When Bagsy's eyes opened it was onto the growingly familiar gothically-arched ceiling of the infirmary. She wriggled her fingers and toes, feeling as though her limbs were sturdy once more, and not broken from exhaustion. Tentatively, in case there were some injuries that movement had yet to reveal, she sat herself up, propping her back in place with some pillows and making herself comfortable.

With an inspection of the bed to her right, Bagsy was relieved to see Mezrielda sleeping soundly. If she'd been sleeping in her coffin back in Vespite manner, Bagsy may have mistaken her friend's washed out complexion and the dark shading around her eyes as a sign she was dead, but here in the light of the infirmary she could tell Mezrielda was in recovery. She'd been through a lot – it was only natural her body was taking its time returning to normal. She had no doubt that the injuries inflicted by the Nuckelavee were infused with dark magic and would prove difficult to heal. Glancing at her own shoulder which still had three deep indented scars in it from the blood eyed beast, she lamented on the scrapes she and Mezrielda seemed to always get themselves into.

'You're awake,' Bontie's voice cut into Bagsy's thinking. Bontie had dried off and was now garbed in lilac, black and green witch's robes, with a fancy pointed hat perched neatly on her head. Her long, wavy hair was styled professionally in a low ponytail tied with glinting green twine. Unceremoniously, she chucked Bagsy's muggle torch onto the bed next to her. 'I believe this is yours.'

'You're alive,' Bagsy breathed, smiling, her eyes already watering. She'd been awake a few moments and already she was crying.

Bontie nodded stiffly. 'Yes. I assume Mortem spewed some lie about my murder at the hands of an inferno?' Bagsy just nodded. 'As I suspected. I am very much alive and, unlike whatever nonsense I'm sure Mortem fed you, the only inferno the Ministry know the location of are Winifred and Robin.' Bontie tutted in frustration. 'I had one of my allies, a fellow spy in the Ministry, keeping a close eye on Mortem. She alerted me when he was causing you trouble, but she failed to warn me Mortem was forming a plan to lock me in my office, so he could speak with you alone. I underestimated his craftiness, and her incompetence.' Bagsy just looked at her sister blankly. 'And yes, I did say spy,' Bontie confirmed. 'I'll keep things simple and, Bagsy, you must understand; this is highly sensitive information.' With a cautious examination of the infirmary, and a casting of a spell that conjured a bubble around the two of them, cutting off all sound from the outside world, Bontie turned back towards her. 'I've been spying on the Ministry for Professor Fitzsimmons. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to contact them since I was requested on the submerged – that's what we called that large ship. Letters in and out of the vessel are strictly prohibited. Once you're on board you're allowed no contact with the outside world unless given express permission.'

Not ready for all this information, Bagsy simply continued to nod.

Bontie didn't seem to notice the lost expression on her face and pushed onwards. 'The Nuckelavee is usually in Hogwarts lake. It acts as a form of defence from threats that could come through the water. It kept attacking the ship so we filled the lake with salt to force it away. That's why it was in the forbidden forest. It…' Bontie paused, looking down at her white knuckled hands as she composed herself. 'The salt was my idea. It wouldn't have been in the forest, and it wouldn't have attacked you and Mezrielda, if it weren't for me.' With a sharp breath, Bontie looked back up. 'I've spoken with Mortem. I have dirt on him, he has dirt on me. We're both keeping quiet for now. If he accuses you and Mezrielda of breaking the law, I'll accuse him of attempted child murder, so he isn't a concern. Yet.'

Something in Bagsy told her now was when the conversation was going to turn sour. Something on Bontie's expression was growing more and more grim.

Bontie stood up, walking over to the bed and looking stiffly down at her. 'Bagsyllia,' she began, Bagsy flinching, 'I told you not to get involved, and to stay away from Mr Mortem.'

'I'm sorry-'

'What would I have done if you'd died?' Bontie cut over her sharply. Bagsy didn't say anything. 'You're lucky Winifred is so reckless. I found her and Robin first and took them to the magical beings for protection. Winifred didn't listen, though, and ran off to find you. It was only thanks to her light-show I arrived before anything worse could happen. You may have stunned the Nuckelavee temporarily, but-'

'It's still alive?' Bagsy asked, half-horrified, half-relieved.

Her hackles lowering, Bontie sat back down, crossing one leg over the other. 'Yes. Listen, Bagsy, I'm very unhappy with you. Your life is more important than you could ever imagine, and certainly more important than you keep treating it. Plus, I'm your big sister – I'm meant to protect you, but if you don't listen to what I tell you to do I can't keep you safe.'

'You did keep me safe,' Bagsy insisted lamely.

'Luck kept you safe,' Bontie snapped. 'Don't mislead yourself. You could have died a number of different ways last night. It's by the grace of chance, of fate, that you're here before me.' She pinched the bridge of her nose. 'Thankfully, I'm not the only one who's infuriated by your behaviour. Professor Starrett was besides herself. For once, we agree on something; you should be suspended.'

Bagsy stared at her sister in disbelief. 'Suspen…' she gasped out, unable to finish the word. 'That's not fair!'

'You provided untested potions to Winifred and Robin to hide their abilities,' Bontie countered. 'Last night, they told me what you were doing for them – the faculty hadn't realised phoenix borne's couldn't withhold their power if they so willed. Now it's evident that, had you not been providing them with potentially dangerous potions, they would have been discovered far sooner.'

'Exactly,' Bagsy fumed. 'I was doing what I had to.'

'What if your potion had killed them?' Bontie shot back angrily. Bagsy didn't have a response, thinking only of Primrose's scaled face. 'Unfortunately, Professor Fitzsimmons thinks more like you do, and took a lenient approach.'

Relief draped itself around Bagsy like a warm blanket. 'Mezrielda had nothing to do with it,' Bagsy rushed out quickly as a worry hit her. 'It was all my idea, I forced her to come along with me.'

Bontie arched an eyebrow. 'So, you're willing to take the fall alone?'

Bagsy nodded. 'Absolutely.'

Bontie folded her arms. 'Good. Fitzsimmons predicted as much. They're aware of Mezrielda's situation – she won't have any punishments on the record. Her place with her family won't be affected by the events of last night.'

Her eyes moving to Mezrielda, Bagsy internally disagreed. If Mezrielda didn't get her memories of her magic back, the events of last night could destroy her family.

Bontie followed Bagsy's gaze, seeming to guess her thoughts. 'Nurse Jones has inspected her mind,' she added slowly. 'There's… nothing that can be done to recover her memories. Mr Mortem's obliviation spells are second to none.' Bagsy gripped the duvet tightly, her eyes narrowing in sadness. 'The exams Mezrielda has already taken will be marked as usual, and she'll been given grades based on her current working ones for the exams she hadn't yet taken,' Bontie explained gesturing at Mezrielda. 'So she won't have to complete her school exams this year. Your punishment,' Bontie grit out, as if it agonised her to say it, 'is to complete the school exams, that you would have had to do anyway, but now with a free pass to next year regardless of if you succeed in them.'

'Oh,' Bagsy murmured.

'Yes,' Bontie seethed. 'When you get home, believe you me, you'll get something far worse.'

Bagsy sat for a minute, worrying about Mezrielda. Bontie seemed set to get up and leave. Still wondering about a few things, Bagsy stopped her. 'Why are you spying on the Ministry for Fitzsimmons?'

Bontie fixed her with a look. 'Do you honestly expect me to answer that?' Bagsy paused, then shook her head. 'You mustn't let Fitzsimmons know I've told you all this. You mention a word of what I've said to anyone…' Bontie looked over at Mezrielda. 'And I mean anyone, and I'll never be able to trust you with anything again.'

Bagsy scoffed. 'Trust,' she spat the word out bitterly. 'What has trust ever got me but confusion and pain.'

Bontie frowned, looking concerned for the first time. 'Excuse me?'

Bagsy found herself shivering like she was back out in the freezing rain. She wrapped her arms around herself and sniffed. 'I trusted Cora, and I trusted Mr Mortem, and I trusted Tod, and I kept trusting, and kept getting hurt, and then when I didn't trust someone, Winifred and Robin, everything went wrong. I thought it was good to trust people, and then I thought it was good to not be naive, but now, I don't know… when I think the best of what people promise, it only causes pain.'

'What did Tod do?' A shadow of anger fell over Bontie's face.

'I helped him get something back,' Bagsy explained after a pause, accepting her verbal slip up and the fate it had landed her in, and trying her best to keep her promise to Tod and not reveal information about his power. 'He wiped my mind in response.'

Bontie let out a harsh breath. 'I told you to stay away from him, Bagsy, if you'd just listened to me-'

'We're okay now,' Bagsy tried to explain. 'He helped when Mezrielda – I mean, when I planned to go to the big ship.'

But Bontie wasn't having any of it. 'He helped you to put your life in danger, you mean?' Bagsy went silent, glaring at her sister. Bontie rubbed her eyes tiredly. 'Bagsy, I'm just trying to keep you safe.'

'I know.'

'Rest up. Fitzsimmons will be in to see you later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to fill out a pile of paperwork large enough to sleep on.' Silently, Bagsy watched Bontie dematerialise the bubble surrounding them and sweep from the infirmary.

Taking Bontie's advice, she slept.

Later on that day, as she was tying her shoes and gathering her things, Bagsy couldn't help but admire the success of Mezrielda's aim for social respect. Nurse Jones'd had to wheel extra bedside tables and cabinets next to her bed to fit all the cards, flowers and sweets other students had brought her. Bagsy shamelessly helped herself to the snacks; they were all sweets Mezrielda detested. If Bagsy got a chance, she'd buy her some more fine fudge and pumpkin juice – something Mezrielda would actually enjoy.

'Helping yourself to some wheezing toffees, Bagsyllia?' Fitzsimmons asked as they entered the room and walked calmly over to her, their dusty, plain brown robes dancing over the floor as they moved.

Bagsy opened her mouth to respond, but only a ghoulish wheeze came out. Her face went blank in surprise, before she laughed. Only, it was a distorted, ghostly kind of laugh. It only made Bagsy more amused.

Fitzsimmons smiled gently down at her. 'You've had quite the ordeal, once more.'

'Yeah,' Bagsy managed around her wheezing toffee covered tongue.

'Your exams have been rescheduled,' Fitzsimmons explained, handing her a timetable. 'I hope you realise that some people wanted harsher action taken against you.'

'Yeah, I do,' Bagsy grumbled. 'My sister made that clear.'

'Some people don't understand there is more to behaving well than following rules,' Fitzsimmons said. Bagsy looked up at them cautiously – that didn't sound like something a teacher should say, but she found herself agreeing with them all the same. 'Rebontil mentioned something to me that caused concern.'

Bagsy tilted her head, thinking on Fitzsimmons' words as she chose between some sugar skulls and inky soda. 'What did she say?'

'She said you were having issues with trust.'

Bagsy paused, the ghost floss she'd settled on halfway to her mouth. She put it back, suddenly not hungry.

'Bagsyllia.' Fitzsimmons crouched down then, looking her directly in the eyes. 'Trust is a difficult skill to master, and an even more difficult virtue to maintain.' Bagsy shrugged, not sure what to say. 'Thoughts?' Fitzsimmons prompted.

'I just,' Bagsy began, then groaned in annoyance at herself. 'I don't know how to figure out who to trust, and how to figure out who not to trust, and how to tell if I've misjudged someone, or if I've misjudged misjudging someone.'

Fitzsimmons nodded their head understandingly. 'A valid complaint. Sadly, there is no answer. There is no definitive way to know if you can or can't trust someone. For all the experience you could gain in reading people, someone else will exist who has more experience on how to deceive. Such is the way of life.'

'What am I meant to do, then?'

Fitzsimmons said, 'If I may, I find my approach to trust the one that best helps me sleep at night. It is a simple logical premise. It is not infallible, mind you, yet, if you find yourself agreeing with it, you may find the answer you're looking for.' Bagsy waited, eyeing Professor Fitzsimmons in anticipation. They spoke softly. 'When it comes to trust, I would rather be fooled by an enemy then disbelieve a friend.' They looked over at Mezrielda. 'If you're truly concerned about who you can trust, you need only begin with the person you have no doubts towards. Count yourself lucky for being one of the few people in existence to have such a bond.'

Hazel eyes locked onto Mezrielda as the Slytherin slept soundly, her face already more filled with colour than it had been earlier. Bagsy stared for a time, feeling warmth seep through her at the realisation of the bounty of trust within her for her friend. All things aside, it would be more than enough. 'Thank you, Professor,' Bagsy said quietly.

'Of course. Now, I daresay you should begin exam preparations. Best of luck, Bagsyllia.' With a pop of dust, Fitzsimmons was a moth fluttering away from her.

Casting a happy glance at Mezrielda, and thanking the stars her friend had survived their recent ordeal, Bagsy turned to grab her textbooks from her room.

The remainder of her exams rushed by her. It was strange to continue with normal school work when her dreams were plagued by monsters, both human and beast, and there were bruises and cuts all over her body from what she'd faced. The squeeze of doorframes closing around her made her feel queasy, and the smell of fire made her sway on her feet, and yet she was memorising charms and wand movements as if nothing was wrong.

It was odd that, as she walked to the Charms classroom for her Charms practical exam, she didn't feel the nerves she had been expecting.

The double doors creaked open heavily as Bagsy pushed them.

'Close them behind you,' Starrett said sharply. Bagsy did as she was told. Starrett was perched pristinely on a chair in the centre of the walk way, an empty stool before her. She gestured at it with a skinny arm, and Bagsy sat down. 'In case you were wondering, Fitzsimmons has informed me that, regardless of whether you pass or fail this exam, you shall not be expelled,' Starrett spoke, inspecting her nails,

'Oh,' Bagsy murmured.

'Yes, oh,' Starrett intoned mockingly as she rose from her chair. 'I won't bother conducting the exam – there's no point, it would be a farce. Instead, I thought I'd deliver a message of my own.' Dread gripped Bagsy. 'I've had enough of waiting around for you to sort yourself out give up on the façade of being inept you're so married to. Next year, you'll endure one-on-one lessons with me until you can cast at least one spell. Am I understood?'

Bagsy gaped up at her. 'One-on-one?' she echoed, horrified.

'Unless you'd rather be expelled,' Starrett hissed. 'That was my condition to Fitzsimmons, you see.'

Hanging her head in defeat, Bagsy accepted her fate. 'Alright, then…' she muttered.

'Yes, miss,' Starrett corrected her snappily, and Bagsy, echoing her in feeble politeness, felt it was an intensely accurate preview of what she'd have to look forward to next year.

A heat wave was rushing through Britain as Bagsy and Mezrielda sat on the grass by the edge of the lake, thinking in silent contemplation. Mezrielda was slowly recovering from her injuries.

Bagsy dipped her finger into a vial filled with water and tasted it cautiously – she'd just filled it from the lake. Mezrielda quirked an eyebrow at her. Bagsy shook her head. 'No salt,' she confirmed.

Mezrielda nodded. She was still weak and Bagsy had to carry her things for her wherever she went.

Bagsy wanted to ask Mezrielda what she was going to do about the Ministry test she'd have to take this summer, but she was sure she didn't need Bagsy reminding her that she could be taken from her parents in a few months' time. Her summer was already looking gloomy enough. At least Mezrielda had received fantastic results in all of her exams, unlike Bagsy, who had failed anything involving spellcasting. She'd consoled herself that her Astrology, Thaumathletics and History of Magic results had been passes, and that her Herbology and Potions results had been almost perfect. But instead of discussing exams, they'd talked about the weather machine; Bontie hadn't mentioned it, nor had any of the faculty, and Bagsy hadn't picked it up from the forbidden forest amidst all the confusion. They reckoned it was still there.

'How did you do it?' Mezrielda asked out of the blue.

Bagsy shrugged, knowing instantly what Mezrielda was referring to. 'Luck,' she echoed her sister's sentiment. 'And I filled the weather machine with salted snow – the Nuckelavee wasn't keen on it.'

Mezrielda inclined her head. 'I could tell.'

Bagsy began to speak very quickly, talking about how Winifred had appeared and been impaled, and then turned into a pile of ash, and how that ash had reformed into Winifred again not long after. Bagsy reckoned it was another aspect of being a phoenix borne. She left out the part about the magical creatures who'd been stolen from the Ministry hiding in the forest – she had promised Bontie she wouldn't tell anyone. It was awful, leaving something so important out to Mezrielda, but she'd given her sister her word. 'I saw the suits of armour,' Bagsy blurted out suddenly. She didn't feel that was a betrayal of Bontie's trust – the armours weren't a part of the creatures that had been stolen from the Ministry.

Mezrielda bristled. 'Pardon?'

'They were in the forest. They… protected me from creatures. Why do you think they did that?'

Frowning, Mezrielda considered this. 'The suits of armour don't strike me as highly intelligent. They were perhaps trying to keep their deceased master's meal from being eaten by someone else,' she decided. 'Or maybe, with the beast dead, they do whatever they want now, and fancied keeping you safe.'

'Either way, one of them invited me to touch its helmet and when I did I had this strange vision,' Bagsy said.

That caught Mezrielda's attention. She stiffened. 'How detailed was it?'

'Not very. Just a brief flash.'

Silence returned as Mezrielda watched Bagsy quietly. After a time, she spoke very gently. 'Bagsy, if I ask you to do something, can you promise me not to ask why?' With a frown, Bagsy reluctantly nodded. 'Close your eyes.' Bagsy did so, not sure what was happening. 'Think about the vision you saw – think of it like a particular book on a bookshelf. Take it into your hands and open it up – read it once more.' Bagsy opened her eyes, shooting Mezrielda a perplexed look. Mezrielda scowled back. 'Did I tell you to open your eyes?'

Bagsy sighed. 'No.' She shut them again, envisioning the vision she'd had. Somehow, it returned to her, as vivid as it had been the first time she'd experienced it.

She was a small child in the corridor, with five other small children around her. There was rubble on either side of them, and then the rubble was moved by someone. Forcing herself to pay more attention, her curiosity driving her forwards, Bagsy continued to watch. A figure appeared as the rubble shifted aside. The figure's body glowed a bright white, and it approached them. This time, Bagsy kept watching, and found the vision stretching out before her.

The figure moved with terrifying speed and Bagsy jumped in shock as it was abruptly upon the child next to her. It clawed the child's face and then, horribly, its jaw unhinged and stretched as wide as the child. In a blinding burst of light, the child disappeared, devoured by the figure.

Bagsy wanted to move away, to run, but there was nowhere to go, her back was pressed against the rubble, and the figure was blocking the only escape. She watched as two extra arms sprouted on the figures back, and it hunched over, rising in size like proving bread, its outline bubbling like a boiling cauldron. It let out a deep guttural sigh, and then moved onto the next child, consuming that one, too. More arms grew on its back.

Eventually, the five children who had been with Bagsy were gone, and it was only her and the creature left. It reached out, dragging three white claws along Bagsy's leg, leaving a deep wound in its place. 'You're mine…' Bagsy heard a petrifyingly familiar voice in her head before she, too, was consumed.

But the memory didn't end – she found herself hovering in the air, looking down at the beast she now recognised. The blood eyed beast looked up, at the floating souls of the six children it had just consumed. With thrusts of its many arms, they were thrown in all directions.

Bagsy travelled through the stone walls until with a sharp stop, her soul took rest inside a suit of armour, sinking into the metal, becoming trapped in the structure. There, her mind began to fade, becoming simple, and obedient, to its master.

The memory was beginning to end but Bagsy wasn't done – something wasn't right with this image. As if she'd been doing it her whole life, Bagsy rewound everything she'd seen. Her soul sucked out of the armour and shot back to the corridor filled with rubble and the red carpet. She turned back time, the five other children appearing out of the mouth of the now slowly devolving creature, until the moment froze on a snap-shot presented clearly before her eyes.

She examined the figure in the moments before it grew and bubbled up into the horrifying figure of the blood eyed beast, and a frazzling sensation of breathy horror shuddered within her.

The figure was an average height, and though they glowed a bright colour, Bagsy could see they were wearing unassuming white and brown robes with a long trail, and a pointed, crooked cap. Specks of light, like dust, fell off the robes as they shifted from their owner's movement. The figure's hair was short, cut to the jawline, and curved in impossible angles, and on their face were large, bug-like glasses that amplified red, sludgy eyes.

Bagsy jerked forward, gasping in air and clutching her stomach as she forcibly jumped free from the vision. She turned her head up, looking over Hogwarts lake, shaking.

'Have you realised?' Mezrielda asked, relief on her face.

'Professor Fitzsimmons!' Bagsy gasped out. 'They – but how? I saw them in the suit or armour's memory – I saw Fitzsimmons becoming the blood eyed beast!' Then, she startled. 'Wait, did you already know?'

Mezrielda froze, her eyes widening. 'What?'

'You asked me if I'd realised something. Did you already know?'

'I was actually talking about something entirely different, but that can wait. What do you mean Fitzsimmons became the blood eyed beast?'

Bagsy recounted the memory, how the children had been devoured, and their souls forced into the suits of armour and that, with each devouring the figure had changed more and more until it was identical to the blood eyed beast. Finally, she explained that, looking at the figure before they had shifted, they'd looked exactly like Professor Fitzsimmons.

Mezrielda shook her head in disbelief. 'Oh my,' she exhaled. 'This is disastrous.' Bagsy nodded. 'This makes little sense,' Mezrielda continued. 'Fitzsimmons and the beast have been in the same place at the same time – how could they be the same person?'

Bagsy realised, 'At the end of last year Fitzsimmons appeared to fight the beast, before the beast died. Only…' Bagsy trailed off. She looked guiltily at Mezrielda. 'I haven't told you this yet, but…' Bagsy pulled the sleeve of her robe up, showing the three claw marks still indented deeply into her shoulder. Mezrielda looked at it in confusion. 'The beast marked me. Usually, in marking, if either the creature that marks or the creature that gets marked dies, the mark goes away.'

Mezrielda's eyebrows shot up. 'And you didn't think to tell me this before?' she hissed.

Bagsy shook her head. 'I don't think the creature is still alive,' she argued. 'I-' her voice cut off. She swallowed, forcing herself onwards. 'I stabbed it until it choked on its own blood. It must be dead.'

'It did burn to ashes,' Mezrielda added, sounding somewhat placated.

Her words, though, ignited a furious fear in Bagsy. 'Oh, no,' she breathed. 'Oh, no, no, no…'

'What?'

'The beast can consume the powers of those it marks and devours,' Bagsy rushed out. 'It's an ancient thing – who knows how many people it's eaten.'

'You don't mean…' Mezrielda exhaled. 'If it had devoured a phoenix-borne at some point, then…'

They looked out over the lake, unable to finish the sentence between them. Like Winifred, had the beast reformed from the ashes it had left behind? Was it out there now, waiting, scheming?

Bagsy shuddered, placing her hand tentatively on her scars. 'What do we do?'

Mezrielda looked defeated. 'I don't know. I don't have my spells, anymore. There's nothing I can do.' She hesitated, glancing over her shoulder. A group of students were heading towards them – the ones Mezrielda had dubbed the loud ones. She turned to Bagsy. 'All I know is, we need to learn more about the beast. We have to prepare ourselves. If you're still marked it's going to come after you.' Her expression was grim. 'And, above all else, we can't trust Fitzsimmons.'

'Hey Bagsy,' Teresa called cheerily, flopping down lazily next to them. 'How are you recovering there, Mezrielda?'

Mezrielda held Bagsy's gaze, who looked back, giving her a minute nod of agreement and leaving their discussion there for now. Mezrielda glanced down at Teresa. 'I'm alright. It's certainly pleasant not having to attend Professor Mephit's joke of a class anymore.'

'Too right,' Teresa chimed her agreement. Neve sat down next to Teresa, and Itsuki and Jon joined them, chattering loudly. Teresa had started a long rant about her hatred for Professor Mephit.

Bagsy could certainly agree with Mezrielda – they were loud ones, even if she was slowly growing more fond of that fact.

When Fiona and Killian ran by, having been on a jog, they stopped and joined, talking animatedly about how their exams had gone. Killian and Itsuki talked for an age about metaphors and hairstyles, while Fiona and Jon discussed quidditch. They'd never talked to each other for longer than a few minutes, Bagsy thought, and yet they could converse as if it was nothing.

Their group slowly grew as other students noticed the small gathering. Paloma and Maisy sat down next to Fiona and Killian, and when Elijah and Howe spotted them they wandered over, too. Giving in to the inevitable party that was forming, Bagsy waved Tod, and his friend Hamley, over when she saw them. She even gave Arice a friendly smile when he cautiously began to approach.

'Oh!' Teresa spoke up in excitement. 'Why don't we go and grab the snacks we bought from Hogsmeade and have a picnic?'

Jon was already on his feet. 'That's a great idea!' he cried, the two racing back to the castle. When they returned, their arms were laden with liquorice, toffee apples, gravy candy, fish shaped pastries, sugar skulls, chocolate frogs and tongue-tying tear drops. They also had, following them, Ford, Greenda, and a sour-faced Emmeline, who was being dragged along by Kat.

Mezrielda arched an eyebrow at Bagsy, who crinkled her nose as if there was a bad smell and nodded her agreement. She couldn't deny that, though sometimes she enjoyed this sort of company, and liked the flowing conversation around her like a hiker may enjoy sitting down and watching a stream, right now neither herself nor Mezrielda were in the right mental space to endure such a crowded event. It was less like a hiker watching a river, and more like being caught in a flash flood.

As everyone was chatting and introducing themselves, Bagsy and Mezrielda got to their feet, Bagsy leaning down to help Mezrielda and carry her things, and walked, unnoticed, away. Bagsy glanced back, feeling a twinge of pain that Winifred and Robin would no longer be able to join in things like that – they would no longer be able to attend Hogwarts at all.

Walking in silence for a time, they reached the castle, Mezrielda limping heavily. As they moved towards the door, a few last questions were playing on Bagsy's mind. 'What were you going to say?' she asked.

Mezrielda shot her a look. 'About what?'

'After the memory, you were going to say something. You asked me if I'd realised something.'

'Ah.' Mezrielda winced, trying her best to keep her weight off her bad leg, her shoes tapping on the stone floor of the main corridor as they both walked through the giant double doors. 'It was nothing important.'

Bagsy wasn't convinced, but she had a feeling Mezrielda couldn't be persuaded to reveal whatever it was she had been thinking.

One final question stuck in Bagsy's mind, but she held it in. Even during the leaving feast, as the Hufflepuff table burst into cheers, having won the house cup, Bagsy couldn't fully let go of the question. Ford cried profusely as he hugged first Emmeline, then Kat, then Greenda, then Jon, then Teresa and, with her reluctant permission, even Bagsy herself. The banners turned yellow and black, and Ford even summoned his broom and did a dozen loop-de-loops in the air. As overjoyed as it made Bagsy feel, despite how loud it was, there was still an underlying urge to ask the question that had stuck in her mind. The only issue was, she wasn't sure if the question was insensitive or not.

As Bagsy and Mezrielda settled into their compartment on the Hogwarts express and the train started to move out of the platform, fat, white clouds puffing out of the steam engine in time with the rhythmic clunks of the wheel, the words bubbled out of her before she could stop them.

'Why can't you cry?'

The scenery passed them by as silence surrounded them, and Bagsy began to shake with wory that she really shouldn't have asked the question after all.

Mezrielda didn't respond for a time but, eventually, she said, 'I told you. My tear ducts were sealed.'

'Yeah, but…' Bagsy scuffed her shoes on the floor, trying not to notice that, though she had a cage to take Eldritch home, she'd had no need of her rat cage this year. 'If you don't mind me asking, why were they sealed?'

Mezrielda looked away from her. She swallowed, her eyes darting back and forth as she took in the Scottish countryside. 'Apparently I cried a lot as a child, and the Ministry were using it as evidence to take me away. They said if they found me with tears on my face one more time that would be the end of it. My parents…' There was a heavy pause. 'They didn't have a choice.' She reached into her bag, digging deep and pulling out a small vial with a pipette in it. 'Eyes drops,' she said. 'My eyes often get dry because of it.' Hand gripping it tightly, as if her anger was barely contained, Mezrielda put the vial back.

Bagsy felt a hot fury within her – Palid and Dantura had made their own daughter incapable of crying, and it had been the Ministry who'd put them in such a position. She shook her head, a growl forming in her throat. 'I'm starting to really dislike the Ministry.'

Mezrielda laughed once, eyes moving in her direction. 'Welcome to the club.'

'I'll add them to my list of people and things I can't trust. It's getting pretty long,' Bagsy joked as the compartment rattled from side to side. It was soothing, in a way, a gentle rocking to help cool the rage that was slowly building within her.

Mezrielda laughed again, then winced, gripping her side and glancing down at her injured leg. She still wasn't in the best shape. But even if she'd be fully healed in a few weeks' time, the arrogant glint she'd always had in her eyes was gone. Looking at her, though, Bagsy knew she the same Mezrielda who'd become her best friend.

She didn't know what to think of Fitzsimmons now. She certainly didn't think she could trust them; but there was one thing Fitzsimmons had claimed that Bagsy was certain of. It didn't matter how she felt about anyone else because she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she could trust Mezrielda.

It was more than enough.

Authors Note:

Wow, I can't believe we've reached the end of book three. Time has flown by! The wait between book three and four is going to be considerably longer than between the first three in the series, so expect to see book four releasing online in 2023. In case you didn't know, all seven books of the Bagsy Chronicles have been drafted in full, and will be released, but will all need some editing first, hence the wait.

If you want more Bagsy content, or to keep up to date with Bagsy news, check out leollyen on tiktok. These books are also uploaded onto AO3 and Wattpad, if you prefer either of those two platforms.

Thank you to the amazing beta-readers who've made this all possible and thank you to all those who've read through the first three books in the Bagsy Chronicles, and to anyone who has shown their support for the series. Reviews are always appreciated!

As with the end of any Bagsy book, the title of the next one will be teased. So I'll see you all next year for the fourth instalment in the Bagsy Chronicles: BBatVA (I wonder if anyone can guess what that stands for?)

Mischief managed,

Leol