Jasmine and Violet were just finishing another boring lecture with the junior Charms professor, Violet had spent most of the hour just reading a book about advanced charms and wondering what they were going to eat for dinner. However, just after the bell rang Jasmine pulled her directly towards the Room of Requirements, which was quite weird because they normally didn't study together until after dinner.

"What happened?" she asked, a bit preoccupied with what had put her friend in such a fuzz.

"Lucretia knows wants in."

"She wants in on what?" she asked, a bit perplexed.

"She basically wants to know what we are planning to do with all that we are learning."

"So she wants to know about our plans regarding Grindelwald?"

"I think so, I doubt that she knows that we are planning to intervene in the war but she wants to know what we are planning."

"So she's using the knowledge that we are using magic illegally in the orphanage to blackmail us into telling what we know?" she asked, already quite angry at the heiress's audacity.

"Not really, she says that she doubts that there's evidence of our usage of magic there anyway and that if she wanted to tattletale on us she would have already." she explained.

"You don't believe her do you?"

"I'm not sure." she said, a bit exasperated.

"She menaced us with that same threat already. Why would she say it was a bluff all along?"

"I think she doesn't want to be the heiress of House Black for much longer." ventured Jasmine as if she doubted her own words.

"Why do you say that?"

Jasmine sighed and started playing with one strand of her curly hair. "Well to be honest I don't know much about the history of House Black before the birth of my Sirius. But from what he told me he seemed to imply that it was Orion, not Lucretia who was Lord Black by the time he was born."

"You think she renounced her heirship? Why couldn't it be that Arcturus simply decided to punish her by revoking the heirship?" she asked intrigued by what kind of situation would lead an heir of a Most Noble and Most Ancient House to renounce their birthright,

"Wouldn't it be the same? Arcturus would be insane if he decided that his talented and admired daughter couldn't play the role of Lady Black. If he decided that she wasn't fit for the position, it was because she broke character and did something that would damage House Black significantly, do you see Lucretia doing that by accident?" argued back Jasmine.

"Not really." admitted Violet while trying to think what could possibly be terrible enough to remove Lucretia from the heirship. "But why would she do it then?"

"I think she doesn't have the best of relationships with her family already," said Jasmine. "during the last party, she implied that her family had either murdered or basically exiled her last lover because she was female."

"How did that topic come up?" asked Violet, a little perplexed that her friend had found out such a damming story.

Jasmine became even more nervous and flustered by the question. "I'm not sure, to be honest, she just went and told me about it when she said it." she tried to lie terribly. Violet wanted to press, part of her was a bit nervous that the older girl had tried something with Jasmine, but she doubted she would get much more from the stubborn girl.

"Well then either way I don't like it, she is asking us to trust her after she did an extensive search into matters that, to be honest, aren't her business at all, and then she asks us to trust her." she bluntly laid down. It isn't that she didn't see how useful an ally Lucretia may be for their aims. She knew perfectly well that fighting against Grindelwald required as many powerful allies as they could get, and like Lucretia liked to remind them each Friday, she was as powerful as they came, both magically and politically. "I don't trust her at all, especially if she just wants to join us to go against the wishes of her father."

Jasmine didn't seem as convinced, it was clear to VIolet that she was pondering it much more intensely than VIolet had. "I'm not so sure that we should dismiss her out of hand. First of all, she is technically an adult already so she may be able to do things that right now we are unable to do due to our age, like patenting the blood replenishing potion. Moreover, that potion would prove to be incredibly useful in reducing the number of deaths in the war."

"But do you want her to know about your reincarnation?" she promptly argued back.

"I don't think that she needs to know. By this point, anyone who is paying attention can see that war is coming."

Violet huffed indignantly. "She knows that we have been training for quite a while already, she suspects that we have been training even before we went to Hogwarts, in a way that no one else could ever do. I doubt she would buy that we just started doing it because of Grindelwald and the incoming war."

Jasmine at least didn't try to contradict her right away, she stayed silent for a while probably thinking it over. "We could simply not tell her? She already knows that there is something weird regarding our abilities but she hasn't done anything yet."

"I doubt that someone curious enough to investigate in depth the origin of our abilities would drop the issue if we let her in on some of our secrets."

Jasmine made a face surely realizing that she was right. "So we don't tell her what we want to do?"

"No, I don't trust her at all unless we have a better understanding of why she wants to work with us in the first place. It isn't a good option for the moment."

Jasmine nodded rather reluctantly. "Then do you want me to contact those animal product sellers?"

Violet nodded, they needed to be able to sell the Basilisk products in bigger numbers if they wanted them to be the source of the majority of their war coffers.

"You should send them small samples so that they can guarantee that we aren't trying to scam them."

"Then let's go directly to the owlery right now, it is best if we start this as quickly as we can." she said, already opening the door.

The next Friday Lucretia didn't demand their response. The only indication that she had even asked them something at all, was the curious eyebrow that she raised at the end of the session to which Jasmine simply shook her head.

The contacts that they had met during the Samhain Party had been quite intrigued to have a source for Basilisk products. They had been so intrigued that they eventually decided to turn a blind eye regarding the origin of said products, in compensation for an exclusivity contract. Violet had been smart enough to also include a clause where their names would remain secret in said contract.

So at last their entrepreneurial efforts were starting to take off and the amount of profit they were getting weekly was scandalous. By the end of the month, they would have gotten as much money as Jasmine's inheritance ever had and by the next year, they would have increased it by over ten times. Although touchingly, Jasmine had insisted that the money they got from the Basilisk needed to go to Violet's own vault as it was coming from her inheritance. So finally Violet had begun to have her own money. Nevertheless, Jasmine still wanted to get more sources of money to increase their wealth, to be able to guarantee that they had enough resources for when they part to war.

At the same time, the war was warming up. Grindelwald continued his strategy of seemingly trying to blame his attacks on separatist movements. Violet was still undecided in regards if those movements were actually taking part in the attacks or if it was all Grindelwald's doing like Jasmine liked to insist. Nevertheless, the Commonwealth's government had taken the attacks at face value and they were aggressively cracking down on sympathizers. However, at an international level, their actions were causing scandals, as images of them lining up, the supposed terrorists in brought daylight were getting printed in international newspapers. The tense situation was getting ready to explode and VIolet was sure that the one who had orchestrated it was ready to reap what he saw.

Soon December arrived and Violet was completely exhausted. The training they were taking in the dueling club had become even more intense if that was even possible. They were quite frequently dueling four people at the same time, and even though it was becoming easier, it still was completely exhausting.

At the same time their little project, with the magically expanded purses, was, at last, coming to its end. It irked Violet that Jasmine had been able to make them from day one, but with the rather surprisingly insightful help from Eileen, they had been making great progress. Violet was sure that the next time the stars were in the right place they would be able to successfully make one of those.

Moreover, Jasmine's work, studying dark magic and more advanced charms and transformations was getting more and more interesting and complicated. Now that she was able to cast the Patronus, Jasmine had decided to teach her another spell in the same vein. The Timeo spell, much like the Patronus was the spell that came from your happiness and Fiendfyre from your hatred, it came from your fears. To cast it you had to bring forward your greatest fears. It was particularly hard to cast because you needed to maintain your focus despite the fear that you brought to yourself.

However, that wasn't what was making Violet struggle, it was more than anything because she didn't know where to bring forward that fear. Of course, she had felt fear before, the rare times she had felt weak she could admit in the privacy of her own mind that it had usually brought fear with them. Nevertheless, that fear hadn't been enough, and because she couldn't imagine it she couldn't even use Occlumency to help her.

She was really frustrated by her inability to cast such a powerful spell. It was incredibly useful too, as Jasmine had explained, Timeo was able to bring forward fear and despair in the hearts of their opponents. Wielded by a skillful caster, the dark reflection of the Patronus could cause so much mayhem in a wizard's mind, that it would stop them from casting magic. There were very few spells or rituals able to protect against it, among them the only one Violet knew was the Patronus.

They had thought of using it to produce the kind of fear necessary to know what emotion to bring forward in order to cast the spell. Sadly, the fear that Jasmine's Timeo produced was much less than the one the spell used. Maybe a more skillful user would be able to produce enough fear but Jasmine wasn't skilled enough. Still, the experience had been astonishing for Violet, the way that her pulse quickened, her breath hitched, the damn anticipation she felt while she waited for an attack from everywhere and anywhere all at once. She didn't know what she was scared of, she didn't know who to attack, she was stuck looking at everything trying to find its source. She hated it, she hated how weak she was, how a simple spell had paralyzed her completely she was a sitting duck she was going to be attacked any minute now and she couldn't have done anything to stop it. She didn't even realize Jasmine had ended the spell until she started hugging her making small circles on her back.

Violet knew that she should demand to be tested against the spell once more until she was able to actually react to it, but to her anger and frustration she didn't.

All of these coupled with her regular classes had her completely mentally and physically exhausted. She was yearning for the Holidays to begin and Jasmine didn't seem to be doing much better. If anything she looked even more tired probably due to the study club.

They were busy in the Great Hall, lamenting her over-stuffed timetable when the Malfoy heir came towards them.

"You two don't seem too good." he commented lightly at seeing their dragged-down appearances.

"We are in desperate need of a good vacation, to be honest, this year has been brutal." whined Jasmine.

"Yet, I think I have never seen any of you two actually reading the correct book in a charms class."

"Do you think that normal classes are the ones that are tiring us?" asked Violet drily.

Malfoy had the audacity to roll his eyes, apparently expecting her bluntness.

"Do you want to stay with me for the Holidays or not?" he asked a bit aggressively.

Jasmine immediately perked up at hearing that.

"We would be delighted to go." she accepted immediately.

Violet normally would protest the idea of her acceptance for the two of them, but the truth was that she desperately needed a break, so she nodded along.

"That's great, you seemed to have made a good impression with my mother. She has insisted I invite you two since August. I think I should feel jealous." he said with a teasing smile.

"We are great aren't we?" said Violet.

"Yes, you are oh great serpent queens."

Violet and Jasmine laughed candidly, at least their holidays were looking to be a well-deserved rest. However, Lucretia hadn't wanted to let them rest during their last session before the Holidays. When all the members of the club arrived she did a by now familiar wand movement and the platform at the center of the Chamber came down.

"Today we are going to see how far you have come in these last few months. Potter, Riddle, you come with me." she said as soon as everyone got ready.

Dutifully, Jasmine and Violet followed her to a corner in the room. Lucretia barely wasted any time putting the protective wards around them before turning to them.

"Let's see how much you two have grown shall we." she said with a small excited smile on her face.

"One, two, GO!" she exclaimed sending her first few spells immediately. Jasmine and Violet exploded in movement, jumping in opposite directions. Violet quickly started to levitate small pieces of the ground and transform them into a couple of reinforced mirrors. Meanwhile, Jasmine started to trade spells with Lucretia, the fruits of their training becoming more obvious, as she expertly dodged Lucretia's barrage of spells.

Violet tried to help her by redirecting some of the spells that were coming her way. But as soon as Lucretia saw what they were doing, she raised a wall from the stone floor, blocking Jasmine's spells and making them lose sight of her.

"Bombarda Maxima! Depulso!" yelled Violet wanting to destroy the wall before Lucretia could regain her bearings.

The two spells annihilated the stone wall and launched its debris towards the edge of the wards, but no one was behind it. Violet started to carefully observe her surroundings trying to find her hidden opponent, when the stone floor under her started to fold, making her fall. The ground folded, forming a stone lion that threw itself at Violet violently. Behind it, she saw Lucretia when the disillusionment charm dropped down, already sending spells Jasmine's way.

Violet jumped out of the way of the massive stone lion but she was too slow as the lion's paw slammed into her side sending her flying and probably cracking a few of her ribs. Violet felt herself losing her breath and saw the stone lion abruptly turning to run towards her. Trying to ignore the pain she felt each time she breathed she lifted her wand and cast the most powerful exploding charm she could. Completely destroying one of the lion's legs and making it stumble.

That should be enough to stop it for now. Violet tried to breathe again only to feel the sharp pain in her side once more. Slowly she rose up from the ground and tried to look for Jasmine who was still trading spells with Lucretia. Her friend looked worse for wear, but it seemed that she had been able to at least make the older girl bleed.

Gathering her strength, she launched herself into the offensive, rapidly transforming the ground where Lucretia was standing into sharp uneven stone spikes. The heiress tried to disrupt the transformation but defending against the series of spells that Jasmine was sending was taking too much of her attention and she had to jump out of the way of the spikes. She struggled to maintain her balance as the spells sent by Jasmine and Violet impacted a quickly formed shield cracking it. Violet increased the speed of her casting hoping to finally take the heiress, Jasmine did a complicated wand movement transforming the flat stone surface into a steep mount making the older girl fall down.

"Fumo!" exclaimed Lucretia, producing a thick cloud of smoke that completely devoured all the spells that came into it.

"Ventos!" yelled Violet producing a strong current of air that quickly dispersed the smoke. However, Lucretia had used the opportunity to disappear once more.

"Magisk Dimma!" her friend exclaimed suddenly.

Once more dark smoke started to appear in their little arena, completely blocking Violet's vision. She heard Jasmine dropping down on one knee, her breathing so heavy that Violet could actually hear her. Violet wondered why the hell had Jasmine given Lucretia, even more, cover and why she was so exhausted by simply conjuring some fog, but then she paid attention to it. It felt quite different from the fog that Lucretia had created earlier, it practically oozed with magic, a magic that was quite familiar to Violet. It felt as if the fog was basically Jasmine's magic given form. She could feel it flow around her, reacting to all his movements.

Suddenly, she heard Jasmine make her back to her own two feet, and soon after she heard the loud sound of an explosion accompanied by the cracking sound of a shield. Knowing where to aim, Violet started to send spells in that direction. Jasmine must be able to sense where Lucretia was by feeling how the magic in the fog fluctuated.

"Ventus!" she heard Lucretia shout, a strong wind quickly dispersing the fog, revealing Lucretia's position. At last, knowing where to aim properly, she started to send a barrage of spells against the older girl. Her wand was just a blur casting spell after spell.

The older girl seemed to have received quite a hit from the explosion and she was unbalanced, one leg supporting most of her weight, the other bleeding heavily. Violet smiled when she saw the probable weakness and redoubled her assault once more. The other girl was definitely on the defensive, she had barely been able to respond to the incoming spells. That was especially good for Violet as she doubted she would be able to dodge as skillfully with a couple of ribs cracked.

The furious exchange continued, Lucretia was being forced to use shields in order to block the assault, and in response, Violet was using her strongest spells to break them as quickly as they came. If they continued like this, Lucretia would outlast her. Knowing that she quickly changed tactics and she made a wide arc with her wand shouting.

"Tóxo Ekríxeon!"

Immediately, explosion after an explosion detonated, forming a wide arc of blasts around Lucretia, breaking her shield and sending her flying against the wards. Using the opportunity Violet sent a simple chain of Petrificus Totalus and a few stunners guaranteeing that her opponent was down for the count.

Violet let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, just to immediately wince when her cracked ribs made themselves known once more. Yes, that had been harder than she thought it would be. She turned around to look at Jasmine who was completely down for the count, she had probably exhausted her magical reserves with that trick with the fog followed by that powerful explosion.

Then she saw the rest of the dueling club looking at her with awe and admiration. Violet didn't get it really, even now Lucretia had been able to take one of them down, scowling at them she shouted.

"Could someone send us to the infirmary! I have like three cracked ribs!" she shouted.

That seemed to break them out of their trance as they quickly made their way to try to pick up the two inconsistent girls. Violet huffed and with a casual flick of her wand the two of them started to float a meter above the floor. These fools.