyly into their lives.

"But, if we ever wanted to strip your powers completely, we needed a key. We needed that one all-powerful-rare-relic to put a stop to this ringed God. And that was the Tenacis Wand. Unfortunately, throughout the centuries it has fallen in and out of our possession for some time, so we haven't had the luxury to fully experiment and collect sufficient data. Regular wands, no matter how much magical enhancements and alterations, did not administer any progression, and could not complete what we needed. But luckily Ventril has returned and offered a portion of the wand for us to do what we needed to do. And I have to say, with many trials completed, we are extremely elated with the outcome."

The head Unspeakable perniciously smized behind his eyes, slowly unlatching the lid of the box.

"But, we'll find some entertainment before your downfall. When we unleash the Tenacis Wands spell, you will have roughly three minutes before all of your powers vanish. So, you better work fast. If not, we'll just finish you all by ourselves."

The head Unspeakable opened the box, and the energy strands shot up, plunging into Saturn. The room rumbled for a second, as Saturn absorbed the blow.

The rest of the Unspeakables unclothed themselves from their robes, revealing their chalky pale skins from lack of sunlight. They wore black long sleeve shirts with black slacks. They almost resembled vampires.

Alio, Neville and Eleanor quickly grabbed their wands. Alio signed to Eleanor, "Stay behind me." And Eleanor shook her head "No" and signed, "I will stand right by your side Mr. Alio."

Alio gave her a questioning look. But after much thought, he agreed and let Eleanor fight. All three of them proceeded to stand side by side, charging their wands.

The battle within the space room ensued as everyone was ducking and diving from planet to planet, trying to find some coverage. Eleanor tried to scurry and find shortcuts to Saturn, but she was impeded every time. They were outnumbered, but Alio's and Neville's wand expertise held their ground, as a motley of sparkling spells would fizz across the makeshift galaxy; like a firework display in space gone wrong. Shots would ricochet off craters, pierce through moons and even miss entirely, and bolt into unreachable depths of the room.

"We have a minute left! We have to do something." Neville took cover behind a floating crater. He then looked up, and saw Eleanor perched on Pluto. She was about to jump and try to take the Tenacis spell out of Saturn. "Eleanor, what are you doing?!" screamed Neville, taking a barrage of blows, as his crater defense was dwindling. The heat of the spells was scorching, burning his cheeks and palms as they skidded off the sides of the crater.

Like a skydiver, Eleanor jumped off of Pluto, and aimed her wand at Saturn, as she simultaneously sighed a spell. Descending at deaf defying speeds, the Unspeakables noticed her, and all charged up for a curse killing spell.

"Eliminate that pest for good!"

Eleanor was a couple hundred yards away, head first, falling towards Saturn, like an angel getting kicked out of Heaven. The Unspeakables blasted an Avada Kedavra into her direction. She shifted her fingers furiously in many shapes, until…-

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Eleanor was snatched mid-air, and brought back to ground, as Alio shouted the spell. All three crashed to the floor as Alio and Neville tried to catch her, sliding along the vanta black floor. They all were heaving for breath, as sudden exhaustion developed. The Unspeakables walked over to them. Eleanor quickly conjured a shield to protect them, and charmed it to stay intact, even without the aid of magic. The head Unspeakable spoke.

"No worries, your time will soon come. The end is near."

The Last of Leo Part 4

A cacophony of "Huhs?" littered the battle grounds, as New Death Eaters, students, parents and even members of the Order retreated behind the wall of defenses that were the magical creatures from the Forbidden Forest.

"Our magic...it's gone?" Gordan was messing with his Butterbeer wand .

More hubbub ensued, followed by a new cacophony of latin incantations from all the wizards. No matter how many times they tried, no magic was being produced.

"Ooops, I guess your little folk tale was true. Maybe being less naive next time would help. Hah! If there even is a next time." Ventril reappeared, still mounted atop Astronomy tower with a megaphone. "By my good faith with Parliament and...well...you know...the Ministry, for now, I shall fulfill my task, and make both of our worlds a better place." Ventril paused, tilted his gaze downwards, and just simply laughed. "Doing good is so fun." He laughed one more time, filling it with monstrous giddiness. "Now men, advance with full force and let's finish this job."

Now that most of the wizards lost magic, their fire power has decreased. But, they were all still willing to fight to the end. They all held hands ready to embrace the attack. Enceladus felt the tension of death, as the forecast of moods became downtrodden. They all felt so vulnerable, and tried to churn up any heroic drive from within to defend their cause. But, Ventril's force, who has learned how to execute magic without being wizards, was advancing at full throttle.

Enceladus knew the Forbidden Forest creatures couldn't hold them off for long. Fighting the tanks was an arduous task alone.

He in the midst of the rippling smoke of battle, felt like this might be the end. A whole world he was never born into, was the very thing he was risking his life for. He didn't ask to be a wizard. He just was and his life changed forever. He just wanted to be a normal kid, and simply perform. But, this was one role he was not ready for. No matter how well he adjusted, learned, and assimilated, being a wizard will always, in some way or fashion, be a tragedy.

This tragic nightmare increased for Enceladus as he looked around, beating his eyelashes at an exponential rate from all the debris, seeing his peers slouch in fear, preparing for their worst fate. Reina and Willow tried to slow them down near the gates, but more Superiors kept on rumbling into the terrace, like a ginormous mob.

Enceladus felt like his feet were frozen, entrapped in a bitter cold moment, unsure how to make things better. He was only a teenager with a mystical-useless-power, he thought, absorbing everyone's fretful eyes.

One of the centaurs approached him, heaving from his gushing wounds.

"Is this truly the end?" said the centaur, somewhat worried, somewhat content with that idea.

"What?" Enceladus was startled by his question.

"Is this or is this not truly the end? You are the one who can foretell the cosmos with your very eyes, correct?"

"I...uh...don't...know."

The centaur paused, giving him a strong and curious, yet appreciative look.

"I think you know, and yet you and your comrades still tried to change the fates, for the sake of our sanctuary. I honor and thank you, even if death is knocking on our doors." The centaur bowed his head with graciousness.

Enceladus gingerly reciprocate the gesture and turned around to face the incoming stampede of Superiors and tanks, but-

Boom!

A loud boom was heard high near the entrance of the castle. Both sides stopped and followed the echoes of the boom. The Superiors ceased immediately, not very sure if this was a friend or foe approaching the battle grounds. Soon after everyone's attention was captured, yelling started to submerge from the giant wooden doors of the entrance. And like a continuous oscillation, a large line of black cloths swiveled down the stone stairs.

"Danger gleams like sunshine to a brave man's eyes!"

A white blob glided speedily through the was Despis. He went straight towards Ventril, who without hesitation, loaded his voice with breath, and produced spell after spell, trying to shoot the pesty ghost down.

"You may have endangered many, but once you lay a finger on my academy and my students, I take that personally!" Despis flew in and out of Ventril's body. Ventril would hurl and heave every time Despis did this, as if Despis was attacking his organs. Despis kept him occupied as a reawakened battle was about to commence below.

Magicless as well, the WADA's students provided reinforcement, as they clumped together with their black robes, and continued to charge down the stone steps, with nothing but their art. The dancers had pixie dust and were flying over the Superiors, dropping large basins filled with tap shoes over their heads. Many concussions occurred quickly afterwards.

"Crush all of their stupid skulls!"

Professor Flurry twirled and spun through the traffic of combat, fluttering her nut sized feet with aerial bourrèes as she elegantly poked eyes.

The singers, conducted by Professor Soapy, blew regular bubbles from a second story embrasure, and trapped high-pitched screams inside of them. It looked like a parade of glistening purple spheres, making their way down the castle. But, once they plopped onto the Superiors heads, the high pitched screams burst inside their ear drums. Some Superiors dropped automatically on the ground, clutching their ears in agonizing pain.

Many others were throwing paint and paint brushes at the Superiors, and even the kid who sculpted, used a refrigerator sized block of ice and slid down a hill, knocking over a large group of Superiors like bowling pins.

Then finally the actors did what they do best...Act! Once they reached the Superiors below, they all fell to the ground and played dead. Most of the Superiors were confused, scratching their heads. But, it was all a perfect decoy for-

Slurp!

A sinkhole! A mammoth sinkhole opened the earth, right under the feet of most Superiors. Everyone else backed away, as the sinkhole engulfed handfuls of Superiors, who were clawing mercilessly at the smushy soil, trying to save themselves. There was an unsettling sound of mouths gurgling dirt and grass.

Even flying knives came out from the direction of the castle, and stabbed through their clothing's fabric, flinging and pinning them against trees near the Whomping Willow. The Whomping Willow began to womp.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you sir, I managed to reverse the curses of our department, and brought them outside to specifically attack your men. You may thank me later." mocked Despis, still flying around and in Ventril. Ventril for the first time since Enceladus had seen him, was becoming irritated and out of control. Ventril was a master of control, and he was slowly losing it.

Even GL and the flying gauntlets joined the action, tripping people with ease. GL would trip them with their base wheels that protruded out of their pole, swerving and rolling in all directions. And the gauntlets, like a typical showman of the theatre, tied the shoelaces of their boots together. A magical ghost light and flying gauntlets, who would have guessed they made such a dynamic dual?

Everyone else, from the Forbidden Forest creatures, and the Order, jumped right back into battle, encouraged to fight without magic.

"Go get to Ventril Enceladus!" demanded Reina, holding off a couple of Superiors. "Go to him, get the wand! That is our only hope to get Saturn moving again!"

Reina was struggling with her opponents, but Enceladus knew that wouldn't last. She would be okay, and he couldn't let his feelings get the best of him. He had to stop Ventril.

"Zelos! We have a clearing! Let's head to the Astronomy tower!"

Enceladus tried to vocally push through the commotion of raucous noises around him. Zelos fortunately heard him and nodded. The two sprinted up the stone steps of Hogwarts, about to face the biggest threat to their own world.

Zelos and Enceladus tried to avoid confrontation within the castle at all cost. They protected themselves with stolen shields and short swords from the decorative suits of armor standing in the halls, and took many shortcuts to get to Astronomy Tower. Their magic was still depleted, and they needed the aid. Enceladus didn't realize how heavy iron was and stumbled maneuvering through the small doors, and crevices. But, Zelos always looked back to see if he was keeping pace.

Once they arrived, they both saw Ventril looking out into the distance, leaning on the rail guards near the giant telescope. The roof was wide open.

"You two once more. It seems you just cannot get enough of me, can you?" Ventril didn't turn back, as tiny sparks of electricity popped around his body. "Isn't this all great? You just missed all the fun, I finally got rid of your ghost friend. He put up a hefty fight, but it seemed he fell short."

"Call it off Ventril, this is madness." Zelos clutched his sword, with sweat slipping down his head.

"Madness? No no no, this is how it should be. It is only reasonable that I do what I should do."

"What, like killing off a whole race of people?"

"Oh, how lovely, you all consider yourself people? It's quite astonishing to see such a rare specimen of some divinity, downplay themselves like that. Maybe that's why you all are so mind-numbingly-irresponsible, because you don't even know how to govern your own gifts. It's quite sad, because the potential for universal greatness was there, but it frayed, and crumbled under the pressures of war, diplomacy and whatever institutions you tried to create." He turned his head around slightly, half-gazing at the boys. "Like Hogwarts, you all are a danger to yourself and everyone around, because all you care about is the cultivation of affairs, focusing on building hopeless partnerships and fighting hopeless enemies. But, the biggest mistake was not focusing on yourselves and the power you really possess. And unfortunately, muggles like me, have to strip you from the powers you have failed to utilize, and put it in the hands of people who will actually make a difference in this world."

Enceladus shook his knees helplessly, trying to figure out how to attack him, but Zelos was already on the move, angered by Ventril's speech.

"I'll show you power!" Zelos sprinted with his sword aimed right at Ventril's long back.

" I don't think so." Ventril turned around, revealing what he had in his hands.

Reina's lighting rose from her apartment. It was entrapped in a glass case.

Zelos stopped the instant he saw it, and forfeited his pursuit.

"Now, did you not think I was going to study your little girlfriend considering how gifted she was." Ventril massaged the glass case. "Another prime example of how gullibly unfit you wizards are. It was so easy to obtain Miss Rose's records at the Ministry. All I had to do was ask nicely, and Gumdrop supplied me with the information I needed. It's quite fascinating how Miss Rose came to be with her powers, but in the end she made a big mistake, and she paid the price. Especially now since I possess the very thing that keeps her going."

Enceladus didn't know what Ventril was talking about, but he knew that he needed to get that flower back right away.

"Zelos, what is he talking about?"

"We can't…"

"What?"

"We can't do anything…"

"Wh- why?"

"Because if he does anything to that flower, Reina will be gone."

Not even the bombastic sounds of battle rattled Enceladus. But, those very words shuttered through Enceladus' soul as he finally connected the dots. Zelos fell to his knees defeated, and Enceladus was trying desperately to come up with another plan. Both felt counterproductive.

"So, let's talk. You call off our little scraps, and retreat back to your homes without severe penalization from the authorities, or she dies."

Zelos was completely stumped, already willing to wave his white flags in defeat.

But, Enceladus was determined there had to be another way. Magic or not, there had to be a way to save Reina and win this war.

His eyes wavered in uncertainty, clutching his sword tightly in his sweaty palms. While he was trying to ground himself, the crashes and explosions down on the battlefield increased, shaking the castle vigorously, and not helping Enceladus think.

"Come on Enceladus, don't be rash like your grandparents, always trying to find a solution for things. Sometimes the best solution is accepting that there isn't one." Ventril was slowly lifting the glass.

"What? Don't talk about my grandparents you leech!" Enceladus unconsciously moved closer to Ventril.

"Eh eh eh, take one more step, and some pretty petals may just fall."

"I don't think so." said a nearby voice

A leafy swoosh flew past Zelos and Enceladus. It then directed itself towards Ventril. After a few seconds, Ventril was entangled with stems and thorns. The glass case in his hands crashed to the floor, and out from the shattered glass rolled out the blue rose, still buzzing with electricity.

"Ahhhh!"

"Reina, no!"

She clutched the side of her rib in pain. But she rebounded quickly, and did not lose focus from holding Ventril within her leafy-flowery-trap. She wrapped his arms tightly, so he wouldn't be unable to get the Tenacis Wand. Ventril was covered up like a caterpillar cocoon.

Enceladus rushed to pick up the rose and protect it. Despite the electricity bouncing around the petals, Enceladus was unharmed when it skimmed and trickled into his skin.

"Ventril, end this. Now." said Reina, holding the knotted stems and thorns sternly, as it protruded from the floors.

"It's not over until the fire sings."

"What are you-"

Enceladus saw three triangular lights in the sky miles away from the castle, bolting through the clouds at unfathomable speeds. The dragons up above fighting, retreated into unknown territory for safety once the triangular lights neared.

Enceladus couldn't keep up with these lights, but he knew that they were approaching hastily, aiming directly at the castle. Enceladus thought they were shooting stars, but the lights were too low and never broke their triangular shape. But, a split second later, white trails formed into the sky, and a thunderous hum blustered. Enceladus knew exactly what it was.

"Take cover. Take cover now!"

Fast as a lightning strike, fiery explosions pummeled the castle and everything went black and red. Nausea visited rapidly, and dizziness followed, when burnt napalm rushed into Enceladus' nostrils. The vaporized scent felt like it was clinging against his brain, intoxicating its very essence.

Enceladus then felt a glob of pain searing against his temples, as his eyes shuttered from black to red, like propellers, eventually facing complete darkness.

The Last of Leo Part 5

The ember frisked in circular motions, crackling and popping. The flames were towering, as if they were large walls. A thick sheet of smoke, impaired any visual that wasn't fire. Even the Astronomy tower telescope was no more, obliterating into a fat pile of ashes. It was an airstrike.

Enceladus was cooking on the hot stones, feeling his flesh slowly ripple off his body, as the intensity of heat kept growing. Very weakly he stood up with what little clothes were left on his body. Torn fabric, barely attached, fluttered in the flame winds, and blood was pouring from his skull and various spots of his body.

When he was stable enough to stand, he gagged for oxygen, as smoke kept filling his lungs. He limped around to find an opening through the flames and smoke. Each corner he revolved to, he was met by more walls of flames, staring into his eyes. But, he eventually found a small opening, and crawled into it. It led to the outer portion of the tower, where Enceladus dragged his body onto the railings to see what had happened.

He looked below, and around, emotionally baffled, at the sight before him.

Hogwarts was engulfed in flames. From top to bottom, the castle burned like a crispy wick. Down below, where the battle was raging forth, was no more, as Enceladus saw bodies from both sides, either dead or crawling for safety. The castle's magical protection was stripped, and heavy chunks of stone were peeling and falling to the ground. Some would even fall into the lake.

The lake was covered with inferno debris, spreading an immeasurable amount of silt. Many of the sea creatures like mermaids and grindylows, lifelessly floated to the top. The giant octopus was in deep distress, wailing with grief, trying to save them all. It was no use.

Enceladus couldn't see too far below to check if anyone was severely injured or worse, as the flames continued to lay waste to Hogwarts. He didn't even see Zelos anywhere. But, inside of the tower, he saw Reinna fighting with Ventril, joined with a very unexpected face.

It was Sessabit, fighting with Alio's sword. He was deflecting spells from Ventril, as Reina was trying to snatch his wand away. They were all badly injured, except for Sessabit. Reina and Ventril were sporting burns and blood patches on their clothes, but Sessabit was unblemished. Enceladus wanted to scream at Sessabit to run away, but there was no going back now for him.

Reina and Sessabit had Ventril surrounded, exchanging blows back and forth in their own personal dome of spiraling flames. But in the ocean of raging reds and oranges, a pebble of blue flickered in the corner of what used to be the Astronomy class room. It was the blue rose.

Enceladus, weak as he was, knew he had to retrieve it. He leaned against the railings to fully support his weight, and found his balance. He then tried to limp near the outskirts of the room, avoiding any attention. The stone no longer was solid, as the high pressures of the heat ate away at the wall, melting it into a hot ooze. He had nothing to lean on, but kept going, covering his mouth from inhaling any more toxins.

Enceladus frayed from looking at the combat in the middle of the room, hearing all three of them grunt aggressively, clashing spells, flowers, and metal against each other.

The flower was feet away as he gingerly marched through the menacing arches of flames. His shoes began to fall part, making holes in his soles. He waddled quicker, before he was barefoot.

The flower was almost in reach. Then he heard two thumps nearby, sounding like bodies slamming the ground. He paused, fearing the worst, and looked into the middle of the room. His eyes strained, dehydrating as he stared into the bright blaze. But, in the middle of the fire, a blue glow emerged and pulsed to life. Enceladus thought Ventril was about to produce a curse on Reina and Sessabit, and rushed into the middle of the room to stop him, but he was far off.

As Enceladus lunged his body in the fighting space, he automatically knew he was wrong. Ventril was aiming his attack at the flower. With his signature smile and collectivism, despite his injured appearance, Ventril straightened his back, gently flicking his wrist, and said,

"Confringo!"

A ginormous beam of energy emitted from the tip of his wand, and surged straight to the blue rose. Enceladus could not recover, for he was too far from the rose. Enceladus tripped face first trying to retrieve the rose, but it was too late.

Time seemed to slow down, as Enceladus, cheek first planted on the floor, with salty tears streaming down his face, saw Reina unconscious a few yards away from him. The girl he appreciated, and adored so much, no matter how different, mysterious, or powerful she was, was about to die. Forever. Death seemed mandatory at this point, and Enceladus wished that the stars would save him just this once.

The blue beam rushed and hit its target directly. The sonic wave of the impact momentarily fanned all of the flames to one side. But, the impact felt stuck. It felt like some of it was absorbed.

Enceladus noticed that the blue lighting was still there. Enceladus was confused. Did the rose withstand the spell? Was it propelled by something else?

When the spell's smoke subsided, a body was standing with bent shivering knees, clutching onto their raw gaping chest. It was Sessabit. His and Enceladus' eyes met. Enceladus had trouble breathing, as more tears smeared his sooted face. Sessabit smiled at his friend and said,

"Take care of Puddin' for me buddy."

Sessabit immediately fell backwards, flipping over the tower's railings, failing into the lake. As he stumbled over, he accidentally kicked the blue rose and it fell over as well.

"Nooooooooooo!"

In pure agony, dragged his broken body to the railing to try and save his friend. But, all he saw when he made it over the railing was the plop he and the rose made when they hit the water.

"Tisk Tisk. I really enjoyed him. He was much more likable than his father." Ventril approached Enceladus as he separated the flames with his wand.

Ventril, looking as if he's just finished a fight with a rottweiler and a flamethrower, collectively peered over the rails.

"Mmm. There should be more room in that water? What do you think?" He paused, and exhaled. "I really hate the death thing, you know? I really wish there was another alternative. I tried and tried and tried, but nothing was working. So, when something doesn't work, you fix it. Yet, I can't fully fix anything if I have people like you who are standing in my way."

He paused again and looked at Enceladus grossly.

"So, are you ready to join your friend?"

Enceladus couldn't fight back. He looked up to Saturn and saw it so still. It wasn't rotating an inch. He had nothing to defend himself with. When Ventril neared, all he did was spit a mist of blood at his face. He didn't flinch.

"How barbaric." Ventril stood over Enceladus, preparing his next attack. "You should've just stayed a part of the muggle world. Your life would have been all peachy. Too bad that wasn't the case."

He stomped and pressed his foot into Enceladus' neck, restricting his air flow. Enceladus was desperately squirming to get his body free, but Ventril's strength prevailed. "Now, let's permanently dismiss you, shall we?"

Ventril once more charged up his wand, bursting with blue energy.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Death was mandatory. That phrase punctured into Enceladus' mind. This was how it was supposed to be, and Enceladus deeply regretted his efforts, for he thought he could have done more, but more was simply never enough. Atoning for his actions, he whispered into the air, "I'm sorry."

The blue energy only made Enceladus wince. Enceladus thought he was dead, until he saw a knee in his peripheral. It was Reina and she created a turtle-shell- shield of flowers to withstand Ventril's merciless curse. Reina and Enceladus, like turtles, hid.

"We don't have much time under here. My flowers can only regenerate and hold so much. If we don't get a plan now, we are done for."

Enceladus, mangled and all, was just so glad Reina was okay. If they died, at least Enceladus didn't die alone. With the little time they had, Enceladus thought hard on what to do.

Reina's face was turning red trying to keep the flower dome intact. Enceladus is still processing what to do next. His whole tenure at Hogwarts has been a series of unplanned actions, and now he had to change that to survive. He closed his eyes and really fired all of his brain power. Then it came to him.

"Got it!"

"What is it?" Reina was desperately holding on for dear life.

"On three, I want you to make an opening above."

"What? Are you crazy? We'll die!"

"It's our only chance!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to talk to Saturn."

"You're kidding me right? But, we don't have any powers. Your wand is useless."

"We don't have powers but he does. I'm going to redirect his curse and transform it into a Time Revelio spell."

"How did you learn that?"

"Redirection of energy? Hermoine." He took a small pause, making sure this was a good choice. "It's our only shot. If I can communicate with Saturn, maybe I can get it to rotate again, and we'll get our powers back."

Reina wasn't a fan of the idea, but it was the only thing they had. She nodded her head supportively to Enceladus acknowledging his plan, and prepared to make an opening. "Okay on three." she said. They both counted together.

"1...2...3!"

Reina released a viny section of her flower dome. Ventril's curse poured in in spurts, but Enceladus grabbed his wand and used it as an energy vacuum. Enceladus sucked up all the energy he could, and screamed,

"Time Revelio!"

After capturing large amounts of Ventril's curse, Enceladus wand spouted a cannon sized beam into the sky, just like the first time Enceladus executed the spell on his study date with Reina. It was white, and as wide as a bus. Ventril flew back from the force and smacked his body against a wall. The beam kept gushing out, stretching into the Heavens at a furious rate. It was difficult to handle, but Enceladus used both hands to steady it. After a solid minute, Saturn said nothing.

"Come on Saturn! Tell us what you need!"

Rising from his crash, Ventril stomped back over to Enceladus and Reina. His strut was filled with fury.

"Saturn please! Tell us what you need! You have to rotate again! The ministry doesn't control you. Please!" Enceladus was vice gripping his wand.

Ventril was getting closer.

"Enceladus, it's not working!" said Reina.

Ventril was feet away.

"You guys are making this way more difficult than it needs to be! Now, let's quit these charades and-...Ouch! Who threw that?"

Ventril looked around for the culprit, and saw them standing at what was the doorway into the Astronomy tower. It was Gordan and Willow.

"How about you leave our friends alone, Ventril."

Gordan was carrying rocks in his hands. He then winked at Enceladus, indicating they were there to stall.

"Oh how I wish you died in the airstrike. Guess I have to do it myself!"

Now more irritated than ever, Ventril lurched at Gordan and Willow. Gordan kept his distance, tossing rocks at Ventril, but Willow fought toe to toe with him since her power was unlimited.

"It's sad how you treat real power. Maybe one day skeevy crooks like you will understand that anything you wish to accomplice with such power will be flawed and erroneous. And that you will gain nothing, but utter humiliation and defeat at the end of the day." Willow was bending fire with her mind into many shapes and contortions. "Now, let me show you my true power."

Willow tossed a series of spiraling flames at Ventril, occupying him enough for Enceladus.

"Enceladus-"

"It's going to work! Trust me! Let down your flowers, I might need more space."

Reina let down her guard, and disassembled her flower shield. The thick white beam grew and looked like the Earth just pushed out a portal from the womb of it's core.

"Saturn! What do you need?"

There were a long couple minutes of silent buzzing, awaiting an answer. Reina gave Enceladus a look of lost hope. She then saw that Gordan and Willow were struggling, and decided to join the action, but right when she took a step, something happened.

"Magic….I...need...more...magic...I can move a bit...to give...a spark...of life."

"Magic? Magic! Of course!"

Just like that, Saturn, from billions of miles away, began to rotate just the slightest, fighting the Space Room's control.

"Reina! Shoot a Time Revelio into the beam!"

Enceladus, sprang up from his knees and stood straight up with his hand pointed directly above his head.

Without a second thought, Reina ran over, and said,

"Time Revelio!"

Her wand shot a beam into the bigger beam. Enceladus saw that Saturn was rotating even more.

"We need more people!"

"Right on it!" said Gordan, letting Willow fight with Ventril alone. It was probably for the best. He found Ventril's megaphone and spoke out of the tower, and down below.

"Hey, everyone, shoot a Time Revelio spell into the white beam! You have a little power now."

"What?!" Ventril finally noticed what was happening.

"I don't think so." Willow surrounded him with a cage of fire.

"No, get me out! You all will ruin everything!"

"Centaurs cover us. For the sake of the future, we wizards must unite." Hermione, with a minted sense of life, commanded the troops down on the battlefield.

The head centaur snorted valiantly, and commanded his comrades to form a wall around the Wizards. Hermoine, Ron, Harry, Despis all the WADA professors, the students, and everyone else who wasn't injured, rose their wands and all shouted,

"Time Revelio!"

Like a string of glowing white ropes, arches and arches of spells soared into the hellish sanguine skies, attaching onto the giant white beam like little cable wires. The giant white beam grew more and more, and Saturn rotated more and more. With each person attached, their powers slowly returned to strength.

The Superiors tried to break the centaurs' defensives, but they were too much in that instant, holding down that position at all cost.

" No!" Ventril was helpless.

Before everyone's eyes, more streaks of white arched through the air and into the giant beam from outside the Hogwarts area. The word must have gone out to every wizard in the wizarding world, creating a beautiful scene of support. Enceladus couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Come on, we are almost there." said Enceladus, gazing at this magnificent display of magic.

Eventually the white beam slurped all of the arches, gurgling and bubbling, until it soared into space like a rocket launch. Once it was out of view, one spot in the sky sparkled.

"Better...better...better…" moaned Saturn, as Enceladus heard the trailing syllables of its words, disengaging from the spell and crashing onto the floor in exhaustion.

"Wow…"

Enceladus looked up at the smokey sky, physically drained.

Reina fell to the floor too in exhaustion, and grabbed Enceladus' hand in appreciation of what they just accomplished. Tears of joy and despair smeared down both of their faces.

"Don't get too comfy now." Ventril growled from his fire cage. He twirled his wand around, and uttered,

"Cessum Aguamenti!"

A jet of crystal-clear water spurted out from his wand and doused his fire trap.

"Fine. You have your powers back. Now, let's see how useful they are shall we?"

He invited all four of them to a duel, with a cocky gesture. Willow, Reina, Enceladus, and Gordan all prepped with an active stance, ready for an all-out bout.

Ventril, like a lonesome matador, spun with deliberate fervor, tending to every combative angle to evade or shoot a spell. Enceladus and Gordan had trouble because he would counter each spell with adroitness.

"You can do better than these measly stuns. How about you try and curse me? Or does moral conduct play a factor to your eventual demise? Mmm?"

Gordan was becoming frustrated and charged a flurry of spells at Ventril.

"You may have tarnished my plans, but I'll gladly tally some death counts while I'm still breathing in this wasteland! Especially the death of this one."

Ventril was now hawking down Gordan.

"Gordan stop!" Reina knew what was going to happen.

" Got yah." said Ventril, reversing all of Gordan's spells. Gordan tried to retreat from the spell projectiles, but he was caught from behind and stunned into a mini coma.

Enceladus tried to tend to his friend, but he was quickly whipped in the back of the head with Ventril's energy whip he cast. Enceladus fell to the floor clutching the back of his head next to Gordan.

"Just because you have powers, doesn't mean anything. What are the uses of powers if one doesn't know how to entirely operate them? I've studied your being for years. I know how everything clicks and ticks inside your whimsical veins."

It was just Willow and Reina left. They both locked eyes, secretly developing a plan with their silence. Reina stowed her wand away and took a deep breath. They nodded, paused and sprang into action immediately.

They both flanked him. Reina conjured a flying stack of prickly pear thorns from outside, and hurled them at Ventril. Ventril deflected each one with a swipe of his wand, piercing the air with trails of magic. Willow followed Reina's attempt, with telekinesis, where she collapsed the remainder of the ceiling onto Ventril.

Ventril immediately caught the falling ceiling, levitating the chunks of fragmented stone in place, but once he was fully occupied, for that split second, Reina produced an army of daisies and molded them into a mallet, as if Reina had a third appendage. Reina reeled back her mallet of daisies and blind-sided Ventril in the back with so much blunt force, he flew into the fat pile of ashes, that was the tower's telescope.

Before he could collect himself from his soaring pummel, Ventril was met by Willow, who was just standing and facing him.

"Hi."

Ventril vociferously raised his wand "Why, I outta-"

Snap!

His hands and torso were caught by vines, tightening and restraining him. The Tenacis Wand was even snatched away by one of Reina's flower vines.

"Too slow." Willow smiled at Ventril with lofty charm. Ventril smiled back.

"Alright. You got me." He took a small pause. "Now kill me. You're nothing special. Your fancy powers don't do you any good. You're just a witch like everyone else. And you'll die a witch like everyone else. If you are not, prove it. Prove to me how horrible we freaks truly are. Prove to me that you will kill to prove you are truly different." Ventril had blood dripping from his teeth, smizing.

"Don't tempt me." Willow was fidgety, trying to stay firm and grounded.

"I'm not tempting, I'm simply demanding."

Willow's anger spiked, as she thrusted her palm on his throat. The fidgets quickly dissipated.

"Well, your wish is about to be granted."

Willow heated her hands, as if she was about to produce fire from her palms. Ventril continued to smile through bloody teeth.

"Willow, no!"

Reina shot another flower vine towards Willow, wrapping her waist. Willow in teary frustration tried to pry away, but was too consumed by her emotions.

"Stop, let me go! LET ME GO! NOW!"

Willow's grip released from Ventril as she was being dragged back towards Reina. But she persisted, and began shooting fireballs from her palms towards Ventril. Reina kept on shielding him, while holding onto Willow, constantly regenerating flowers because they would disintegrate and turn to ashes from the flames. Reina eventually reeled Willowed into her space and held her. Willow was about to burn the flower vine that Reina had her in, unable to decipher the actions of her rage.

"Willow, please don't burn me."

Willow cried, sobbing on Reina's shoulder. She disengaged her charged up palms, and relinquished her heat.

"This is not the way. And you know it. Don't be like them."

Like a helpless child, she curled into Reina's shoulder, apologizing incessantly.

"I'm sorry…I just…have to do it…."

"It's too late for that!" roared Ventril from right behind, escaping from Reina's grip.

Willow quickly whipped around from Reina's grasp, and charged up her attack. Reina tried to stop her but realized, instead of blasting Ventril with a cannon of flames, Willow simply emitted a white energy orb that put Ventril to sleep.

"Wizard or not, I am special. I'm special because I'm not a monster like you."

He dropped to the floor, lying amidst the dying flames. Just as a precautionary step, Willow reinstated her fire cage around Ventril.

"Sorry for all that." Willow was spiritually numb. "Thank's...uh…friend." Everything she said was foreign and strange in her mouth, but it wasn't a bad thing.

Reina smiled.

"No problem."

Reina and Willow didn't really know what to do next. Acknowledging they just took down a sociopathic-tyrant-executor-of-magic, they thanked each other again with a twitch of the face; a phantom smile, for having each other's backs.

They proceeded to the boys, scooping them up and hugging them tightly. Gordan awoke from his small induced coma.

"Did we do it? Is it over?"

"Yes, it's over Gordan." Reina waved the Tenacis Wand in the air declaring victory.

"Come on, let's get to the balcony and get some fresh air. Does...does that sound good?" said Willow, spraying water from her hands to exhaust some of the fire in the tower. Only one she didn't douse was Ventril's fire cage.

"It's better than eating a bunch of smoke." Gordan was the first to zip for some fresh air.

The four of them limped, injured and all to the balcony. They gazed at all of the aftermath. The moon shone the travesty of the night. The destruction of Hogwarts was immaculate, horrid and very hard to swallow. Many members of the Order below were gathering Superiors and arresting them. Others were gathering the dead ones into piles, trying to identify who was who. All the creatures and clans saluted each other with honor and gratitude. Hermoine, Harry and Ron below hugged each other tightly, grateful they survived yet another nightmare together. Zelos, open heartedly, reunited with his mother, who gravely regretted all she has done. Maddie eventually joined as well, wrapping her arms around Zelos. And Eleanor, Alio, and Neville apparated back to Hogwarts, surviving the Department of Mystery. Eleanor ran and leaped into Patrice's arms, who was worried about her for months, and cried into her shoulders. And Despis, full of unconditional love for his students, hugged them all with proudness, relief, and joy, or at least tried considering his ghostly deficiencies for actual touch.

"Wow...we have a lot to fix…" Enceladus couldn't fathom this destruction.

"How do you fix an ancient magical castle?" asked Gordan.

"Together, just like this. With the help of everyone." Reina looked down at everyone below the balcony, helping and assisting with the recovery process.

"Hey, maybe this can be a new start. Maybe...we can figure out how to be… just be...you know?" Willow frowned a bit at her words.

Everyone knew of Willow's struggle to fit into the wizarding community, her crave for individuality, and fight for freedom. And Enceladus knew how important those qualities were in a wizard, in a person, especially as a theatre student. That's how he made friends, that's how his friends excelled at their own talents, and that's how they did what they did today. It wasn't magic, it wasn't power. It was the creative will and inner corroborations of oneself, to be and be more than what the standard of life dictates you as; the trust to develop and hone your unique, and not let tradition, or society assign you as unique. No, you are not a reproducer of history, you are a maker of the present. A beautiful gift, full of infinite possibilities, and endless fates. A carnation of unfiltered dreams. One is not born a role, nor does one bear destiny due to lore. One only is navigated by nirvana, losing this ingrained idea of self altogether, to discover what it really means to live freely and happily, through the gateways of your soul and heart. In the end, magic doesn't define you, you define magic.

They all gathered around Willow in support of her words, latching their arms around each other's shoulders, thinking about their future.

Seconds later, from the fiery distance of the mountains, flapping black specs came into view, growing large in scale. It was Puddin accompanied by Profugus. Profugus had Reina's blue rose.

"My rose! You saved it!" Reina grabbed the rose from the owl's mouth. She tucked it into her pocket. The lighting dissipated from the rose, so it didn't hurt Profugus. Profugus eventually leaped onto Enceladus' shoulder.

Puddin' with gashes of blood running down her chipped scales, perched onto what was left of the ceiling, sticking out from above. The dragon bowed her head, and wailed in pain, crying underneath her emerald eye lids. Enceladus knew, and jolted with misery.

"Sessabit! Come on Puddin' we have to find him!"

The dragon already did so, revealing what she had atop of her back. It was Sessabit. Drenched in lake water, and dead. Puddin laid him down onto the balcony floor.

"No, no, no, no, not you! I can't lose my best friend. You taught me everything. You taught me everything. Please, I can't lose you." Enceladus was clutching his dead friend in his arms. "What are you guys looking at? Willow, you can revive him right? You can do it right? RIGHT?"

Willow desperately wished she could, but not even her powers can revive a life.

"Please...I can't lose anymore...I just can't…"

Tears were streaming down Enceladus' bruised cheek, slipping onto Sessabit's chest. He held his friend's hand, and didn't let go, falling and reclining into his body, hoping a miracle would happen.

Reina hugged Enceladus from behind, and produced one single red rose, and placed it onto the Sessabit's chest. Gordan and Willow couldn't even look, as if death was a hideous monster ready to bring more tragedy.

The small clumps of sniffles continued, as all of them surrounded Sessabit in mourning. Then, like a whisper Enceladus heard. "Death is not the end...It is not the end…" He knew who it was. It was Saturn, clear as glass up above in Enceladus' eyes. Despite the dreadful gorge gnawing away at the space inside his soul, Enceladus finally felt like the universe was finally on his side, in an ironic way. He knew that whatever controlled the universe would always play tricks. However cleverly divine with their creations, they will always be unreadable and unpredictably ruthless. But now, he understood, that understanding wasn't the answer. It was living. Living in the beauty of cosmic chaos. Yet, no matter how much you question it or look for answers, remember to enjoy what you have in front of you and cherish every moment with the stars you have on Earth. Unlike what's written in the Heavens, a friend is no trick, only truth.

Enceladus cried some more, clutching his dear friend with all the love and admiration a person can give.

Near their gathering, the two white dots, who've been appearing near Enceladus his whole journey at Hogwarts, turned up, fluttering above his head; as the fires around the castle slowly were extinguished by the whole community of wizards, creatures and even muggles, with sun beginning to bloom in the east.

Praesepe Forever

Summer made it. After such astronomical imbalances from the other seasons in the past year, summer has arrived, warming the hemispheres with the solstice, leading into the equinox for the next cycle of life. Mercury is now in Retrograde. It is dancing with the sun, and making mother Earth in a flux. Not a flux of fear, yet a flux of rallying.

"Chaotic consequences are prone to intrude into your daily lives if one is not careful, but I tell you, it is a perfect period of reflection and close insight on what wonders are to come." Professor Aurora Blue spoke under the clear skies in her rebuilt Astronomy tower classroom. "Thank you beautifuls for a hauntingly strange year, but like any supernova death, another supernova reclaims its spot, to shine another day. Until next time, enjoy our friend Mercury in Retrograde."

Enceladus gathered his books, peeked up at the sky, and saw Mercury, rotating at a faster pace than Earth around the sun. Enceladus did not mind if it was real or not. He didn't mind the science or the myths of it all. If it's all an optical illusion. Wonderful. If it's not, and our planets are really God's in control of their movement patterns. Wonderful as well. All he cared about is what Marie said.

" t is all the twinkle of tomorrow and the mural of the heartbeat."

Or simply, galaxy for galaxy's sake.

Before Enceladus began his summer, he had one more place to visit in Hogwarts.

As he was walking through the castle, repairs were still being made. Neville hired wizard descendants from the first engineers who built the castle. Unlike their predecessors, they wanted to enhance their fortification. So, they went through the castle and made a comprehensive list. The list had thousands of sacred areas in the castle that were once secret rooms, dungeons or portals. Once the list was completed, Neville, Hermoine and others made sure to alternate those places into safe zones.

Volunteers from the wizarding and muggle community helped mortar the stones back together. It was approved by the Queen of England to pass a bill to provide aid and resources to the wizards. So, many cranes were delivered, stone chiselers, concrete mixers, etc. to expedite the rebuilding time that it would take with just magic.

Gumdrop was not a part of this reconstruction, for he was discharged as Minister of Magic. One, for unconstitutionally working for a madman, and two for labor exploitation in his Butterbeer factory. Considering his obsession with galleons, he provided his factory workers with unfair compensation, cruel working conditions, and

overall professional malpractice. There were even some instances where he was liable for the harm his products induced, because of his illegal experimentation to make his Butterbeer taste "Buttier." But, no longer does he own Butterbeer Inc. for Gordan's parents bought Gumdrop the business. Gordan, as one of the top ambassadors, vouched for Butterbeer to be free for students. Gordan was happy. He got more access to Butterbeer, got a new wand, and he finally got his school crush, Cindy Cauliflower.

"Is it because I practically own the production of Butterbeer? Is that why you agreed to date me? Because...I'm...well...not ideally good boyfriend material. I've done and said loads of objectionable things." They were sitting on a stump drinking Butterbeer. The stump Gordan drew for her.

"Yeah, you have. But you are right. It is because of the Butterbeer.

"Wait what?"

"I'm joking. I agreed to date you because you are learning to grow out of your roughness and bad. And as that layer peels away slowly, the sweet, sincere boy who isn't afraid to express his feelings shows himself even more." Cindy held his hand. "I can care less about your past mishaps or your current accolades. Yes, they are important in your development as a wizard, but they don't define you. It really means nothing to me. But, you, all of you, right now, with all of your cute drawing doodles, mean something to me. And that's the biggest achievement. You."

"I am a pretty good artist, aren't I?" Gordan joked around, flexing his ego.

Cindy flicked him with her finger.

"Don't do that. Or I'll break up with you."

"Ouch...yeah...right. Sorry about that."

Cindy smiled.

"Cheers?"

"Yes, cheers"

They clinked glasses, drank their Butterbeer, and held each other tight, basking in the moment.

Parliament and the Ministry agreed to reduce border restrictions. Platform 9 ¾ was reopened. Border patrol was still reinstated, with the use of passports, but less for control and monitoring, and more for the general well-being of both worlds. Hermione, the new Minister of Magic, immediately revoked the Hunt executive order, and released families of New Death Eaters from Azkaban that were prosecuted and captured. She gave the rights back to the mythical creatures in the Forbidden Forest, and created a law to protect them from dark hunters and poachers. Hermoine also paid for all of the funerals after the war. In an open field near Hogwarts, she dedicated a cemetery to every single life lost on that day. A special service was held for Sessabit, making his tombstone on the ruins where his home and father were both lost. Hermoine continued to meet with the Queen of England, talking about the relationship and partnering of both worlds going into the future. As always, Ron and Harry were by her side through it all.

The New Death Eaters were now looked at as heroes, standing for wizard solidarity. The community revered their efforts, and wanted to incorporate them in future projects regarding social change. Some agreed and some denied, reeling back into the traditions of hate from the old regime. Even some muggles denied, not fully trusting their motivations. But, Zelos and Maddie wanted to deradicalize the group's reputation and prove they can be a vital part of change going forward. So, they hosted seminars and conferences, teaching wizards and muggles about the underground politics of revolting against big establishments, false prophets, and the rise of magical and non-magical demagogues.

Neville reclaimed his spot as headmaster. At one point he forgot he lost it.

He then established an agreement with the Unspeakables at the Ministry to have access to only the Space Room, for it was no longer an entity of secrecy. Of the Unspeakables who weren't sent to Azkaban for dealing with Ventril, they agreed and let the public explore centuries of space studies and experiments.

The WADA was back to normal, with fewer killing curses of course, but progress would come with time. Despis and all of the professors, except Professor Pedro who was released from prison and automatically sent back for poking a student's bum with his long sword, were rewarded for their artistic bravery in the war, and were put on notice by the ministry and organizations. They were now funded immensely, and were able to provide more instruments, dance gear, music librettos, canvases, etc. Despis couldn't have been happier. All he wanted was to provide for his students. He wanted to bring the joy of theatre, and cultivate students into thinkers, creators, and lovers of tomorrow. Neville now allowed Despis to join the sorting hat ceremony, without feeling embarrassed about how the arts are a mockery to Hogwarts. It was the opposite, they were a luxury, and Despis finally accepted the notion that he wasn't centuries worth of failure and disappointment.

Willow joined the WADA and created a club called, "No Wands, No Problem."

The club was solely based around the idea that, if wizarding is not for you, then that shouldn't be a problem. She would hold conversations with many groups of students who identified themselves as fairies, or vampires, or dwarfs. Some biologically male wizards just wanted to be referred to as a witch, and vice versa. Willow even provided sources on other non-wizarding institutions on where to enroll around the globe. A Lot of people were interested in the Yeti Academy in Antarctica. Willow still never identified herself as a wizard, and her parents still condemned her for this, but that was okay, because now she didn't feel alone; disrupting the magical status quo. More people were like her, and that was something worth advocating for. Also, Hermoine categorized her as, "A lethal weapon" under the magical penal code. All Willow could say from this is, "Wicked."

One day, Reina, Enceladus, and even Maddie visited Willow under the Tree of Creativity. She was hosting a Blotter meeting, but she was by herself. She was hunched over reading Waiting for Godot.

"No killer snowmen to keep you company?"

Enceladus initiated the first move, sitting cross legged near her.

"What do you guys want?"

"Well, we wanted to talk about Waiting for Godot with you. Enceladus says you have a very interesting perspective on it."

Reina showed Willow her copy.

"We know how certain people can be turned off by this stuff, but we appreciate your knowledge and wish to listen and discuss."

Willow was speechless.

"Futility is always better with a friend, right?" added Enceladus, remembering his first Blotter meeting with her.

Willow hunched over her book more, raising and lowering her upper back.

"Willow, is Beckett making you cry?" Enceladus didn't know if that was possible for Willow.

"No…"

Willow with tears in her eyes, ran up and hugged Enceladus. Enceladus hesitated, then hugged her back. She didn't want to let go, and that was okay. He, and the others would be by her side, to stay, for however long her lonely heart needed.

Shortly after the war, Ventril was simply executed. Araneus was hired as a one-day executioner. At the end, Araneus the spider got what he wanted, and killed Ventril, avenging his family.

As Ventril's execution passed through his head, Enceladus reminisced on his year. His nightmares went away, (Thank god. Black holes are existentially exhausting) and his mother had bought a new house, which he helped move into. Besides what happened to his father, Enceladus gave her the Obliviate charm. She was just excited to start her life in her new home that wasn't Holland Park. Enceladus was too.

He eventually purchased his own harp and joined the Harpies. Willie was beyond ecstatic, taking him to all of the underground clubs and gigs. Willie was high for most of it, but Enceladus was glad he can have a bro to play some harp with now.

Then after all the messy events from the past year, he was able to perform his first Musical at the WADA. Wands and Wines was so good that Professor Flurry watched it every night in the theatre. That was saying something considering she usually stays far away from productions when they open. But, this one was different. Enceladus had such a blast, fire tapping, singing loudly, and flying around on the stage, but he had to do it alone, for his mother did not come (As always) his father and Sessabit were gone, and Reina couldn't perform. Apparently Sammy Cloud went to a performance to support Enceladus. He simply said hi, thank you, and left.

And Reina,

Oh Reina,

She never left,

Reina, Reina, Reina.

Reina, on repeat, etched into the crevices of Enceladus' brain. He missed her. She was sent to Azkaban for a couple months for murdering Enceladus' father. Under law, it was a third-degree murder. But, since the initial action was to stop a dangerous criminal, her sentence was shortened. But today was her release date and the last day of school, which meant school ball, where he promised to take her. But first, he had to visit someone.

Enceladus trudged up the spiral piano staircase that led to the WADA Common area. Once he entered, he saw the Tree of Creativity, and smiled. Every student around was hollering with excitement, getting ready for the end of the year ball. Hogwarts houses were intermixed. Witches went with witches, wizards went with wizards, and everything in between. The fireflies were bright on the tree, illuminating all the vibrant colors from everyone's suits and dresses. Everyone was ready to party.

Enceladus took a turn into a corridor that led to the professor's offices. He walked up and approached Alio's office. Someone was in his room. Enceladus cracked the door and peered in. It was Eleanor.

"I am very proud of you and this decision,"

Eleanor had the Tenacis Wand, and gave it to Alio. Alio then opened a small black chest, placed it in, and locked it with a spell. He then placed the black chest into a vault.

Eleanor gave Alio a hug and ran out the room. Eleanor seemed like she was free. Free from the shackles of...something. Enceladus saw her run to a small Gryffindor boy who was talking to someone by The Tree of Creativity, in his three-piece red and black suit. Once he noticed Eleanor, who was wearing a yellow sundress, he automatically blushed. He stopped talking and began signing to her. She signed back with pure euphoria.

Enceladus entered the room.

"Hi. May I come in?"

"Technically you are already in." smirked Alio, drinking his classic coffee in his classic off-white mug. "Sit."

"Sure." Enceladus pulled up a seat. "So...what was that about?"

"Oh, Eleanor? Well she accepted that she didn't need the Tenacis Wand anymore."

"She needed it?"

"Well, the only reason the wand was so drawn to her was because of her self-dislike."

"Because…-"

"Yes. The Tenacis Wand felt her cry for help, and called to her. That's why she was so skilled with it. In her time of distress, they bonded and comforted each other. She had the power to change her life and not be deaf. But, she came around and decided to opt out of that decision. She seems happier with that decision. And I was only a vehicle of guidance for that decision. "

"Because that happened to you?"

"Yes, and your grandparents were the ones to help me."

"Uh...well...that is why I was here. I wanted to ask about my grandparents. I don't know anything about them, and Despis told me that you-"

"Yes, yes I do." Alio paused, inhaled and exhaled cautiously.

"I loved your grandparents. I really did. When I was a student, I was constantly bullied for being deaf, and I loved theatre. But, it seemed like it didn't love me back. Your grandparents, who used to be counselors at Hogwarts and learned BSL, kept on encouraging me, and supporting me, trying to make the WADA a safe and fun space. But, at the time a wizard born with a disability was frowned upon and considered a liability. The wizarding world, especially theatre, wanted nothing to do with me. Despis, tried as well, but it was all too much for me. So in thoughtless frustration, I joined the ranks of Voldemort, because he was the only one that had what I needed. He had the Tenacis Wand and the Tenacis Wand gave me hearing. But after receiving my hearing and committing acts of terror with the Death Eaters I still felt empty. When Voldemort fell to Harry Potter I was in limbo. I didn't know what to do. I drank and drank all of my sorrows away. I needed something. So before the Third Great War broke out, I finished my training at the WADA and tried to be a teacher. But, Neville at the time was hesitant considering my history. There was no convincing I could have done to make him budge. Luckily, your grandparents were there, and noticed my journey of reconciliation and recovery, and convinced Neville that I was the perfect candidate to be considered as the acting teacher. After a few weeks I got the job, and couldn't thank your grandparents enough. But, word got out quickly, and the Daily Prophet falsely claimed in a fake interview that I talked ill-mannered of them, and that was never the case at all. The media ever since my return, has been on my tail, writing lies and skewed narratives about my life. And it's even harder when...well...I'm quite reserved and intimate with...drinks..."

Enceladus remembered that Despis said otherwise, reading articles about Alio's disdain for his grandparents. But, Despis didn't know.

"Once I was reinstated into Hogwarts and the third great war was approaching, your grandparents came into my office. Hah, no matter what your grandparents did, they always had a solemn way to announce big news. Your grandfather, Pollinis, had beautiful large poofy hair, lots of volume and bounce, and your grandmother, with radiant brown skin, could make a mean roast chicken, walked into my office one day holding hands. They sat down on my desk, and told me that their grandchild, who had a very special gift, was in danger; in danger of not experiencing more like him, because of his parents growing unrest and trust against wizards. They told me to make sure he gets to Hogwarts and experiences his other life. And once he is older to make his own decisions, he can decide whether he wants to keep pursuing his other life as a wizard. But, right now, in the midst of all of the hate going around back then, they made it known that their grandchild needed to be a part of the other world to understand it and love it just as much as the muggle world. And that was you, Enceladus."

"What?" Enceladus jerked back in his chair.

Yes. They gave me orders to watch over you, and make sure you made it to Hogwarts. They warned me of your father and the Superiors, and how they would have done everything in their power to prevent you, but I was to make sure that didn't happen. Unfortunately, it took longer than expected because of that pesky shield Ventril and your father put up, but I eventually found a way with the help of Neville. Neville wanted me to stay passive and undetected, so I couldn't directly help with the operation to take the shield down with the Tenacis Wand. But, your friend Sessabit was a brave boy, along with his father. So, ever since that day, I vowed to watch over you. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more transparent, I still had to lay low because of Ventril, which was very stressful...and I apologize for not being nicer as well. Sometimes the alcohol gets the best of me, and my ugly side shows"

Enceladus was speechless.

"So...what happened to my grandparents?"

"Well as you already know, they did pass away in the Third Great War." Alio paused, deciding if he wanted to say the next thing. " Ventril and your father murdered them during the war…"

Enceladus wanted to cry, but it just wasn't coming out, as if he expected something this crazy to come out of Alio's mouth.

"All right…"

"I know. I know. When I heard the news, I wanted to rip their heads off, but Neville tamed me and told me to not intervene, or protecting and watching you would be more difficult. I couldn't have taken the chance. I'm so terribly sorry."

"No, no, it's okay. You needed to tell me. Thank you. For everything."

Alio, who was crippled with incomprehensible pain from his past, was sincerely traumatized by this. But, Enceladus saw a metaphorical weight lift off his shoulders, when he revealed this information. Enceladus couldn't have been mad at him, for all he did was give him the opportunity to be a part of his other world. Alio's lips looked like they stretched to the back of his skull, as if he was waiting for this particular smile his whole life.

"You know. Your grandparents never fully left."

"What do you mean…?"

"Well, when they were alive they mastered their Patronues, even knew how to have astro-out-of-body experiences with their Patronuses."

"What are...uh...Patronuses again?"

"They are spiritual guardians in a sense that thrive on hope, happiness, and the desire to survive, basically anti-Dementor. They usually take the form of an animal. But, like I said, they mastered their Patronuses and ...well...became them, even after death."

"Wait, wait, wait so you're saying my grandparents are Patronuses? Where can I see them."

"Sadly, you can't make direct contact with them, but you can see them from time to time. It might have been hard because of their Patronuses."

"Well tell me. What was their animal?"

Alio smiled again.

"Bumble bees. The sweetest animals I know."

It all made sense. At the Quidditch pitch, the forest, by the Whomping Willow. The little circular white glowing orbs that he would see in his time of unsurety, anxiety, fear, or danger, were his grandparents, the orbs, the two bumble bees watching over him. Enceladus went to hug Alio. Alio didn't know what to do at first, but he gave in, and settled in, for it seemed that he needed the hug more than Enceladus.

They simultaneously said, "Thank you."

"I'm glad I could help. I wish I could have done more for you."

"Hey, it's all good. You did enough."

Alio appreciated the sentiment and stood up to shake his hand, " Congrats on your first year. I'm glad we bumped you up a grade."

"Yeah, me too. So, are you directing any shows next year?"

"We'll see. I hear Depsis wants a whole season dedicated to the works of Euripides."

"Ahhh, his lover."

They both laughed. Noise was blaring out of his office from the students.

Looks like I should close up shop. I better leave before the ball begins." Alio gathered his trench coat and cross-body bag.

"You are not going? You know to monitor, or vibe. I don't know what professors do during it."

"As appealing as that sounds, I am in no mood to vibe. I actually had a nice silent coffee date in downtown London with an old friend."

"Who?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange. Even though she is not physically with us, I have finally managed to come in contact with her. I mentioned her a couple of times in class. But, she's been a grand soul, and I only wish to cherish this lovely day with her. Have a good summer Enceladus. If anything happens, you know where my manor is."

Alio swished his disheveled mop like hair, clutched his dingy raggedy crossbody bag against his frail body, shook Enceladus hand once more and left his office, escorting Enceladus, his new friend out the door.

With that Enceladus had to get ready for his big date for the ball with Riena, the girl he only wished to cherish on this lovely day. And hopefully many, many days after.

Epilogus

Enceladus hated dressing up. Besides Hufflepuff getting second in house points this year (Whippie), this was a great celebratory occasion to do so. He wore a baby blue collared shirt, with a navy-blue bowtie, gray slacks, and black leather dress shoes. He even wet his thick curly hair and slabbed some sculpting gel. When he looked in his mirror, he felt confident. Profugus approved, nuzzling under his ear lobe with his colored feathers. He was ready but first he had to pay a visit somewhere.

The night was glittered with stars. There was barely any black to see in the sky. Enceladus used this extra light to guide him towards Sessabit's and Hagrid's grave sight, which now was a mound of dirt and two tombstones of what used to be their hut. Enceladus had a chocolate frog pink honey cream cupcake in his hands, the first thing Sessabit ever gave him. He placed it on Sessabit's tombstone, which was in the shape of a dragon.

"It's not my best work, but I only wanted to thank you properly. With some sweets." whispered Enceladus, as tears developed. The chocolate frog didn't jump away, knowing staying would make Enceladus happier.

Enceladus said his goodbyes, promised again to take care of Puddin' and vanished into the Forbidden Forest. A moon shower began over the giant bed of trees, which gave him streaks of light to guide his way.

The ball was going to start at the Great Hall in half an hour, but Reina told him to meet him by the Trail of Death before they went. Which he did without question.

The fairy lights, along with the moon shower gave him visual leverage as he navigated through the thick woods, which felt calm and peaceful.

He never ventured far into the woods where the Trail of Death resided. Reina always talked about how nobody went over there. But, there he was, over there.

He saw the trail of books, swiveling and curling into a dark blue abyss of nothing. The foliage of the forest no longer was in view. If Enceladus wasn't mistaken, it looked like the trail got longer. With a shaky conviction, he walked onto the path looking for Reina.

Some books were opened, and some books that he stepped on looked really familiar. He didn't exactly remember where from, but he definitely saw those books somewhere.

Some books were relatively fresh, with hard covers. And some were old with strewn strings hanging out from the ripped spines, concaving with each step.

With each step, the forest around looked as if it was all disappearing. The tunnel at the end was small, with a small blue light. Before he reached it his foot fell and vanished into one of the open books.

"What the?"

Enceladus quickly snagged it out, and ran the rest of the way there.

Once he reached the end, he saw a bed of blue flowers, perfectly encircled by trees, as if they were walls in this little pond sized space. And there was Reina, kneeling on the floor with her dress, which had blue roses on it.

" Welcome back from the klink."

"Enceladus! You made it!" Reina ran up and gave Enceladus the biggest hug in the world, wrapping her arms around his neck, as she nearly hovered off the floor, scraping the tips of her toes on the ground. "Sorry about meeting me here. I had to do something real quick."

"No, it's fine dear.-"

He stopped. He never called her dear ever. But, Reina didn't mind it and fully acknowledged it.

"I'm sorry-"

"No, you are all good." she smiled.

He half-smiled in return, feeling like he embarrassed himself.

"So, what is going on here?"

"I was just growing fresh new flowers for Evelyn's grave." she said rather plainly, accepting the notion her closest companion is truly dead. "Death is not easy to handle, especially when it's your best friend."

Enceladus knew that too well.

"Effie is buried here too, my other cat. I made the Trail of Death originally in honor of her."

"Wait, so this was all of your doing?"

"Mhm. Effie and I used to play in these parts of the woods all of the time. Just like Evelyn, I would always read with her in my free time. But, we would never really read together but, you know, magically jump in the book, and scamper around as cats in the story. That was our favorite pastime. We would read so much that we would sometimes jump book to book like we were dolphins. And the best part, the best part was when Effie would run into the woods and bring me back blue roses. I never knew from where, but she always brought one back to me like she killed a mouse or something." She paused. ''So, when she passed away, I was completely devastated. I was so devastated I was determined to bring her back to life. And that's what I tried to do. I spent countless hours, and restless nights trying to create an elixir to bring back the dead. I read in a book that a token of love from one's life was a key ingredient to bring life back. So, I grabbed one of the many blue roses Effie gave me and tossed it into my cauldron. But, I miscalculated and the elixir overreacted. The cauldron foamed rapidly and produced an abhorrent phosphorus smell, which eventually exploded onto my whole body. Then by some strange miracle, I survived and gained this,"

Reina grew more blue roses around the cat graves.

"Then, I later found out that the blue rose I tried to use became a part of me. I accidentally dropped it one day and my body was in pain. So, now if I don't have that flower, I'm done for."

Everything clicked in Enceladus' mind. He shook his head up and down, actually understanding what Reina was talking about.

"It's somewhere safe now, right?"

"Hah, yes, yes it is. Lightning and everything around it."

"Wonderful."

Another small awkward silence.

"But yeah, so I made this sanctuary for her. I called it the Trail of Death because I didn't want anyone near here. Effie and I read and played in every single book."

She picked up the shovel, stood up from her knees, and looked at the small mound that represented Evelyn's grave.

"Now Evelyn is here as well, along with every book we read and played together in."

Enceladus remembered all of the times he saw Evelyn playing in the woods near this trail, jumping into book after book. Then he remembered not knowing that Reina, as a cat who looked very similar to Evelyn, did the exact same thing. With everything going on in Reina's life, Enceladus knew that being with her cats was the ultimate happiness, where no problems existed; only an inseparable bond, even beyond death itself.

Reina looked down, letting her bangs flop in front of her fairy-like face, trying to hold back tears. "I should have stayed in Azkaban. At least emotions don't exist there."

"No, no, no we are glad you are back. You did your time, now let's just enjoy a night of freedom and dancing for once. No fights, secrets, no bad guys, just fun. How about it?" Enceladus slickly grabbed Reina's hand. She grabbed it back as well appreciatively, wiping away her tears, trying to smile. She looked up with her Aspectu Caelum and saw Mercury dancing and rotating above.

"Wow Mercury is so graceful tonight….Will ...will we make it back in time for the ball?"

Enceladus looked at his watch and saw that it was forty-five minutes past the ball time.

"Uh, it looks like we are a little late." Enceladus tried to think of alternative ideas. Then, out of the navy-blue sky, he saw the two white pulsating dots appear and float above his head. Bumble bees. They fluttered for an instance and disappeared. When they disappeared, Enceladus saw what they were covering up. It was Saturn. He knew what to do.

"Thanks, you two."

" Are you talking to yourself?"

"No! I mean yes, yes, I got an idea" he said, unexpectedly kissing her forehead in excitement. He thought he went too far, but Reina didn't mind it at all, thinking it was sweet. "Hold both of my hands. I need your strength."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Just trust me."

Reina trusted and grabbed his hands. In an instant, they both apparated from the Forbidden Forest.

A few seconds later they plopped into the Department of Mystery, near the tall shadow arch in the middle of the turning room.

"Wow. Is...is this the Department of Mystery? How is this even possible?" Reina looked around in awe.

"Well when you were gone the Ministry and the Unspeakables agreed that they would only allow access to the Space Room. And I have visited many times so I knew how to apparate here."

Reina's brain was having a field day where she wanted to explore everything. "Ooooo is that room of love?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Hopefully we'll have access to that one someday and sees what it says about-"

He stopped himself before he finished, but Reina knew exactly what he was going to say, and blushed. He grabbed her hand in excitement, and led her to the destination.

"Follow me. I remember which door it is."

Enceladus chose the correct knobless door, and led Reina inside. She was again, in awe.

"Welcome to the Space Room. Everything you see here, is everything you see up there."

Reina walked in slowly, taking in everything. She saw Mercury in Retrograde and every other planet in orbit just feet away. Then she saw Saturn.

"Hey, you always said you wanted to dance on its rings." Enceladus jumped from Mars to Jupiter to Saturn. Enceladus stood tall on the rings, puffed out his chest, and offered his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Reina excitedly agreed as she too gracefully leaped from Mars to Jupiter to Saturn. He offered her up, and they slowly, as if they didn't notice themselves, slipped into a dance position, swaying gently to the beat of the universe. They danced on the rings for hours, as it began to rain down pink roses again, decorating space with a shower of floral magic. Yet no matter how many flowers there were, the very best one was wrapped in his arms, forever lovely, and forever blooming.

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