Draco had for the last several hours attempted to dissuade the other Slytherin from going through with his plan, but it seemed there was no reasoning with him. Apparently, he had found the Diadem of Ravenclaw in the Department of Mysteries, and they found it in the ruin of Hogwarts, in some place that people might not have explored, though they could not really tell, with the castle being a ruin of stones and wood and magical artifacts. They had failed to get the diadem to work for them, or they were falsifying their reports. Evan never knew which it was, not that he was concerned.

"That artifact will never tell you where to find the Dark Lord," he had said. "Only I know, and I insist that this is not the way to destroy the enemy. Simply approaching him and striking up a duel is exactly what he wants, and it will only get you killed."

"What do you recommend?" the Heir asked rhetorically. "I have no option apart from a direct confrontation, and the prophecy guarantees my victory. With the diadem, I am necessarily taking the wisest possible-"

"Wisdom is not everything," Draco said. "Without knowledge, no amount of ability to apply it will avail you anything, and you confess this by requesting that I reveal the location of the Lord Voldemort. Even if I told you a million places that he was not, you would not be able to extrapolate where he was, and my skill at Legilimency is greater than that of any other. Think not of trying to use the Imperius on one such as I."

"It rather looks as though the years have not been kind to you. What nightmare has served as your reward for siding with blood rather than magic?"

"Magic," he muttered. "I assume your master told you about magic? Is it without reason that I assume he told you what it is to be powerful?"

"I am aware," Evan said. "-that in my belief that magic is might, and not blood, I have put myself at odds with many of his followers. That does not, however, make me anything like his enemies. They have captured my associates and enlisted me in this cause against him, not aware that I was already planning to kill him myself-"

"With the wisdom of the diadem? In this artifact have you placed your entire confidence that you can succeed against the Dark Lord? The blind lead the blind to ruin; without eyes, the headdress can only rely on what you know-"

"I am aware of that, Malfoy!" he shouted. "Under no illusion of certainty have I labored. Fundamentally, there is no way that I can ever have perfect confidence against the greatest enemy I shall ever face, and yet, face him I must!" His only response was one of relative shock, though it did not show up on his face. If he had any expressions left after he cursed them off, he used them so rarely that he must have forgotten how to use them, even when he wanted to force them. Perhaps using the curses had been unnecessary in the first place.

"Make, then, your case," he said after a moment. "How do you intend to defeat the Dark Lord, if your wisdom gives you an immeasurable advantage? Easily could you explain it-"

"My wisdom surpasses all understanding."

"What exceeds my comprehension is your pride, and it seems no amount of wisdom could ever correct this. One such thing that you should realize, if you would, perhaps, allow yourself, is that everyone else is aware of basic strategies and the manner of spells that you might use? Have you any idea that you currently use words that anyone can understand?"

"I tire of your games," Evan said, drawing and pointing at him. "If you tell me nothing I shall have no choice but to kill you."

"Who?" he asked.

"What manner of question is that?" he asked. "Have you, in your failure, forgotten who you are?" His eyes narrowed. "Or is it simply that it no longer matters?"

"Perhaps there is some sense in which you are wise. In that case, you should be aware that you are alone here. There is no one to kill, no one to threaten, and no one to trick, and as such it is not surprising that you find yourself unable to proceed."

The Heir had only to realize that the words themselves were true enough, or perhaps they described something that was true, and seemed to reconsider. If he could not, in any case, threaten information out, because no one around valued the life of Draco Malfoy, as he was recognized. His expression changed once more.

"The information, then, is simply unavailable to me. I shall not dismiss it as unimportant, but if you will not under any circumstance surrender it, then it might as well be that you do not know. I had thought that you would have every reason to want someone to go after your former master, but I suppose I could have erred just as easily. I can imagine any amount of bizarre, foolish reasons why you would continue to support the Dark Lord, and it is not a wholly ridiculous idea that a former servant of his could believe that announcing my strategy was a way of winning himself back into his good graces. For that reason, I shall accept your terms and seek out his location elsewhere."

"Consider searching in the Danakil Depression," he had said as the other Slytherin put his already drawn wand to the top of his head. That had been more or less the end of the conversation, and it had been a pointless exchange, as were many wont to be. In truth, there was no way of knowing whether or not Evan had only been tricking him by pretending to leave, but he was right in that the entire effort to keep the knowledge from him was to keep him from running off and killing himself. Most likely, the Order had turned him loose on the suicide mission days ago, and he quickly realized that he had no choice but to get the diadem out from wherever he had been hiding it and using it to think of a strategy. "Why did those who believe in the prophecy send you out against him?"

"I insisted that the prophecy applied to me, and not Longbottom, as I alone was marked as the equal of the Lord Voldemort. It was only sensible that I venture forth, and though I suspect they were cheered enough to be rid of me, there was nothing more they could do. Left entirely to mine own devices, it was like enough their belief that I had no legitimate interest in ridding them of our mutual enemy. I suppose I took no actions against him that they knew, and even did I conceal my planning from my close associates, wont as they are to work with one enemy against another."

"There was nothing more they could do for you, then."

It was a frightening prospect to consider, but if he had considered it first, he could have saved himself a headache trying to negotiate with Evan to keep him from killing himself. He also failed to disagree. Though he wanted something more solid than 'I am the chosen one of prophecy', there seemed to be nothing more to be provided; he certainly had no better ideas himself. With the diadem, he had the very best chance anyone or anything could possibly have.

With everything being decided, his mind took him back to the present. Seeing Longbottom again was unexpected, but not particularly unwelcome. There were times, after all, when he had invested in the young wizard's development and protection, and there was always something to seeing that come to fruition, even if he had already written the whole prospect off as a loss, if not especially so. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Nothing was accomplished," he said after a moment. "The child of prophecy is no more prepared than he was when first sent on this mission."

"I can't say I'm pleased to hear that... where have you been?"

"Even if you had asked the witch if she had seen me before, I expect she would not know what to tell you. Nevertheless, there is to know, nothing more. She may, if she so chooses, make an attempt at seeing what I have not seen, but Ravenclaw was always the House of the wise." She gripped the arm of the wizard next to her.

"I saw you as a friend once upon a time, and if it's all the same to you, I'd like to be your friend again, but I can't stop being friends with anyone else." He extended a hand. "I just can't."

"There is no one left here," he said. "The only explanation that makes sense is that some sense of balance beyond all understanding needed a witness to events unseen, and already come to pass."

"You were chosen, then," Lovegood said. If the sentiment meant something more to her, that was all well and good. "I would not discount the existence of a balance beyond the control of our world, though perhaps I would not discount anything."

"Get our friends," Neville ordered her, seeming to think of something else all of a sudden. "If the most we can do is be there for Evan- or clear the way, then that's what we have to do." The blonde witch disapparated. "She's a bit better at that sort of thing than I am," he admitted. "Might as well go ourselves before any coalition wands get called to this position."

"It only makes a difference to you."

Nevertheless, the two of them walked after the Heir of Slytherin, whether or not he had ever truly earned the title. It seemed that one title he was intent on earning was 'true child of prophecy', not that there was anyone on the planet who could say what a prophecy meant until it came to pass. In essence, all would be proven, all would come to light shortly, now that the sun was setting and the lesser lights shone no longer. The sky filled with wonders gradually and he remembered his calling from the stars.

"Ah," he observed, looking up at the unfamiliar sky. "Witnesses."

The Dark Lord was waiting for them, with three attendants at the ready. They were all cloaked in black, seated in regionally fashionable wicker chairs, surrounded by spell forms that rather looked like the constellations in the sky. There were magical pictures of various on the ground, as was there a golden statue of an elf of some sort, which he reasoned had been transfigured, to fit with the theme.

"I had wondered when the two of you would join us," the central figure said, looking over from Evan. "I must ask my servants to apologize for their initial response of trying to kill you. Though I had asked them to ensure no one would interrupt my exploration into the secrets of Africa, I would have hoped that they would recognize the arrival of a child of prophecy."

"I am the only one," the young wizard in front of him asserted.

"You were studying?" Longbottom asked, somewhat taken aback.

"Of course," the Lord Voldemort said, ignoring his former disciple entirely. "The truth you may not have realized is that there is nothing more to magic than its study and practice. Perhaps, in my youth, I stood their shoulders from time to time, but I fancy myself as something of a giant at the present moment." A spell escaped his wand and went up to the stars. For a moment he thought that the stars would be outshined by the familiar dark mark, but instead the constellations were outlined in a clear blue light. "To think, this had hidden from me in some relatively unknown corner of the world." The lights faded and he looked down again. "Yes, child of prophecy, I was studying, and the primary purpose of my study was to look for ways that I might be defeated. For the first time in over seventy years now, however, I find myself satisfied."

"You're satisfied with your ability to survive, then."

"I should hope that I could accomplish more than mere survival; perhaps, however, that is impressive enough in itself. When, in essence, the entire world wants me dead, the task of survival is something I accomplished with more than just drinking the Elixir of Life and exercising caution. If any of you survive, feel free to announce to the world that I control the coalition, as it has called itself, and that everyone without a mark will be killed. To be sure, the Chinese wizards as well as those of a few other countries were wise to remain neutral rather than clashing with me directly, but their sapience bought them only a reprieve. Sheer numbers will overwhelm them, if nothing else."

"You didn't have to take over the whole world just to survive," Longbottom said. "Once you had the Stone-"

"I parted with it to demonstrate that I am not dependent on it," he responded. Whether he had thought of it before, it was possible he had never voiced it out loud. "I seek out something more permanent than anything I would have to regularly consume, and after stealing it, the only real threats to my existence were already forming plans to kill me again. The war, as I am sure you realize, was a distraction. I needed some time to consider any unturned stone that might pose a threat to me, and I was sure that if I convulsed the world in conflict, the Order would care too much to commit itself to finding me. I am sure I could have kept you away for longer, but in truth I have not actively manipulated any of my servants in weeks, at the least. The world has come around to make your statement correct, in that I need it no longer, and you have the right of it if you realized the task of governance never interested me."

"Why the sudden interest in a spectator?" Evan asked. "I was the one who came here to kill you."

"That much does not surprise me," the Dark Lord said. "I would do the same in your position, if I had a fraction of my own power and knowledge. My failure would be similarly inevitable. I should think, though, that your reference to the child of prophecy as a mere spectator warrants a measure of suffering before your death, as I find such impudence vexing. It may well be that Longbottom came to watch your defeat, but if he is a spectator, then you are not even a person. In every sense, you are a less impressive version of myself, and you seem to pride yourself on having a fragment, a forgettable fraction of my soul. Do you think any part of that, or anything you might have gained from that, is the fated power that I know not?"

"I was a bit confused about that myself," the other one admitted. "He basically declared himself to be our only hope of winning against you, but I still never knew how he would actually beat you. It doesn't seem likely that he could become individually more powerful than you just by delving more into dark magic, which is what I thought he was doing based on the state of his base when we found it in Quito."

"Of course he could not," the Lord Voldemort said. "It was the only thing he could think of doing, though, because it is precisely what a weaker version of myself would do. I considered, of course, the chance that some other culture had some spell that would completely undo me, for example one that would kill anyone in the country who had one or more horcrux, and so I went around the world while everyone else was scrambling around trying to keep their countries from falling into darkness. Soon enough, I determined the most likely candidates for some secret were parts of Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and of course Eastern Europe."

"Oh, okay, so you only got your followers to hold countries in those areas to give you a chance to poke around without getting noticed. You had a hard time getting onto this continent, though, and that's why you've spent the last... I don't know, few weeks letting everything else go and focusing on the search for anything that might kill you."

"Precisely. As you have already realized, I did not find anything, not so much as a suggestion of something that might be able to target me and kill me."

"I've got one. Avada Kedavra!"

Voldemort apparated out of the way and activated the network of picture wards on the ground. A veritable horde of animals, magical and mundane, rose from the ground. Draco silently observed that the pictures were more direct in purpose than he might have guessed. Evan attempted another curse, undeterred, but that one ran afoul of a dark shield.

"Exactly what did you think you would accomplish with the most predictable spell in common use when I prepared to be attacked by an army, the likes of which has not been seen in a thousand years?" the Dark Lord asked, apparating again. "I suppose I have no reason to try to prevent your escape; it is doubtful you could ever keep up with me."

The Heir was only more enraged and the silent observer remembered that he was not even the true heir to anything, not while the heir from last time was still alive. Even if he had some ambition to get rid of his former master, he had moved in lock step with him the entire time. There was nothing that he could have done that the much older dark wizard could not have predicted. Perhaps it was a way of adding more insult to injury that he had not been silenced, not that it made a difference.

"How didn't he realize this?" Longbottom asked. "I don't get it. Isn't the diadem meant to make you wise?"

"Oh, it does, but what he seems to fail to have realized is that wisdom is a means to an end," the Lord Voldemort said. "Similarly, an artifact can ultimately only serve the desires of the user. Possessed of the arrogance I might have had in my youth, with none of the frightful reminder of my mortality, an error I continue to seek to correct, he can only see himself free of the threat I pose to him if he personally kills me, and you may thank the prophecy for that if you wish. His desires essentially reinforced his misconception that there was some way for him to defeat me, and I suspect the diadem might have sighed and suggested he may as well attack before I make myself stronger, as I have been for over seventy years now."

"Thanks. I didn't expect you to be this nice." He seemed to reconsider. "Well, I thought maybe you wouldn't have been interested in answering my questions."

"Ah, no, your companion there may attest that my true calling is academics, and while I am capable of managing a war and an endless series of pointless stabbings in the back, I am also capable of mercy- benevolence, even. My followers might have thought that I delighted in killing them, but in truth it mattered little to me, like a buzzing fly. For the most part, the flies have ceased in their buzzing, and I have what I wanted. I had intended for some remnant of my followers to survive, the better to inform the world that I now control it, but I suppose you could have the honor."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can accept that," he said after a moment. He had not drawn his wand, and neither had anyone else. It stood to reason that none of Voldemort's attendants had risen to fight because they were plenty confident in his chances against Evan, but perhaps if either of the other two came, it would have been different. They would have cleared the way of any intruders to the fateful battle, or they would have attempted as much. Presently, they all looked pleased by the turn of events, if not surprised.

"Very well. I shall make this simple, then, the better to move on to other matters. You and I must duel, and it may as well be soon. If you attempt to escape from here, I shall simply kill various people until you return."

"There's no need for that, sir," Longbottom said. "I'm quite ready to have a go with you."