Beth opened her eyes.
Randall Riggs stood stock-still, his wand pointed straight at her, motionless in shock. The Death Eaters shifted uncomfortably, nudged one another, gestured. Beth followed their motions with her eyes and found herself staring at the ground beneath her feet, where her brother Chris lay motionless and disheveled, a green light just fading from the edges of his face.
Beth had no time to think of what had happened - she was alive, that was all she could process in one moment. There was no time to be wasted. Beth snatched her wand from her pocket and brought it down with a ferocious swish. Someplace safe, she thought without thinking.
"Apparate!"
She was caught in a thousand winds and jerked through space indiscriminately, a rag doll on the ocean, a fly on the side of a speeding train. Her gut wrenched with nausea; she felt her head begin to pound, her hands grow numb. Apparation had never been this bad. She couldn't tell which way was up - her body spun in all directions at once as unseen forces plucked at her limbs.
I didn't specify, Beth thought, or perhaps screamed. I'm going to die anyway.
The torrent ended and she was dropped three feet onto hard earth.
For long moments she lay on her back, unmoving. Her vision was starred and black; her head pounded, her insides twisted. Finally the feeling crept back into her extremities. A cool breeze flicked across her forehead and she reached up to brush it; she was drenched with sweat, as if she'd had a fever. Her eyes cleared, but the stars and dark remained: she was staring into the deep blue pre-morn sky, with just a few branches cutting across the wide expanse like black lightning.
Branches...?
Slowly, gritting her teeth, Beth sat up. There were trees here, thick ones, old and gnarled, trees that had never seen a woodsman's hand - nor that of any man at all. An eerie stillness shook the leaves. No birds called out, but there seemed to be small things skulking among the underbrush; the long dark spaces suggested much larger things, perhaps asleep, or perhaps only waiting, crouched, for the proof that she was living meat...
Beth took a deep, ragged breath. This was not the safe place she had sought as she frantically cast a difficult spell. But ... if she had at least escaped the Death Eaters...
A crackling twig broke the quiet.
Beth's head snapped up. Instantly she was on her feet, her wand quaking before her. Something was coming at her from deeper in the forest - slowly and quietly, but relentless. Wand outstretched, Beth took a step backward, and another, until she felt the bracing strength of a tree trunk at her back. "Come and get me," she hissed viciously, voice shaking. "Dare you."
The footsteps continued, unfaltering. Beth swept her eyes across the dark forest but could not make out the form of her attacker. She had no doubt of what it would be. Riggs, back to finish the job ... maybe another Death Eater, or a handful, to be sure it got done ... or perhaps even the Dark Lord himself...
A silver glow burst into the clearing.
Beth stared into the dazzling silver face of a full-grown unicorn. Its horn shone in the semi-dark; the silky mane caught the moonlight like strands of glass.
"Oh," she said, too overcome with its beauty to be afraid, too awed to cry out. "You're so lovely..."
The unicorn stepped closer, nickering gently. Its silver hide shone like moonlight; the great dark eyes were penetrating. The wand fell from her hand.
Lifting its shining hooves one by one, the unicorn advanced until they were face-to-face. Beth was conscious of something rising within her and around her - like an envelope of warm air, a lightness of heart. Her skin seemed to tingle. The unicorn was terrifying in its goodness, dreadfully pure. Beth felt, as she had never felt before, the utter filth and unworthiness of her own soul. She wanted to shrink back - but the unicorn advanced, and its purity was overwhelming...
Beth threw her arms around the glowing neck and burst into tears.
Neither of them moved for many moments; Beth's shoulders shook, her face buried in the silky mane. Finally she was able to raise her head, stroking the velvet nose, a last few trails of tears on her face.
The unicorn pulled its head away, and Beth choked back another sob at the loss of its touch. The great beast nuzzled her neck comfortingly, and began to nudge the edge of her sleeve with his horn.
"No..." Beth murmured, reaching up to its cheek, "there's nothing under there you want to see..."
But the unicorn was persistent. With a flick of its horn, it laid bare the pale skin and the throbbing red skull burnt into it.
Beth swallowed hard and turned from the sight of it, gazing instead at the huge brown eyes just inches from her own. The unicorn nickered comfortingly as it lowered the tip of its horn to touch the Dark Mark. Then it drove its horn deep into her flesh.
A cry wrenched from her throat. Agony, sharper than the rash, stronger than the call of the Dark Lord, deeper than the burn -
Very slowly, the unicorn drew out of her arm and stepped away.
The skin was unbroken.
Beth stared. Then she whirled toward the unicorn, but the creature was on its knees, shaking its head roughly and letting out hoarse neighs. Finally, the shadow of a skull slid like fog from between the silver lips. It met the empty air and was gone.
Gone.
Beth held up her forearm, rubbed it harshly, peered at the skin in the pale light. She checked the other arm.
The Dark Mark was gone.
The unicorn struggled to its feet and clip-clopped toward her, nudging her shoulder with curious compassion. "It's gone," Beth told the unicorn, showing off the smooth inside of her arm. "It's gone - thank you-!"
The unicorn tossed its silvery head. Of course it's gone. It nuzzled Beth's cheek in a strangely familiar way: like a mother, a grandmother. Somehow it had transferred to Beth its own purity. She was clean ... she was safe ... she was free.
The unicorn nudged her elbow: Come with me. Beth picked up her wand and laid a hand on the white neck, allowing it to lead her across the clearing and between the ancient trees, still not knowing where she was but certain somehow that she would be led aright. The very presence of the splendid creature made her feel warm and protected. Her mind was not clear, yet; but it was calm.
The sky above lightened as they traveled, girl and beast, until those first fresh rays of sunlight began to outline the treetops. Beth realized, as the dawn broke over her face, that she had been awake all night. She had not done such a feat since the night before her final Alchemy project was due; but she felt relaxed and increasingly alert as the sun rose higher. After all, who knew what had happened in the past few hours? Who knew what challenges she had yet to face?
The unicorn paused, nickering gently and tossing its head to sniff the air. In the silence that fell as the hoofbeats ceased, she heard a strange far-off rustle of activity, like a county fair from many miles away. The unicorn cocked its ears. Then it set off toward the noise. Beth hesitated only a moment before continuing on at its side.
This last stretch of walking lasted barely a quarter of an hour. Before Beth realized what was happening, the trees thinned, the underbrush grew more trampled and the light broke through the high bowers until they stood on the very edge of the forest - facing the stone towers and parapets of Hogwarts castle.
Beth let out a shout of relief. It had never occurred to her for a minute that she had landed in the Forbidden Forest. After all that - she had been brought somewhere safe.
She turned back to the unicorn, beaming ... but the great creature was gone.
She felt an unexpectedly poignant sense of loss. Already she missed the comforting presence by her side. Perhaps it was best that the unicorn had slipped away; she might have never been able to leave it.
The halls of Hogwarts were quiet. Beth guessed that breakfast had ended but lunch had not yet begun; with N.E.W.T.s, O.W.L.s and finals over, there was no need to gather in the classrooms or library to study. Feeling oddly conspicuous in the silent hallways, Beth made her way down to the dungeons.
It seemed like every member of Slytherin house was packed into the common room, clustered together and talking urgently. As Beth looked closer it became clear that the Inquisitorial Squad, for the most part healed from the previous night's battle, formed the epicenter of these groups; they must have been among the only people in the school who had any idea what had happened. Beth moved through the crowds, keeping her head low and hoping not to be spotted. Of course, she was no more than halfway across the room when Bruce, Herne, and Oren came at her from different directions, each with a relieved expression on his face.
"Look," Beth said, when they got close, "I'm not feeling well, I just want to go lie down..."
"Get Melissa," Bruce ordered Oren, who nodded. "Herne, tell the others they can stop patrolling." He took Beth by the elbow and led her back to the girls' dormitories. "We've been watching for you all night," he told Beth, who followed along too puzzled and tired to complain. "We didn't know where you'd come in so we've got people everywhere from the Astronomy Tower to Umbridge's fireplace... Michael warned us that he saw you come in."
"Michael?" said Beth.
"We thought we could use a little help," said Bruce firmly. "The Guild has been up with us all night, taking shifts."
He stopped in front of the door to the seventh-year girls' bedroom. "Dumbledore's back," he said, not letting go of her arm. "Umbridge is still missing. The Inquisitorial Squad has been telling us all day what happened yesterday evening, but it doesn't explain where you went. We heard Evan, and-"
"You heard him from clear up in the infirmary?" said Beth incredulously.
"- and we got worried," Bruce finished grimly.
Melissa came dashing down the hall, looking frantic, and pulled to a halt before them. "Beth," she said, and hugged her fiercely. "Thanks, Bruce, I've got her from here," she said to Bruce, who nodded and left. "Come inside," she ordered. She ushered Beth into the bedroom and locked the door.
"Now," she said, in a rage borne of deep worry, "sit down here by me and tell me exactly where you've been."
It took surprisingly little time for Beth to sum up all she had seen and done in the past few hours. Then it was Melissa's turn: the students who had escaped from the Inquisitorial Squad had returned and were up in the infirmary (the Guild was working on a way to find out where they had been), already at breakfast Dumbledore, who had reappeared at the Head Table with no explanation for his absence, had told them that the Dark Lord had appeared in the Ministry of Magic, and they had been trying all morning to elaborate on his words. Draco's father had been arrested at the Ministry, too, he had received notice from his mother that morning, and then the Society rings had gone cold like they only did when someone died-
"What was that?" said Beth, startled by Melissa's story for the first time. "I didn't notice that."
"It was very early," said Melissa, looking at her hands. "We asked Audra to look into it. Riggs died this morning."
"Oh." Beth slumped back, stunned. "It must have been just after..." She paused. "Chris was killed too," she said aloud. "All those years I thought he was dead. Now he's really done it."
"Beth, I'm so sorry," said Melissa, with feeling.
It was a hard thing to understand, her brother's passing. "I still won't be able to see thestrals," said Beth suddenly, and a short unbidden laugh came up to her throat. "I closed my eyes."
The laugh came again. Then it bubbled into gasps, then sobs; and Beth buried her face in Melissa's shoulder and cried for the brother she would never really know.
When she had finally run out of tears, Melissa ushered Beth across the room and ordered her to bed. Beth didn't want to go, but she lay down anyway, planning to get back up as soon as Melissa left her alone ... and the next thing she knew, it was nearly dinnertime. She had slept for almost ten hours.
She changed hurriedly and headed out to the dungeons. Now that she could think clearly, she realized that she had something very important-something miraculous-to tell to Professor Snape...
She burst into Snape's office with uncharacteristic brashness. The Potions Master was at his desk, writing something with a stunted black quill. He glanced up at her. Instantly, his eyes flickered in surprise; he raised a hand and the door closed behind her. Only then did Beth realize what a terribly foolish thing she had done. She froze in the doorway.
Her hand went for her pocket... It was empty. She had left her wand on the bedside table.
Professor Snape stood up, almost courteously. "Miss Parson. I was unsure I would see you alive again." He gestured toward the chair facing his desk. "Have a seat."
Cotton-mouthed, Beth shook her head.
"I don't know what you've done to the Dark Lord," Snape went on, "and, for many reasons, I have no wish to know. Do sit down." At her hesitation, he snapped, "Miss Parson, I have no intention of dying myself."
Beth made herself speak. "What are you talking about?"
"Your brother sacrificed himself to save you," Professor Snape said, his impatient tone reducing the awesome words to a mere fact. "Much the same as Harry Potter's mother once did. It became a ward against the touch of the Dark Lord. One or two of the more foolish Death Eaters may try to find you," he added, "but I do not want to test that protection, and I think the Dark Lord himself is going to keep well clear of you. Now, given recent events, will you please explain to me why you have invaded my office?"
His attitude was no different than usual. Could it be that they had carried their charade of indifference so far that it had actually become fact? If that was the case, then she had something to show him. She rolled up both her sleeves and held them out to display the unblemished skin.
He glanced down at them with a scowl-but as he realized what he was seeing, he turned his eyes back to Beth's face, agog.
"How have you done this?"
"A unicorn took it away," Beth told him.
Snape's shoulders fell almost imperceptibly. "Full grown?" Beth nodded. "Then you have found a nontransferable solution," he said, with a hint of disappointed sneer. "No full-grown unicorn would do such a thing for a grown man ... or even a sixteen-year-old boy."
Beth lowered her arms, just as disappointed. It had not occurred to her that the unicorn may have been attracted simply by her youth and gender.
"Nevertheless," Snape went on slowly, "it may not hurt to include a unicorn component as a cure for Mr. Wilkes. It was the horn, I presume?"
"Yes."
"Then I shall make a salve. I have the powdered version in my supply." He paused. "Mr. Riggs has been killed. By all accounts he has failed the Dark Lord one too many times."
"I'm going to finish up that last test on Evan's potion tonight," said Beth, to avoid speaking of Riggs.
Professor Snape inclined his head, just slightly. "After that, we will see what can be done."
The Society for Slytherin Advancement met the following evening at midnight.
Between the Guild, school rumor, and the rather scant report from the Daily Prophet, they had a fairly good idea what had happened in Professor Umbridge's office and at the Ministry of Magic. Beth filled in about the mission to the crypt and the rough circumstances surrounding Riggs's death. They were a captive audience: they reacted vehemently at learning that Richard was alive, and when she told them that the Society crypt had been demolished a few of them actually cheered.
"I don't think I'd be celebrating just yet," interrupted a sardonic voice. Evan Wilkes, looking paler and thinner than ever after his long illness, had spoken up from the corner. "In case you've forgotten, he still knows who we are."
Beth looked at him without rancor. He was still weak from over a month abed, but she knew that his disappointment raged even stronger. The potion that Snape had concocted of unicorn had undone the damage of Evan's failed project; but it could not clear the skull on his arm.
"We must stay on our guard," Melissa agreed, addressing them all, "but our biggest problem has been solved."
She smiled suddenly. It may have been the first time she had smiled during a meeting all year.
"I think we're going to be all right."
The following days were a flurry of activity as the seventh-years struggled to wrap up all the loose ends of their Hogwarts careers.
Beth received a job offer from the Department of Mysteries, with a hastily scrawled addendum from Mr. Schrowde claiming that the events of the previous week were "highly unusual" and that they "expected no further infiltrations by the Dark Lord or any other malevolent force." Beth sent an owl in reply within an hour, thanking them kindly and turning down the job in no uncertain terms. The week's activities had finally made up her mind. The Department of Mysteries, intriguing though it was, was the last place she wanted to be.
Beth was busy on a personal front as well. To ease Louisa's mind about the banshee, Beth told her that she had heard about Chris's death from her father. She also sent a letter to her father saying she had heard about it from Louisa. She doubted very much that they would ever be able to compare notes and wonder how Beth had really come to know the truth.
For the moment, the Society had agreed that their founder was a latent threat. Now that the Ministry of Magic was actively acknowledging the return of the Dark Lord, he and his followers would have their hands full. Perhaps they wouldn't have the time to track down a handful of dissenters.
Before anyone realized it, they gathered in the Great Hall on the last day before the Hogwarts Express would carry them away from the castle for the last time. Beth had imagined many times the somber scene, those last shared meals, those last goodbyes. What she had not expected was the casual normalcy that would not surrender to sentiment. It could have been a breakfast any day of the year. Students quibbled about the British/Irish Quidditch League, fought for each other's sausages, split up the Daily Prophet, spilled the marmalade. Perhaps most familiar of all, near the end of the table the fifth-years were complaining.
"No O.W.L.s results until July!" said Blaise indignantly. "I thought your class got them before school let out."
"They did," said Herne. He shot Mervin a questioning look. "Are the N.E.W.T.s going to be late this year too?"
"Yup," said Mervin, drowning his French toast in ketchup.
"Faith, tha wait's fair welcome," said Morag.
"I hope they get the N.E.W.T.s results out sooner than that," Melissa griped. "I need those to find a job..."
"A job?" Beth raised her eyebrows, astonished. "I always thought you were just going to join the wand business."
"Well," said Melissa, with a bashful kind of grin, "I thought I'd try being on my own for a while. I might even try to work abroad. I never really do tire of Spain..."
"Or Russia?" Beth teased, thinking of Andrei Gregorovich.
"Well-" Melissa said again, and blushed pink.
Bruce strolled up and plopped into the seat beside Melissa. "I've been to see Dumbledore," he told them.
Melissa was visibly anxious to turn the discussion from her love life. "Oh? Doing what?"
"Getting my expulsion reversed," said Bruce, with a wry grin. "He says that all decisions that Umbridge made in office were nullified when she got ousted." He nodded toward Beth's robes, where the silver Inquisitorial Squad badge was still affixed. "Which means you can get rid of that thing, too."
She tore the I-shaped badge from her chest and flung it out the window.
The familiar hooting and rustling heralded the owl post. Today hundreds of winged messengers dropped their packages on the students and teachers: suddenly news from home was more pressing than ever.
A plain brown envelope drifted onto Beth's plate; another landed near Melissa, yet another by Bruce, and on and on down the table into the hands of each Society member. Beth and Melissa exchanged looks of dread. The last time this had happened was at the end of the previous year, when Nott had sent the worst news of all...
Gritting her teeth, Beth slid open the letter.
Fellow Members of the Society for Slytherin Advancement
Owing to the incarceration of former Secretary of the alumni Mr. Ebenezer Nott, and owing to the destruction of the Society headquarters in the Little Hangleton churchyard, I am pleased to report that each member is free to join or refrain from the war as he sees fit.
Gloria serpens.
The message was unsigned.
Melissa turned to Beth, her eyes shining. "Oh Beth, he did it."
"Did you ever doubt?" said Beth, betraying her own answer with her relief.
"Well, I got a bit worried when he died."
"You know that would never stop him."
"Yeah." Melissa laughed. "I know now."
She turned to Bruce joyfully. "Bruce, isn't it-"
She broke off. Bruce had set aside Richard's letter in favor of another, which he held in both hands, reading intently. The parchment was black, with a large white image of a bird in the top right corner.
"What's that?" said Beth, leaning over to see better.
"Dear Mr. Bletchley," Bruce read, his voice almost trembling, "our scouts have spent this past year observing Quidditch games held at Hogwarts School. Due to your impressive level of ability - and exemplary show of sportsmanship - I am pleased to invite you to try out for the reserve practice team for the Montrose Magpies!" Bruce finished with a shout. "We expect you to arrive at our training complex prepared to fly on -"
Muscular though Bruce was, Beth and Melissa encountered no trouble at all in tackling him joyously to the ground.
The day passed too quickly; the Leaving Feast fled seemingly in moments; the train ride the following morning had never seemed so short. When it drew into London, the seventh-years disembarked and stood together on the platform, each unwilling to be the first to go their separate ways.
"It's not the end, you know," said Melissa.
"Of course not," said Beth, almost scornfully. "You have to stop over and visit this summer. We'll go see all of Bruce's games together..."
"Assuming they hire me," Bruce added, his ears reddening.
"I'll be seeing you at the Ministry," Mervin said to Warrington, who had Antigone on one arm and Aaron at his side. "Our interviews are the same day."
"I'll be there too," Aaron spoke up brightly. "Think I'll try and work security. Top pay for an easy desk job. They say all you have to be able to do is use a scale."
"I'm going to have a dinner party next Halloween," Melissa decided. "You must all be there."
There was a moment of silence. They smiled bravely at each other.
"See you then."
"Have a good summer."
"Catch you soon."
"Good luck."
They fanned out across the station, their paths like spokes on a wheel. Each of them had a separate direction, a separate destination, a separate future; but they all knew that they would never lose their shared past.
