After the night of the Valefor scare—a bizarre transformation seemed to be in the air.
The relatively ordinary years at Hogwarts all paled in comparison to this one—because, simply overnight and after one close call, the routines of the two outcasts seemed to change rather drastically. Alice and Zander—who would usually attend their meals and classes without talking to anyone aside from each other, and who often weren't spoken to by the other students, save for Beckly and his harassment—were now, all the sudden, the hottest topic in school.
The morning after—when Zander awoke in the Slytherpuff room, allowing Alice to snooze for a little longer on the lush golden couch before waking her—the two of them were swamped with attention the moment they arrived in the great hall, much to their surprise.
They wandered into the expansive room, and Tobias joined them there, as he often did in the mornings. But only seconds later—many other students were approaching them as well, several of them looking excited and almost fascinated by the mere sight of them.
"Oy!" James hollered from behind a few of his fellow Gryffindors, leaping to his toes and shouting over their heads. "Did you lot really run into Valefor last night?!"
"They did!" Rose exclaimed from a few feet away from her cousin. "It was right after they went looking for Professor Crowley—right after they talked to us!"
"I heard they got lost out there, and they nearly got killed by Valefor," Beckly chided.
"That's not what I heard," a Slytherin boy chimed in knowingly, pushing out of the crowd and cocking his head of stark blond hair. "I heard Zander McAllister managed to stall Valefor until Crowley showed up and fought him off."
The crowd erupted in frantic chatter—and Zander, Alice, and Tobias all glanced around, the three of them stunned and momentarily speechless.
Zander's eyes narrowed at the fellow blond-headed Slytherin, only just realizing who it was—Scorpius Malfoy, someone who'd never really spoken to him before, though he seemed rather proud of what his housemate had accomplished now.
"What really happened?" a Ravenclaw boy yelled out, Lorcan Scamander. "I'd be really interested to know straight from you three."
"Yes—because Crowley won't tell us a thing," Scorpius added with a nod.
"Nor Arius," Albus Potter stated, emerging from the crowd beside Scorpius. "They're both being real secretive about it."
"Which makes us all wanna know even more," James grinned, propping his arm on his younger brother's shoulder. "So tell us!"
Everyone continued yammering and pestering the three, excitedly demanding answers—and now, all the sudden, the two lonesome outcasts and the nameless transfer student had the school's full attention, something that had never happened to any of them before.
Alice and Tobias—standing just behind Zander—traded hesitant glances with one another.
Zander inhaled a deep breath, straightening out and trying to assess his answers before he spoke.
"Look, we—we were sent off to take something to Professor Crowley last night," he began, strengthening his tone as the other voices died down. "I don't know exactly what it was, or why we had to take it to him—but we were just following the headmaster's orders. When we ran into Rose and James, they told us that Crowley had just headed off to the forest, so we went there to find him. That's when Valefor showed up—then Crowley showed up right after."
The crowd nodded and murmured to one another—Alice and Tobias swapping another brief glimpse. Zander's tale contained just enough of the real truth, but the parts involving vampirism were skillfully omitted from his story.
"But—what's this about you stalling him?" Scorpius asked with a curious squint. "That's all we were able to get out of Arius, and I'd really like to know how that happened. How did you stall that madman?"
"I just… kept him talking," Zander replied with a shrug. "Giving him false hopes of initiating me into their little club, and buying a little bit of time… until Crowley showed up and fought him off. And, ah…"
He gave a quick glimpse back at his friends, another thought occurring to him.
"Alice and Tobias were right behind me… with wands drawn," Zander added on. "Waiting to attack the moment Valefor made a move. So… really, it wasn't just me. It was all three of us. We just happened to have our reactions planned to the best of our ability at the time."
Alice blinked and reeled back, Tobias's mouth drifting slightly agape.
The crowd seemed to break into noisy questions again—and then, a Hogwarts professor appeared just behind the trio, making the mob of students quickly fall quiet.
"What's this, now?" Professor Longbottom asked, eyeing them all questioningly. "We don't need to harass these three just because they did a good thing, now do we? C'mon, you lot. Disperse. Off to breakfast, now. Off with you."
He waved everyone away, and the students began to break off from the crowd, meandering across the great hall and heading toward their respective tables.
Once the head of Gryffindor house succeeded in dismissing the crowd, he turned and marched toward the teachers' tables in the distance.
Zander, Alice, and Tobias traded faces before they decided to go have their breakfasts as well.
In a great breach of their usual routines—many people spoke to them during breakfast, and students from other houses often stopped beside their table to inquire further about the incident with Valefor.
This continued throughout the rest of the day—all through Herbology class, despite Longbottom frequently shooing students away from the misfit three—and it carried on to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class in the afternoon.
When the trio claimed their usual table in the corner of the class, they spotted Crowley at the front of the room, looking less sickly and considerably less feral than he had the night before. He was still a bit pale, but all in all, healthier—and he taught the class with ease, giving them a long lecture about boggarts.
Throughout the class, a few other students would lean over to the corner table and whisper to the trio, but Crowley was quick to shush them. And—if Alice wasn't imagining it—the professor seemed to be purposefully averting his gaze from the three of them each time he glanced their way.
"He's acting like ve aren't here," Tobias whispered to his friends, squinting at the front of the room and adjusting his glasses.
"Aye… more so than usual," Alice agreed. "I bet he'd look if I set something on fire. Again…"
"He's embarrassed," Zander mumbled.
The other two turned to him quizzically.
Zander glanced at them and made a shrug. "He probably feels ashamed that three sixteen-year-olds had to save his life last night, and he doesn't know how to regard us now."
Tobias shot him an odd look. "How do you know zat…?"
"Well… because…" Zander muttered. "That's how I'd feel."
"Oy," Alice breathed. "How come you told everyone we had our wands out on Valefor last night, Zander?"
Zander stared at her, then looked down to his open textbook. "Why not? If we're getting praise, then we might as well all get it. You're the one who ran head-first into the situation, in any case… plus, I imagine they'll all be watching you more closely on the Quidditch field now."
Alice fell silent for a second, slowly facing her own book. "I hadn't thought of that…"
Zander glanced at her again. "I didn't mean in a bad way. They'll just want to see you succeed more now. That tends to come with popularity…"
"Well—then they'll be doing that to you in the dueling club, too," Alice figured, facing Tobias. "And you as well."
The boys glimpsed at each other.
But, before either of them could say anything—they all noticed that Crowley was suddenly eyeballing them from the front, waiting for them to stop mumbling to each other. The three fell silent, and the class carried on.
Eventually, when the class finally concluded and when everyone was standing to leave—Alice paused as she collected her textbook, spotting James and Lorcan strolling alongside each other and chatting with one another, sparing her several glances on their way out the door.
"Seems you've got some admirers," Zander observed, glaring at the doorway after the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw passed through it.
"What? No. What?" Alice sputtered, shaking her head and giving him a look. "No—they were looking at all of us. Everyone's been doing that all day."
"Mhm," Zander murmured, not convinced.
"Could ve be friends with Lorcan Scamander?" Tobias wondered, raising his brows at his companions. "I vant to talk to him more."
Zander squinted at him. "Why?"
"Zander—Tobias likes magical creatures, and the whole Scamander family majored in magical creatures. That's why," Alice explained, Tobias nodding vigorously along in agreement.
"Oh," Zander uttered. "Right…"
The three stood behind their table and finished collecting their belongings, all the other students having left the room already. When they moved to leave as well, they marched past the front desk—and Crowley was leaning on the edge of it with his arms folded, his eyes following their every move as they sauntered past.
"You three," he said, his voice still somewhat rough. "Stay."
Zander halted, his friends nearly ramming into him. They all stopped, and Crowley straightened up, walking past them and closing the large double-doors of the classroom. He returned, leaned on the desk again, and remained quiet for a moment, glimpsing down and gently tapping the edge of his chin in thought.
"I… just wanted to say," Crowley murmured with some difficulty, not looking at them. "I… appreciate you three… doing what you did."
"It vas no trouble," Tobias replied. "We just wanted to help…"
"Aye," Alice agreed. "I'm sorry we… got reckless with it…"
"Well… I'm sorry that was necessary," Crowley told them seriously. "Everything that transpired last night turned out to be necessary. It was all unfortunately very risky… but… ultimately necessary. Now, I'm sure you've pieced this much together, but my condition is… not… known to many people…"
"We know," Zander informed. "Arius gave us the talk already."
"Yes. Yes… of course he has…" Crowley sighed. "The aurors are searching the areas around the grounds, and they hope to find Valefor if he's still anywhere near Hogwarts. So… you shouldn't need to worry about him seeking any revenge. He's either long gone from around here, or he's soon to be captured. Either way… you're safe now."
"Sir," Zander muttered, replaying everything from the frightening conversation he'd had with Valefor in his mind, his expression darkening. "I'm… not so sure that's true. He's probably not going to abandon his goal of getting inside Hogwarts… because he's after something in here."
A tense silence fell over the four of them, Crowley's eyes narrowing with intrigue.
"Have you spoken to the headmaster at all since last night?" Zander asked.
"I have not," Crowley replied.
"Well… then he hasn't told you yet," Zander mumbled. "I stalled Valefor as long as I could… and I got a bit of information out of him when I did. I'm not sure how much you heard of that conversation at the time, but… I learned that he's after one of the Founders' Fortunes. Something that belonged to Salazar. And… he seemed to believe it was inside the castle."
Crowley stared, his expression falling stony and unreadable.
"It sounded to me like it was a sword," Tobias intervened. "He said it was forged the same way as Godric's, but… with…"
"Twice the power and thrice the magic," Alice added. "Whatever that means."
"And he said Leviathan," Tobias remembered. "He said somezing about Leviathan… ze heart of Leviathan being inside the sword, I think…"
"Sir—is there such a thing as a Leviathan?" Zander inquired. "I've never heard of such a thing in any of our classes."
Crowley's eyes shifted thoughtfully between the three, sighing deeply.
"Leviathan was a dragon," he told them. "Well… it would be more correct to say that they were both dragons, and they existed during the time of the four founders. There were only two Leviathans in existence that anyone knew of, and one of them died during that time. It was said to be the master of the seas, and the elemental God of all magic… but when one of them died, the other vanished, never to be seen again. And… the heartstrings of the dead Leviathan became one of the most valuable magical commodities of the time. I can imagine Salazar Slytherin being the type to harvest such a thing in order to enhance whatever power he bestowed upon his item of fortune."
"And… what was his item of fortune?" Zander questioned. "Do you know…?"
Crowley surveyed him intently. "Why are you so interested?"
The two of them shared a deep stare—Alice and Tobias glancing between them quietly.
"I hope you don't think that I actually intend to get it for him, Professor," Zander said, his tone flattening. "You've known me for long enough to know that I'd never do something as wrong and as foolish as that."
"No," Crowley mumbled with grim severity. "But I wouldn't put it past you to try and seize it just so you could try to guard it yourself, Zander. I can see it in your eyes, plain as day. That's exactly what you would do."
"I won't go looking for it," Zander promised. "I'd just like to know more about it. Call it academic curiosity."
Crowley studied every inch of his face, then let out another sigh.
"The Founders' Fortunes… are… all fairly valuable magical items," he started. "There's the Sword of Gryffindor… the Diadem of Ravenclaw… the Staff of Hufflepuff… and the Swords of Salazar."
"Swords?" Alice exhaled. "Like, more than one?"
"Correct," Crowley affirmed. "Whereas the Sword of Gryffindor is one big broadsword, the Swords of Salazar are two shorter duel swords. But, unlike Godric's famed weapon, nobody has seen the Swords of Salazar in many generations. In fact… it's been so long since they were seen, many people believe they never existed."
"Why haven't they been seen?" Zander wondered. "Plenty of people have seen Gryffindor's sword. Why have they never seen Slytherin's?"
"Well… think about it, Zander," Crowley replied. "What does it take for the Sword of Gryffindor to be summoned?"
The trio all glanced at each other.
"Necessity," Zander answered. "Some form of honor-bound necessity."
"Yes," Crowley said with a nod. "And how often does a Slytherin end up in such a situation?"
Zander fell silent, looking down and biting his lip.
"It seems mean to say… but Slytherins don't end up in a lot of heroic situations," Crowley elaborated. "So… the Swords of Salazar just never ended up being summoned, simply based on that fact alone. Salazar was a prejudiced and gray-area man, but he did have some idea of honor… and his weapon would arrive for the same reason as Godric's. It just never has."
"And Valefor thinks he's gonna be the one to summon them?" Alice scoffed.
Crowley sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, he's a nutter. He likely thinks of himself as some special 'chosen one' who's destined to do what no one else ever could. In reality, I very much doubt that he could summon the swords even if he was given the chance to try… but that part hardly matters. The main goal is to ensure that he never makes it into the castle at all."
"I… have one more question," Zander said gravely. "I imagine that you're still in the loop with the other aurors, so… you might know. What does it mean if the Seal of Shadows has marked someone?"
Another heavy silence fell, Crowley eyeing him rather intensely.
"I don't know," Crowley admitted moments later. "Why do you ask?"
Zander and Alice exchanged troubled stares with one another.
"Valefor seemed to… know who we were," Zander revealed. "Alice and I both. And he said… he said we've both been marked already."
Crowley examined him. "And this was while he was trying to recruit you?"
"Yes."
"Well… then I doubt if it means you're targets of theirs," Crowley determined. "It sounds a lot more like they'd wish to recruit you if given the chance. You may be 'marked' as possible recruits for their little cult."
Zander and Alice traded eyes again.
"Why us?" Alice asked, genuinely lost.
"You're both fairly talented at what you do," Crowley replied with a simple shrug. "You're a fantastic witch, Alice, particularly with flying and all forms of elemental spells… and Zander has been the best duelist in the club for years now. Those kinds of groups always want to recruit the most talented people they can find. Just because you're misfits in school doesn't mean your skills have gone unnoticed by the rest of the world."
Alice fell silent, suddenly remembering everything Arius said to her the night prior.
Perhaps the Seal of Shadows did seek to lead Zander astray—and it seemed they might've had a similar plan for Alice herself.
"Then they'll be disappointed," Alice knew. "I wouldn't join them if my life depended on it."
"Nor me," Zander agreed.
Crowley's expression seemed to soften the slightest bit, and he breathed out a faint little noise that might've been a laugh.
"Good," he concluded. "You three can go now. And… try not to get into any more trouble."
"Aye… we'll try, but no promises," Alice laughed, turning to leave with her friends.
The three of them trekked across the room, Zander and Tobias strolling out to the hall.
Alice hesitated in the doorway, turning back and giving Crowley a final stare.
"Professor," she said, flashing a smile. "Please don't stay mad at Arius."
Crowley stared at her, wearing a thoughtful visage and saying nothing, just managing a nod.
Alice smirked, gave him a wave, and walked off with her companions, allowing the doors to swing shut behind her.
The trio then headed down the spacious corridor together, dwelling on everything they'd learned thus far.
"It's kind of exciting, innit?" Alice grinned, glancing between the boys. "I thought all the excitement would come next year—but we've got a little war story forming up here in Hogwarts, don't we?"
"God forbid," Zander sighed. "But it is… different…"
Alice and Tobias both observed him.
Zander turned, met each of their eyes, and cracked a smile.
"It's different from last year… and it's… it's nice to have done something good here," he told them. "And to have everyone… well…"
"To have everyone love us for it," Alice beamed, snapping both of her arms around one of his and hugging it tightly as they walked. "Awww—you're a secret people person inside! You like to be liked, dontcha?!"
"Oh—hardly," Zander griped, instantly scrunching up his face. "I do not care what anyone here thinks of me. I never have."
"You just said it's nice, Zander!"
"Yes, it's nice—that's not—that doesn't mean I—"
"Ahahahaha—you love it!"
"I do not."
"Liaaar!"
The two snarked back and forth like always, and Tobias chuckled at them as they did.
Then—Zander suddenly halted mid-step, spotting something unthinkable at the end of the hallway and frowning with disdain at the sight of it.
Alice paused, she and Tobias following his trial of vision down the corridor—and they saw it as well, a person, standing a good distance from them and wearing a long, pine-green robe, a man with the same blond hair as Zander's, a sleek black hat, and a tense expression strewn across his face, his eyes locked onto the Slytherin boy before him.
Zander stared at the man for several long seconds, his visage hardening as his heart gave a rough, bracing palpitation inside.
"Dad…"